Kempfield is located approximately 29 kilometres south of the New South Wales town of Blayney, in the central-west of New South Wales. Argent has earned a 100% interest in Kempfield from Golden Cross Resources Limited by the expenditure of $2.745 million.

RESOURCES

The resources, which contain over 31 million ounces of silver, 260,000 tonnes of lead and zinc, 65,000 ounces of gold and over 2million tonnes of barite, are hosted within a 4 km long silver rich barite horizon spread over six major zones, see the adjacent diagram.

Scoping Study

Results of a Scoping Study released to the market on 20 April 2010 showed that a robust project was possible at Kempfield to produce 12 million ounces of silver and 42,000 tonnes of lead/zinc at a throughput rate of 600,000 tonnes of ore per annum for 10.5 years.

Increases in the silver price from A$18.67 per ounce used in the April 2010 Scoping Study have prompted Argent to review the cut off grades used to calculate the Kempfield resources and to review the in-pit mining inventory.

Resources Based on November 2010 Metal Prices

The project review suggests that reduction of the cut-off grade from 40g/t Ag to 25g/t Ag for the oxide and transitional mineralization and from 80g/t Ag equivalent to 50g/t Ag equivalent for the primary mineralization is realistic for the reporting of the revised resource estimates provided in Table 1.

Table One – Revised Resources

*Approximately 83% of these resources are Measured or Indicated‐see Table 2 below
**Approximately 64% of these resources are Measured or Indicated‐see Table 2 below

Table Two – Resources by Category (cut off grades as above)

The following table compares the prices used in the April scoping study with prices as at 9 November 2010:

Table Three – Metal Prices

Australian Mine Design and Development Pty Ltd (AMDAD) has revised the pit‐optimisation model used for the Scoping Study using the metal prices at 9 November 2010 for the following two models;

(a) 600,000 tpa throughput, as used in the scoping study; and

(b) 1.0 million tpa throughput.

The key revised numbers are set out in the table below:

Table Four –Revised Pit Optimisation Outcomes

*10% and 13% of the Nov 2010 600,000tpa and 1.0mtpa cases respectively are inferred
**Capex for the 600,000 tpa case in the April 2010 Scoping Study was estimated to be $42 million. No estimate has been made of the capex for the 1.0mtpa case.

Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS)

The results of the review of the Kempfield pit optimization study outlined above suggested that consideration should be given to increasing the throughput rate from the 600,000 tpa assumed in the scoping study.

The DFS envisages a throughput of 1.5 million tonnes per annum for 10 years producing payable metal of 21 million ounces of silver, 34,000 ounces of gold and 108,000 tonnes of lead and zinc in concentrates. It is anticipated that the DFS will be finalized by December 2011 with regulatory approvals expected to be granted some time later. Subject to those approvals being granted, completion of the study will lead to a project financing decision for Kempfield.

The Kempfield DFS is budgeted to cost approximately $2.5million. It will be done to a standard designed to attract project financing and will include:

• Over 5,000m of infill, metallurgical and geotechnical drilling;
• Additional metallurgical test work (bottle roll and flotation)
• Preparation of an Environmental Impact Study (EIS), flora and heritage studies have been substantially completed;
• Process plan engineering and site layout including tailings dam design; and
• Infrastructure requirements including water and power.

Concurrently with the preparation of the DFS the company will seek Development Approval and the grant of a Mining Lease and to this end a Conceptual Project Presentation has been made to the NSW Department of Industry and Investment. The Department has advised the NSW Planning Department that there are no technical reasons why the project should not be considered for Development Approval. In addition discussions have been opened with the Gundungarra Tribal Council, the representative of the Native Title Claimant to the area and the Council has submitted a proposed Agreement for the Company’s consideration.

The Company announced on Monday 4 April,2011, the appointment of an internal manager and team of consultant firms to carry out all aspects of the Kempfield DFS which is now underway. The appointments made and activities being undertaken include:

• Mr Derek White, a mining engineer with extensive experience in managing feasibility studies, has been engaged as Project Manager for the DFS.
• Lycopodium Minerals QLD Pty Ltd has been appointed as the lead process plant design and engineering consultant for the project.
• Australian Mine Design and Development Pty Ltd (AMDAD) has been appointed to undertake mine design.
• Knight Piesold Consulting Pty Ltd, one of the foremost tailings storage experts globally, has commenced work on the design of the Tailings Storage Facility.
• RW Corkery Pty Ltd, a highly experienced and well regarded environmental consultant has been appointed to prepare the Environmental Assessment for the project.
• RPS Aquaterra, has been appointed to advise on surface and ground water matters.
• Mr Sceresini, a highly experienced metallurgist with an extensive background in minerals processing and precious metals recovery, who directed the metallurgical testwork for the Kempfield Scoping Study, will continue to direct the metallurgical testwork.
• A drilling programme comprising over 5,000m of infill and metallurgical drilling has commenced with 15 holes (1,200m) drilled to date.
• Selected drill core intervals from a previously reported drilling programme have been sent to Metcon Laboaratories in Sydney for metallurgical testing.

The plant layout and conceptual processing circuit are set out in the following diagrams:

Conceptual Processing Flow Chart


Exploration Potential

Extensions to Known Mineralisation

There is good exploration potential in the immediate surrounds of the known mineralisation as mineralisation is open at depth and in some zones also along strike. Drilling north of the McCarron Zone early in 2010 intersected the highest recorded silver grades to date. The significant intersections in holes AKRC77 and AKRC79 were:

AKRC77:

• 40m @ 222g/t Ag, 0.31g/t Au, 1.6% Pb and 2.2% Zn from 26m, including;
• 4m @ 1,285g/t Ag, 0.34g/t Au, 0.7% Pb and 0.3% Zn from 36m

AKRC79:

• 32m @ 79.7g/t Ag, 0.21g/t Au, 1.3% Pb and 1.1% Zn from 38m, including;
• 18m @ 115g/t Ag, 0.24g/t Au, 1.4% Pb and 1.1% Zn from 42m

IP Targets

A frequency domain Induced Polarisation (IP) survey completed by the International Nickel Company in the early 1970s was successful in identifying the mineralisation in the McCarron Zone, BJ Zone and the Quarries Zone at a shallow depth down to 150m below surface.

An IP survey using modern methods was completed in early 2010 with a view to trying to determine whether the mineralisation extended to depth. The results indicate that mineralisation does appear to extend to at least 500m below surface. The best chargeability anomaly is shown in figures 1 and 2, at a depth of 300m. Argent has drilled a 400m RC/diamond cored hole to test the chargeability anomaly indicated at depths of 300m and 400m in the Quarries Zone. The drilling failed to identify ore grade mineralization but contained extensive bands of low grade mineralization and a down hole EM suvey to target potential adjacent areas of ore grade material will be conducted at a later date.

Another strong to moderate anomaly is evident to the north and at depths well below any previous drilling. Both anomalies are along strike from already identified resources and both are co-incident with lead and silver soil anomalies.

These two IP surveys also indicate that the Kempfield Volcanogenic Mineralised System (VMS) appears to extend for at least another 1.2km to the north of any drilling which would give it a strike length of almost 4km.

Drilling will also investigate the undrilled northern extension of the system shown in the following diagrams:

Geology and IP Anomalies

 
Chargeability at 150m and 300m depth

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 mineralisation that could provide high value feedstock to operations at Kempfield (between 3 and 10km distant), and / or in the form of high grade reefs, see the diagram below.
 

Trunkey Creek Goldfield

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 announcement 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 project which is currently the subject of a Definite Feasibility Study.