LinQ Minerals Kicks Off 30,000m Drill Push Across 40km of Gold-Copper Belt
Key Takeaways
- LinQ Minerals has mobilised a drill rig and commenced a fully funded 30,000m campaign at the Gilmore Project, targeting eight specific prospects across the Southern and Central Zones of a ~40km strike corridor.
- The Gilmore Project already hosts a Global MRE of 516Mt containing approximately 3.7Moz Au and 1.2Mt Cu across six deposits within a ~597km² tenement package — the drill program is building on an established resource base, not starting from scratch.
- LinQ holds approximately $16.2m in cash as at 30 June 2026, with the campaign described as fully funded, reducing near-term capital raise risk for investors.
- The most immediate catalysts are maiden drilling at the Donnington prospect and follow-up drilling at Monza, where high-grade copper-gold results were announced on 10 September 2026.
- The ~40km strike has historically received only shallow air core drilling to bedrock — multiple copper and gold basement anomalies have never been followed up with targeted drilling, creating genuine discovery potential beyond resource extension.
LinQ Minerals fires up 30,000m drill campaign at Gilmore
LinQ Minerals (ASX: LNQ) has mobilised a drill rig and commenced a fully funded 30,000m campaign at its 100% owned Gilmore Project, located within NSW’s Macquarie Arc. The program targets both resource growth and new discovery across approximately 40km of strike, backed by a cash position of approximately $16.2m as at 30 June 2026.
What’s in the ground already
Before examining where the drills are headed, it helps to understand the scale of what LinQ is already sitting on. The Gilmore Project hosts a Global Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 516Mt containing approximately 3.7Moz Au and 1.2Mt Cu, spread across 6 mineral resource deposits within a ~597km² tenement package.
Key resource metrics at a glance:
- Global MRE: 516Mt
- Contained gold: approximately 3.7Moz Au
- Contained copper: approximately 1.2Mt Cu
- Tenement area: approximately 597km²
- Known prospects: 20+
- Mineral resource deposits: 6
That existing resource base is the foundation LinQ is now building on with systematic, targeted drilling across a belt that has seen limited modern exploration.
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Eight targets, one campaign — where the drills are headed
The current program focuses on the Southern and Central Zones, with eight specific targets selected for drilling. According to the announcement, the belt has historically received only shallow air core drilling to bedrock, which identified multiple areas of strong copper and gold basement anomalism that have never been followed up with targeted drilling. That gap is precisely what LinQ is now addressing.
The eight planned drilling targets are:
- Gidginbung South (IP Anomaly) — an area with very limited historical exploration
- Mandamah — resource extension
- Estoril to Monza — approximately 1km strike of untested basement drilling
- Monza — follow-up on recent assay results (ref: 10 September 2026 announcement)
- Donnington — LinQ’s maiden drilling campaign at this specific prospect
- Donnington North (Punch) — testing the size of the prospect
- Gidginbung North (Blind Porphyry target)
- Yiddah South — resource extension
The Monza prospect is one of the more closely watched targets in the current campaign, given that LinQ previously intersected high-grade copper-gold at Monza in results that underpinned the follow-up program now underway.
| Target | Zone | Primary Objective | Previous Work | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gidginbung South (IP Anomaly) | Southern | Test IP anomaly south of Gidginbung | Very limited historical exploration | Planned |
| Mandamah | Central | Resource extension | Existing MRE deposit | Planned |
| Estoril to Monza | Central | ~1km strike of untested basement drilling | Limited targeted drilling | Planned |
| Monza | Central | Follow-up on recent assay results | Assay results announced 10 Sep 2026 | Planned |
| Donnington | Central | Commence LinQ’s maiden drilling at this prospect | Advanced prospect; no prior LinQ drilling | Planned |
| Donnington North (Punch) | Central | Test size of prospect | Sporadic prior drilling | Planned |
| Gidginbung North (Blind Porphyry target) | Southern | Test blind porphyry target | Geophysical IP target identified Jun 2026 | Planned |
| Yiddah South | Central | Resource extension | Existing MRE deposit | Planned |
The Southern Zone sits on the southern limit of the Rain Hill Monzodiorite, where shallower epithermal gold systems like Gidginbung exist over deeper porphyry copper-gold-molybdenum centres along a 6km strike fault complex. The geological setting is described in the announcement as analogous to Wafi-Golpu (PNG), Lepanto-Far Southeast (Philippines), and Frieda River (PNG).
The Central Zone comprises a 17km belt of mineralised porphyry copper and gold, including the Estoril, Culingerai, and Mandamah deposits, plus the advanced Monza and Donnington prospects. This zone is described as geologically analogous to the Northparkes copper-gold complex, located approximately 150km north of the Gilmore Project.
Why the ~40km strike matters
The scale of the opportunity here comes down to what hasn’t been done yet. Historically, the approximately 40km strike has received only shallow air core drilling to bedrock. That work identified multiple areas of strong copper and gold basement anomalism, but none of those anomalies have been followed up with targeted drilling. LinQ is now systematically drill-testing these anomalies for the first time, which is where the genuine discovery potential lies.
Understanding porphyry copper-gold systems — why the Macquarie Arc is Australia’s premier address
A porphyry copper-gold system is a large, low-to-moderate grade mineral deposit formed by hydrothermal fluids associated with intrusive igneous rocks. These systems are among the world’s most economically significant ore deposit types, accounting for a large proportion of global copper and gold production.
The Macquarie Arc in NSW is recognised as Australia’s premier porphyry gold-copper province. The Gilmore Project sits within this Arc, hosting what the announcement describes as the full suite of Macquarie Arc intrusive gold-copper systems. Neighbouring operations in the same geological province include Cadia (Newmont), Cowal (Evolution), and Northparkes (Evolution), which illustrate the calibre of the district LinQ operates in. The announcement includes these as geological analogues for context; they do not imply Gilmore is comparable in scale to those operations.
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Funded and focused — what investors should watch for
Three things stand out from an investment perspective.
Funding security. LinQ holds approximately $16.2m in cash (as at 30 June 2026), and the drill campaign is fully funded. Near-term capital risk appears low on current cash position.
Upcoming catalysts. The most immediate watch points are Donnington, where LinQ is commencing its maiden drilling at that prospect, and Monza, where follow-up drilling builds on assay results announced on 10 September 2026.
Commodity leverage. With copper and gold both in structural demand, the Gilmore Project’s 516Mt MRE at approximately 3.7Moz Au and 1.2Mt Cu gives LinQ meaningful leverage to both metals. The combination of an existing resource base and a live, multi-target drill program creates a dual-catalyst setup: resource growth from extensions, and potential new discovery from the untested basement anomalies across the broader belt.
For readers wanting the full picture on what initial drilling revealed across these prospects, our dedicated guide to LinQ’s maiden drilling results across the Gilmore belt documents the gold mineralisation intersections that shaped the target selection now driving the 30,000m program.
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