Chilean copper prize lures Southern Hemisphere drill bit to go deep

Southern Hemisphere Mining is set to fire up the diamond drill rig in the next two weeks at its new Ferro South copper-gold-molybdenum discovery, part of the company’s 100 per cent-owned Llahuin project in Chile. The initial 2000-metre program will test the depth extent of a significant porphyry system that has already delivered wide intercepts, as the company looks to expand an already hefty resource.

The company’s new campaign follows impressive recent results, including a massive 241-metre intercept grading 0.42 per cent copper equivalent. That hit contained a higher-grade core of 143m going 0.51 per cent copper equivalent from a relatively shallow depth of 36m. The new program will probe the mineralisation down to 300m, with the option to extend holes to 500m if the core shows the right visual cues.

The company says initial assay results are expected towards the end of November.

The new drilling assault comes at an opportune time for copper explorers in Chile. The South American nation has endured a tough start to 2026, with an exceptionally weak first half from state-owned mining giant Codelco and BHP operations prompting Chile’s state copper commission, Cochilco, to cut its full-year production forecast to 5.27 million tonnes – a 2.6 per cent drop on last year.

Two months ago, in efforts to reverse the country’s declining production profile, the Chilean Antofagasta Environmental Assessment Commission fast-tracked the first major environmental approval for a massive multi-decade overhaul and expansion at BHP’s Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine. That milestone clears the way for an overall investment program valued between US$10.7 billion (A$14.8B) and US$14.7 billion (A$20.4B).

Nevertheless, the tightening supply picture has since lit a fire under copper prices. The metal breached the US$13,000 (A$18,000) per tonne mark on the London Metal Exchange (LME) in January and hit an intraday peak of US$14,527.50 (A$20,120) per tonne later that month. Just two days ago, copper prices charged even further, reaching US$14,779 (A$20,500) per tonne, driven by structural deficits, major mine disruptions and continued talk of U.S. tariffs.

This program is expected to run for approximately 10 weeks, with the initial program for 2,000m and open for extension based on results. Llahuin, hosting a JORC-compliant resource from surface of 218mt M+I+I in a well-preserved copper-gold porphyry system over about 3km strike length forms the basis of a serious copper play.

Llahuin’s existing resource is nothing to sneeze at, clocking in at 218.2 million tonnes at 0.38 per cent copper equivalent in all three resource categories, calculated using a 0.22 per cent copper equivalent cut-off. The bulk of it, some 174.1 million tonnes, sits in the higher-confidence measured and indicated categories at a solid grade of 0.39 per cent copper equivalent.

Preliminary metallurgical testwork has returned encouraging recoveries of 84 to 91 per cent for copper and 41 to 57 per cent for gold.

While Llahuin is the main event, Southern Hemisphere also holds the Los Pumas manganese project in Chile, which features an indicated and inferred resource of 30.26Mt grading a respectable 6.24 per cent manganese. Los Pumas is an advanced manganese deposit for which Southern Hemisphere is seeking offtake or JV funding, or a sale as a long-life mine capable of producing one or more products.

Those products might include manganese concentrate, agricultural products for soil improvement, electrolytic manganese for steelmaking and/or high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate to supply the electric vehicle and energy storage markets.

With the drill rig warming up and set to start spinning the diamond-bit, Southern Hemisphere is moving quickly to define the scale of its Ferro South discovery.

If results from the program confirm the big known mineralised zones continue to depth, they could pave the way for a significant resource update at what is already shaping up as a potential monster copper-gold system in arguably the world’s premier address for the red metal.

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