The Kempfield Tenements are located approximately 29 kilometres south of the New South Wales town of Blayney , in the central-west of New South Wales.
Kempfield Silver Resources
The silver, lead, zinc and barite resources at Kempfield contain 13 million ounces of silver They comprise a potentially heap leachable resource containing, at a 60 g/t silver only cut off, 8.7 million ounces within 70 metres of the surface and a sulphide resource containing ,at a 100g/t silver equivalent cut off, 4.4 million ounces between 70 and up to 190 metres from the surface. Click here to view the ASX annoucement of 26 May 2009 "Kempfield Silver Resource increased and Scoping Study commenced".
Potential Heap Leach Resource
The resources contained within 70 metres from surface are relatively high grade (100g/t Ag at a 60g/t Silver only cut-off), have low strip ratios and have a substantial proportion of oxide and transitional mineralization with favourable leaching characteristics. These resources would therefore provide a suitable feedstock for a heap leach operation to produce silver.
The resources estimates, reported above at a 60 g/t Ag only cut-off, are;
Resources within 70m of surface
| 60g/t Ag only cut off | Million Tonnes | Silver |
| Gms/tonne | Million oz |
| Ore Type | | | |
| Oxide | 0.6 | 102 | 2.0 |
| Transitional | 0.9 | 103 | 2.8 |
| Sulphide | 1.2 | 97 | 3.9 |
| Total | 2.7 | 100 | 8.7 |
| | | | |
| Resource | | | |
| Measured | 1.2 | 108 | 4.1 |
| Indicated | 1.0 | 95 | 3.0 |
| Inferred | 0.5 | 91 | 1.6 |
| Total | 2.7 | 100 | 8.7 |
Scoping Study Commenced
In the light of the revised resource estimate and the favourable Kappes Cassiday and Associates (Australia) report on the metallurgical testwork (see Argent’s ASX release of 28 April 2009) Argent has commissioned a Scoping Study to ascertain the potential viability of a heap leaching project to produce silver.
The Study is being undertaken by Gemell Mining Engineers with assistance on processing from Kappes Cassiday.
The Study is based on the resources within 70 metres from the surface in each of the three deposits, ie, BJ, McCarron and Quarries that make up the Kempfield resource. Proposed throughput would be at the rate of 400,000 tonnes per annum for 5-6 years.
The process route would involve heap leaching the crushed ore followed by silver recovery via the well proven Merrill Crowe process.
Sulphide Resource
A sulphide resource (at a 100g/t Ag Equivalent cut off grade) of 1.9mt at 72 g/t silver, 1.0% lead, 2% zinc and 23% barite lies below the heap leachable resource ie; between 70 and 190 metres from surface.
Approximately 63% is Measured or Indicated, see below. About half lies within 40 metres of the base of the potential heap leach resource.
Sulphide resource below 70 meters at 100 g/t Ag Equivalent cut-off
| Resource | Million Tonnes | Silver Gms/tonne | Lead % | Zinc % | Barite % |
| Measured | 0.2 | 86 | 1.1 | 1.8 | 17 |
| Indicated | 1.0 | 67 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 22 |
| Inferred | 0.7 | 76 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 27 |
| Total | 1.9 | 72 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 23 |
The resource contains areas of high grade lead/zinc/silver mineralization as evidenced by intersections such as those set out below;
| Zone | From (m) | Interval (m) | Silver Gms/Tonne | Lead % | Zinc % |
| McCarron |
| Hole AKRC13 | 80 | 10 | 128 | 5.7 | 5.0 |
| Hole AKRC01 | 98 | 2 | 114 | 4.2 | 4.9 |
| BJ |
| Hole AKRC19 | 142 | 14 | 41 | 1.4 | 6.6 |
| Including | 142 | 6 | 59 | 1.9 | 9.3 |
| Hole AKRC22 | 128 | 4 | 23 | 2.0 | 5.2 |
The three mineralized zones BJ, McCarron and Quarries are all open at depth and provide good drill targets aimed at delineating high grade mineralization that might be amenable to underground mining eg; intersections of 10% lead / zinc equivalent over 5 metres.
Argent’s objective is to identify sufficient high grade mineralization that could be treated in a floatation plant. The base metal resource amenable to open pit mining already delineated at Sunny Corner, approx 83 kilometres away, is also a potential source of feedstock for such a plant.
Gold Exploration Potential
The Kempfield tenements contain the historical Mt Dudley and Trunkey Creek goldfields which were mined for high grade gold in the late 1800s and early 1900s. There has been only limited modern exploration on these prospects and Argent believes there is potential for each area to contain economic gold deposits, in the form of near surface heap leachable mineralization that could provide high value feedstock to a silver heap leach operation at Kempfield,(between 3 and 10 kms distant) and / or in the form of high grade reefs. See the diagram below.
The historic Mt Dudley gold mine lies between the Trunkey Creek goldfield to the east and the Kempfield silver/lead/zinc/barite deposits to the west.
The Mt Dudley mine was worked between 1913-1922 and 1928-1931, with the mine’s records indicating an average mined grade of approx 25 g/t of gold.
The old workings extend for 650 metres in a north/south direction and there are coincident soil and rock chip anomalies over much of the area. Mineralization occurs in quartz veins associated with arsenopyrite and pyrite which extend over a strike length of more than 650 metres and dip moderately to west. The mineralised structure of quartz vein is hosted in the slates which overlie a diorite intrusion.
Click here to view the ASX annoucement of 10 June 2009 "Mt Dudley drilling outlines shallow Gold Zone" for further details.
The purpose of the shallow RC drilling program was to determine if there is near surface mineable gold along strike from the mine which could be transported to Kempfield to add to the Company’s proposed silver heap leach project which is currently the subject of a scoping study.