Southern Hemisphere boosts Llahuin copper-gold resource to 218Mt

West Australian

2 days ago

Southern Hemisphere Mining has firmed up its copper-gold-molybdenum footing in Chile having unveiled a beefed-up mineral resource of 218.2 million tonnes at 0.38 per cent copper equivalent at its Llahuin project north of the country's capital Santiago.
The company says the new JORC-compliant estimate, complied by Hyland Geological and Mining Consultants, incorporates its Central Porphyry, Cerro, and Ferro zones and contains 496,600 tonnes of copper, 654,900 ounces of gold, and 12,500 tonnes of molybdenum.
Critically, the recent in-fill drilling has lifted a significant chunk of the resource into the measured category now totalling a robust 151.9Mt in measured resources at 0.4 per cent CuEq, 22.2Mt in indicated resources at 0.33 per cent CuEq, and 44.1Mt in inferred resources at 0.31 per cent CuEq.
Located 350km north of Santiago near Illapel and just 5km from grid power in Chile's Coquimbo Region, the Llahuin project sits within a well-established mining district also home to major copper mining operations such as Los Pelambres and Andacollo.
Situated at 1300m elevation, Llahuin benefits from sealed roads, non-potable water in shallow aquifers, and proximity to underused rail infrastructure.
The Llahuin deposit is a porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum system with iron oxide copper-gold (IOCG) characteristics, hosted in Cretaceous dioritic and granodioritic intrusions and surrounding volcanic units.
High-grade mineralisation, associated with quartz stockwork and potassic alteration, extends along a 2.5km north-south strike, with management eyeing a potential 6km mineralised corridor which remains open north, south, and at depth.
Recent drilling, particularly at the Cerro-Ferro deposit, has confirmed both areas form a single mineralised system, with recent step-out holes targeting NNE-trending, ESE-dipping vein sets known to host gold at Cerro. Last year's discovery at Ferro South added consistent grade and width, boosting resource numbers and pointing to more upside.
Stowell says the company sees considerable scope for resource growth at Cerro-Ferro including the Ferro West magneto-telluric target and at its recent discovery at Ferro South, considering the shallow drilling to date in these areas.
Backing that up, Southern Hemisphere has now defined an exploration target in the ranges of 260–340Mt at 0.20–0.30 per cent copper, 0.08–0.10g/t gold, and 50–60 parts per million molybdenum - a conceptual target that sits outside the existing resource and includes zones such as the Curiosity-Southern Porphyry target.
While still early-stage, the target is supported by wide-spaced drilling and soil sampling, with infill drilling planned to bring it into the fold.
Only the Central Porphyry zone has been systematically drilled below 200m, with mineralisation still open at depth, underscoring the upside for deeper exploration.
On the metallurgy front, copper recoveries from past testwork have averaged around 84 per cent, with gold coming in between 41 and 57 per cent, and molybdenum between 14 and 56 per cent, with potential for improvement using specialized reagents.
The orebody also features moderate hardness and low deleterious material, ticking key boxes for flotation and processing.
Southern Hemisphere is now planning a 1400m diamond drilling program with JV partner FMR Resources in the final quarter of this year.
The program will target the depth extensions and untested areas of the Curiosity-Southern Porphyry copper zone where earlier drilling flagged the potential for higher-grade mineralisation lurking deeper down.
With a substantial resource at hand, robust exploration upside and drilling on the immediate horizon, Southern Hemisphere with its Llahuin project looks poised to become a key player in Chile's copper-gold landscape with investors likely closely monitoring the action as the company aims to add more tonnes to an already solid resource base.
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