Argent Minerals Limited has intersected visible gold in hole ATDD002 during its maiden drilling program at the 100% owned Trunkey Creek Gold Project in central New South Wales.

Visible gold was observed in two separate quartz veins at downhole depths of 91.8m and 98.1m. The hole also intersected historic underground workings between 86.8m and 89.2m downhole, including a 2.4m void.

Prior exploration work by Argent at Trunkey Creek established the 4.7-kilometre mineralised corridor through surface mapping, geochemical sampling, and historical data reinterpretation. Previous exploration records noted that historical underground workings across the corridor remained untested below the surface by modern drilling. The current maiden drilling program has physically intersected these historical workings in hole ATDD002.

"Two important things came out of this hole: 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 a few metres below the workings we found two quartz veins that the old timers appear to have missed, both carrying visible gold."

— Mike McKevitt, CEO

Argent cautions that visual estimates of mineral abundance should never be used as a proxy or substitute for laboratory analysis. Fast-tracked Photon assay results for diamond drill hole ATDD002 from an Orange Assay Laboratory are expected in less than 10 days.

The Phase 1 maiden drilling program comprises 10 holes for approximately 1,000m, testing the northern portion of the 4.7km corridor. The next drill hole at the project is designed to test mineralisation continuity at approximately 200m vertical depth, below the interpreted limit of historic mining, which ceased due to groundwater inflow rather than exhaustion of the reefs.

Read the full announcement: Argent intersects visible gold in maiden drilling at Trunkey