Great Southern Copper plc announced that district-scale reconnaissance exploration at its Especularita Cu-Au project is progressing well and identifying targets for detailed prospect-scale exploration. The Especularita project is located within the coastal metallogenic belt of northern Chile and is dominated by a large, partially-eroded advanced argillic lithocap formed in volcanic rocks near the contact with a granodiorite batholith. Alteration and mineralisation related to the system is observed over a 100 km2 area and includes skarn-type base-metal deposits, mesothermal Au-Cu veins, and Cu-Au breccia pipes.

Near-surface porphyry-style Cu mineralisation may also exist beneath shallow cover and the lithocap. Reconnaissance geological mapping and sampling across the company's extensive Especularita project in Chile commenced earlier this year and is designed to identify specific areas (prospects) with potential to host economic Cu-Au mineralisation. Results to date confirm that multiple styles of mineralisation and alteration occur within the Especularita project area consistent with a large mineralising system with potential to host porphyry-related Cu-Au type deposits.

Detailed geological mapping and sampling has now commenced on two prospects at Especularita including a structurally-controlled mesothermal vein-hosted target with high-grade Au-Cu in reconnaissance rock chip assays (Teresita prospect), and a breccia-hosted Cu+Au target where coarse copper sulphide is observed in float samples (Victoria prospect) over an area of 500x500m2. At Teresita anomalous Au-Cu mineralisation is hosted in structurally-controlled mesothermal style quartz vein material that has subsequently been brecciated and overprinted by carbonate. Gold and copper grades within the quartz vein material are typically anomalous and range up to 13.1 g/t Au and 7.22% Cu from reconnaissance grab samples (Figure 1-2) .

To date multiple veins have been observed over one kilometre of strike and a width of 200m in an area partly covered by scree and gravel. Historical small-scale mining is evident along the vein structure, however, the hardness of the rock and the occurrence of sulphide minerals near to surface suggests that the artisanal workings were minimal. Detailed mapping and sampling at Teresita is now in progress to better understand the system and define its limits.

It is expected that this work will be complemented with a ground magnetics survey in the first quarter of 2023. At the Victoria prospect, Cu (+Au) mineralisation occurs as disseminated and coarse infilling sulphides within brecciated and albite-magnetite-specularite-actinolite altered volcanics that occurs in outcrop and as float over a broad area close to the contact between the host granodiorite batholith and the overlying altered volcanics (Figure 3). Assay results from reconnaissance rock samples are pending.

Detailed mapping and sampling at Victoria is now in progress and will also be complemented with a ground magnetic survey in the first quarter of 2023.