Scout Drilling Completed at Abundante Prospect

Visible copper mineralisation identified in four holes at Abundante and drill programme commences at Teresita, targeting high-grade copper-gold ("Cu-Au") vein breccia system

Great Southern Copper plc (LSE: GSCU), the company focused on copper-gold and lithium exploration in Chile, is pleased to announce that the scout drilling programme at the Abundante prospect has been completed and drilling has commenced at the Teresita prospect. Both prospects are within ​the Company's Especularita Cu-Au project located in the coastal metallogenic belt of northern Chile.

Highlights:

• Six scout reverse circulation ("RC") holes completed for a total of 484m at Abundante, targeting breccia-hosted high-grade copper mineralisation
• Copper mineralisation visually identified in four holes targeting the breccia
• All RC samples for the Abundante programme have been despatched for assaying
• Scout drilling has commenced at Teresita targeting high-grade Au-Cu vein breccias

Six RC drill holes have been completed at the historical Abundante copper mine where rock chip samples collected by the Company from mine walls and waste dumps returned values up to 3.39% Cu and 0.15g/t Au in tourmaline breccia1,2. A total of 445 drill chip samples were collected and have been sent to ALS Laboratories for assay.

The scout drilling programme has now progressed to the Teresita prospect where RC holes are targeting high-grade Au-Cu mineralisation associated with quartz-carbonate vein-breccias. The Teresita quartz-carbonate vein-breccia system has a cumulative strike length over 5km and rock chip samples have returned grades up to 13.7g/t Au3 and 7.22% Cu4.

Sam Garrett, Chief Executive Officer of Great Southern Copper, said: "Preliminary target-concept drilling is now completed for the Abundante mine prospect where the Company is targeting high-grade copper associated with tourmaline breccia. All of the drill chip samples are at the laboratory and we look forward to updating the market on the results when they become available. The drilling has provided an effective first-pass test of the target with copper mineralisation visible in all holes targeting the breccia and, once assays are received, we will be in a position to plan the next phase of work.

"We are also excited to now have begun our second scout RC drilling programme at Especularita, with drilling underway at the Teresita prospect. The Teresita high-grade Au-Cu vein-breccia system is a very extensive and exciting target and these holes are designed to validate the mineralisation style and provide key information for any proposed follow-up drill programmes."

Abundante scout drilling programme:

Copper mineralisation at the historical Abundante mine is observed in outcrop as coarse, blebby disseminations associated with tourmaline-quartz matrix in-filling the fragments of intrusive breccia. Rock chip samples collected by the Company from the exposed mine walls and mine dump material have returned assay grades up to 3.39% Cu and 0.15g/t Au1.

Holes ESP23RC001 - 004 all tested the breccia to a depth of approximately 50 - 100m below surface. Visible oxide and sulphide copper was variably identified in cuttings from holes RC001, 002, 003 and 004 (Figure 1). Hole RC005 tested the potential for horizontal strike extension of the breccia to the north and holes ESP23RC006 and the bottom half of hole 004 tested a magnetic low anomaly to the east of the outcropping breccia. Disseminated sulphide (pyrite-chalcopyrite) mineralisation with associated quartz veinlets has been noted in the chips for the deeper holes.

Of particular interest are holes RC002 and hole RC004 that both intersected continuous breccia with visible Cu mineralisation over 10 and 31 metres respectively, before ending in old mine workings in the case of RC002 and crossing the east bounding fault in the case of RC004. Copper mineralisation may therefore remain open at depth.

All samples for the Abundante drill programme comprising 445 drill chip samples plus 80 control samples have been despatched to ALS laboratories for preparation and assaying.

Figure 1: Representative RC drill cuttings (chips) from hole ESP23 RC002, 28-29m, showing abundant copper oxides in tourmaline matrix breccia. Coin is approximately 2cm in diameter.

Teresita scout drilling programme:

Gold-copper mineralisation at Teresita is associated with a swarm of structurally-controlled, anastomosing quartz-carbonate veins and vein-breccias which are mapped over a cumulative strike length of up to 5km, although the structures have the potential to be open further along strike. The veins are hosted in diorite and additional veins may occur where outcrop is obscured by shallow scree cover. Disseminated chalcopyrite mineralisation (with gold) is preferentially hosted in quartz vein material which has been variably overprinted and disrupted (brecciated) by later carbonate.

Drilling of the first hole at Teresita, ESP24RC007, is currently in progress targeting high-grade assays from surface rock chip samples of the Central Vein. Subsequent holes are also planned to test the Gato Negro and Grossa veins.

Sampling and assaying of RC chip samples:

The RC drilling method employed at Especularita generates between 35 - 40kg of rock cuttings, or "chips", per metre. Representative samples for each metre of the cuttings are collected in large, individually numbered plastic bags, which are then weighed and transferred to a riffle splitter where they are separated (or split), and homogenised, three times into two duplicate samples of approximately 5kg each. GSC personnel then ticket and label one of the ±5kg samples using preprinted ticket books.

Finally, standard reference materials (SRM's or Standards), blanks, and duplicate samples are inserted into the sample sequence for the purpose of quality assurance / quality control. The second ±5kg sample is used for geological description and stored for reference. An additional reference selection of cuttings for each metre is also retained in labelled boxes as a record of the geology of the drill hole.

Forward Looking and Cautionary Statements