Rods spin again as Moonlight eyes bigger Queensland gold prize

Moonlight Resources has hit the ground running with a phase two reverse circulation (RC) drilling program now underway at its Leo Grande prospect, part of the company’s wholly owned Clermont gold project in Queensland.

The new drilling program will sink 70 holes for 5000 metres, following a successful maiden phase one campaign in 2025, which delivered big intercepts of gold mineralisation in every one of the 14 holes drilled, with all of them from or near-surface. 

Phase one results have added to a historical database of around 70 RC holes, covering more than 4500 metres, which have already pointed to wide zones of shallow gold along the intriguing Leo Grande shear zone.

The company says last year’s hits have highlighted the scale and continuity of the area, with standout thick gold runs including 40m at 1.30 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from surface, which ended in mineralisation.

That result was supported by another hole which probed a 34m intercept carrying 1.37g/t gold from just 6m depth, featuring a 10-metre slice running at 2.52g/t gold, which also finished in mineralisation. 

Other notable hits from 2025 returned 24m assaying 1.28g/t gold from 2m depth and 15m going 1.44g/t gold from 43m depth, further reinforcing the shallow nature of local mineralisation.

The new drilling blitz will target step-out and infill drilling to extend the wide zones further along strike and down-dip, while also increasing the drillhole density in priority areas. 

The campaign has been designed to validate and expand the known mineralised footprint – currently interpreted to stretch across a 4-kilometre-long, 60-metre-wide corridor – while laying the foundations for a future initial mineral resource estimate.

While multiple phase one holes ended in mineralisation, hinting at untapped depth potential to be explored in more detail, the phase two program will also probe for parallel lodes within the broader extents of the corridor.

Moonlight Resources managing director Mr Greg Starr said: “This follow-up programme has been specifically designed to target shallow extensions of those wide mineralised zones, further confirm grade continuity and expand the overall footprint of the system.” 

Moonlight’s Clermont project covers 268 square kilometres and, despite its apparent prospectivity, has seen remarkably little historical drilling compared with analogous parts of WA’s Yilgarn, pointing to plenty of blue-sky potential for discoveries.

Beyond Leo Grande, the broader Clermont portfolio hosts multiple structurally controlled prospects with encouraging geochemistry and limited systematic follow-up. 

After Moonlight wraps up the latest drilling campaign, the company plans to mobilise its drill rig to its Goldfinger and Petersens prospects for an initial combined program of 60 holes for 3500 metres to test additional high-priority targets.

The ongoing work forms part of Moonlight's fully funded 20,000-metre drilling blitz across Clermont, designed to advance Leo Grande towards resource definition while also covering its bets by systematically chasing up other district-scale potential.

Moonlight is a recent ASX debutant with a market capitalisation of around A$18M and a strong net cash position of around A$9 million post-IPO. 

Following a clean sweep of gold hits in all 14 phase one holes, Moonlight has moved swiftly into a phase two follow-up, with early drill samples already in the lab and results pending.

With drill rods set to keep turning across the company’s priority prospects, Moonlight is positioning Clermont as a potential near-term resource story in a proven but remarkably under-drilled gold province.

If assays confirm extensions to priority targets, a steady news flow from Moonlight’s fully-funded campaign should keep the momentum building as the project shapes up as a meaningful near-term gold play with serious district-scale upside. 

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