Kempfield Spurred on by Mallee Bull Zinc/Lead Intersections
Sydney, June 10, 2015 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Argent Minerals Limited (
ASX:ARD) is pleased to provide the following strategic information to the market in relation to the Kempfield Polymetallic Project.
HIGHLIGHTS:
- Spectacular lead/zinc intersections announced by Peel Mining's Mallee Bull project in the Lachlan Orogen
- Kempfield intersections to date include 5m @ 17.9% Pb/Zn, 259 g/t Ag & 0.34 g/t Au from 88m
- 7 hole 3,200 metre diamond drilling program to test potentially significant 'size of the prize' at Kempfield, featuring high grade base and precious metals targets
Managing Director David Busch said, "Argent Minerals is strongly encouraged by Peel Mining Limited's (ASX:PEX) 9 June 2015 announcement of 'spectacular' zinc/lead/silver/gold intersections at the Mallee Bull project in the Lachlan Orogen geological terrain in New South Wales, as the Company prepares to conduct a major deep diamond drilling program at its Kempfield Polymetallic Project, targeting high grade base and precious metals.
"Also located in the Lachlan Orogen terrain, Argent's Kempfield project is strategically situated in a historically fertile neighbourhood which has produced world class mines such as the Cadia Valley Operations just 40 kilometres to the Northwest featuring the largest hard rock underground mine in Australia, and one of the largest in the world with Ore Reserves of 1.8 billion tonnes containing 28 million ounces of gold and 4.9 million tonnes of copper(i).
"Kempfield has been identified as a volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit in the Eastern Australian Palaeozoic VMS peer group which extends from Red River Resources' Thalanga polymetallic project in Queensland, and southward through the Hill End Trough basin margin deposits in New South Wales which also includes the Company's polymetallic project at Sunny Corner (where grades were so high at one point to that the mined material was direct shipped to London), through to Tasmania where high grade VMS deposits such as Rosebery, Hellyer and Que River are hosted(ii).
"On inspection of drill core and rock outcrops during a site visit at Kempfield, Professor Ross Large of the Centre of Excellence in Ore Deposits (CODES) identified similarities in the style of mineralisation at Kempfield to that of the historically high grade Que River deposit in Tasmania(iii).
"Subsequent diamond drilling by Argent confirmed the existence of high grade base and precious metals on the western edge of the known Kempfield deposit, with significant intersections including 5 metres @ 17.9% lead/zinc, 259 g/t silver & 0.34 g/t gold from 88 metres for hole AKDD159, and 5 metres @ 4 g/t gold from 353 metres for hole AKDD178.
"We are looking forward to what this major deep diamond drilling program will reveal adjacent and underneath the existing Kempfield JORC 2012 estimated 21.8 million tonne Mineral Resource, which the Company's analysis indicates could be the predominantly silver/barite portion of a much larger deposit, where higher base and precious metal grades remain to be discovered.
"Considering this analysis together with the fact that the deposit has generally only been drilled to a relatively shallow 120 metres, and that the deposit remains open also to the West and along strike to the North for up to 4 kilometres, the potential size of the prize at Kempfield is significant".
The following diagram provides a representation of the metal zonation identified at the Kempfield deposit and the interpreted location of the high grade lead/zinc target zone also to be tested by the 7 hole 3,200 metre deep diamond drilling program.
Market capitalisation comparison
Argent Minerals is focused on creating shareholder wealth through the discovery, extraction and marketing of precious and base metals(iv).
To illustrate the potential for a junior mining company to generate shareholder wealth, the table in link below provides a comparison of market capitalisations for Peel Mining at market close before and after the Mallee Bull exploration results announcement, and for Argent Minerals.
(i) Newcrest Mining Limited Annual Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves Statement - 31 December 2014
(ii) 13 May 2015 Argent Presentation - Sydney RIU Conference, p. 8
(iii) For further information see AGSO Journal of Australian Geology & Geophysics. 17(4), 129-137, 'Palaeozoic volcanic-hosted massive sulphide deposits', J. Bruce Gemmell, Ross R. Large & Khin Zaw, Commonwealth of Australia 1998
(iv) 2014 Annual Report p. 4
To view Figures and Table, please visit;
http://media.abnnewswire.net/media/en/docs/ASX-ARD-722126.pdf
About Argent Minerals Limited
Argent Minerals Limited (
ASX:ARD) is an Australian publicly listed company with a 100% interest in a silver/gold project at Kempfield NSW. Work is underway on the preparation of an EIS and a feasibility study for the first stage of the project which will involve heap leaching some 8.8 million tonnes of mainly oxide and transitional material to produce over 9.5 million ounces of silver and 15,000 ounces of gold over a 5 year mine life. Argent is also earning up to a 70% interest in two other NSW projects - gold at West Wyalong and base metals at Sunny Corner.
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