Argent Minerals Drills Maiden Holes at Trunkey Creek Gold Target Untested at Depth
Key Takeaways
- Argent Minerals (ASX: ARD) commenced maiden drilling at Trunkey Creek Gold Project on 5 September 2026, with 10 holes totalling approximately 1,000 metres targeting the Wilson's Reef at the northern end of a 4.7km gold-mineralised structural corridor.
- Historic mining at Wilson's Reef ceased due to high groundwater inflow — not exhaustion of gold-bearing structures — meaning the mineralisation at depth has never been tested by a drill bit.
- Surface rock chip sampling returned bonanza-grade results across the corridor, including a standout sample of 1,930 g/t Au, with multiple additional samples above 60 g/t Au spread across the broader trend.
- Trunkey Creek sits approximately 9km by road from Argent's flagship Kempfield Project, which hosts a 63.7Mt resource at 69.75 g/t silver equivalent for 142.8 million ounces Ag Eq.
- Geological logging of drill core will commence immediately as each hole is completed, with assay results to follow for the most prospective intervals — investors should monitor future releases for intercept grades and widths.
Maiden drilling gets underway at Trunkey Creek Gold Project
Argent Minerals (ASX: ARD) has commenced its maiden drilling campaign at the 100%-owned Trunkey Creek Gold Project in New South Wales, with drilling beginning on Saturday 5 September 2026. The project sits approximately 9km by road southeast of the company’s flagship Kempfield Project.
What Phase 1 targets and why it matters
Phase 1 has been designed to test the historic Wilson’s Reef, the priority target at the northern end of the 4.7km gold-mineralised structural corridor. Historic workings extend across most of the corridor but have never been tested by modern exploration below the surface.
The investment hook here is straightforward. Historic records indicate mining ceased due to high groundwater inflow, not the exhaustion of gold-bearing structures. That means the mineralisation at depth has never been drilled.
Phase 1 parameters at a glance:
- 10 holes, approximately 1,000m total
- Diamond drill rig operated by local contractor Chief Drilling
- Target: Wilson’s Reef, northern end of the 4.7km corridor
- Geological logging of drill core to commence immediately; assays prioritised for the most prospective core
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Rock chip results that shaped the drill targets
Before the drills turned, Argent’s surface rock chip programme returned a series of high-grade gold results across the tenement. Several standout samples from Figure 5 of the announcement illustrate the quality of the target area:
- Sample 3001421: 1,930 g/t Au
- Sample 3001522: 216 g/t Au
- Sample 3001379: 82.1 g/t Au
- Sample 3001377: 67.6 g/t Au
- Sample 3001131: 63.1 g/t Au
- Sample 3001861: 73.3 g/t Au
These results are spread across the broader corridor, not clustered at a single point, which supports the structural interpretation across the 4.7km trend.
The Trunkey Creek gold discoveries documented ahead of this maiden drill campaign include bonanza-grade rock chip samples that established the structural corridor as a priority target for follow-up drilling.
Understanding maiden drilling in gold exploration
A “maiden drilling programme” is exactly what it sounds like: the first time a company puts a drill bit into the ground at a project. It marks a significant step in the exploration sequence, which typically progresses from surface sampling and rock chip assays, through geophysics (methods like IP surveys that detect buried structures), and finally into drilling.
Diamond drilling (also called core drilling) is the method of choice for structural gold targets like Wilson’s Reef. Unlike other techniques, a diamond drill recovers a continuous cylinder of intact rock called drill core. Geologists can log that core in detail, measure the orientation of gold-bearing structures, and send the most prospective sections for laboratory assay.
For investors watching a maiden drill programme, the key metrics to follow are assay results (gold grade, typically in grams per tonne), intercept widths (how thick the mineralised zone is), and the depth at which mineralisation is found. Argent has advised that further updates will be provided as drilling progresses.
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Kempfield context and the broader investment case
Trunkey Creek sits within a broader project portfolio anchored by the Kempfield Project, which hosts a nationally significant undeveloped silver deposit. The Kempfield resource, announced in July 2024, stands at 63.7Mt @ 69.75 g/t silver equivalent for 142.8 million ounces Ag Eq, containing 65.8 Moz silver, 125,192 oz gold, 207,402 tonnes lead and 420,373 tonnes zinc.
According to the company, the Trunkey Creek, Mt Dudley and Pine Ridge projects are described as offering major gold upside alongside Kempfield’s silver-polymetallic base, and the opportunity to establish a scalable, multi-deposit mine at Kempfield.
Kempfield Project exploration has also advanced through geophysical surveying, with VTEM results identifying new target zones that complement the existing silver-polymetallic resource and broaden the potential footprint of the deposit.
| Project | Metals | Location | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kempfield | Ag, Zn, Pb, Au | Near Orange, NSW | 63.7Mt resource (July 2024); development pathways being evaluated |
| Trunkey Creek | Au | ~9km by road SE of Kempfield, NSW | Maiden drilling commenced 5 September 2026 |
| Mt Dudley | Au | NSW | Exploration; gold upside project |
| Pine Ridge | Au | NSW | Exploration; gold upside project |
| Copperhead | Cu, Ag, Zn | ~300km ENE of Carnarvon, WA | Exploration; high-grade Cu, Ag, Zn, Ni, Co results |
The immediate next steps at Trunkey Creek are geological logging of the drill core as each hole is completed, followed by assay results for the most prospective intervals. The announcement does not speculate on expected outcomes, and investors should monitor future releases for intercept grades and widths as the programme advances.
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