en.Wedoany.com Reported - Australian exploration company NewPeak Metals Ltd (ASX:NPM, OTC:NPMFF, FRA:NPM) has completed over 1,800 meters of diamond drilling at the Las Opeñas gold project in Argentina, with the first batch of core samples sent to a laboratory for expedited analysis to test the potential scale of a large gold-polymetallic system.
As part of the initial 2,500-meter drilling program, the company has completed five holes totaling 1,834 meters, targeting extensions of historical gold-polymetallic mineralization within the Belleza breccia zone of the Las Opeñas project.
Initial assay results are expected from drill hole LODH-023, which reached a depth of 663 meters and has been sent under priority processing protocols to ALS Laboratories in Mendoza.
The drilling program is based on a reinterpretation of the project's geology, focusing on an 800-meter by 600-meter breccia zone where historical drilling only reached shallow depths.
NewPeak Managing Director Mark Purcell stated that the ongoing drilling marks the continued execution of the company's exploration strategy. The initial 2,500-meter drilling aims to systematically test priority targets within the breccia zone identified during the 2025 geological review. With permits in place and infrastructure and contractor arrangements already in use, the company can rapidly proceed to subsequent drilling phases based on the initial assay results.
The first drill hole is located near historical hole 12-LODH-03, which returned 115 meters of mineralization grading 0.58 g/t gold, 3.5 g/t silver, 0.24% lead, and 0.65% zinc from 18 meters to the bottom of the hole.
NewPeak aims to extend a system combining widespread high-silver mineralization in subvolcanic breccias with later-stage gold-polymetallic mineralization associated with hydrothermal breccias. The company's geological review suggests that the latter mineralization increases with depth.
The company believes that the scale of the mapped breccia system and its regional structural setting support the potential for discovering a large gold-dominant polymetallic deposit.
The Las Opeñas project is located in San Juan Province, Argentina, approximately 70 kilometers southeast of the Veladero gold mine operated by Barrick and Shandong Gold, and about 110 kilometers north-northwest of the Hualilan project owned by Challenger Gold.
The initial 2,500-meter drilling program is expected to be completed later this month. NewPeak stated that if assay results are supportive, a larger follow-up program can be rapidly initiated, with relevant permits already in place.
Exploration in Argentina complements the company's activities at the Tansey gold project in Queensland, where recent drilling and geological work have continued to expand the scope of a growing gold system. Last month, NewPeak identified a previously unrecognized structural corridor at the Tansey project, extending the interpreted strike length of mineralization beyond the historical mine.
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