REG - ECR Minerals PLC - Operations update

ECR MineralsAnnouncement

11/11/2025 07:00

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RNS Number : 9393G  ECR Minerals PLC  11 November 2025

 

 

11 November 2025

 

ECR MINERALS PLC

 

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

 

Operations update

 

ECR Minerals plc (AIM: ECR), the exploration and development company focused
on gold in Australia, is pleased to provide an update on the next steps
following the successful conclusion of its 2025 drilling programme at the
Lolworth Gold and Rare Earths Project ("Lolworth") and the Blue Mountain
Project ("Blue Mountain") in Queensland, together with a wider update on
progress in respect of its other operations and recent activities.

The Company's operational focus continues to centre on establishing near-term
production at its advanced-stage Queensland alluvial gold projects, while
seeking to unlock the large-scale discovery potential across its broader
tenement package in one of Australia's most prospective gold provinces.

 

Highlights

·    Assay results from drilling at Lolworth and Blue Mountain are
expected this month.

·    Visual indicators from wash plant trials at Blue Mountain support
plans for commercial production.

·    Legal documentation for proposed acquisition of the Raglan Project
are well advanced, with discussions with production partners underway.

·    Creswick JV (defined below) discussions ongoing and the ECR board are
assessing opportunities for other tenements.

 

Queensland drilling programme

During July and August, ECR drilled almost 400 holes across the Lower
Patterson, Windmill and Upper Kariboe Creek areas at Blue Mountain using a
reverse circulation drilling rig. Visible gold has been confirmed in multiple
zones and preliminary results were announced on 15 September 2025 confirming
extensive gold mineralisation in the Lower Patterson area.  Samples from the
remaining holes have been sent for assay and results are expected this month.

The rig then moved to Lolworth where ECR drilled 21 holes at the Uncle Terry
prospect and a further seven holes at the Gorge Creek West prospect, to depths
of between 30 and 42 metres, during September.  Drill samples have now been
packaged and recorded and are also with the laboratory for assay.

 

Following completion of activities at Lolworth, the ECR team returned to Blue
Mountain where several wash plant trials were conducted to determine the
likely gold recovery.  The trials were conducted over both high and low grade
material and preliminary observations based on visible gold have been
encouraging.

 

As previously announced, the distribution of gold particles within the
alluvial gravels at Blue Mountain is not yet fully known. Drill samples are
small volumes of material and so, whilst drill results are indicative of the
location of gold and therefore where mining may in the future take place, they
are not suitable for resource estimation or for providing a definitive
indication of grade.  The wash plant trials are conducted with bulk samples
which are designed to determine a more representative gold content and
potential recovery rate.  Interestingly, and based on visible analysis,
results appear to be better in the lower grade material areas.  This supports
ECR's theory that there is an element of coarse gold at Blue Mountain which
cannot always be reliably picked up from drill samples.

 

Further analysis of the wash plant samples is currently being conducted.

 

Although several results are outstanding, the information to date supports
ECR's belief in respect of the commercial opportunity at Blue Mountain.  Once
all the results are available, ECR intends to submit a mining lease
application in the fourth quarter of 2025, as the next step towards production
at Blue Mountain and cashflow generation.

 

Raglan Project - Near-Term Production of Alluvial Gold

As announced on 1 October 2025 and 17 October 2025, ECR is proposing to
acquire Raglan Resources Pty Ltd (the "Proposed Acquisition"), the holder of
Licence ML 3665 (the "Raglan Project") for A$1.01 million.  The purchase
price is fully funded by the subscription announced on 1 October 2025. Legal
documentation is now very advanced and subject only to comments from the
vendors' lawyers.  All due diligence questions have also been submitted and,
to date, the information supplied has been in line with ECR's expectations.
As such, ECR anticipates completing the Proposed Acquisition this month.

 

Pending anticipated completion of the Proposed Acquisition, ECR has also begun
discussions with a potential production team, the aim being to ensure that
gold production at the Raglan Project can begin within a relatively short time
thereafter.

 

There can be no certainty that final binding terms will be agreed in order to
complete the Proposed Acquisition, nor as to the timing or final terms, value
or conditions of the Proposed Acquisition. Further updates will be provided in
due course.

 

Other tenements

On 18 September 2025, ECR announced that it had entered into a non-binding
heads of terms with Exertis Pty Ltd trading as Bold Gold ("Bold Gold") for a
proposed joint venture (the "Creswick JV") covering the Company's Creswick
Gold Project in Victoria, Australia.  Discussions remain ongoing.

 

The Company is also undertaking a review of its portfolio including tenements
that have received less focus.  We consider that it has long been a strength
of ECR that it holds an extensive and diverse portfolio but, with the
near-term production and revenue opportunities in Queensland, the board of
directors is assessing future operations to ensure it gets the best value out
of all projects without diverting from its core strategic objectives.  In
this regard, and by way of example, the Company is assessing an approach for a
possible joint venture over another of its tenements.  This discussion is at
a very early stage but is illustrative of the board's plans for the future.
The Company operates with a small team and the objective is to ensure that
they are able to focus on the highest impact projects.  ECR expects to
develop its work programme for 2026 shortly, although it will be no surprise
to investors that it will be dominated by the Queensland projects.

 

ECR Chairman Nick Tulloch added: "It may have been relatively quiet on the
news front for ECR in the past few weeks but, behind the scenes, it has been a
very busy period for us.  All samples from the Queensland drilling campaigns
are now in the laboratory for analysis, as are the outputs from the wash plant
trials at Blue Mountain.  The administrative tasks of preparing to produce
gold, initially at Raglan once this Proposed Acquisition has been completed
and then nearby at Blue Mountain, are also well advanced.

 

"We believe that ECR is undergoing a transformation from explorer to producer
and these forthcoming assay results will shape our plans in this regard at
Blue Mountain.  Meanwhile we continue to work towards the conclusion of our
Proposed Acquisition of the Raglan project where we anticipate commencing
production relatively quickly after completion.

 

"This repositioning of our strategy over the last year naturally requires an
assessment of portfolio.  We operate with a small team and, as we concentrate
on alluvial gold production, we will ensure that we continue to build value in
our other projects. These plans will develop over the coming months and I will
look forward to updating shareholders during that period."

 

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) 20 8080 8176
 Nick Tulloch, Chairman                                                                                                                                                                                                                             info@ecrminerals.com

 Andrew Scott, Director

 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 and Joint Broker                                                                                                                                                                                                                 info@allenbycapital.com
 Alex Brearley / Nick Naylor / Vivek Bhardwaj (Corporate Finance)
 Kelly Gardiner (Sales and Corporate Broking)

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

 SI Capital Ltd                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413500
 Joint 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 operating
through two wholly owned Australian subsidiaries ECR Minerals (Australia) Pty
Ltd ("ECR Australia") and ECR Minerals (Queensland) Pty Ltd ("ECR
Queensland").

 

ECR Australia owns the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central
Victoria, Australia as well as the Tambo gold project in eastern Victoria.

 

ECR Queensland has two approved exploration permits over the Blue Mountain
alluvial gold project in central Queensland, Australia, which it is currently
working to bring into production.  It also has three approved exploration
permits covering 946 km2 over a relatively unexplored area in Lolworth Range
in northern Queensland. Furthermore, ECR Queensland has also submitted a
licence 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), ECR Australia has the right to receive up to A$2 million in
payments subject to future resource estimation or production from these
projects.

 

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

 

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