Since commencing exploration in early 2004, Argentex has assembled an impressive land portfolio of high-quality prospects in the Argentine provinces of Santa Cruz and Rio Negro. In total, the company’s portfolio includes 100% mineral rights to more than 35 properties covering over 307,981 acres (124,636 hectares) of land.

In Santa Cruz, Argentex holds mineral rights to 24 properties totaling approximately 194,244 acres (78,608 hectares). These properties are located in the Deseado Massif region of southern Patagonia within Triassic to Lower Jurassic geology that is prospective for epithermal mineralization. To date, the flagship Pinguino property has been the focus of the company’s exploration activity in Patagonia.

Pinguino
Argentex began exploration at Pinguino in early 2004. A 3.7-mile (6.0-kilometer) long grid provided the initial backbone for soil geochemistry and geophysical exploration.  A large number of quartz veins, vein swarms and vein breccias with segments greater than one-kilometer (0.6 miles) were evident from initial reconnaissance.  These structures are located in close proximity and subparallel to a major regional dislocation, the Tranquilo Fault, which extends southeast toward the Cerro Vanguardia mine. This favorable structural setting and encouraging initial preliminary work provided sufficient encouragement to mount the first drill campaign in 2005 to test near-surface precious metal targets from exposed trenches.

Highlights of 2005 drilling included 8.8 meters of 1,094 grams per tonne (g/t) silver revealed at a vertical depth of 23 meters. This discovery was made in the same area as a previously reported, anomalous trench that returned 9.0 meters of 1,690 g/t silver on surface. These excellent results triggered an immediate acceleration of the company’s exploration program.

In early 2006, Argentex’s second drill program was initiated with a focus on testing a number of the abundant chargeability anomalies obtained from the Induced Polorization (IP) geophysics carried out in the initial phase of exploration on the property. Chargeability anomalies can be casued by a number of conditions including groundwater, lithological changes or, in some cases, disseminated sulphides.  Hole P53 targeted the heart of one of these chargeability anomalies and intersected a wide interval of disseminated and veinlet sulphides including pyrite, sphalerite and galena.  The center of the envelope of disseminated sulphides contained a thick 12-meter section of vein massive sulphides.  Analytical results of this section returned a 10.8-meter (35.4-foot) interval of  11% combined lead-zinc, 138.7 g/t silver and 177 ppm indium. Extremely high values of indium within base metal sulphides are not typical of other mineralization in the Deseado Massif, which was known to host mainly low sulphidation gold and silver until Argentex made its discovery.  In fact, this was the discovery hole of the Pinguino zinc-lead-indium-silver-gold-copper deposit, the first of its kind in Argentine Patagonia.

Subsequent Phase 3 and 4 drill programs expanded the known mineralized zones along strike.  Additional sulphide vein targets, identified from detailed mapping and prospecting, were tested and new sulphide veins were discovered.

The company’s Phase 5 drill program, which included a total of 20,000+ meters (65,600+ feet) of diamond drilling, was the largest drill program ever conducted on the property.  To date, 15 veins have been drill tested and were found to contain massive sulphides.  A total of 47 veins have so far been mapped on the property for a cumulative length of greater than 74 kilometers (45 miles).  Detailed drilling using a second rig focused on definition drilling within known zones, extending mineralization to depth and along strike.  Data gathered from infill drilling will be used in the company’s upcoming 43-101 resource calculation, which is scheduled for completion in mid 2009.

Argentex continued its successful targeting of combined geophysical, geochemical and prospecting anomalies through its 2007-2008 exploration season, adding new sulphide zones and expanding the overall mineralized footprint at Pinguino.  The company continues to achieve new milestones, including the longest high-grade base-metal interval discovered to date and the deepest hole on the property, which intersected massive sulphides at a vertical depth of 400 meters (1,312 feet) below surface at Pinguino’s Marta Centro zone.

Argentex maintains its dominant, centrally located land package in the Tranquilo Zone with a number of junior companies flanking its western, southern and eastern borders.

Grassroots Potential
Argentex has a number of additional drill-ready projects in its large portfolio of Patagonian properties, including epithermal gold-silver mineralization at Condor and Cerro Contreras.  Both properties show characteristics of low-sulphidation mineralization typical of many deposits in Santa Cruz province.  Argentex is planning to drill test its Condor property during the 2008-2009 exploration season.  Plans for work at Cerro Contreras are still being formulated.

In Rio Negro province, the company’s Los Menucos property has generated anomalous precious metal and pathfinder elements.  Argentex holds mining rights to a total of 12 highly prospective properties totaling 113,737 acres (46,028 hectares) in Rio Negro. These properties are at an earlier stage of exploration.