Great Southern Copper (GSCU ) is continuing apace with its exploration mapping and rock chip sampling at the Viuda Negra prospect, part of the Especularita project in Chile.
The company has taken 223 rock and channel chip samples to define gold-silver-copper mineralisation at Viuda Negra over a 500 metre by 700 metre footprint.
Grades have run as high as 186 grams per tonne silver and 1.4% copper in in outcropping epithermal silica ledges.
The mapping extends the intermediate argillic alteration zone 800 metres further south of areas delineated in the 2025 scout drilling.
The results indicate system is open to the west and south beneath gravel cover.
Great Southern is now planning and permitting for drilling at Viuda.
"The discovery by Great Southern Copper of porphyry gold mineralisation in scout drilling at Viuda Negra last year was a significant milestone for the company, identifying broad intervals of low-grade gold-copper associated with Maricunga-style porphyry quartz-vein stockworks,” said Sam Garrett, chief executive of Great Southern Copper.
“The shallow scout drilling targeted outcrops of epithermal-style alteration with anomalous gold and silver. These results build on last year's scout drilling through further rock and channel chip sampling, indicating that the mineralised system is significantly expanded to an area covering some 500 by 700 metres. Importantly, the system remains open to the west and south, where the mineralisation appears to extend beneath shallow colluvial cover.”
View from Vox
The Viuda Negra gold discovery is the first reported occurrence of Maricunga-style porphyry gold mineralisation within the coastal metallogenic belt of Chile. The potential scale of this deposit-style can be very significant, so the upside is considerable. Great Southern has shown that it knows how to use the drillbit effectively in Chile, so the planned programme could deliver some highly attractive results.