Argent Minerals has reported its first laboratory assays from Trunkey Creek, with narrow but high-grade gold intersections beyond a void interpreted as historic underground workings. The results strengthen the case for deeper drilling, while leaving the size and continuity of the mineralisation unresolved.
- Up to 15.84 g/t gold over 0.4m in ATDD002
- Two quartz veins intersected beyond historic workings
- Next hole planned at approximately 200m vertical depth
- Phase 1 covers 10 holes and approximately 1,000m
- True widths and grade continuity remain unknown
High-grade veins extend beyond historic workings
Argent Minerals Limited (ASX:ARD) has received the first assays from maiden diamond drilling at its 100%-owned Trunkey Creek Gold Project in New South Wales, and the headline result is clear: gold has been confirmed outside the area interpreted to have been mined historically.
Hole ATDD002 intersected a 2.4-metre open void at about 87 metres downhole, consistent with historic underground workings. Beyond that void, the hole cut two gold-bearing quartz veins. Duplicate samples from the first, between 91.5m and 91.9m, returned 6.35 grams per tonne gold and 3.25g/t gold. The second, between 97.9m and 98.3m, returned 15.84g/t gold and 10.53g/t gold.
Those are strong grades, but they come from narrow 0.4-metre downhole intervals. Argent has not established the true widths or geometry of the mineralisation, and the company cautions that the intersections should not yet be treated as evidence of a resource or mineable continuity.
Deeper drilling becomes the next decisive test
The next planned hole will test the same structure at approximately 200 metres vertical depth, below the interpreted extent of historic mining. Argent says historical operations ceased because of groundwater inflow rather than documented exhaustion of the reefs, making the deeper test an important exploration step rather than a routine extension.
The result also provides a geological check on the old mine records: the position and depth of the void in ATDD002 broadly matched the historic descriptions. The company says that calibration improves its targeting of the remaining holes, although the dataset remains very small. ATDD001 intersected quartz veining but returned only 0.12g/t gold over 0.4m, highlighting the variability visible after just two holes.
Four-kilometre exploration corridor still largely untested
Phase 1 comprises 10 diamond holes for approximately 1,000 metres and is focused on the northern portion of a 4.7-kilometre mineralised corridor defined by historic workings, mapping and surface rock-chip results. Drilling is continuing, with a second phase being prepared for after the initial program.
For shareholders, the immediate question is not whether Trunkey has produced an eye-catching assay. It has. The harder question is whether these narrow veins repeat laterally and vertically, whether they widen, and whether groundwater will again constrain access. Results from the remaining Phase 1 holes, followed by the planned deep hole, should begin to answer that without yet resolving the larger resource question.
Bottom Line?
The assays validate gold beyond the old workings, but the investment case now depends on continuity, true widths and the outcome of deeper drilling.
Questions in the middle?
- Will the remaining Phase 1 holes confirm that the high-grade veins continue along strike?
- Can Argent establish meaningful true widths from the current downhole intersections?
- Will groundwater conditions limit the planned drilling at approximately 200m vertical depth?