Far East Gold Ltd (ASX:FEG) has kicked off its second phase of drilling at the Mount Clark West copper-gold project in central Queensland, following the mobilisation of Eagle Drilling NQ Pty Ltd to site.
The move follows the company’s October signing of a Conduct and Compensation Agreement (CCA) securing landholder access — the final practical hurdle before drilling could begin — and continues a busy run of exploration milestones for Far East Gold across Queensland and Indonesia.
Read more: Far East Gold signs land access deal ahead of Mount Clark West drilling
“This drilling marks a major step forward for Far East Gold’s Australian portfolio. The rig is now turning at Mount Clark West,” CEO Shane Menere said.
“In the first scout program, there’s compelling evidence that we clipped the edge of what we believe to be a large porphyry copper-gold system,” he added. “Those early results, combined with more recent geophysics, geochemistry and sampling, have now allowed FEG to pinpoint a new, higher-priority target inside the tenement which we couldn’t previously access until the CCA was in place.”
RC drill setup at drill site MCDD007.
New program targets the system’s ‘heart’
The initial program comprises roughly 1,800 metres across three holes, combining reverse circulation (RC) and diamond drilling to test anomalies defined through MIMDAS geophysics, geochemistry and structural mapping. A fourth hole may be drilled depending on results.
Map showing extent of interpreted VRMI magnetics and MIMDAS chargeability anomalies. image base shows Cu-in-soil geochemistry. The locations of planned (PDH) and previous drill holes (MCDD001-004) completed by Medusa are indicated. The first FEG hole is located at site MCDD007. Image shows the occurrence of 3 interpreted porphyry centers reflected by low magnetics. The planned holes will test coincident magnetic and MIMDAS anomalies peripheral to the interpreted porphyry centers for potential Cu-Au-Mo mineralisation.
Mount Clark West has already returned evidence of an extensive mineralised system. Historical drilling by Medusa Mining in 2019 intersected 104 metres at 0.10% copper, including 14 metres at 0.23% copper from 180 metres (hole MCDD002).
Far East interprets this earlier intercept — found within altered volcanics — as skirting the outer edge of a porphyry system. The new drill targets aim to move closer to the system’s centre.
“Everything we’ve learned points to a mineralised system beneath surface,” Menere said.
“The MIMDAS geophysical signatures, copper-molybdenum anomalies and alteration mapping all line up to suggest we’re drilling closer to the heart of a porphyry system this time around.”
A growing exploration pipeline
Mount Clark West sits within the Connors Arc volcanic belt, a region that already hosts Tier-1 deposits including Mt Carlton and Cracow. Far East believes magnetic and geochemical signatures at MCW indicate a cluster of porphyry bodies, each with copper-gold potential.
Location of the Mt. Clarke West (MCW) and Hill 212 tenements held by FEG. MCW is situated within Carboniferous volcanic rocks of the Connors Arc. Overlying Bowen Basin Permo-Triassic sediments occur to the west. The occurrence of significant epithermal Au-Ag deposits further west within the Drummond Basin are also shown.
The restart at Mount Clark West follows a string of exploration progress updates from the company in recent weeks. At the flagship Idenburg project in Indonesia, Far East announced earlier this week it has secured a key regulatory milestone that clears the path toward mine permitting, while in late October it discovered a new high-grade shear zone at the project’s North Bermol prospect.
Read more: Far East Gold secures key regulatory milestone at Idenburg, clearing path to mine permitting
Those developments were backed by a strong quarterly report highlighting discovery momentum and continued expansion work across the Indonesian portfolio.
Read more: Strong quarter of discovery and expansion at Idenburg for Far East Gold
What’s next
With drilling now under way at Mount Clark West, Far East expects to progressively release assay results once received. The aim of the program is clear: to demonstrate the scale of the porphyry system at the project and advance it towards a maiden resource.
“Every metre drilled from here will tell us more about the scale of this system,” Menere said. “The goal couldn’t be clearer: to prove Mount Clark West has the potential to host a significant copper-gold discovery in Queensland.”
Far East Gold holds six advanced assets across Indonesia and Australia and continues to position itself as a discovery-driven copper and gold explorer.