REG - ECR Minerals PLC - Unaudited Half-Yearly Results
25/06/2025 07:02
For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
https://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20250625:nRSY2641Oa&default-theme=true
RNS Number : 2641O ECR Minerals PLC 25 June 2025
This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Regulation
11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310.
25 June 2025
ECR MINERALS PLC
("ECR Minerals", "ECR" or the "Company")
Unaudited Half-Yearly Results for the Six Months Ended 31 March 2025
and Operations Update
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused
on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce the Company's unaudited
half-yearly financial results for the six months ended 31 March 2025, along
with a review of significant developments during and post period.
HIGHLIGHTS
Operational highlights:
· 2025 work programme fully funded with recent drilling project at
Bailieston under budget
· Drilling rig mobilised for Blue Mountain with bulk sampling and
prototype wash plant testing to demonstrate recovery and revenue potential
· Forthcoming drilling programme at Lolworth where a minimum of 1,500
metres of percussion drilling is planned
· Drilling at Bailieston, Victoria following up on historic 32%
antimony grade confirms structural continuity of gold and antimony
· Maiden diamond drilling campaign at Tambo, Victoria with best drill
intercepts of 0.15 metres @ 24.10 g/t Au, 0.15 metres @ 10.6 g/t Au, 0.40
metres @ 8.51 g/t Au, 0.35 metres @ 1.47 g/t Au and 0.15 metres @ 1.42 g/t Au
Financial highlights:
· Sale of land at Brewing Lane in Victoria realised A$225,000
· Ongoing programme to seek to realise value from historic accumulated
tax losses of over A$75 million either by sale to a third party or by
application to ECR's proposed production plans
· Further cost savings through reduction in scope of Australian
consultants and advisers
· Fundraising completed in December 2024 to raise gross proceeds of
£950,000
Nick Tulloch, Chairman, said: "Much of the commentary on ECR over the past six
months was dominated by our A$75 million of tax losses and there are two
things that I want to make clear. Realising value from these tax losses is
still very much on our agenda but we will not let them go cheaply and we will
weigh up any third party offer against the value that ECR itself can obtain
from them via its proposed production plans.
"This latter point is most important. The development of Blue Mountain gives
ECR, for the first time in its history, a clear line of sight on revenues and,
with the prevailing strength in the gold price, a meaningful expectation of
value. If that project performs as we expect it to, then the economic
savings from utilising our tax losses there have the potential to considerably
exceed the value that we may realise by selling our tax losses. Alongside
Blue Mountain, promising results elsewhere in our operations, alongside
forthcoming exploration activities, provide further encouragement in relation
to future financial performance. But we are also mindful of the costs of
developing production and we will look carefully at all approaches for the tax
losses which, if structured appropriately, may provide a significant source of
funding.
"The next two months in particular marks a pivotal moment for ECR. Our work
in Queensland got underway this week and in the immediate term our eyes are on
Blue Mountain where we are carrying out a shallow drilling programme and wash
plant prototype testing to determine the process for moving to large scale
alluvial mining at the project. From there the team will move 1,000 km north
to Lolworth with the rig to target the high-grade gold and rare earth
prospects that our surface exploration has pointed to."
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
ECR Minerals Plc Tel: +44 (0) 02 8080 8176
Nick Tulloch, Chairman info@ecrminerals.com (mailto: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 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
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
I am pleased to present ECR's interim results for the six months ended 31
March 2025.
The period began with our announcement in October 2024 of highly encouraging
results from the enhanced gold recovery process at our Blue Mountain project
in Queensland. Working with Gekko Systems Pty Limited ("Gekko"), we have
demonstrated a recovery rate of 91.7% gold into 0.40% of the mass and
suggesting that the ore located at the Blue Mountain Project is suitable for
gravity concentration using a batch centrifugal concentrator. We said at the
time that, if these results are repeatable across the Blue Mountain project
area, then ECR might have a commercial project. This news set the tone for
much of the work done at Blue Mountain since, all of which is targeting the
installation of a production plant on site and a move to an alluvial mining
operation.
As with any small natural resources company, moving from exploration into
production and, with that, to revenue generation will in due course mark a
decisive moment in our development and I am pleased to report that this very
much remains our primary objective. As we announced on 19 June 2025, we have
recently mobilised a rig and our team will be on site in the final week of
this month. This marks a major operational milestone as we carry out further
bulk sampling and test our revised prototype wash plant modifications to
support our future alluvial mining model.
In these endeavours, we are supported by rising gold prices which this year
have set several new highs and it is self-evident that at recent prices the
prospective margins for our forthcoming operations at Blue Mountain would have
already improved from just a few months ago when we carried out our
preliminary economic analysis.
The year so far has created many uncertainties for investors. Ongoing
conflicts in the Ukraine and Gaza, and more recently elsewhere in the Middle
East, coupled with slowing economies in much of the world may bring gold's
safe-haven status into further focus. We retain our commitment to cost
management and frugal use of our capital resources and we will work hard to
bring Blue Mountain into production so that shareholders may benefit from the
then prevailing gold price.
ECR is of course far more than one project and, whilst the Board is unanimous
in our belief that Blue Mountain is deserving of its status as our primary
focus, we have an extensive portfolio of other opportunities and I have
summarised below how we envisage developing these over the remainder of this
calendar year.
As we announced on 19 June 2025, the progress from our recent projects is
increasing the awareness of ECR in Australia with both prospective
counterparties and investors. We are reinforcing this by renaming our two
Australian subsidiaries ECR Minerals (Australia) Pty Limited ("ECR Australia")
and ECR Minerals (Queensland) Pty Limited, as the previous names did not
directly identify them as ECR group companies.
Before moving into a review of our operations, it is important to note that
one of ECR's largest assets is financial rather than project based. ECR's
wholly owned Australian subsidiary, ECR Australia, carries historic tax losses
of A$75 million that were incurred in previous operations in both Victoria and
Western Australia. As investors will know, we commenced a process to seek
buyers for those tax losses, which in practice means selling ECR Australia
(subject to a corporate reorganisation), last year. As it is in other
countries, selling tax losses is highly specialised and buyers need to be
satisfied of numerous restrictions around utilising those losses outside of
the group in which they were incurred. In spite of these restrictions, we
were flattered by the interest we received and that very quickly validated our
belief that a sale is possible. Our first chosen buyer ultimately was unable
to proceed on the timeline we established due to delays in other unconnected
transactions that it was involved in. We withdrew from negotiations and,
although we continue to receive enquiries from buyers, our own landscape has
changed. The emergence of Blue Mountain as being capable of going into
production, and therefore the possibility of utilising those tax losses
in-house far earlier than we previously envisaged, has created a new
competitive dynamic.
We have put measures in place to be able to separate ECR Australia from the
ECR group should we receive a suitable offer, but we have also ensured that
all of our Australian operations form a single tax group so that potential
future profits from Blue Mountain (or other operations) can be offset against
our historic tax losses.
Whichever solution we settle on, A$75 million of tax losses is a core part of
our value.
Finally, Trevor Davenport retired as a non-executive director of ECR on 31
December 2024. Trevor joined the Board over three years ago and played an
invaluable role in guiding the Company through a period of significant
changes. His insight and expertise were instrumental in supporting ECR's
strategic direction during this time and I am very grateful for all that he
has done for us.
QUEENSLAND
Lolworth
At approximately 900km(2), Lolworth represents over half of ECR's total land
under licence. In July and August this year we will be carrying out our
inaugural drilling programme at Lolworth following extensive fieldwork
campaigns conducted over the past two years. Gold, Niobium-Tantalum and REE
(in particular Neodymium) are the main commodities discovered from these
surface activities.
We reported the results of rock chip sampling and trenching activities in
October 2024 where the highest-grade gold results included 11.05, 14.15 and
14.7 g/t Au. In addition, 23 rock chips returned silver grades greater
than 10 g/t Ag with six samples exceeding 50 g/t Ag. Trenching at the Gorge
Creek West Prospect identified broader zones of gold mineralisation, including
best grades of 11.05, 3.72 and 4.82 g/t Au within a quartz shear zone.
Newly-discovered gold-bearing veins were also identified near Gorge Creek West
and the Uncle Terry prospects.
At the start of 2025, we reported on 165 pan concentrate samples which were
collected from alluvial sources in the eastern area, covering creeks located
north of the Uncle Terry Prospect, east of the Gorge Creek Prospects and
southeast of the Dagwood Prospect. Nine samples returned gold values greater
than 9 ppm Au (with three high-grade samples reporting concentrations of 1,245
ppm, 175.5 ppm and 127 ppm Au) and five samples returned Niobium-Tantalum
concentrations greater than 1,000 ppm of Nb (0.1%).
Once work is complete at Blue Mountain in the coming weeks, the ECR team and
the rig will move north to Lolworth. Drill-ready targets have been clearly
defined based on the surface work to date. The first-pass drilling programme
will prioritise the gold prospects at Gorge Creek West, Uncle Terry and Gorge
Diggings, with Butterfly Creek also under consideration if time and budget
permit. Drilling is expected to commence mid-July, with completion
anticipated in August. A minimum of 1,500 metres of percussion drilling is
planned, using a rig capable of 100mm diameter holes to at least 100 metres
depth. The focus will be on near-surface mineralisation continuity (up to
70m depth), optimising intercept density over depth for cost-effectiveness.
If further evidence was needed of the potential significance of Lolworth, our
partnerships with the Geological Survey of Queensland and James Cook
University are a reminder of the widening interest in a project that is
prospective for both gold and critical minerals.
Kondaparinga
As announced in October 2023, we took the decision to terminate the proposed
"Hurricane" acquisition and shortly ahead of that applied for Exploration
License EPM28910 at Kondaparinga. This area is situated close to the original
geological features that first bought Hurricane to our attention.
Significantly, it is also twice the size of Hurricane. We continue to work
through the process for the licence to be granted and we expect to have this
concluded this year.
Blue Mountain
As I summarised above, Gekko carried out a Single Stage Gravity Recoverable
Gold and Sighter Leach test on samples of ore collected at the Company's Blue
Mountain project in Queensland last year. The findings demonstrated a very
good recovery rate (estimated by Gekko as 91.7% gold into 0.40% of the mass)
and suggested that the ore located at the Blue Mountain project is suitable
for gravity concentration using a batch centrifugal concentrator. Our
expectation is that, if these results are repeatable across the project area,
then ECR may have a commercial project suitable for a production plant on
site.
Since the start of 2025, the ECR team have visited the site to develop plans
for a production programme. This included meeting with the landowner and
carrying out further surveys of historical workings on the site. We have
also used drones and ground penetrating radar to develop a more detailed
understanding of the ground conditions and particularly the depth of bedrock
and this will shortly be followed up by a series of 3 - 5 metres depth holes
on gridlines across the core areas of the alluvial resource.
We have completed modifications to our prototype wash plant and this is being
tested this week to determine what we believe will be a more efficient gold
capture process.
The bulk sampling campaign that is now ongoing will ensure the validity of the
Company's financial modelling of the Blue Mountain Project prior to moving to
production. We previously announced on 3 February 2025, by way of
illustration, that we believe that the Blue Mountain Project is capable of
having an indicative revenue potential of approximately A$470,000 (US$295,000)
per month. This potential revenue illustration uses an average grade of 0.6
grammes per bank cubic metre and Gekko's projected recovery rate, with a wash
plant with a 25 tonne per hour capacity, to provide prospective output per
month of over 3,000 grammes (over 100 ounces) per month.
This illustrative financial return could potentially be increased by operating
dual wash plants but, more significantly, the above calculations were based on
a gold price of US$2,790 per ounce. With prices now some 20% higher, we
consider that the value of the project has potentially increased.
As previously announced, the Blue Mountain project is based on an alluvial
gold system where gold is therefore found at or near the surface. ECR's
deepest trench to date was four metres but the highest recovery was at a depth
of just 1.5 metres. Consequently, bringing the Blue Mountain project into
commercial production is anticipated to not have the high capital expenditure
that other gold mining projects have where higher grades are located at great
depth.
VICTORIA
Bailieston
As announced on 3 July 2024, further sampling of previous drill results at our
Bailieston project identified a high-grade antimony zone, including an
impressive 32% antimony grade over 0.3 metres and 1.2% antimony over 0.1
metres.
In the early part of this year, field teams successfully completed a rock chip
sampling programme as well as an X-Ray Fluorescence ("PXRF") analysis which,
together, identified surface expressions of antimony ("Sb").
With antimony being one of the best performing commodities over the past two
years, the next logical step was to commission a diamond drilling programme to
further explore the presence of both gold and antimony mineralisation. A
total of approximately 570 metres of drilling has now been completed across
four holes with two of those holes previously being reported as intersecting
antimony at grades of 1.62% and 1.41%.
ECR has now received the final results from its recent drilling campaign at
the Bailieston project in Victoria. Hole 4 (BH3DD047), designed to test the
continuity of the high-grade antimony vein intercepted in previous drilling,
successfully intercepted the shear zone at the planned depth of 107m. Although
no significant elevated antimony intercepts were recorded, hole 4 returned an
average grade of 0.3m @ 0.69 g/t Au from an interval at 107.0 to 107.3 metres,
indicating the presence of gold mineralisation within the target zone
(although no significant intercepts were reported from the other intervals
tested from that drill hole).
This extends the known gold-bearing mineralisation from the high-grade
antimony intercept in historic hole BH3DD019, where 32% Sb was previously
reported - an extraordinary concentration that highlights the potential of
discrete, high-grade pods within the system. All four holes in the current
campaign successfully intercepted the shear zone associated with BH3DD019,
confirming structural continuity, though the high-grade antimony zone appears
to have a secondary control not as yet defined. Detailed geological
assessment of the core samples will be undertaken to further the understanding
of the zone to optimise future exploration.
Importantly, larger scale geological trends related to the shear
zone observed during the campaign provide technical confidence for further
exploration, especially given the previously reported channel samples of up
to 0.3m @ 41.3 g/t Au along the Hard Up Reef. This reef system, historically
undeveloped, warrants follow-up investigation, as well as evaluating regional
gold occurrences and mining in the area that add to the potential of
prospective trends and exploration zones as yet untested.
The main shear trend appears to extend further north for at least another 6km
and hosts substantial historic mining activity for both gold and antimony. The
small Bailieston open pit (located just to the north of ECR's property) was
opened up in the early 1990s and produced some 24,000 oz Au and is on the same
trend just 2 km north of ECR's Bailieston's HR3 prospect on gold veins of the
same nature. The nearby Black Cloud Mine also produced over 100 tonnes of high
grade antimony ore in the early 1900s.
Creswick
Although no work was carried out on our Creswick project during the period
under review, its location in the heart of Victoria's historic gold mining
industry and the results of our previous drilling programmes mean that it
remains a significant part of our future operations. We established last
year an extensive broad mineralisation in several holes where contiguous gold
is present indicating the hallmarks of a potential future small-scale
operation.
The nature of being a small company is that we make choices on where to focus
our time and resources. The near-term opportunity at Blue Mountain may take
priority at the moment but we expect to return to Creswick in due course and
continue our work there. As I announced in our AGM statement in April, we
were approached by a third party interested in a potential collaboration on
the development of our Creswick project. Whilst discussions have not
advanced to date, the unsolicited approach itself is a reminder of the ongoing
interest in this region.
Tambo
In October 2024, we commenced our maiden diamond drilling campaign at the
Tambo gold project targeting beneath the historical workings of the Duke of
Cornwall Mine, Swifts Creek. The campaign consisted of five diamond core
drill holes, totalling approximately 439 metres in aggregate, to test strike
and depth continuity of gold mineralisation from the Company's previous
surface rock chip results and to refine the structural model.
The best drill intercepts included 0.15 metres @ 24.10 g/t Au, 0.15 metres @
10.6 g/t Au, 0.40 metres @ 8.51 g/t Au, 0.35 metres @ 1.47 g/t Au and 0.15
metres @ 1.42 g/t Au. These drill results were support by surface channel
(chip) sampling from the Main Lode carried out at the same time and which
returned exceptional results including 0.2 metres @ 180 g/t Au and 0.25
metres @ 27.80 g/t Au.
The drilling campaign successfully demonstrated that mineralisation continues
at depth below the old Duke of Cornwall mine workings in key areas and
considerably enhanced our geological understanding of the prospect. The
structural insights gained will inform the design of future campaigns aimed at
targeting high-grade zones and testing the unexamined central portions of the
Lode.
ACQUISITION STRATEGY
ECR will continue to examine suitable acquisitions and other collaborations
and joint ventures. However, in line with our previous statements, we are
conservative in our approach, guard our cash resources carefully and will only
proceed if we are convinced of compelling value for shareholders.
On 3 March 2025, we announced that we were in exclusive discussion for the
proposed acquisition of Maximus Minerals Ltd ("Maximus"), the owner of three
properties in Ontario, Canada and with an option to acquire a license over a
fourth property also in Ontario. Maximus' prospective resource base was
compelling and potentially a strong fit with ECR by contributing both gold and
base metals to our portfolio, as well as providing geographic
diversification. However, during the due diligence phase of the proposed
acquisition, it became apparent that there were certain unforeseen structural
challenges regarding Maximus that would increase the complications of
successfully concluding any such transaction and thereby detract from its
potential value to ECR. As a result, we took the decision to terminate
discussions.
OTHER ASSETS
Royalties
ECR continues to be entitled to royalties from our former Avoca and Timor
exploration licences being A$1 for every ounce of gold or gold equivalent of
measured resource, indicated resource or inferred resource estimated and A$1
for every ounce of gold or gold equivalent produced, up to a maximum of
A$2,000,000 in aggregate. No payments under the Avoca and Timor exploration
licence were received in the year.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
The Group's net assets at 31 March 2025 were £5,520,965 in comparison with
£5,192,056 as at 31 March 2024.
Despite being active across its portfolio of projects, ECR's capital position
has improved during the period. The Company raised £950,000 before expenses
in December 2024. Savings from closing the London office a year ago, coupled
with a reduction in the scope of work of certain consultants in Australia, are
creating more scope to apply our funds to exploration activities. Also, as
mentioned in previous reports, the Company has continued to operate a
share-based remuneration package for its board and certain consultants,
thereby significantly reducing its cash outlays.
In March 2025, we successfully sold property at Brewing Lane (within the
Creswick licence area) for a consideration of A$225,000. The sale does not
impact the exploration licences that we hold in the area. This year we have
also temporarily sublet part of our office and yard at Eaglehawk, Bendigo.
The arrangement, which only lasted two months, provided some cost
reimbursement whilst the team are on site and our facilities are not in use.
The arrangement was successful and we are now working with a local estate
agent to source other tenants. The yard and core shed are in ongoing use for
ECR but there is a considerable part of the office and site that could be made
available for third parties to use without compromising our own activities.
Importantly, we are fully funded for our 2025 exploration programme.
ECR's wholly owned Australian subsidiary, ECR Australia, carries historic tax
losses of A$75 million that were incurred in previous operations in both
Victoria and Western Australia. In common with other countries, transferred
tax losses in Australia are subject to certain restrictions, primarily on
similarity of business operations, but nevertheless the quantum of these
losses represents a potentially significant asset for ECR and work is ongoing
to seek to realise this value. As I explained above, this could include a
sale to a third party or utilising the tax losses ourselves, most probably
against future profits to be generated via production operations at Blue
Mountain.
On 18 June 2025, we incorporated a new wholly owned subsidiary, ECR Digital
Limited ("ECR Digital"), to provide a platform for managing and exploring
digital asset strategies. This initiative is designed to support ECR's
evolving financial strategy as we move closer to a potential
revenue-generating phase, particularly from Blue Mountain. With increasing
investor interest in alternative treasury structures, we believe that ECR
Digital will give us optionality to potentially hold a portion of our treasury
reserves in digital currency, such as select cryptocurrencies, as either a
partial hedge against fluctuations in gold prices or as a standalone store of
value, which the Board views as effectively functioning as a modern form of
digital inventory.
While this initiative remains at an early stage, we have already conducted
extensive research and any movement into digital currency treasury management
will be subject to strict governance protocols (including a prescribed
treasury policy), including board-level oversight, regulatory compliance and
formal risk management processes. Importantly, this development does not shift
our core operational focus from mineral exploration and production. ECR
Digital is instead viewed as a potentially complementary tool to enhance our
financial agility and safeguard long-term shareholder value in a changing
economic landscape.
The Group's ongoing activities are solely in mineral exploration and
development. It is not in production at any of its current projects and
therefore has no revenue.
As the Group is not generating revenue from operations, the Directors consider
that profit and loss is a metric of less utility than in many other
businesses. For the period to 31 March 2025 the Group recorded a loss for the
period of £400,729 compared with £451,412 for the corresponding period to 31
March 2024, a decrease of 11%, reflecting how the sale of the Brewing Lane
property offset increased exploration activity. The largest contributor to
the total comprehensive loss was the administrative expenses.
Exploration activity took place in both Central Victoria and Northern
Queensland, Australia during the period to 31 March 2025, as discussed in the
Chairman's Report. Capitalised exploration assets are valued at cost; this
value should not be confused with the potential realisable value of the
relevant projects or be considered to determine the value accorded to the
projects by the stock market, which in both cases may be considerably
different.
Outlook
During the period, we have continued to advance our assets across the group
and, hopefully, as shareholders will observe, our pace of activity has
accelerated throughout 2025. Our team's arrival in Queensland this week marks
the start of a campaign running for almost two months - a campaign that we
expect to define production plans at Blue Mountain and considerably advance
our Lolworth gold and rare earths project.
Over the remainder of this calendar year, the Company's work programme will
include:
· Ongoing preparations at Blue Mountain, Queensland aimed at
commencing production
· Our inaugural drilling campaign in Lolworth, Queensland
· Potentially a return to Bailieston, utilising the same rig that we
have on hire to further investigate the Hard Up Reef and the shear
zone observed during the recent drilling campaign
Through a combination of the fundraising announced in December 2024, the
Board's focus on cost management and share based remuneration and this year's
property sale, these activities are fully funded.
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.
ABOUT ECR MINERALS PLC
ECR Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company. ECR's wholly
owned Australian subsidiary, ECR Minerals (Australia) Pty Ltd ("ECR
Australia"), 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, ECR Minerals (Queensland) Pty
Ltd, 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.
ECR Australia also has approximately A$75 million of unutilised tax losses
incurred during previous operations.
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This announcement may include forward-looking statements. Such statements may
be subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from
current expectations. There can be no assurance that such statements will
prove to be accurate and therefore actual results and future events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. Any
forward looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date hereof
(unless stated otherwise) and, except as may be required by applicable laws or
regulations (including the AIM Rules for Companies), the Company disclaims any
obligation to update or modify such forward looking statements as a result of
new information, future events or for any other reason.
GLOSSARY
Au: Gold
g/t: Grammes per Tonne (Metric)
km: Kilometres (Metric)
km²: Kilometre squared (Metric)
M: Metres (Metric)
Nb: Niobium
Ppm: Parts per million (Metric)
PXRF: Portable x-ray fluorescence
Sb: Antimony
Sq: Square (Metric)
Consolidated Income Statement
For the six months ended 31 March 2025
Six months ended Six months ended Year ended
31 March 2025 31 March 2024 30 September 2024
£ £ £
Other administrative expenses (615,185) (540,950) (1,071,671)
Impairment of intangible assets - - (155,262)
Currency exchange differences - - 365
Share based payment - - -
Total administrative expenses (615,185) (540,950) (1,226,568)
Operating loss (615,185) (540,950) (1,226,568)
Fair value movements on of available for sale assets - 1,169 832
Gain or (Loss) on disposal of assets 210,859 7,502 37,097
(404,326) (532,279) (1,188,639)
Financial income 3,597 2,334 5,458
Other income - 78,533 -
Financial expense - - -
Finance income and costs 3,597 80,867 5,458
Loss for the period before taxation (400,729) (451,412) (1,183,181)
Income tax - -
Loss for the period (400,729) (451,412) (1,183,181)
Loss attributable to: Owners of the parent (400,729) (451,412) (1,183,181)
Loss per share - basic and diluted
On continuing operations (0.02)p (0.03)p (0.07)p
Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income
For the six months ended 31 March 2025
Six months ended Six months ended Year ended
31 March 2025 31 March 2024 30 September 2023
£ £ £
Loss for the period (400,729) (451,412) (1,183,181)
Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss
Gain/(losses) on exchange translation (320,092) (102,873) (95,513)
Other comprehensive income/(expense) for the period (320,092) (102,873) (95,513)
Total comprehensive expense for the period (720,821) (554,285) (1,278,694)
Attributable to:-
Owners of the parent (720,821) (554,285) (1,278,694)
Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
At 31 March 2025
As at As at As At
31 March 2025 31 March 2024 30 September 2024
£ £ £
Assets
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment 29,056 487,105 154,090
Exploration assets 4,633,052 4,570,856 4,808,440
Other receivables -
4,662,108 5,057,961 4,962,530
Current assets
Trade and other receivables 68,255 144,498 91,983
Inventory - - -
Available for sale financial assets - 11,560 -
Cash and cash equivalents 871,756 124,805 281,368
940,011 280,863 373,351
Total assets 5,602,119 5,338,824 5,335,881
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 81,154 146,768 95,335
Total liabilities 81,154 146,768 95,335
Net assets 5,520,965 5,192,056 5,240,546
Equity attributable to owners of the parent
Share capital 11,302,488 11,296,527 11,299,263
Share premium 56,693,402 54,925,224 55,695,387
Exchange reserve 150,509 463,241 470,601
Other reserves 597,086 597,086 597,086
Retained losses (63,222,520) (62,090,022) (62,821,791)
Total equity 5,520,965 5,192,056 5,240,546
Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity
For the six months ended 31 March 2025
Share Share Exchange Other Retained Total
capital premium reserves reserves reserves Equity
£ £ £ £ £ £
At 1 October 2023 11,292,415 54,195,398 566,114 597,086 (61,638,610) 5,012,403
Loss for the period (451,412) (451,412)
Loss on exchange translation (102,873) (102,873)
Total comprehensive income /(expense) - - (102,873) - (451,412) (554,285)
Share issued 4,112 729,826 733,938
Shares issue costs -
Total transactions with owners, recognised directly in equity 4,112 729,826 - - - 733,938
At 31 March 2024 11,296,527 54,925,224 463,241 597,086 (62,090,022) 5,192,056
Loss for the period (731,769) (731,769)
Loss on exchange translation 7,360 7,360
Total comprehensive income /(expense) - - 7,360 - (731,769) (724,409)
Share issued 1,192 441,807 442,999
Shares issue costs (30,100) (30,100)
Share based payments 1544 358,456 360,000
Total transactions with owners, recognised directly in equity 2,736 770,163 - - - 772,899
At 30 September 2024 11,299,263 55,695,387 470,601 597,086 (62,821,791) 5,240,546
Loss for the period (400,729) (400,729)
Loss on exchange translation (320,092) (320,092)
Total comprehensive income /(expense) - - (320,092) - (400,729) (720,821)
Share issued 346 102,894 103,240
Shares issue costs (52,000) - 52,000
Share based payments 2,879 947,121 950,000
Total transactions with owners, recognised directly in equity 3,225 998,015 - - - 1,001,240
At 31 March 2025 11,302,488 56,693,402 150,509 597,086 (63,222,520) 5,520,965
Consolidated Cashflow Statement
At 31 March 2025
Six months ended Six months ended Year ended
31 March 2025 31 March 2024 30 September 2024
£ £ £
Net cash flow used in operations 222,855 (424,750) (714,527)
Investing activities
Purchase of property, plant & equipment - - (792)
Decrease/(Increase) in exploration assets (119,532) (150,259) (387,843)
Disposal of asset 116,419 35,081 -
Investment in subsidiaries (210,859) - -
Proceeds from sale of available for sale investments - - 18,722
Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment - - 226,564
Interest income 3,597 2,334 5,458
Net cash used in investing activities (210,375) (112,844) (137,891)
Financing activities
Proceeds from issue of share capital 898,000 579,937 1,146,837
Net cash from financing activities 898,000 579,937 1,146,837
Net change in cash and cash equivalents 910,480 42,343 294,419
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period 281,368 82,462 82,462
Effect of changes in foreign exchange rates (320,092) - (95,513)
Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period 871,756 124,805 281,368
Notes to the Condensed Half-Yearly Financial Statements
For the six months ended 31 March 2025
1. Basis of preparation
The condensed consolidated half-yearly financial statements incorporate the
financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries (the "Group") made up
to 31 March 2025. The results of the subsidiaries are consolidated from the
date of acquisition, being the date on which the Company obtains control, and
continue to be consolidated until the date such control ceases.
These condensed half-yearly consolidated financial statements do not include
all of the information required for full annual financial statements, and
should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements of
the Group for the year ended 30 September 2024. They have been prepared in
accordance with the accounting policies adopted in the last annual financial
statements for the year to 30 September 2024. The report of the auditors on
those accounts was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section
498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
The accounting policies have been applied consistently throughout the Group
for the purpose of preparation of these consolidated half-yearly financial
statements. New and amended standards, and interpretations issued and
effective for the financial year beginning 1 October 2024 have been adopted
but do not have a material impact on the condensed consolidated financial
statements. The Group has not early adopted any other standard, interpretation
or amendment that has been issued but is not yet effective.
The financial information in this statement does not constitute full statutory
accounts within the meaning of Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006. The
financial information for the six months ended 31 March 2025 and 31 March 2024
is unaudited. The comparative figures for the year ended 30 September 2024
were derived from the Group's audited financial statements for that period as
filed with the Registrar of Companies. They do not constitute the financial
statements for that period.
2. Going concern
The Directors are satisfied that the Group has sufficient resources to
continue its operations and to meet its commitments for the immediate future.
The Group therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing
its condensed half-yearly financial statements.
3. Cash and cash equivalents
Cash includes petty cash and cash held in bank current accounts. Cash
equivalents include short-term investments that are readily convertible to
known amounts of cash and which are subject to insignificant risk of changes
in value.
4. Earnings per share
Six months ended Six months ended Year ended
31 March 2025 31 March 2024 30 September 2024
Weighted number of shares in issue during the period 2,070,259,369 1,552,903,068 1,698,978,865
£ £ £
Loss from continuing operations attributable to owners of the parent
(400,729) (451,412) (1,183,181)
The disclosure of the diluted loss per share is the same as the basic loss per
share as the conversion of share options decreases the basic loss per share
thus being anti-dilutive.
5. Income tax
No charge to tax arises on the results and no deferred tax provision arises or
deferred tax asset is identified.
6. Shares and options transactions during the period
The share capital of the Company consists of three classes of shares: ordinary
shares of 0.001p each which have equal rights to receive dividends or capital
repayments and each of which represents one vote at shareholder meetings; and
two classes of deferred shares, one of 9.9p each and the other of 0.099p each,
which have limited rights as laid out in the Company's articles: in particular
deferred shares carry no right to dividends or to attend or vote at
shareholder meetings and deferred share capital is only repayable after the
nominal value of the ordinary share capital has been repaid.
a) Changes in issued share capital and share premium:
Number of Ordinary Deferred Deferred 'B' Deferred Total Share
shares shares 9.9p shares 0.099p shares 0.199p shares shares premium Total
£ £ £ £ £ £ £
At 1 October 2024 1,892,760,911 18,927 7,194,816 3,828,359 257,161 11,299,263 55,695,387 66,994,650
Issue of shares less costs 32,240,863 3,225 - - - 3,225 998,015 1,001,240
Balance at 31 March 2025 1,925,001,774 22,152 7,194,816 3,828,359 257,161 11,302,488 56,693,402 67,995,890
All the shares issued are fully paid up and none of the Company's shares are
held by any of its subsidiaries.
7. Consolidated Cash Flow Statement
Six months ended Six months ended Year ended
31 March 2025 31 March 2024 30 September 2024
£ £ £
Operating activities
Loss for the period, before tax (400,729) (451,412) (1,183,181)
Adjustments:
Depreciation expense, property, plant and equipment 6,341 41,851 62,144
Share based payments 103,240 24,000 360,000
Loss on disposal of subsidiary 210,859
(Gain)/Loss on available for sale financial assets (832)
Impairment of intangible assets (1,170) 155,262
Interest income (3,597) (2,334) (5,458)
Profit and loss on disposal (7,502) (37,098)
(Gain)/Loss on revaluation of investments 297,194 38,265
(Increase) /decrease in accounts receivable 23,728 (59,115) (6,600)
(Increase) /decrease in inventory -
Increase/(Decrease) in accounts payable (14,181) (7,333) (58,765)
(Increase)/decrease in taxation
Net cash flow used in operations 222,855 (424,750) (714,528)
8. Post period end events
On 1 April 2025 the Company issued an aggregate of 27,485,708 new Ordinary
Shares to certain Directors, consultants and advisers both as part of their
remuneration or fee arrangements.
On 13 May 2025 the Company terminated discussions in respect of the proposed
acquisition of Maximus Minerals Ltd ("Maximus"), details of which were
originally announced by the Company on 3 March 2025. Maximus is the owner of
three properties in Ontario, Canada and has an option to acquire a license
over a fourth property also in Ontario.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.
RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
. END IR BZLLLEQLEBBERecent news on ECR Minerals
See all newsREG - ECR Minerals PLC - Gold mineralisation confirmed at Blue Mountain
AnnouncementREG - ECR Minerals PLC - Appointment of Chris Gibbs as a Proposed Director
AnnouncementREG - ECR Minerals PLC - Blue Mountain drilling completed
AnnouncementREG - ECR Minerals PLC - Appointment of Bitcoin & Digital Asset Consultant
AnnouncementREG - ECR Minerals PLC - Blue Mountain Gold Project – Exploration Update
Announcement