REG-ECR Minerals plc Victoria Goldfields Operational Update

ECR MineralsAnnouncement

20/11/2020 07:00

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Victoria Goldfields Operational Update

 

ECR MINERALS plc

(“ECR Minerals”, “ECR” or the “Company”)

VICTORIA GOLDFIELDS OPERATIONAL UPDATE

ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the gold exploration and development company
focussed on Australia, is pleased to provide the following update on its
activities in Victoria, Australia, which are carried out through the
Company’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd
(“MGA”).

HIGHLIGHTS


 * MGA has taken delivery of its new Cortech CSD1300G diamond drill rig and a new
operational base is being established in Bendigo, Victoria.

 * All necessary permissions are in place for drilling at the HR3 prospect within
the Bailieston project area, where drilling operations will commence as soon
as the drill rig is ready.

 * Soil geochemistry and geological mapping completed at the Cherry Tree prospect
in the Baillieston project area.

Craig Brown, Chief Executive Officer of ECR commented:

“With the arrival of the ECR owned drill rig in Victoria we are now in a
position to accelerate our exploration work and significantly, drilling of key
targets. Our initial target HR3 is already permitted for drilling and
therefore we anticipate an expeditious start to operations.

Alongside the new drill rig we have also been undertaking a range of
operational work including the soil geochemistry and mapping at Cherry Tree,
the results of which have provided valuable information to guide our ongoing
exploration.

I look forward to providing further information from Victoria in the near term
as our operational activities continue.”

DRILL RIG AND NEW OPERATIONAL BASE

Further to the Company’s announcement dated 14 September 2020, the new drill
rig has been delivered and is now being set up for work under the supervision
of MGA’s highly experienced drilling manager Graeme Noble.

MGA is establishing a new operational facility in Bendigo, Victoria, where the
rig will be based. The facility includes more than 1,000 square metres of
shed, office and storage space. MGA intends to carry out cutting and sampling
of diamond drill core on site as well as using the facility for maintenance
and storage of the new drill rig and other equipment. The facility is within
easy driving distance of both the Bailieston and Creswick projects.

DRILLING PLANS - BAILIESTON HISTORIC RESERVE #3 (HR3)

All necessary permissions are in place for drilling at the HR3 prospect, which
comprises at least four closely-spaced lines of reef, including the Byron, Dan
Genders, Scoulars and Maori Reefs, plus numerous cross-structures. This
provides a number of drill-ready targets, and it is planned that drilling will
commence at HR3 as soon as the new drill rig has been made ready for
operations.

RESULTS OF GEOCHEMISTRY AND FIELD MAPPING AT CHERRY TREE

The Cherry Tree prospect lies on the Bailieston Trend within Historic Reserve
#4 (HR4) and is located 1.5 kilometres south of HR3 (Fig. 1). The workings at
Cherry Tree continue to the south to the Cherry Tree South workings. Cherry
Tree and Cherry Tree South are separated by an alluvial gully. Some 30 large
and numerous small shafts were sunk by the historic miners at Cherry Tree. The
main zone of workings at Cherry Tree is surrounded by alluvial cover and there
may be some scope for shallow extensions under the cover.

Cherry Tree geochemistry and field mapping results:

Fig. 1 – https://mercatorgold.com.au/images/2020/Cherry_Tree_map.jpg 
(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmercatorgold.com.au%2Fimages%2F2020%2FCherry_Tree_map.jpg&esheet=52332985&newsitemid=20201119006375&lan=en-US&anchor=https%3A%2F%2Fmercatorgold.com.au%2Fimages%2F2020%2FCherry_Tree_map.jpg&index=1&md5=77a0b1b6099d6188cab9758840330e4c)

Fig. 2 – https://mercatorgold.com.au/images/2020/Cherry_Tree_model.jpg
(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmercatorgold.com.au%2Fimages%2F2020%2FCherry_Tree_model.jpg&esheet=52332985&newsitemid=20201119006375&lan=en-US&anchor=https%3A%2F%2Fmercatorgold.com.au%2Fimages%2F2020%2FCherry_Tree_model.jpg&index=2&md5=9ef61f17751f84de3d3bad86fb00451b)

Detailed portable XRF (pXRF) geochemical sampling was conducted to better
define the surface expression of the mineralisation and to seek extension to
shoots. Some 920 readings were taken, on average 10 metres apart but sometimes
as close as 2 metres to attempt to follow and define trends.

The Cherry Tree workings mostly lie on the westerly limb of a N-S elongate
anticlinal dome (Fig. 2). The pXRF results show numerous zones of anomalism,
mostly close to the historic workings. The anomalism increases towards the top
of the dome and towards the northwest. The increasing anomalism towards the
northwest is lost under cover indicating there may be some potential for
remanent mineralisation at shallow depths. Overall, the programme has provided
MGA with new insight into the controls on mineralisation at Cherry Tree, which
is relevant to the selection of drill targets at Cherry Tree itself and
potentially to other parts of the Bailieston Trend including HR3.

Review of Announcement by Qualified Person

This announcement has been reviewed by Dr Rodney Boucher of Linex Pty Ltd.
Linex Pty Ltd provides geological services to Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd,
including the services of Dr Boucher, who has a PhD in geology, is a Member
and RPGeo of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and is a Member of the
Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Dr Boucher is a Qualified
Person as that term is defined by the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas
Companies.

MARKET ABUSE REGULATIONS (EU) No. 596/2014

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to
constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations
(EU) No. 596/2014 (MAR). Upon the publication of this announcement via
Regulatory Information Service (RIS), this inside information is now
considered to be in the public domain.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
 ECR Minerals plc                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Tel: +44 (0)20 7929 1010  
 David Tang, Non-Executive Chairman                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
 Craig Brown, Director & CEO                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
 Email: info@ecrminerals.com (mailto:info@ecrminerals.com)                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
 Website: www.ecrminerals.com                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
 (https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ecrminerals.com%2F&esheet=52332985&newsitemid=20201119006375&lan=en-US&anchor=www.ecrminerals.com&index=3&md5=ed12c757fa23bc222da7ffafa0aeb3b7)                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
 WH Ireland Ltd                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Tel: +44 (0)161 832 2174  
 Nominated Adviser                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
 Katy Mitchell/James Sinclair-Ford                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
 SI Capital Ltd                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Tel: +44 (0)1483 413500   
 Broker                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            
 Nick Emerson                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      


ABOUT ECR MINERALS PLC

ECR is a mineral exploration and development company. ECR’s wholly owned
Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd has 100% ownership of
the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central Victoria, Australia.

Following the sale of the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold projects in
Victoria, Australia to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (TSX-V: FSX), ECR has
the right to receive up to A$2 million in payments subject to future resource
estimation or production at those projects.

ECR has earned a 25% interest in the Danglay gold project, an advanced
exploration project located in a prolific gold and copper mining district in
the north of the Philippines, and holds a royalty on the SLM gold project in
La Rioja Province, Argentina.



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ECR Minerals plc


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