Argent Minerals Hits Up to 15.84 g/t Gold Beyond Old Mine Workings at Trunkey Creek
Key Takeaways
- Drillhole ATDD002 at Trunkey Creek intersected two gold-bearing quartz veins beyond the interpreted limits of historic underground workings, returning up to 15.84 g/t Au over 0.4m from Vein 2 at 97.9m–98.3m downhole.
- Both vein intersections returned consistent duplicate assay pairs — 6.35/3.25 g/t Au for Vein 1 and 15.84/10.53 g/t Au for Vein 2 — confirming data reliability and ruling out single-sample anomalies.
- The goldfield was abandoned in 1908 due to groundwater management difficulties, not reef exhaustion, meaning the unmined extensions targeted by this programme remain geologically intact.
- Phase 1 is testing only the northern portion of a 4.7km mineralised corridor across 10 diamond holes for approximately 1,000m total, with the next hole designed to test the same structure at 200m vertical depth.
- Phase 2 is being prepared to begin immediately after Phase 1 concludes, with no planned downtime between stages, keeping the exploration pipeline active across the broader corridor.
First assay results confirm gold beyond historic workings at Trunkey Creek
Argent Minerals Limited (ASX: ARD) has returned its first assay results from the maiden diamond drilling programme at the 100% owned Trunkey Creek Project in central New South Wales, confirming that gold mineralisation extends beyond areas previously exploited by historic miners within the Wilson’s Reef system.
The headline result is a significant one for a project at this early stage. The drill programme has confirmed that gold-bearing quartz veins exist beyond the interpreted limits of the old underground workings, validating the core thesis that Trunkey Creek was not geologically exhausted when historic mining ceased in 1908.
That distinction matters. The goldfield was worked for more than 50 years and ultimately abandoned due to the difficulty of managing groundwater inflow, not because the reefs ran out. That leaves the unmined extensions as the key exploration opportunity now being tested.
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What the drill results show
The programme has reported results for two holes so far. Drillhole ATDD001 intersected quartz veining between 53.9m and 54.3m downhole but did not return materially anomalous gold assay results. That is an honest but important data point: not every hole in a maiden programme will return significant grades, and balanced reporting of both outcomes builds confidence in the results that do.
The material results come from ATDD002. This hole intersected the historic underground void at approximately 87m downhole, with an open void of approximately 2.4m downhole length. Continuing beyond that void, the hole intersected two gold-bearing quartz veins at approximately 6m and 13m beyond the interpreted historic workings.
The vein results from ATDD002:
- Vein 1: 91.5m–91.9m downhole, duplicate samples 6.35 g/t Au and 3.25 g/t Au over 0.4m (not true width)
- Vein 2: 97.9m–98.3m downhole, duplicate samples 15.84 g/t Au and 10.53 g/t Au over 0.4m (not true width)
| Hole ID | Interval (m downhole) | Result | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| ATDD001 | 53.9m–54.3m | No materially anomalous gold assays | Quartz veining intersected; results sub-threshold |
| ATDD002 (Vein 1) | 91.5m–91.9m | 6.35 g/t Au / 3.25 g/t Au (duplicate) over 0.4m | ~6m beyond interpreted historic void; not true width |
| ATDD002 (Vein 2) | 97.9m–98.3m | 15.84 g/t Au / 10.53 g/t Au (duplicate) over 0.4m | ~13m beyond interpreted historic void; not true width |
The intersection of the underground void itself also carries significance. The company described it as a useful calibration of the historic mine record against modern survey and drilling, improving confidence in the targeting of the remaining holes in the programme and of the deeper drilling now planned.
What duplicate samples tell us about data reliability
Duplicate samples are submitted as part of standard quality assurance practice. A second sample is taken from the same interval and assayed independently, allowing the laboratory to verify that results are reproducible and not the product of a single anomalous reading.
Both vein intersections in ATDD002 returned consistent duplicate values. For Vein 1, the samples returned 6.35 g/t and 3.25 g/t; for Vein 2, 15.84 g/t and 10.53 g/t. Both pairs confirm that gold is genuinely present in each vein. The company noted no statistically significant laboratory errors or biasing at this stage.
What makes Trunkey Creek a compelling exploration target
Quartz reef gold systems are exactly what the name suggests: gold deposited within quartz veins that cut through older rocks. These veins form when gold-bearing hydrothermal fluids move through fractures and cool, leaving gold behind. At Trunkey Creek, the goldfield features narrow, sub-parallel, north-trending quartz reefs spaced approximately 30m to 50m apart, with gold associated with pyrite, arsenopyrite and galena. The field was worked from 1851 to 1908, a run of more than 50 years that speaks to the quality of the original reef system.
What makes abandoned goldfields of this type a distinct exploration opportunity is the reason for abandonment. When a historic mine closes because the ore ran out, there is limited upside. When it closes because of a logistical problem — in this case, groundwater management technology that simply did not exist at the time — the unmined portions of the system remain intact and available to modern exploration.
Argent’s exploration work has defined a 4.7km mineralised corridor at Trunkey Creek, supported by historic workings, mapping, and high-grade surface rock chip results. Phase 1 of the maiden drilling programme is testing only the most northern portion of that corridor, comprising 10 diamond holes for approximately 1,000m in total. The current results, with high-grade intercepts confirmed at shallow depth, represent the very beginning of testing a much larger target. The Trunkey Creek Project is also located approximately 9km by road from the company’s Kempfield Project, which hosts the company’s flagship silver resource.
Kempfield Project exploration has been advancing on a parallel track, with recent geophysical survey work defining new target zones at the silver-dominant system that sits roughly 9km by road from Trunkey Creek.
CEO Mike McKevitt
“The next hole is designed to test the structure at around 200m vertical depth, below the interpreted limit of historic mining. That is an important test for us because historical mining at Trunkey ceased due to the difficulty of managing groundwater, rather than because the reefs were documented to have been exhausted.”
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What comes next for Argent at Trunkey Creek
The near-term drilling pipeline is clearly defined. Key upcoming milestones to watch:
- The next planned hole is designed to test the same structure at approximately 200m vertical depth, below the interpreted limit of historic mining — a depth test that could meaningfully extend the known system downward
- The remaining Phase 1 holes continue across the northern portion of the 4.7km corridor, with drilling undertaken by Chief Drilling of Orange, New South Wales
- Phase 2 is being prepared to begin immediately after Phase 1 concludes, meaning there is expected to be minimal downtime between stages
For investors watching the programme, the confirmation of gold mineralisation beyond the historic workings is the first key proof point in validating the geological model. The next re-rating catalysts to watch are the results from the deeper hole targeting the 200m vertical depth intercept, and the Phase 2 programme beginning to systematically test the broader 4.7km corridor that Phase 1 has only begun to address. At this stage of the programme, the exploration thesis is intact and the geological model has passed its first real test.
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