Azzuro (ASX: AZ9) Extends Red Hill Discovery as Highest Copper Grades Yet Point to Growing Mongolian Project

Azzuro Resources (ASX: AZ9) has continued to build momentum at its Red Hill Project in Mongolia, reporting its highest copper grades of the 2026 drilling campaign while extending the known mineralised system to almost 550 metres.

Rather than being another standalone drilling update, the latest results strengthen evidence that Red Hill is evolving into a sizeable volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) copper-gold system. Each batch of assays released this year has expanded the footprint of the discovery, with the mineralisation remaining open to the east, west and at depth. (Source: Azzuro Resources ASX announcement.)

The standout result came from hole MU2605, which intersected 1.6 metres grading 11.94% copper, 1.63 grams per tonne gold and 30.13 grams per tonne silver from 127.2 metres. The high-grade interval sat within a broader mineralised zone, suggesting copper grades improve toward the western part of the project.

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Another drill hole, MU2604, returned 18 metres grading 1.02% copper, 0.54g/t gold and 12.14g/t silver, including 4.3 metres at 1.27% copper, 1.41g/t gold, 36.94g/t silver and 6.37% zinc.

The latest drilling also continued to expand a separate shallow gold corridor. Hole MU2606 intersected six metres grading 4.18g/t gold from just 18.7 metres below surface, including three metres at 7.38g/t gold. The intercept lies around 50 metres from a high-grade gold zone identified during due diligence drilling in 2025, indicating the corridor may extend for around 600 metres.

For exploration companies, continuity often matters as much as individual high-grade intercepts. While exceptional drill results can generate excitement, repeated success across multiple holes provides greater confidence that mineralisation is widespread rather than isolated.

That appears to be the direction Red Hill is taking. The company has now demonstrated broad copper, gold, silver and zinc mineralisation across a growing strike length, with drilling continuing to extend the system.

The broader market backdrop also remains supportive. Copper has become one of the mining industry’s most sought-after commodities, driven by long-term demand from electricity networks, electric vehicles, renewable energy projects, artificial intelligence infrastructure and expanding data centres. Industry forecasts from organisations including the International Energy Agency and the International Copper Study Group suggest demand growth will continue to outpace the pace of new mine discoveries, increasing the strategic importance of new copper projects.

Managing Director Gan-Ochir Zunduisuren said the latest assays reinforce the scale of the discovery.

“MU2604 and MU2605 have returned the highest copper grades of our 2026 program, headlined by a massive-sulphide lens grading almost 12% copper in MU2605, while MU2606 confirms high-grade gold from close to surface. Together they show Red Hill is a large, fertile copper-gold system that continues to grow with each batch of results, now confirmed over close to 550 metres of strike and still open in every direction.

With metallurgical testwork commencing this quarter and further assays pending, our focus is on defining the size, geometry and key characteristics of the system and its potential to be developed alongside our Oval copper-nickel discovery in the low-operating-cost jurisdiction of Mongolia. Red Hill remains open along strike and at depth, with substantial upside still ahead.”

The company’s focus is also beginning to shift. Early exploration was centred on confirming the presence of mineralisation. Attention is now moving towards understanding the project’s geometry, metallurgy and development potential, all key steps before estimating a maiden mineral resource.

Metallurgical testwork, scheduled to begin during the third quarter of 2026, will examine how efficiently the ore can be processed, an important milestone as exploration advances toward potential development studies.

Additional drilling results are still pending, meaning the 550-metre strike length may continue to grow.

With high-grade copper, expanding gold mineralisation and further exploration underway, Red Hill is steadily progressing from an early discovery into a project that could become a much larger district-scale exploration story.

Source: Azzuro Resources ASX announcement; International Energy Agency (IEA); International Copper Study Group (ICSG).