REG - ECR Minerals PLC - Exploration and Corporate Update

ECR MineralsAnnouncement

24/03/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 7827B  ECR Minerals PLC  24 March 2025

24 March 2025

 

                                               ECR MINERALS plc

 

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

 

Exploration and Corporate Update

 

ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused
on gold in Australia, provides the following update on its ongoing exploration
and corporate activities.

 

HIGHLIGHTS

●     Proposed antimony-focused Diamond Drilling programme to commence
in April 2025 at Bailieston, Central Victoria, Australia (the "Bailieston
Project")

●     Drilling to get underway at Lolworth Gold and Rare Earths project
in H1 2025

 

Bailieston Gold and Antimony Project

 

As announced on 3 July 2024, sampling at the Company's Bailieston Project
identified a high-grade antimony zone, with hole 19 returning an impressive
32% antimony grade over 0.3 metres and 1.2% antimony over 0.1 metres in hole
27. Holes 43, 34, and 42 are adjacent to this zone. Hole 43, located 50 metres
south of the antimony vein, also delivered the Company's best gold drilling
intercept to date at the Bailieston Project -four metres at 9 g/t gold. Hole
43 is yet to be followed up with further drilling.

 

Field teams have now successfully completed a rock chip sampling program with
results expected to be announced in the coming weeks. Initial Portable X-Ray
Fluorescence ("PXRF") analysis has identified surface expressions of antimony
("Sb"), consistent with historical workings and mapped shear zones, further
reinforcing the Bailieston Project's antimony prospectivity.

 

ECR intends to launch a targeted drilling campaign at the Bailieston Project
to define the extent of antimony mineralisation, with drilling scheduled to
commence in April 2025.

 

Corporate Update

 

ECR continues to evaluate opportunities to optimise value across its asset
portfolio. Since the update provided on 28 February 2025, the Company has
received additional third-party interest in the tax losses held by Mercator
Gold Australia Pty Ltd ("MGA") and certain non-core assets, excluding the
EL5433 licence, which encompasses the Bailieston Antimony project.

 

As previously announced, any disposal of MGA may be considered to be a
fundamental change of business pursuant to Rule 15 of the AIM Rules for
Companies. If applicable, this would require, amongst other items, the
proposed disposal of MGA to be conditional on the consent of the Company's
shareholders being given in a general meeting, the publication of a
shareholder circular detailing the terms of the transaction and certain other
disclosures as set out in the AIM Rules.  There can be no guarantee as to the
conclusion of any agreement for the disposal of MGA, nor as to the timing or
final terms, structure or value of any such transaction.  Any transaction
involving the Company's tax losses would likely be coupled with a
restructuring of MGA, as indicated in the Company's previous announcements.

 

Queensland

 

In Queensland, development at the Blue Mountain Gold project continues with
technical and geological activities advancing in line with management's
expectations. The current focus includes mapping out the optimal trenching
location using drones or ground-penetrating radar, ensuring access to water
via on-site creeks and implementing water recovery plans. The current
development proposal involves a larger wash plant being commissioned, either
custom-built or purchased and modified for the Blue Mountain Gold Project,
with suitable suppliers identified.

 

A bulk testing campaign will aim to validate the Company's financial modelling
before potentially moving to production. The Blue Mountain Gold Project is
estimated by ECR to have an indicative revenue potential of approximately
A$470,000 (US$295,000) monthly, based on a 0.6 g/BCM grade, a 25 tonnes per
hour wash plant, and a gold price of US$2,790 per ounce. This could
potentially increase with dual wash plants and the current higher gold price.

 

The Blue Mountain Gold Project, an alluvial gold system, requires lower
capital expenditure compared to other gold projects. The deepest trench was
four metres, with the best recovery at 1.5 metres. The estimated costs for the
2025 work programme and wash plant are within management's budget and current
cash resources.

 

At Lolworth, ECR has secured a drill rig, with drilling anticipated to
commence towards the end of H1 2025.

 

Financial Position

 

ECR remains well-funded, strengthened by the receipt of A$225,000 from the
recent sale of the Brewing Lane property as announced on 5 March 2025. This
strategic divestment enhances the Company's balance sheet and ensures that it
is well-capitalised to advance exploration across its portfolio and bring the
Blue Mountain Gold Project potentially into production.

 

Mike Whitlow, ECR's Managing Director, said: "We're excited to be moving
forward with the upcoming antimony drilling program at our Bailieston Project,
scheduled to begin next month. The recent rock chip sampling and PXRF analysis
has highlighted the promising potential of the tenement, and we are eager to
drill further to better define the extent of the antimony mineralisation.
Additionally, with continued third-party interest in our tax losses and
non-core assets, we see significant opportunities to potentially unlock value
across our portfolio. We are also pleased to be advancing our exploration and
development activities, particularly at the Blue Mountain Gold Project and the
Lolworth Gold and Rare Earths project. We believe that these developments,
combined with a solid financial foundation, position ECR for growth and
success in 2025 and beyond."

 

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.

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

 

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

 Andrew Scott, Director

 Email:

 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)

 Allenby Capital Limited                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Tel: +44 (0) 3328 5656
 Nominated Adviser                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    info@allenbycapital.com (mailto:info@allenbycapital.com)

 Nick Naylor / Alex Brearley / Vivek Bhardwaj

 Axis Capital Markets Limited                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Tel: +44 (0) 203 026 0320
 Broker
 Lewis Jones

 SI Capital Ltd                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413500
 Broker
 Nick Emerson

 Brand Communications                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Tel: +44 (0) 7976 431608
 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 km(2) over a
relatively unexplored area in Lolworth Range, Queensland, Australia. The
Company has also submitted a license application at Kondaparinga which is
approximately 120km(2) 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.

 

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

 

ECR is also in exclusive negotiations to acquire Maximus Minerals Ltd for
£500,000 along with exercising that company's option over the Cat Key
advanced gold project for C$600,000.  The consideration, if the transaction
completes, will be settled in new ECR shares, issued at no less than 0.33
pence per share.

 

Glossary

 

 Au:    Gold
 BCM    Bank cubic metres (Metric)
 g/t:   Grammes per Tonne (Metric)
 km:    Kilometres (Metric)
 km²:   Kilometre squared (Metric)
 M:     Metres (Metric)
 Sb:    Antimony
 Sq:    Square (Metric)

 

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