Highlights

• Moonlight Resources listed on 11 December 2025 after raising $10 million through 50,000,000 shares at $0.20 each.

• The company bought the Clermont Project in central Queensland from Diatreme Resources for $250,000 cash plus 16,250,000 shares.

• Reverse circulation drilling at Leo Grande returned initial gold results in January 2026; Phase 2 followed in February.

• Cash reached $9,026,783 at 31 December 2025, while the half-year loss after tax was $791,063.

Moonlight Resources Ltd (ASX:ML8) used its first months as a listed explorer to buy a gold project and put drills on it. Shares were trading at A$0.150 on 23 October 2026, up 7.14%. The company's half-year report to 31 December 2025 sets out how the money raised at listing was committed and what it has left to spend.

Listing and the Clermont Purchase

Moonlight, which explores for gold and rare earth-uranium in Queensland, the Northern Territory, Western Australia and New South Wales, listed on 11 December 2025. The offer raised $10 million from 50,000,000 shares at $0.20 and was fully underwritten by Leeuwin Wealth Pty Limited. Before the offer, on 1 October 2025, the company had placed 6,000,000 shares at $0.10.

The listing came with a deal. Moonlight acquired Chalcophile Resources and PGE Minerals, the holders of the Clermont Project in central Queensland, from Diatreme Resources. Consideration was $250,000 in cash plus 16,250,000 shares at $0.20, valuing the purchase at $3.5 million. The company accounted for it as an asset acquisition rather than a business combination.

Drilling at Leo Grande

The first drilling targeted the Leo Grande prospect within Clermont, using reverse circulation methods. On 27 January 2026 the company released initial results, reporting thick, near-surface gold intersections. A Phase 2 drilling campaign followed with an announcement on 26 February 2026.

What the Accounts Show

Listing and corporate costs drove the result. The loss after tax for the half-year was $791,063, compared with $4,281 a year earlier, equal to a loss of 2.16 cents per share. Listing and share registry costs were $257,512, professional fees were $190,960 and share-based payments were $189,318.

The balance sheet shifted sharply. Cash rose to $9,026,783 from $151,911 at 30 June 2025, and exploration and evaluation assets grew to $4,637,351 from $870,928. Total assets were $13,913,840 against liabilities of $633,434, leaving net assets of $13,280,406. Shares on issue totalled 96,933,835.

Options, Royalties and the Road Ahead

The company issued 26,000,000 options at $0.30 to parties that supported the offer, expiring on 4 December 2028, and 25,000,013 attaching options at $0.30 to investors in the offer. It also granted 7,858,383 performance rights to directors and senior officers. Moonlight carries a contingent 1% royalty obligation to Lithium Plus Minerals on the Moonlight Project, tenement EL3124.

Committed exploration expenditure on its licences totals $245,401. The Phase 2 program at Leo Grande is the next activity the company has disclosed, though the half-year report does not give a timetable for its results.