REG - ECR Minerals PLC - Correction: Exploration Update

ECR MineralsAnnouncement

11/07/2024 09:15

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RNS Number : 0352W  ECR Minerals PLC  11 July 2024

ECR MINERALS plc

 

("ECR Minerals", "ECR" or the "Company")

 

Correction: Exploration Update for Blue Mountain and Lolworth Projects,
Queensland

 

The following amendment has been made to the '(ECR Minerals - Exploration
Update for Blue Mountain and Lolworth Projects, Queensland)' announcement

released on 11 July 2024 at 07:02 under RNS No 9997V

 

Confirmation of Acquisition of Blue Mountain

On 5 April 2023 the Company announced the potential acquisition of a 100%
interest in the Blue Mountain Project, Queensland subject to certain
conditions. The Company confirms that all conditions have been satisfied and
31,913,196 Ordinary Shares have been issued (at a price of 0.6267p being the
VWAP for trading in ECRs shares on AIM in the 30 days prior to the date of the
relevant agreement)

All other details remain unchanged.

 

The full amended text is shown below.

 

Exploration Update for Blue Mountain and Lolworth Projects, Queensland

 

ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused
on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce an update on exploration
activities across the Company's Blue Mountain and Lolworth Projects in
Queensland, Australia.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

 

Blue Mountain

·    Trenching completed at former alluvial gold sites producing 9 bulk
concentrate samples

·    Samples submitted for laboratory analysis to determine next steps,
which may include metallurgical test work to assess commercial opportunities

·    Application submitted for 5-year extension of the licence area

 

Lolworth

·    Initial hard rock trenching planned for Gorge Creek West

·    Chief Geologist to join field crews as focus shifts to the north of
the Lolworth Project area where niobium and additional gold prospects are
located

·    ECR remains fully funded for its planned operations in Queensland and
Victoria in 2024

 

Blue Mountain

 

Trenching has now been completed by ECR across several former alluvial gold
sites sampled by the previous owner of Blue Mountain in 2021. A total of 11
trenches were excavated, resulting in 9 individual bulk concentrate samples.
Gravels from 9 of the trenches were processed through a trommel wash plant.
These excavations were carried out jointly with the landholder who has been
fully supportive of ECR's exploration activities.

 

As previously announced, the Directors of ECR understand that, historically,
the Cania & Kroombit Mineral Fields within Blue Mountain were gold
producers. Alluvial gold was discovered in 1871 with a steady fall in alluvial
mining by 1875 but, in 1879, the discovery of nearby gold bearing quartz reefs
triggered a short-term revival. Independent work from BlueKebble Pty Limited
("BlueKebble"), the previous owner of the project, suggests that over 1,000
ounces of gold (reef and alluvial) were recovered in 1880. Whilst ECR has just
commenced on-ground verification work at the tenements, as set out in this
announcement, the Board believes that there is an excellent opportunity to
investigate the hard rock potential source of the alluvial gold, based on
internal reports provided by Bluekebble as part of the acquisition. The
information from Bluekebble has not been verified by ECR (and accordingly it
cannot be relied upon and there can be no guarantee the findings are correct),
however the following key points from Bluekebble's internal reports have
helped inform the board as to the potential at this site:

 

'The whole area is believed to host shallow gold mineralisation evidenced by
trenches carrying gold.

An area 1 km by 2km was systematically tested and Bluekebble believed they
could show visible gold to be present in the volcanic basalts to the south and
within the metasediments to the north. Bluekebble also utilised a Wilfley
Table to make a heavy mineral concentrate to calculate additional alluvial
gold resources within Denny Gully. This table concentrates alluvial gravels
down to a heavy mineral concentrate, which is then is analysed for gold. The
results are back calculated to a meaningful grade per cubic metre of alluvial
gravel equivalent. Bluekebble believed that nearby sources of the alluvial
gold could be hosted in the northern section proximal to the creeks where they
observed visible coarse and nuggetty gold during their Wilfley Table testing.
Bluekebble also believed that good gold grades could be hosted within the
volcanic basalts within the tenement and that shallow mineralisation down to 4
metres could potentially yield over 100,000 oz gold.'

 

Recent surveys by ECR have identified multiple locations along the creek
system within the tenement that warrant further follow up and testing.
Extensive creek flats, elevated creek gravels and remnants of historical 'gold
rush' activities suggest substantial areas of unexplored and potentially
prospective ground.

 

With both tenements scheduled to expire later this year, ECR, through its
wholly owned subsidiary LUX Exploration Pty Ltd ("LUX"), has submitted an
application for a 5-year extension of the licence area. The Directors believe
that LUX is well placed for approval of this extension.

 

Next Steps

The bulk concentrate samples from the trenching have been dispatched to the
laboratory for gold content analysis. Should the results meet with ECR's
expectations, the next steps for the project will involve metallurgical
testing which will be crucial in assessing the viability and potential
commercial opportunities for the project as well as further delineation of the
alluvial gold potential both upstream and downstream of the recent testing.

 

The Board is of the view that, while the Company awaits the results from
laboratory analysis, the Company's cash resources and personnel are best spent
accelerating exploration efforts at its other highly prospective asset in
Queensland - Lolworth.

 

Confirmation of Acquisition of Blue Mountain

On 5 April 2023 the Company announced the potential acquisition of a 100%
interest in the Blue Mountain Project, Queensland subject to certain
conditions. The Company confirms that all conditions have been satisfied and
31,913,196 Ordinary Shares have been issued (at a price of 0.6267p being the
VWAP for trading in ECRs shares on AIM in the 30 days prior to the date of the
relevant agreement) (the 'Consideration Shares"). Application has been made
for the Consideration Shares to trading on AIM ("Admission") and Admission is
expected to commence, and dealing in the Consideration Shares is expected to
start on or around 17 July 2024.  The Consideration Shares will rank pari
passu with the existing ordinary shares.

 

Full details of the acquisition are set out in the announcement dated 5 April
2023. Link here
(https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/ecr_minerals_plc/news/rns/story/w9jjg1x)
to view.

 

Lolworth

 

Two field staff have been working on site since early May 2024 and Chief
Geologist Adam Jones along with his team currently at Blue Mountain will join
them in the coming weeks. Initial field work across several gold prospects in
the Upper Gorge Creek area has shown promising signs, including visible gold
in streams and hillsides. Soil sampling grids have been established above
streams with previous positive results, and plans are in place for initial
hard rock trenching in the Gorge Creek West area.

 

Geological mapping indicates an anomalous gold trend along the westerly
striking contact between granite and altered sedimentary rocks. Previous rock
chip samples have returned grades of up to 3.13 g/t Au, with localised higher
grades up to 13.75 g/t Au (see Fig.1 below). Additionally, gold nuggets
weighing up to 12 grams have been identified in the immediate watershed below.
Further trenching is planned to assess the width of the granite and altered
rocks.

 

Other notable prospects include a 4m x 200m rhyolitic intrusion where previous
samples averaged about 0.4 g/t Au, with highs up to 8 g/t Au. This intrusion's
strike is a key focus for the team during the current visit.

Figure 1: Lolworth Project Overview and Results

Next Steps

ECR's team will move north to focus on the Reedy Creek (Gold) and Oaky Creek
(Niobium) prospects. They will conduct intensive soil sampling, geological
mapping, and outcrop sampling, with particular interest in the headwaters
between Reedy Creek and Butterfly Creek, known for coarse gold in stream
samples of up to 962 ppm Au. Aerial imagery has identified potential quartz
veining in the hills above this area.

 

Adam Jones Chief Geologist commented; ''I'm delighted with the progress and
results achieved at Blue Mountain. The recovery of visible gold through our
washplant has exceeded expectations and validates our decision to acquire the
asset."

 

Mike Whitlow Chief Operating Officer added; ''We eagerly await the results of
laboratory analysis which will guide our next steps for Blue Mountain and
ideally it will support our view that this is a highly prospective gold
project. I'm equally excited to have our Chief Geologist join the field crew
at Lolworth in the coming weeks as we step up our exploration efforts there
and seek to unlock the significant potential for gold and rare earths that the
Board recognises in this project.''

 

Admission and Disclosure and Transparency Rules

 

Following Admission, ECR's issued ordinary share capital will comprise
1,857,061,117 ordinary shares of 0.001 pence. This number represents the
total voting rights in the Company, and, following admission may be used by
shareholders as the denominator for the calculation by which they can
determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to
their interest in, the Company under the Financial Conduct
Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.

 

Review of Announcement by Qualified Person

 

This announcement has been reviewed by Adam Jones, Chief Geologist at ECR
Minerals plc. Adam Jones is a professional geologist and is a Member of
the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (MAIG). He is a qualified person
as that term is defined by the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

 

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of
the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law
by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is
disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of
MAR.

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

 

 ECR Minerals plc                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Tel: +44 (0) 1738 317 693
 Nick Tulloch, Chairman

 Andrew Scott, Director

 Email:

 info@ecrminerals.com (mailto:info@ecrminerals.com)
 Website: www.ecrminerals.com
 (http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecrminerals.com%2F&esheet=51817334&newsitemid=20180605005810&lan=en-US&anchor=www.ecrminerals.com&index=1&md5=820ad49dc1fc2c84a0538453c017bc1b)

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 Public & Investor Relations
 Alan Green

 

ABOUT ECR MINERALS PLC

 

ECR Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company. ECR's wholly
owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd ("MGA") has 100%
ownership of the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central Victoria,
Australia, has six licence applications outstanding which includes one licence
application lodged in eastern Victoria (Tambo gold project).

 

ECR also owns 100% of an Australian subsidiary LUX Exploration Pty Ltd ("LUX")
which has three approved exploration permits covering 946 km2 over a
relatively unexplored area in Lolworth Range, Queensland, Australia. The
Company has also submitted a license application at Kondaparinga which is
approximately 120km2 in area and located within the Hodgkinson Gold
Province, 80km NW of Mareeba, North Queensland.

 

Following the sale of the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold projects in
Victoria, Australia to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (TSX-V: FSX) and the
subsequent spin-out of the Avoca and Timor projects to Leviathan Gold Ltd
(TSX-V: LVX), MGA has the right to receive up to A$2 million in payments
subject to future resource estimation or production from projects sold to
Fosterville South Exploration Limited.  ECR holds a royalty on the SLM gold
project in La Rioja Province, Argentina which could potentially receive up to
US$2.7 million in aggregate across all licences.

 

MGA also has approximately A$75 million of unutilised tax losses incurred
during previous operations.

 

 

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