Argent Minerals Hits High-Grade Silver in Drilling at Flagship Kempfield Project
Argent Minerals (ASX: ARD) has returned strong silver grades from drilling at its Kempfield project in New South Wales.
Drilling on the western flank of Lode 200 intersected multiple zones of high-grade silver mineralisation from near-surface at 20m depth down to 298m, with a total of 196.4m across two zones.
Best assays were 145m at 87.66 grams per tonne silver equivalent (AgEq) (52.7g/t silver, 0.17% lead and 0.65% zinc) from 20m including 22m at 247.24g/t AgEq (177.5g/t silver, 0.35% lead and 1.36% zinc) from 76m; and 42.6m at 102.02g/t AgEq (48.64g/t silver, 0.22% lead and 1.1% zinc) from 225.4m including 7.3m at 324.4g/t AgEq (108.5g/t silver, 0.82% lead and 4.49% zinc plus 0.2g/t gold) from 225.4m.
Third Mineralised Zone
Argent intersected a third previously-unknown zone at 283m depth which is believed to further support the underexplored nature of Kempfield’s volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) system.
The best recorded intercept in this zone was 8.8m at 49.54g/t AgEq (26.5g/t silver, 0.17% lead and 0.47% zinc plus 0.01g/t gold) from 283m.
Argent has received approval from the NSW regulator to drill an additional vertical diamond hole to approximately 300m depth to test the northern depth extensions of the mineralisation intersected at Lode 200.
The company has dispatched all drill samples from the holes it has completed to Auralia Metallurgy in Perth for heap leach and carbon-in-leach (CIL)/flotation test work.
Material Project Enhancement
Managing director Pedro Kastellorizos said the extensive silver intersections would materially-enhance the project’s potential.
“These assays confirm the depth continuity and strength of mineralisation at Kempfield and, importantly, several of the high-grade zones occur near surface, providing potential for early-stage mining and selective extraction,” he said.
“Kempfield’s thick robust silver zones significantly increase potential to expand the mineral resource and support future development studies, and we look forward to advancing these initiatives as we continue to position this project as one of Australia’s premier silver-polymetallic developments.”
Large Undeveloped Deposit
Kempfield hosts Australia’s second largest undeveloped silver deposit with a resource of 63.7 million tonnes at 69.75g/t AgEq for 142.8 million ounces AgEq containing 65.8Moz silver, 125,192oz gold, 207,402t lead, and 420,373t zinc.
The project sits in one of Australia’s premier mining districts within the Lachlan Fold Belt, host to some of the largest gold and copper mines in the country, including Northparkes and Cadia.
Kempfield’s scale and quality supports a pathway to early production via a heap leach starter pit (oxide) to fund a CIL/flotation hub (sulphide).
Mr Kastellorizos said Argent’s nearby Trunkey Creek, Mt Dudley, and Pine Ridge projects offer major gold upside and the opportunity to establish a scalable, multi-deposit mine at Kempfield.