Argent Minerals Confirms Visible Gold at Trunkey Creek in Maiden Drilling
Key Takeaways
- Visible gold grains up to 3mm were intersected at 91.8m and 98.1m downhole in ATDD002, the second hole of the maiden drill program at Trunkey Creek — a goldfield that has never previously been tested with modern drilling methods.
- Both gold-bearing quartz veins sit below the historic underground workings and show no evidence of extraction or backfill, meaning the old miners never reached them.
- The intersection of the historic void at exactly 86.8–89.2m validates 19th-century mine records, improving targeting confidence for the remaining holes in the 10-hole, ~1,000m Phase 1 program.
- Quantitative assay results for ATDD002 are expected within 10 days from SGS Orange using Photon assay — the first hard grade data from the maiden program.
- The next hole is designed to test Wilson's Reef to approximately 200m vertical depth, below the interpreted limit of all historic mining, representing genuinely untested ground.
Visible gold confirmed in maiden drilling at Trunkey Creek
Argent Minerals (ASX: ARD) has intersected visible gold in ATDD002, the second hole of the first modern drilling program ever conducted at the Trunkey Creek Gold Project in central New South Wales. Gold grains up to 3mm were observed at two separate downhole depths, 91.8m and 98.1m, hosted in quartz veining within Silurian metasediment.
This is a goldfield that operated from 1851 to 1908 and has never been systematically tested with modern drilling methods. Finding visible gold in only the second hole of the maiden program, in veins that show no evidence of historic extraction, validates the exploration thesis at Trunkey Creek.
Important cautionary note: Visual estimates of mineral abundance are not a substitute for laboratory analysis and must not be treated as grade estimates. Assay results are expected within 10 days from SGS Orange using Photon assay.
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What visible gold in drill core means for investors
For investors unfamiliar with exploration reporting, here is what this result means in plain terms:
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“Visible gold” is a qualitative indicator only. It means gold grains are observable to the naked eye in drill core. It tells you gold is present, but it does not tell you how much or at what grade. Assay results are required before any economic significance can be determined.
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Photon assay is a fast, accurate, and non-destructive method of precious metals analysis, comparable to traditional fire assay. Results for ATDD002 are expected within 10 days from SGS Orange. The Company will report those results in accordance with its continuous disclosure policy.
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Finding unmined veins below the historic workings is significant. The old miners at Trunkey Creek stopped because groundwater inflow exceeded the dewatering technology available at the time, not because the reefs ran out. Veins carrying visible gold that show no evidence of historic extraction suggest the historic miners did not reach them.
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JORC 2012 compliance applies. Results are reported under JORC 2012 and the announcement clearly distinguishes visual estimates from grade. Down hole lengths are reported; true widths are not known.
The 4.7km mineralised corridor at Trunkey Creek has produced surface rock chip results including bonanza gold grades and operated productively for more than fifty years. The maiden drill program is only testing an initial portion of that corridor. Assay results are required to determine whether this early visual result translates into economic grades.
Surface sampling programs had already returned bonanza gold grades at Trunkey Creek across the broader 4.7km corridor, providing the geological rationale for targeting specific reef structures beneath the historic workings.
Inside ATDD002: what the drill intersected
ATDD002 was collared to test the Wilson’s Reef structure beneath the historic workings. The drill sequence tells a coherent geological story: first, confirmation that the old underground workings are exactly where the historic records said they would be; then, two quartz veins below those workings carrying visible gold.
The intersection of the historic void at 86.8–89.2m (a 2.4m open void) validates the accuracy of 19th-century mine records for this part of the field and improves confidence in targeting for the remaining holes in the program. Below the workings, two quartz veins were intersected at 91.8m and 98.1m downhole, hosted in Silurian metasediment. Visible gold was observed as free grains up to 3mm along lamination planes and the vein selvedge, associated with sulphide. Both veins showed no evidence of historic extraction or backfill.
The table below reproduces Table 1 from the announcement. All figures are visual estimates only, not estimates of grade. All depths are downhole lengths; true widths are not known.
| From (m) | To (m) | Description | Mineralisation Occurrence | Estimated Abundance (Visual Only) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86.8 | 89.2 | Void (likely old working) | — | — |
| 89.2 | 91.5 | Quartz-carbonate vein and slate rubble, possible backfill | Pyrite | Py 2% |
| 91.5 | 91.8 | <5cm ribbon quartz-carbonate vein in slate, gold along laminations and selvedge | Free gold with pyrite | Au <0.1%, Py 3% |
| 91.8 | 97.8 | Barren slate | Pyrite, arsenopyrite | Py 1%, As <0.5% |
| 97.8 | 98.1 | 4–5cm ribbon quartz-carbonate vein in slate, gold along laminations and selvedge | Free gold with pyrite | Au <0.05%, Py 2% |
All figures are visual estimates from preliminary geological logging. Not an estimate of grade. Down hole lengths reported; true widths not known.
Mike McKevitt, CEO, Argent Minerals
“Two important things came out of this hole: 1. We drilled into the old workings (where the historic records said they would be), and that tells us those records can be relied on as we plan the rest of the program; and 2. a few metres below the workings we found two quartz veins that the old timers appear to have missed, both carrying visible gold.”
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What comes next: Phase 1 drilling continues, Phase 2 being prepared
The Trunkey Creek program is still in its early stages. Here are the key near-term catalysts for investors to watch:
- Assay results for ATDD002: Expected within 10 days, to be completed by Photon assay at SGS Orange. This will be the first quantitative data from the maiden program.
- Phase 1 drilling: Comprises 10 diamond holes for approximately 1,000m in total, testing the northern portion of the 4.7km Trunkey Creek corridor. Drilling commenced in early September 2026 by Chief Drilling of Orange, NSW, and is ongoing.
- Next hole: Designed to test the same Wilson’s Reef structure to approximately 200m vertical depth, below the interpreted limit of historic mining. This represents ground that has never been reached by previous workings.
- Phase 2: Being prepared to commence immediately after Phase 1 completes.
The investment thesis rests on a straightforward historical point: the miners who worked Trunkey Creek from 1851 to 1908 stopped because of groundwater inflow, not because the reefs ran out. The depth below those workings is genuinely untested ground, and that is precisely where the next hole is targeted.
For broader context, the Trunkey Creek Gold Project (EL5748, 59.7km²) sits approximately 38km southwest of Bathurst and approximately 9km from Argent’s flagship Kempfield Silver Project. Kempfield hosts a nationally significant undeveloped silver resource of 63.7Mt at 69.75 g/t silver equivalent for 142.8 million ounces Ag Eq (as reported in the ASX Announcement dated 25 July 2024). Trunkey Creek represents additional gold upside adjacent to that already substantial silver asset.
The Kempfield Silver Project has also seen active exploration work in 2026, with geophysical surveying identifying new target zones across the tenure that could expand the resource base beyond its current nationally significant scale.
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