Southern Hemisphere Mining is drilling one of its deepest holes yet at its Llahuin copper-gold-molybdenum project in Chile, chasing the high-grade feeder system for its already massive mineral resource. Adding further spice to the exploration push, the company has fast-tracked a promising new copper-gold target that is now next in line for the drill bit.

The company is currently extending a historic diamond drill hole that previously stopped at 401 metres downhole, with the drill bit now boring beyond 640m towards a planned depth of 750m.

The deep hole is designed to test for a porphyry feeder zone at the Cerro deposit, a target generated from the company’s new geological model and guided by modern copper isotopic analysis by its consultant VectOres. Management believes there is major scope for higher grades deeper within the system.

While that deep drilling continues, a separate discovery has prompted Southern Hemisphere to reshuffle its drill queue and fast-track a new copper-gold prospect after recent heavy rains and flooding eroded riverbanks, exposing previously hidden bedrock containing visible chalcocite, a valuable copper sulphide mineral.

The discovery is significant because the outcrop sits near a historic drill hole which returned an impressive eight-metre intersection grading 3.67 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 45m downhole. Remarkably, that hole was never assayed for copper or any other elements. The company now plans to test this new target with the next hole in its program.

We’re encouraged with progress on this deep hole extension of DDLLA028 testing for a feeder zone, at 640m now and drilling is continuing. Drilling running 24/7 and first assays due late November 2026, we expect to add more to Llahuin’s potential before year end. A new possibly higher-grade copper-gold prospect has been added to the drill program which provides further scope to Llahuin’s potential endowment.

The current exploration push is not just about finding a new deposit. Rather, it’s about unlocking the potential for higher-grade mineralisation within an already substantial copper-gold system. Llahuin already hosts a JORC-compliant mineral resource of 218.2 million tonnes grading 0.38 per cent copper equivalent.

Previous drilling has already demonstrated the project’s capacity to deliver high-grade zones at depth. A previous hole intersected 440m assaying at 0.75 per cent copper equivalent from just 2m depth, featuring a richer zone of 106m going a solid 1.69 per cent copper equivalent.

Llahuin lies at a relatively low elevation of 1300m in a tier-one mining jurisdiction and is only 5km from grid power and 200km from a major port.

Southern Hemisphere is mounting an aggressive exploration campaign to unlock the feeder zone beneath its 218-million-tonne resource, while a newly identified copper-gold target waits in the wings. Success on either front could materially enhance the project’s potential.

With the first assays expected before the end of the month, the market will be keen to see whether the company’s deep hunt for copper and gold strikes paydirt.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au