NewPeak Moves to Test Las Opeñas Gold Core
NewPeak Metals will begin a minimum 1,000-metre Phase 2 diamond drilling program at Las Opeñas in Argentina in mid-October, targeting a potentially gold-richer zone west of its recent long intercepts. The campaign is funded from the company’s completed placement, but the higher-grade western extension remains untested.
- Minimum 1,000m Phase 2 diamond drilling program scheduled for mid-October 2026
- Drilling to test the western extension near the Belleza Breccia volcanic centre
- Phase 1 returned long polymetallic intercepts including 465m at 0.50g/t AuEq
- Mineralised system remains open west-southwest and in multiple directions
- Additional metres may be added depending on core observations, rig availability and funding
Phase 2 Drilling Targets Western Gold Vector
NewPeak Metals Limited (ASX:NPM) is moving quickly from proving scale to testing grade at its Las Opeñas Gold Project in Argentina. The company has secured a drill rig for a minimum 1,000-metre Phase 2 diamond campaign, scheduled to start in mid-October 2026, with the work funded from the recently completed placement.
The target is a western extension of the mineralised system, where NewPeak says gold grades increased in the two western-most Phase 1 holes. The company’s geological interpretation points towards the Belleza Breccia volcanic centre as a possible source area for the mineralising fluids, but the proposed higher-grade core remains an exploration thesis rather than a drill-confirmed zone.
Long Intercepts Establish Scale of System
Phase 1 produced broad gold-polymetallic intersections across the project. Reported results include 84 metres at 0.72g/t gold equivalent from 20 metres, including 0.50g/t gold and 0.60% zinc; 283 metres at 0.67g/t AuEq from seven metres; and 465 metres at 0.50g/t AuEq from surface.
Further intercepts included 117 metres at 0.60g/t AuEq from 77 metres and 284 metres at 0.40g/t AuEq from the same depth. The company also cited the full lengths of discovery holes LODH-023, at 663 metres grading 0.42g/t AuEq from surface, and LODH-027, at 657 metres grading 0.30g/t AuEq from surface. Those results combine gold with zinc, silver and lead credits, so the headline gold-equivalent grades should not be read as gold-only assays.
Expansion Depends on Early Core Observations
NewPeak plans to keep the initial program targeted, while retaining the option to add metres based on observations from the drill core, rig availability and funding. Detailed relogging and geochemical analysis of Phase 1 data will continue alongside the refinement of Phase 2 hole locations.
That staged approach gives the company a defined near-term exploration catalyst, but it also puts considerable emphasis on what the next holes show. The mineralised system remains open in several directions, predominantly west-southwest, and the key question is whether the reported increase in gold grades continues towards Belleza Breccia or weakens before reaching the volcanic centre. Until those holes are drilled and assayed, Las Opeñas remains a large exploration discovery without a declared mineral resource.
Bottom Line?
The October campaign is funded and tightly focused, but its investment significance will depend on whether drilling confirms a genuinely higher-grade core rather than simply extending broad polymetallic mineralisation.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the western extension deliver higher gold grades as it approaches the Belleza Breccia volcanic centre?
- How many metres will NewPeak ultimately drill once early core observations are available?
- When will assays from the Phase 2 holes provide enough information to refine the project’s scale and grade interpretation?
