Moonlight Resources has launched its maiden reverse circulation drilling campaign at the Goldfinger prospect in central Queensland. The program is targeting a forgotten high-grade gold discovery that has remained virtually untested beneath shallow oxide mineralisation for more than three decades.
The 2500m program will target the high-grade gold mineralisation uncovered by historical drilling at Goldfinger within the company's 100 per cent-owned 268km² Clermont Gold Project.
The campaign aims to do what the old-timers never did by testing beneath the oxide zone to determine the width, grade, scale and continuity of the mineralised system. It will also verify the historical results, test strike extensions to the north and south, assess down-dip continuity, increase drill density and investigate the potential for additional parallel lodes.
Historical exploration by Noranda and Plutonic in the late 1980s included costean sampling, reverse circulation and diamond drilling that returned a string of impressive results.
The first reported intersection returned 8m grading 8.35 grams per tonne (g/t) gold. In total, 12 holes intersected more than 1g/t gold, including 6m at 6.44g/t gold, 4m at 13.87g/t gold, 4m at 12.31g/t gold and 2m at 37g/t gold. The peak assay returned 44.5g/t gold over 1m. All reported widths are downhole intersections with true widths remaining unknown.
Goldfinger sits along a parallel structural trend to Leo Grande, Moonlight's flagship gold prospect and principal resource-definition target within the Clermont Gold Project. Similar to Leo Grande, it is hosted within deformed rocks where major shear zones have channelled mineralising fluids. The gold occurs in quartz veins associated with silicification and sulphide alteration, a geological setting commonly linked to large, structurally controlled gold systems capable of extending well below the weathered profile.
Moonlight Resources managing director Greg Starr said: “Goldfinger represents one of the most compelling high-grade targets within our Clermont Gold Project. The historical work completed by Noranda/Plutonic demonstrates the presence of exceptional gold grades, which remain largely untested by modern exploration techniques.”
The Goldfinger campaign forms part of Moonlight's fully funded 20,000m drilling program across the Clermont Gold Project. Drilling has also commenced at the separate Peak Downs prospect to the east, giving Moonlight two active drill campaigns and strong exploration momentum moving into the second half of 2026. Meanwhile, Phase 2 drilling at the nearby Leo Grande gold prospect, the company's flagship resource-definition target, has been completed with assay results expected shortly.
Goldfinger, Leo Grande Central and Peak Downs are the first targets in Moonlight's broader strategy to systematically advance priority exploration opportunities across Clermont and beyond. Together, the programs are designed to build the geological understanding needed to support future Mineral Resource definition and project advancement.
Moonlight's Clermont Gold Project sits within Queensland's prolific Drummond Basin, a region credited with producing more than 6.5 million ounces of gold. Goldfinger is one of several prospects being advanced by the company, alongside its flagship Leo Grande prospect and the Petersens prospect to the north, and Peak Downs to the east, giving Moonlight a growing portfolio of targets across one of Australia's most prospective yet comparatively underexplored gold districts.
Elevated gold prices continue to shine a spotlight on explorers capable of delivering new discoveries and resource growth, particularly in proven gold belts where existing infrastructure, skilled workforces and supportive regulatory frameworks can shorten the path from exploration success to potential mine development.
Drilling at Goldfinger is expected to conclude in the coming weeks, with assay results to be released progressively as they are received and interpreted. Together with pending results from the recently completed Phase 2 program at Leo Grande, they should reveal whether Moonlight's expanding portfolio of targets is beginning to translate into the next generation of mineral resources across the Clermont Gold Project.
Drilling at Goldfinger is expected to conclude in the coming weeks, with assay results to be released progressively. Together with pending results from Leo Grande, they should provide the next clues as to whether Moonlight can turn its growing pipeline of prospects into future mineral resources across the Clermont Gold Project.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Penny Taylor
