Hot Chili Commences Phase Two Diamond Drilling at La Verde

• Diamond drilling commenced 22 September 2025 at La Verde copper-gold discovery, located 30km south of Costa Fuego's planned processing hub
• Phase One RC drilling confirmed discovery footprint of 1,000m by 750m extending to 400m vertical depth, with over half of holes ending in mineralisation
• Three higher-grade centres identified near surface; Phase Two targets depth extensions to these areas
• Company modelling indicates potential to add open pit material to Costa Fuego's 20-year mine schedule and enhance financial metrics
• Regulatory applications for additional drill access in final approval stages to test lateral extensions and nearby targets

Hot Chili Limited (ASX: HCH) is an Australian-based public mineral exploration company operating copper development projects in Chile's Atacama region. The company's primary asset is the Costa Fuego Copper-Gold Project, which completed a Pre-feasibility Study in March 2025 outlining a 20-year project life. Costa Fuego is planned to produce an average of 116,000 tonnes of copper equivalent annually for the first 14 years of primary production.

Diamond Drilling Programme at La Verde

Diamond drilling began on 22 September 2025 using one drill rig operating double shifts. The programme follows the company's first-pass reverse circulation drilling, which established La Verde as a copper-gold porphyry discovery. La Verde is positioned 30 kilometres south of Costa Fuego's planned central processing hub in the coastal range of Chile's Atacama region.

The RC drilling programme confirmed a discovery footprint measuring 1,000m by 750m and extending up to 400m vertical depth. Over half of the initial drill holes terminated in mineralisation at the capacity of RC drilling equipment. The discovery remains open both at depth and laterally based on current drilling results.

Three spatially distinct higher-grade centres were confirmed from near surface drilling. The Phase Two diamond drilling programme will focus on testing depth extensions to these centres. Diamond drilling provides enhanced core recovery compared to RC methods for geological analysis and resource assessment.

Exploration Programme and Target Areas

The current drilling follows RC results that identified mineralisation above 0.2% copper across the 1,000m by 750m discovery area. Phase One drilling established multiple grade zones, with areas showing 0.3% and 0.4% copper mineralisation within the broader discovery footprint. The drilling programme terminated many holes in mineralisation, indicating potential for expansion.

Regulatory applications are progressing for expanded drill access at La Verde. These approvals will provide access to test lateral extensions beyond the current discovery area. The applications also cover several nearby targets that share similar geological characteristics to the main La Verde discovery.

The company plans to provide updates on drilling results as the programme progresses. The exploration activities are designed to test the extent of mineralisation both vertically and horizontally from the established discovery footprint.

Costa Fuego Integration Analysis

Hot Chili has conducted impact modelling to assess La Verde's potential contribution to the Costa Fuego project. The analysis indicates La Verde could add open pit material to the front-end of Costa Fuego's mine schedule. This addition could provide mine life growth and enhance the financial metrics established in the March 2025 Pre-feasibility Study.

Costa Fuego's Pre-feasibility Study outlined a 20-year mine life with processing infrastructure planned for the region. La Verde's location 30km from this planned hub positions it as a potential satellite operation. The modelling examined conceptual open pit scenarios using copper prices of US$3.50/lb and US$6.00/lb.

The company notes that La Verde represents an exploration target, with insufficient drilling completed to establish a mineral resource. Further exploration is required to determine if the target area will result in a mineral resource estimate. The integration analysis remains conceptual pending additional drilling results.

Next Steps and Programme Timeline

The immediate focus is completing Phase Two diamond drilling at La Verde to gather geological data for resource assessment. Results from the current programme will inform decisions on additional drilling requirements and potential resource estimation work. The company expects to provide regular updates on drilling progress and results.

Regulatory approval processes continue for expanded drilling access, which would enable testing of lateral discovery extensions and nearby exploration targets. The timeline for these approvals and subsequent drilling activities depends on regulatory processes and drilling results from the current programme.

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