Two exploration companies, Hot Chili of Australia and Kairos Gold of Canada, have reported drill results in Chile to the market in recent days. La Tercera reported on Wednesday, 21 October. These are exploration announcements, not a certified reserve and not a mine in production.

Hot Chili confirmed on Monday, 19 October, in an ASX statement, a second porphyry centre, named La Verde South, about 30 kilometres south of the planned Costa Fuego hub, in the Coastal Range of Atacama, at an average elevation of about 740 metres. The company says the find sat under shallow desert gravel.

The first step-out hole, DKP084, returned 148 metres at 0.44% copper equivalent from 36 metres, using the company’s published formula and recoveries. A second hole, DKD100, visually recorded 307 metres of porphyry-style mineralisation; laboratory assays are still pending. Visual estimates do not replace assays. The maiden resource estimate for La Verde remains, the company says, on schedule; it is not published.

Managing director Christian Easterday said the results give new impetus to growth plans for the Costa Fuego hub. The claim that the project is already one of the largest independent copper developments is the company’s, not an independent ranking.

Kairos Gold reported the first assays from Phase 3 at Oro Brillante, in the Coquimbo region. A 7.5-metre interval returned 0.82 g/t gold, 41.50 g/t silver and 0.71% copper from 26.5 metres. Another, of 130.5 metres, showed continuous gold, silver and copper mineralisation. The programme finished 11 holes; assays for the remaining nine are still to come, the company said.

The figures are from market releases. They are not a JORC or NI 43-101 reserve for the new intervals and they do not announce production.

The exploration reports remain drilling stages. They do not open a mine and they do not certify a deposit.

Image: Carlos Teixidor Cadenas, Copiapo Cathedral, Atacama Region, 23 January 2022, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; the city in 2022, not this week drill holes.

Sources consulted: Two miners report high-grade mineral discoveries in Coquimbo and Atacama to the market - La Tercera, 21 October 2026; Second Porphyry Discovery Confirmed at La Verde - Hot Chili / PR Newswire, 19 October 2026.