Hot Chili (TSXV:HCH) - Water Business with $1B NPV to Fund Copper Project

Apr 1, 2025

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Interview with Christian Ervin Easterday, Managing Director & CEO of Hot Chili Ltd.

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/hot-chili-asxhch-2blbs-of-copper-is-achievable-attractive-6668

Recording date: 31st March 2025

Hot Chili Limited has revealed a dual-track strategy leveraging a potential billion-dollar water business to finance its flagship Costa Fuego copper project in Chile. The company recently released prefeasibility studies for both its Huasco Water project and Costa Fuego copper development.

The Huasco Water initiative, a strategic asset developed over 20 months, consists of two stages. Stage one involves seawater supply to Costa Fuego, with an estimated NPV of $120 million and a 19% IRR over a 20-year supply period. The second stage encompasses a scalable desalination business with a potential post-tax NPV of approximately $1 billion, serving the broader Huasco region.

"This is about moving $150 million of capital from our copper project and putting it into that water project," explained Managing Director and CEO Christian Easterday. The company holds a unique position as one of only two companies in the past 18 years to secure maritime concessions for seawater extraction in Chile's water-scarce Atacama region.

The Costa Fuego copper project itself shows promising economics with a $1.2 billion post-tax NPV, 19% IRR, and $1.27 billion initial capital requirement. The project is designed to produce approximately 95,000 tonnes of copper and 50,000 ounces of gold annually over a 20-year mine life, with competitive cash costs of $1.38 per pound.

Easterday highlighted the project's competitive positioning: "We've delivered a top quartile production capacity project outside of the hands of a major and the lowest quartile capital intensity of a developer outside the majors."

The company's financing strategy includes traditional debt, precious metal streaming, offtake agreements, and strategic asset monetization through the water business. The project economics show a 4.5-year payback period, with projected revenues of $17 billion and free cash flow of $4 billion over 20 years.

Hot Chili is actively engaged in discussions with potential strategic partners, benefiting from the scarcity of large-scale copper projects globally. "When there's only five of you, the list gets smaller," noted Easterday, referring to the limited number of comparable projects available for development.

This strategy comes amid record copper prices, which recently hit $5.38 per pound, creating a favorable backdrop for advancing the project in a market characterized by a 4.5 million ton deficit and intensifying competition for high-quality copper assets.

View Hot Chili's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/hot-chili-limited