Southern Hemisphere Mining zeroes in on monster Chilean copper porphyry

Drilling in progress at Southern Hemisphere’s joint venture Southern Porphyry project in Chile. Credit: File

Joint venture partners FMR Resources (ASX: FMR) and Southern Hemisphere Mining (ASX: SUH) have launched a fourth deep diamond hole at their Llahuin copper-gold project in Chile, using a refined geological model to pinpoint what they believe is the source of a big porphyry system.

The new 1200m-deep hole, which is hunting “Target L”, is the culmination of a three systematic diamond holes, where each hole has provided crucial pieces of a complex targeting puzzle.

The company says the latest drilling is a calculated step-change in its search for the high-grade core of the project’s Southern Porphyry target.

The decision to drill Target L was based on an integrated analysis of structural, geochemical and geological data from the three previous deep holes. In particular, the most recent hole completed at “Target K” provided the critical clues.

That hole intersected multiple porphyry intrusive rock types with visible copper and molybdenum sulphides, confirming the drill bit had pierced the mineralised footprint of the system.

Notably, it revealed a distinct change in the orientation of the mineral-bearing veins compared to earlier drilling, suggesting a move closer to the system’s structural heart.

The shift has provided a clear geological vector, pointing the exploration team south, east and deeper from its previous position.

Drilling at Target K confirmed we are within the mineralised intrusive footprint of a significant porphyry system, with visible copper and molybdenite sulphides hosted across multiple porphyry phases. Structural and geochemical vectors now indicate a clear direction south, east and at depth.

FMR Resources Managing Director Oliver Kiddie

The exploration journey at the Southern Porphyry will hopefully result in a monster discovery, after early geophysics lit up a massive conductive anomaly deep below the surface at the prospect.

The first holes at Targets A and C appeared to clip the edges of this system, with logging showing encouraging alteration and pathfinder minerals typical of the outer halo of a copper porphyry.

The third hole at Target K then punched closer, intersecting several wide sections of porphyry-linked rock types and confirming the presence of copper and molybdenum - the shell around a porphyry prize.

Target L has been collared to test this theory, aiming south of the previous hole at Target K and east of Target C, in a direct attempt to drill into the interpreted core of the system.

The Southern Porphyry target sits within a six-kilometre-long mineralised corridor at Southern Hemisphere’s Llahuin project, sitting in a world-class copper-producing district.

JV partners FMR joined the fray for the Southern Porphyry portion of the project in mid-2025, funding $13 million in exploration over five years to earn up to 60 per cent of Southern Hemisphere’s ground.

Immediately north of the JV ground, Southern Hemisphere holds three shallower deposits – Central, Ferro and Cerro – that contain a combined copper resource of 218 million tonnes grading 0.38 per cent copper equivalent. This existing resource underpins the prospectivity of the broader Llahuin project area and highlights the fluid expressions likely emerging from the large-scale porphyry at depth.

With each hole providing more clarity, the company is methodically refining its 3D model for the hunt.

Now, armed with a clear vector from its previous work, the JV partners believe they are closer than ever to unlocking a major copper discovery. All eyes will be on the core trays as the drill bit at Target L spins towards a potential Andean copper porphyry discovery.

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