Chili's: CORRECTION - Hot Chili Announces PFS for Huasco Water & MOU for Seawater Supply to Costa Fuego

PR Newswire PERTH, Australia, April 1, 2025 PERTH, Australia , April 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Hot Chili Limited (ASX: HCH) (TSXV: HCH) (OTCQX: HHLKF) ("Hot Chili" or the "Company") is providing corrections to yesterday's news release announcing the Preliminary Feasibility Study ("PFS") for Huasco Water, an 80% owned entity that controls strategic water rights in the Huasco Valley of Chile . The minor corrections are with respect to certain figures that did not align with the correct version that was previously announced on the Australian Stock Exchange. Highlights Strong Economics for a Large, Multi-User, Water Business Stage 1 1 Water Supply Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) for 500L/s of Potential Seawater Supply: Post-tax Net Present Value (NPV8%) of US$122 million and Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 19% . Construction capital cost for seawater supply estimated at US$151 million with a 4.5-year payback Stage 2 Water Supply PFS for 1,300 L/s of Potential Desalinated Water Supply: Post-tax NPV8% of US$977 million and IRR of 19% . Construction capital cost for desalinated water supply estimated at US$1.4 billion with a 4- year payback. Stage 2 financial outcomes include Stage 1 capital and operating cashflows Stage 3 Conceptual Study for Expansion to 2,300 L/s of Potential Desalinated Water Supply Stage 1- Multi-Decade Seawater Supply to Costa Fuego 20 Year Seawater Supply with Foundation Off-taker: Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) executed for water supply of up to 500 L/s to Hot Chili's Costa Fuego Copper-Gold Project (Costa Fuego) Long Lead-times Permits Secured: Granted maritime water concession to extract seawater, permit for coastal land access, Stage 1 pipeline easements and connection to the electrical grid secured Near-Term Development Decision Tied to Costa Fuego: First water supply planned for end of decade Stage 2 and 3 - Regional, Desalinated Water Supply Opportunity Large Catchment of Potential Off-takers: Over 4,000 L/s of desalinated water demand identified, including six undeveloped mining projects without secured access to desalinated water supply. No offtake agreements have been secured for stage 2 or 3 and discussions with potential customers are ongoing. Staged Growth Approach: Establishment of seawater supply infrastructure toward the end of the decade, followed by the commencement of initial desalinated water supply shortly thereafter, and subsequent staged expansion. The staged approach enables long term scalable water supply to support mining, community, and agriculture in the Huasco Valley region with potential to extend well beyond the initial project horizons First-Mover Advantage Only Active Maritime License: HW Aguas para El Huasco SpA ("Huasco Water"), a joint venture between Hot Chili (80% interest) and Compañia Minera Del Pacifico ""CMP" (20% interest), is the only company with permitted access to supply seawater in the Huasco Valley region following a ten-year regulatory approval process Desalination Permitting Advancing: Over a year advanced on regulatory applications to enable the supply of desalinated water from the existing maritime concession and a second maritime concession application by Huasco Water Long Permitting Timelines Continue: No regulatory changes have been made to Chile's maritime permitting process since Huasco Water was granted its concession. Hot Chili maintains a competitive advantage as the first mover in the area for a water distribution business. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Advanced: Stage 1 seawater supply is included within the Costa Fuego EIA, baseline studies complete. __________________________ 1 The Huasco Water Supply PFS has been aligned with the preliminary feasibility study for the Company's Costa Fuego project (the "Costa Fuego PFS") and shares the same assumptions for Costa Fuego in stage 1. See announcement dated 27 th March 2025 "Hot Chili Announces PFS & Maiden Mineral Reserve for the Costa Fuego Cu-Au Project" outlining the results of the Costa Fuego PFS. An independent technical report for the Costa Fuego PFS, prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") and JORC Code 20212 within 45 days thereof. Hot Chili's Managing Director Mr. Christian Easterday commented , "We are very pleased to deliver our PFS for Huasco Water which outlines preliminary economic outcomes for a potential long-life industrial water supply business. The Water Supply PFS has been undertaken in conjunction with the Company's recently announced PFS for our Costa Fuego Copper-Gold Project, which outlines a multi-decade project with top quartile copper production capacity and lowest quartile capital intensity. The outcomes of the Water Supply PFS provide an opportunity for Hot Chili to fully consider the strategic value of its 80% owned subsidiary company Huasco Water, which controls all our critical water assets. The Company views the potential to outsourcing of its seawater supply infrastructure as a key value- enabler and has anchored Huasco Water by executing an MOU to negotiate a foundational seawater off- take agreement for Costa Fuego. The Company has received significant interest in Huasco Water from both Chilean and international water infrastructure investment groups in addition to several neighbouring mine developers, agricultural groups, community groups and government. With PFS level engineering complete for stage 1 and stage 2 water supply, the Company is well positioned to pursue potential strategic partnerships and additional off-taker discussions for Huasco Water. We look forward to providing further updates on drilling results from our recently confirmed La Verde copper-gold porphyry discovery which is providing an exciting additional growth platform for our shareholders." The Company will be hosting webinars on Monday 31 st March 10.00 am EST (for North American audience) to brief shareholders and investors on the outcomes of the Costa Fuego and Huasco Water PFS. Hot Chili's Chief Executive Officer Christian Easterday , Executive Vice President Jose Ignacio Silva , Chief Operating Officer Grant King and Chief Financial Officer Ryan Finkelstein will be hosting the call, which will also include a Q&A session. The following links will provide access to the investor briefing webinar: Register Here for North American Webinar Monday 31 st March at 10.00 am EST After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. This announcement is authorised by the Board of Directors for release to ASX and TSXV. Hot Chili's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Mr Christian Easterday is responsible for this announcement and has provided sign-off for release to the ASX and TSXV. For more information please contact: Christian Easterday Managing Director - Hot Chili Tel: +61 8 9315 9009 Email: admin@hotchili.net.au Carol Marinkovich Company Secretary - Hot Chili Tel: +61 8 9315 9009 Email: admin@hotchili.net.au Graham Farrell Investor & Public Relations (Canada) Email: graham@hotchili.net.au or visit Hot Chili's website at www.hotchili.net.au Disclaimer and Forward-Looking Statements Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. This news release does not purport to be complete or contain all the information that may be material to the current or future business, operations, financial condition, or prospects of Hot Chili, Huasco Water or the results of the Water Supply PFS. Certain information contained herein is based on, or derived from, information obtained from independent third-party sources, publicly available reports and other trade and industry sources. Hot Chili believes that such information is accurate and that the sources from which it has been obtained are reliable; however, Hot Chili has not independently verified such information and does not assume any responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of such information. Statements in this news release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" or "forward- looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation and Australian securities legislation (each, a "forward-looking statement"). The use of any of the words "anticipate", "envisage", "forecast", "consider", "proposed", "conceptual", "opportunity", "designed to", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "may", "plan", "potential", "project", "should", "will", "would" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: prospects, projections and success of the Huasco Water project, including projected customer base and financial forecasts; potential seawater and desalinated water supplies and the demand therefor; permitting timelines; expected tariffs and financial measures; anticipated NPV, project life, cashflows, production rates, start-up capital, sustaining capital and other cash costs; engineering and infrastructure design; financial modelling; expected demand; and potential opportunities, expected cost efficiencies, projected development timelines, engineering outcomes and growth potential analysis. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company and Huasco Water (collectively, the "Companies") to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from a conclusion, forecast or projection contained in the forward-looking statements in this news release, including, but not limited to, the following material factors: industry-w