Far East Gold Ltd (ASX:FEG) has resumed diamond drilling at its Mount Clark West (MCW) copper-gold target in Queensland after wet-season rainfall disrupted operations in December and January.
The company said it is now drilling the second diamond hole in a planned 2–3 hole program, with each hole designed to test defined geophysical targets to a depth of 600 metres. Drilling had been paused due to access constraints and site conditions associated with seasonal rainfall, but Far East Gold said logistics and land access had since stabilised.
Alongside the drilling update, Far East Gold confirmed the Queensland Department of Natural Resources and Mines, Manufacturing and Regional and Rural Development has extended exploration permit EPM 26008 (Mount Clark West) until February 2031. The statutory relinquishment requirement has been deferred until February 2030.
“Mount Clark West has the potential to be a copper-gold system of significant scale. With drilling now well advanced and secure land access in place, we are intersecting the kinds of alteration and veining that occur on the margins of a porphyry style copper system," FEG managing director and CEO Shane Menere said.
"The Queensland Government’s decision to extend the EPM to 2031 without any relinquishment (until 2030), is a supportive regulatory outcome that provides certainty for continued exploration and development of this project. It gives us exploration continuity, project certainty and the ability to properly test what is shaping up as a highly compelling copper opportunity. Importantly, assays will now commence to determine copper mineralisation content and grade, which will be critical in vectoring toward the core of the system. We believe Mount Clark West has developed into a project with genuine potential significance. We are only just beginning to unlock its copper story.”
Drilling observations
Far East Gold reported that daily geological logging continues to identify porphyry-related alteration types consistent with a large-scale hydrothermal system. The company said the current program appears to be intersecting upper and peripheral zones of a potentially significant copper-mineralised porphyry system, with core sampling for assay testing now underway.
Observed features reported to date include:
- widespread propylitic and phyllic alteration
- quartz veining and brecciation
- disseminated sulphides dominated by pyrite, with localised trace chalcopyrite and bornite
- evidence of magnetite enrichment and destruction linked to intrusive-related alteration at depth
Observations are based on visual estimates, which should not be treated as a substitute for laboratory assays.
Interpreted RTP magnetic image base with interpreted MIMDAS zones of high - chargeability (green). The image shows the occurrence of 3 and possibly 4 low magnetic zones which represent high priority drill targets as potential mineralised porphyry bodies. Proposed hole MCDD08 will not be accessible during this program due to poor ground conditions. The locations of historical drillholes MCDD001 - 004 are shown.
The alteration styles observed in the new drilling are consistent with results from a historical four-hole program completed by Medusa Mining in 2019. That program reported an intersection of 104 metres at 0.1% Cu (including 14m at 0.23% Cu) from 114 metres, including 14 metres at 0.23% Cu from 180 metres within altered volcanic rocks, based on previously released disclosures.
Photo of drill core from MCDD06 at approx. 396m depth showing stringers of pyrite and magnetite in propylitic altered (chlorite + epidote + magnetite) volcanic. Bottom: photo of drill core from hole MCDD06 at 419m depth showing patchy zones of potassic altered (potassic - feldspar +magnetite) volcanic rock. Selected intervals will be sampled for assay.
The company said further drilling will use alteration vectors to target higher-temperature zones that, under conceptual porphyry models, may host higher concentrations of copper minerals.
Tenure and land access
In outlining the basis for the regulatory decision, Far East Gold said the department accepted the company’s submission that the tenement was initially pegged as a targeted six sub-block footprint, and that relinquishment could sterilise prospective ground due to surrounding tenure held by larger miners. The company also pointed to the timing of land access, noting drilling access was only achieved in September 2025 following execution of conduct and compensation agreements (CCAs).
Far East Gold also confirmed CCAs are now in place with both landholders at Mount Clark West, which it said provides secure long-term access for ongoing exploration and any future development work.