Diamond tails show Argent’s silver, lead and zinc rich Kempfield grows at depth with resource update in the works

A significant silver-zinc-lead deposit in regional New South Wales continues to grow at depth, with Argent Minerals announcing the extension of high grade zones in diamond tails at its Kempfield project.

Argent (ASX:ARD) already outlined its potential to expand the historical mineral resource at Kempfield in reverse circulation drilling results last month that intersected high grade silver and base metal zones at shallow depths.

They included impressive hits like 31m at 48.68g/t silver, 1.04% lead and 4.06% zinc from 114m in hole AKRC226, 29m at 63.48g/t Ag and 0.53% Zn from 173m in a hole (AKRC227) that ended in mineralisation, and 129m at 55.44g/t Ag from 7m and 17m at 40g/t Ag and 1.61% Zn from 155m, ending in mineralisation in hole AKRC228.

Diamond tails beneath holes AKRC226 and AKRC228 have now shown high grade mineralised zones continue to extend, with lead and zinc grades increasing at depth and significant gold credits in the mineralised horizon.

Results included:

Drillhole AKDD201:
- 8.4m at 19.55 g/t Ag, 1.55% Pb and 1.83% Zn from 223.9m
- 3.4m at 26.29 g/t Ag from 253m
Drillhole AKDD202:
- 20.6m at 18.99 g/t Ag, 1.20% Pb & 1.36% Zn from 172.4m, including
  - 4.4m at 47.86 g/t Ag & 1.33% Zn from 172.4m; and,
  - 11.8m at 18.05 g/t Ag, 2.19% Pb & 2.02% Zn from 181.2m.

So far Argent has completed seven diamond drill holes at Kempfield for 1102m to extend RC drilling from its early 2023 campaign which terminated in mineralisation.

Argent ASX ARD — Kempfield continues to grow with zinc and lead grades increasing at depth. Pic: ARD

“The newly defined high-grade silver-zinc-lead-gold mineralised zones clearly demonstrate a strong continuation of mineralised extensions at depth within the Kempfield Deposit,” Argent managing director Pedro Kastellorizos said.

“We have again intersected in all the drill holes extensive sulphide mineralisation (mainly pyrite-sphalerite galena) associated with barite, alteration metasediments and volcanoclastic conglomerate units.

“The style of mineralisation varies from disseminated, foliation control to massive zones flooded with pyrite, sphalerite and galena.

“These zones of mineralisation have clearly demonstrated the vertical depth of the overall resource has greater depth extensions than previously delineated from the historical drilling.”

Located 41km south of Newcrest’s world class Cadia gold mine and 45km south-southwest of the community of Blayney, Kempfield was mined for barite from the end of World War I, continuing periodically until the Geological Survey of NSW began mapping the ground from 1971.

A JORC 2012 resource containing 100Moz silver equivalent at 120g/t AgEq or 520,000t zinc equivalent at 2% ZnEq, including 21.8Mt at 47g/t silver, 0.12g/t gold, 0.6% lead and 1.3% zinc, was last updated in May 2018.

This article was developed in collaboration with Argent Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.