Key highlights

• Argent Minerals has secured approvals for 8,687 metres of drilling at its Trunkey Creek gold project in New South Wales.

• The approvals are more than eight times the size of the company's original programme, which will test below the old workings.

• The company says the expanded drilling will allow testing of the full strike at Trunkey Creek.

Argent Minerals (ASX:ARD) has secured approvals for 8,687 metres of drilling at its Trunkey Creek gold project in New South Wales, more than eight times the size of its original programme. The company told the ASX on 2 November that the approvals would allow drilling to continue until at least February 2027 at current rates.

Ten additional diamond holes will double Phase 1 to 20 holes for about 4,487 metres, while 28 reverse circulation holes have been approved for Phase 2 in the southern section of the goldfield.

Where the old miners stopped

The answer to the headline question lies in history. Records cited by Argent indicate the main shaft at Wilson's Reef reached about 187 metres, and Mining ceased after groundwater inflows became difficult to manage. The records do not document that the reefs had been exhausted.

Chief executive Mike McKevitt said drilling is focused on testing for mineralisation below about 180 metres from surface, the interpreted limit of historical mining. If gold continues below that level, it would represent ground the old miners could not reach with the technology of the time.

That logic is common in historic goldfields. Modern pumps, drilling and geological models can test depths that 19th-century miners could not. It does not follow, however, that the reefs continue at similar grades.

Early encouragement

The approvals follow early results at Wilson's Reef, where the second hole intersected visible gold and returned up to 0.4 metres at 15.84 g/t gold from 97.9 metres downhole. Four diamond holes have been completed for 886.8 metres, including two that reached about 300 metres downhole to test beneath the interpreted limit of historical mining.

A 0.4-metre interval is narrow. Visible gold is encouraging, but high-grade narrow veins can be erratic, and many holes are usually needed to establish continuity. That is one reason the expanded programme matters.

Testing the full strike

The new approvals extend planned drilling at Wilson's Reef from about 150 metres to the full 500 metres of known historical workings. Wilson's Reef lies at the northern end of a 4.7-kilometre mineralised corridor that was mined from 1851 to 1908. Argent has also defined six high-priority induced polarisation targets along the wider corridor.

Links to Kempfield

Trunkey Creek is about nine kilometres by road from Argent's Kempfield project, which has a resource of 63.7 million tonnes at 69.75 g/t silver equivalent, containing 65.8 million ounces of silver and 125,192 ounces of gold, as well as lead and zinc. Argent is evaluating development pathways at Kempfield. Any contribution from Trunkey Creek to a future operation would depend on further exploration and studies.

Company context

An extended drilling programme into 2027 will require sustained funding, and the company lodged a notice of proposed issue of securities on 27 October.

Why it matters

A continuous drilling programme can deliver regular results, helping investors judge the system steadily rather than waiting for a single campaign. The combination of a historic goldfield and a nearby silver project gives Argent a possible regional strategy.

What to watch

Investors may watch for assays from the additional diamond holes, the start of Phase 2 RC drilling and IP target testing. Assays from deeper holes will be the clearest test of whether gold continues beneath the historical workings at grades worth pursuing. Groundwater remains a consideration for any future mining at depth. Modern dewatering is routine at many Australian mines, but it adds cost and requires approvals, so the hydrology at Trunkey Creek would need to be studied if drilling is successful.