NewPeak Metals Ltd (ASX:NPM, OTC:NPMFF, FRA:NPM) has completed more than 1,800 metres of diamond drilling at its Las Opeñas Gold Project in Argentina, with the first batch of core samples now submitted for expedited laboratory analysis as the company tests the potential scale of a large gold-polymetallic system.
The company has drilled 1,834 metres across five holes as part of an initial 2,500-metre campaign targeting extensions to historical gold and polymetallic mineralisation within the Belleza breccia area at Las Opeñas.
First assays are expected from hole LODH-023, which reached a depth of 663 metres and was recently delivered to ALS laboratories in Mendoza under a priority processing arrangement.
Drilling underway at the first drillhole, LODH-023
The program follows a reinterpretation of the project's geology and is focused on an 800-by-600-metre breccia zone that has historically been drilled only to relatively shallow depths.
“The drilling under way at Las Opeñas represents the continued execution of NewPeak’s exploration strategy and another clear pathway to value creation,” managing director Mark Purcell said.
“The first 2,500m has been designed to systematically test priority targets in the breccia area identified through our 2025 geologic review, and with permitting in place and infrastructure and contractor arrangements currently being utilised, NewPeak is well positioned to move quickly into a subsequent drilling phase informed by our assay results from this first 2,500m.”
Testing historic gold system
The first hole was drilled near historical hole 12-LODH-03, which returned 115 metres at 0.58 g/t gold, 3.5 g/t silver, 0.24% lead and 0.65% zinc from 18 metres to the end of hole.
Drilling underway at first hole, LODH023
NewPeak is targeting extensions to a mineralised system that combines broad silver-rich mineralisation hosted in phreatic breccias with later-stage gold-silver-polymetallic mineralisation associated with hydrothermal breccias. According to the company's geological review, the latter appears to strengthen with depth.
The company believes the scale of the mapped breccia system, combined with its regional structural setting, supports the potential for a large gold-dominant polymetallic discovery.
Historic drilling results in Belleza Breccia area at Las Opeñas
Located in Argentina's mining-rich San Juan Province, Las Opeñas sits about 70 kilometres southeast of the Veladero gold mine operated by Barrick and Shandong Gold, and roughly 110 kilometres north-northwest of Challenger Gold's Hualilan project.
Location of Las Opeñas Gold Project
Scope to expand program
The initial 2,500-metre campaign remains on track for completion later this month, but NewPeak has already flagged the possibility of a larger follow-up program. Permits are already in place, allowing the company to move quickly should assay results justify additional drilling.
The Argentine work complements exploration activity at the company's Tansey Gold Project in Queensland, where recent drilling and geological work have continued to expand the footprint of a growing gold system.
Last month, NewPeak reported the identification of a previously unrecognised structural corridor at Tansey, extending the interpreted strike length of mineralisation beyond historic mine workings and reinforcing the company's view that the project may host a larger gold system than previously understood.
With drilling now well advanced in Argentina and first assays pending, investors will soon get their first look at whether the deeper drilling strategy at Las Opeñas can build on the encouraging historical results and support NewPeak's assessment of the project as a potentially significant gold-polymetallic system.