NewPeak Metals Ltd (ASX:NPM, OTC:NPMFF, FRA:NPM) earlier this week provided an update on exploration activities across its Australian and Argentinian gold projects, with managing director Mark Purcell outlining encouraging drilling results at the Tansey gold project in Queensland and ongoing exploration at Las Opeñas in Argentina.
Speaking with Proactive, Purcell said the company recently completed an approximately 1,200 metre drilling program across four holes at Tansey, targeting extensions beneath historical underground workings abandoned in the 1940s.
According to Purcell, the initial objective was straightforward — determine whether gold mineralisation continued beneath the historic mine. He reported that drilling confirmed the mineralisation does extend at depth, providing encouragement for the company’s exploration model.
Purcell noted that historical exploration in the district had been relatively limited, with only shallow drilling completed since the mine ceased operations decades ago. He said NewPeak Metals’ work represented some of the first meaningful drilling beneath the historical workings.
Importantly, the company also intersected a previously unidentified parallel structure during the campaign. Purcell suggested this may indicate the presence of a broader mineralised system extending across the district rather than isolated pockets of mineralisation.
The company is now preparing follow-up drilling programs aimed at both resource definition and broader regional exploration. Purcell said NewPeak Metals intends to integrate geological and structural data gathered from the recent campaign to identify larger-scale targets within the wider project area.
At the Las Opeñas gold project in Argentina’s San Juan Province, New Peak Metals has commenced a 2,500 metre drill campaign targeting a large mineralised system. Purcell described the target area as approximately eight kilometres long and 600 metres wide at surface scale.
Historic drilling completed prior to NewPeak Metals acquiring the project returned broad gold intercepts including more than 100 metres grading 0.58 grams per tonne gold. Purcell said the combination of historic drilling, surface mineralogy and geological indicators supports the potential for a significant gold discovery.
“We have several historic hits showing those sort of long intercepts,” Purcell said, adding that geological observations suggest “there’s a lot of smoke”.
Potential catalysts for the company include further assay results from both Tansey and Las Opeñas, expanded drilling campaigns and possible future resource definition work at Tansey.
Purcell also highlighted the company’s relatively low market capitalisation, arguing this could provide leverage to exploration success across its dual-jurisdiction gold portfolio.
Interview highlights
- NewPeak Metals completed a four-hole, 1,200 metre drill campaign at the Tansey gold project in southeast Queensland.
- Drilling confirmed gold mineralisation extends beneath historical underground workings from the 1940s.
- Historical exploration at Tansey has been limited, with little deep drilling completed before NewPeak Metals’ campaign.
- The company identified a previously unknown parallel mineralised structure during drilling.
- Management believes Tansey could represent part of a much larger gold system across the district.
- Follow-up drilling is being planned to support potential resource definition work.
- NewPeak Metals also commenced a 2,500 metre drill campaign at the Las Opeñas gold project in San Juan, Argentina.
- Historic drilling at Las Opeñas returned broad gold intercepts including more than 100 metres at 0.58g/t gold.
- The company believes geological indicators support the potential for a large-scale gold system in Argentina.
- Managing Director Mark Purcell highlighted the company’s low market capitalisation and existing exploration success as potential upside drivers for investors.
Proactive: Welcome back to Proactive Investors. Ladies and gentlemen, I’m your host, Kerry Stevenson. I’ve asked Mark Purcell, managing director of NewPeak Metals, ASX code NPM, to join us. The company has a gold project in Argentina and another in southeast Queensland called the Tansey gold project. The company has received results back from Tansey and is conducting drilling in Argentina. Great to have you back on the program, Mark.
Mark Purcell: Good to see you.
Proactive: Latest news is this four-hole drill campaign at Tansey. Talk to us about Tansey and why investors should be taking notice.
Mark Purcell: We’ve just finished approximately 1,200 metres across four boreholes at Tansey. We acquired the asset fairly cheaply and our objective was simple. There’s an underground mine abandoned in the 1940s and we wanted to test whether the mineralisation extended beneath it. It certainly does, so we’re thrilled with those results.
Proactive: Has much work been done there since the 1940s?
Mark Purcell: The mine reached over 80 metres deep, which was significant for that era. The Queensland Government completed some drilling around 1969 and there have been a few shallow RC holes near surface, but no meaningful drilling beneath the mine to test the depth extensions.
Proactive: How large is your landholding there? Are you only focused on the South Burnett mine area?
Mark Purcell: The mine was the obvious place to start, but we have a much larger holding across the district. Around 1,000 metres north there’s another set of workings called Star of Dawn. During this drill program we clipped a parallel structure we didn’t know existed, which gives us hope that this could be one large mineralised system rather than isolated workings.
Proactive: What are the next steps?
Mark Purcell: We want to design a program targeting a potential resource while incorporating the geological data we’ve gathered. We’ll also review historical surface work to identify larger structures across the area.
Proactive: Is it a complex geological system?
Mark Purcell: It’s a little different because it’s a shear zone system. Many deposits form where the earth pulls apart and fluids fill the gaps, but this one is compressional where everything has been crushed together. The grain size is very fine and the geological forces involved were significant.
Proactive: So a larger drill campaign is likely?
Mark Purcell: Yes. We want to assess the broader district opportunity while also undertaking a second drill program specifically targeting a potential resource.
Proactive: Let’s talk about Las Opeñas in Argentina. What’s happening there?
Mark Purcell: We’re underway with a 2,500 metre drill program. The bracketed target area measures around eight kilometres by 600 metres at surface scale, so it’s enormous. Historic drilling before we acquired the project returned more than 100 metres at 0.58 grams per ton gold. We’re trying to determine whether there’s a very large-scale gold deposit there.
Proactive: Why do you believe there could be a major gold deposit?
Mark Purcell: We have several historic long intercepts grading around one gram per tonne gold, combined with encouraging geology and mineralogy at surface. There’s a lot of smoke and we want to find the fire.
Proactive: You’ve been Managing director for about a year now. What attracted you to New Peak Metals and why should investors be paying attention?
Mark Purcell: We have two gold projects in strong jurisdictions — San Juan in Argentina and Queensland in Australia. Both projects already have either drill intercepts or historical workings, so we’re not starting from scratch. Our market capitalisation is currently at a very low base, which we believe provides significant upside potential.
Proactive: There you have it. This is NewPeak Metals, ASX code NPM. Drill programs are underway and results will continue to come through. Thanks for joining me, Mark.
Mark Purcell: Thanks, Kerry. Appreciate it.