RNS Number : 6380J
ECR Minerals PLC
01 December 2025
1 December 2025
ECR MINERALS PLC
("ECR Minerals", "ECR" or the "Company")
Strong Maiden Drill Results at Lolworth Confirm Gold-Silver System and Highlight Growth Potential
Operations update
ECR Minerals plc (AIM: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce assay results from the recently completed maiden drilling programme on the 100% owned Lolworth Project, North Queensland, Australia. The Company also provides an update on progress in respect of its other activities.
Highlights
· Highly encouraging maiden Reverse Circulation drilling programme at the Uncle Terry and Gorge Creek West prospects delivering multiple gold and silver intercepts.
· Notable shallow intercepts of gold and silver include:
4m @ 7.18 g/t Ag
4m @ 3.33 g/t Ag
2m @ 3.57 g/t Au
5m @ 0.47 g/t Au
· Silver mineralisation may be significantly more widespread than the areas drilled based on outcrop mapping and sampling.
· Results reinforce Lolworth as a high-priority growth project within ECR's portfolio.
· Blue Mountain assay results expected before mid-December, anticipated to support near-term production momentum.
· Raglan Project acquisition documentation now agreed in all material respects, with completion expected in December, marking progress toward ECR's first alluvial gold production.
· Creswick JV negotiations advancing positively, following a successful meeting between the parties.
ECR Chief Geologist Adam Jones commented: "We are pleased to present assay results from what has been a very successful maiden drilling campaign at the Lolworth Project. This follows the encouraging surface exploration previously completed and validates our expectations that gold mineralisation extends underneath the outcrops at the Uncle Terry and Gorge Creek West prospects. However, the stand out result is the extensive presence of silver grades. Our outcrop mapping and geochemistry indicates that this silver mineralisation is likely to be significantly broader than the areas drilled, adding further potential upside to the overall Lolworth Project. A further drilling programme will determine the scale of this potential mineralisation."
ECR Chairman Nick Tulloch added: "We frequently talk about our near-term production prospects at Blue Mountain and our proposed acquisition of the Raglan project, but today's announcement of results from Lolworth, the largest project in our portfolio, is a reminder of the scale of the wider opportunities that we have before us.
"The drilling results speak for themselves, evidencing extensive mineralisation over our target prospects of Uncle Terry and Gorge Creek West. But significantly, for a project that we have previously referred to as being focused on gold and rare earths, we can now add silver as a target metal. Silver prices have reached all-time highs earlier in 2025, with its price growth so far this year outpacing that of gold. Many analysts forecast ongoing silver price strength. We had already identified Lolworth as being one of our core tenements, but the opportunity has now become even more interesting.
"In a year of considerable change for ECR, we are still working on several projects. At a corporate level, we are looking to conclude our proposed acquisition of the Raglan project and pursue our proposed Creswick JV and, at the operational level, we look forward to the remaining results from the drilling at Blue Mountain which we expect to announce before mid-December."
Summary of the Maiden Drilling Campaign at the Lolworth Project
A total of 28 reverse circulation drill holes (1,058 metres in aggregate) were completed in September and October 2025 over two gold prospects at the Lolworth Project known as Uncle Terry and Gorge Creek West. This is the first drilling campaign to be completed by an exploration company within this part of the Lolworth Range. Drilling followed up on previous years' rock chip sampling of outcrops, where sporadic Galena (AgPb sulphide) mineralisation had been observed.
The Uncle Terry prospect was formally named and discovered by previous tenement holders A.R.I Limited in 1988 where Galena was observed in a quartz outcrop. Grab samples from the outcrop during their discovery included 34 g/t Au and 6 g/t Au. The original location of the discovery has only been recently identified. The outcrop was initially thought to strike in a north-south direction; however, ECR's recent mapping and drill programme suggests that the vein strikes east-west, dipping to the south.
See Figure One for the location of drill holes at Uncle Terry and Figure Two for the location of drill holes at Gorge Creek West.
Six drill holes (LWDR001 to LWDR006 and LWDR008 to LWDR009) were initially drilled underneath and down plunge of the original Uncle Terry discovery outcrop. Another six holes (LWDR007 and LWDR010 to LWDR013) were drilled just south of the discovery site to test for mineralisation located underneath sporadic quartz outcrops where previous rock chips of up to 75 g/t Au have been taken. Eight holes (LWDR014 to LWDR021) were drilled underneath a swarm of quartz shear zones located towards the south of the prospect.
Seven holes (LWDR022 to LWDR028) were drilled underneath a north-south striking quartz stockwork zone at Gorge Creek West. Previous campaigns of rock chipping and channel sampling across this outcrop have returned values including 14.7 g/t Au and 50.2 g/t Ag and 6.34 g/t Au and 5.2 g/t Ag.
A total of 1,058 metres were drilled during this maiden campaign. All of the drilling was shallow with a maximum depth of 45 metres. All samples were split at the drill rig into 2 to 5 kg samples. Analysis of the samples was undertaken at ALS Global's Townsville laboratory using methods AuAA-26 (50g fire assay for gold) and ME-ICP41 for multi-element analysis (Ag, As etc).
Table One: All Drill hole details for the Maiden Reverse Circulation Drilling Programme, September - October 2025
Drill Hole
Easting*
Northing*
Relative Level(RL)
Dip
Azimuth (Grid)
Final Depth (m)
Prospect
LWDR001
312167.9
7752170.5
698.5
-55
338
36
Uncle Terry
LWDR002
312170.5
7752163.4
698.9
-62
335
42
Uncle Terry
LWDR003
312175.8
7752151.5
700.1
-64
336
40
Uncle Terry
LWDR004
312154.1
7752158.3
702.1
-63
331
36
Uncle Terry
LWDR005
312157.6
7752152.5
702.6
-64
330
40
Uncle Terry
LWDR006
312160.6
7752147.3
703.2
-70
331
39
Uncle Terry
LWDR007
312178.3
7752148.6
700.1
-58
117
36
Uncle Terry
LWDR008
312173.1
7752175.5
697.9
-54
11
36
Uncle Terry
LWDR009
312172.2
7752169.1
698.6
-65
11
39
Uncle Terry
LWDR010
312166.8
7752118.7
705.3
-56
82
45
Uncle Terry
LWDR011
312167.9
7752108.5
705.4
-56
85
30
Uncle Terry
LWDR012
312167.8
7752107.6
705.6
-49
142
30
Uncle Terry
LWDR013
312167.4
7752107.2
705.7
-56
158
39
Uncle Terry
LWDR014
312340.9
7751883.4
721.6
-51
276
39
Uncle Terry
LWDR015
312341.0
7751882.5
721.7
-50
236
42
Uncle Terry
LWDR016
312344.1
7751869.0
722.2
-54
49
39
Uncle Terry
LWDR017
312344.1
7751869.1
722.2
-59
46
39
Uncle Terry
LWDR018
312342.0
7751882.9
721.7
-50
185
42
Uncle Terry
LWDR019
312349.4
7751889.3
721.7
-54
44
30
Uncle Terry
LWDR020
312345.8
7751885.4
721.6
-64
38
36
Uncle Terry
LWDR021
312350.6
7751884.8
722.0
-64
85
30
Uncle Terry
LWDR022
313350.9
7751450.4
742.7
-54
153
42
Gorge Creek West
LWDR023
313350.5
7751451.0
742.9
-69
152
45
Gorge Creek West
LWDR024
313355.8
7751458.1
743.6
-55
86
39
Gorge Creek West
LWDR025
313356.3
7751458.0
743.6
-55
129
36
Gorge Creek West
LWDR026
313349.9
7751456.3
743.2
-55
231
39
Gorge Creek West
LWDR027
313363.6
7751474.2
744.6
-61
113
36
Gorge Creek West
LWDR028
313368.7
7751488.6
744.8
-60
110
36
Gorge Creek West
*Drill hole locations given in GDA94 Zone 55 co-ordinates.
Overview of Drill Results
Individual drill results have been composited to a minimum cut off of 1m @ 0.25 g/t (Gold) and 1m @ 2 g/t (Silver). Contained metal per metre (grammes multiplied by metre, shown as 'Gramme Metres') has also been calculated.
Results for Gold and Silver are set out in Table Two (Gold) and Table Three (Silver) below.
Table Two: Drilling results for significant Gold intercepts and depths of zones tested at cut-off 1m @ 0.25 g/t Au.
Drill Hole
From (m)
Sample Length (m)
Average grade of mineralisationAu g/t *
Gramme Metres Au
Prospect
LWDR012
14
2
3.57
7.14
Uncle Terry
LWDR025
14
5
0.47
2.34
Gorge Creek West
LWDR026
21
1
2.04
2.04
Gorge Creek West
LWDR024
15
2
0.82
1.64
Gorge Creek West
LWDR011
7
1
1.44
1.44
Uncle Terry
LWDR026
14
4
0.33
1.31
Gorge Creek West
LWDR026
6
2
0.58
1.15
Gorge Creek West
LWDR006
33
1
0.85
0.85
Uncle Terry
LWDR024
31
1
0.74
0.74
Gorge Creek West
LWDR011
23
1
0.58
0.58
Uncle Terry
LWDR022
41
1
0.45
0.45
Gorge Creek West
LWDR023
16
1
0.40
0.40
Gorge Creek West
LWDR024
25
1
0.37
0.37
Gorge Creek West
LWDR011
25
1
0.34
0.34
Uncle Terry
LWDR003
16
1
0.29
0.29
Uncle Terry
LWDR026
12
1
0.27
0.27
Gorge Creek West
Table Three: Drilling results for significant Silver intercepts and depths of zones tested at cut-off 1m @ 2.0 g/t Ag.
Drill Hole
From (m)
Sample Length (m)
Average grade of mineralisationAg g/t
Gramme Metres Ag
Prospect
LWDR006
33
4
7.18
28.70
Uncle Terry
LWDR021
11
1
15.00
15.00
Uncle Terry
LWDR025
14
4
3.33
13.30
Gorge Creek West
LWDR012
14
1
10.10
10.10
Uncle Terry
LWDR024
15
2
3.80
7.60
Gorge Creek West
LWDR002
18
1
6.00
6.00
Uncle Terry
LWDR014
30
1
4.20
4.20
Uncle Terry
LWDR011
23
1
3.50
3.50
Uncle Terry
LWDR024
31
1
2.60
2.60
Gorge Creek West
Drilling underneath the Uncle Terry discovery outcrop has demonstrated that mineralisation extends underneath dipping to the south as hypothesised, with silver intercepts up to 4m @ 7.18 g/t Ag from 33m deep.
Drilling also shows localised gold mineralisation underneath quartz outcrops immediately south of the Uncle Terry outcrop, such as 2m @ 3.57 g/t Au from 14m in hole LWDR012. This intercept lies directly underneath an outcrop that has previously graded 75 g/t Au from rock chip sampling. Drill holes also show evidence of multiple parallel veinlets with multiple mineralised intercepts including 1m @ 1.44 g/t Au (LWDR011), 1m @ 0.58 g/t Au (LWDR011), 1m @ 0.74 g/t Au (LWDR024), as shown in Table Two.
Previous mapping of the outcrop at Gorge Creek West showed that the stockwork zone consists of a network of narrow north-south striking quartz shears. Drilling has picked up on some of these broader mineralised zones such as 4m @ 0.33 g/t Au (LWDR026).
A particular highlight of the results is the predominant Silver mineralisation at both prospects (see Table Three).
Indications of a Broader System
Previous soil sampling at Uncle Terry has been analysed internally by ECR with a pXRF analyser. It has been hypothesised that high Lead (Pb) concentrations in soil could be related to a silver mineralisation system. A number of high Pb anomalies have been identified across the greater Uncle Terry area, such as those shown in Figure One. During the drilling campaign, a number of Pb soil anomaly locations were visited, mapped and any outcrop sampled. A number of outcrops were found to contain visible spotty galena within quartz shear zones. Rock chip sampling results confirm the presence of silver mineralisation and also confirm the high probability of linking high lead anomalies within the soil to silver mineralisation in the area. The best outcrop is located in the centre of the Uncle Terry prospect. This outcrop can be traced along a broken line for approximately 70 metres. Best rock chip sampling results include 44.9, 46.5, 35.2 g/t Ag. Geochemistry mapping indicates that mineralisation is contained within NNW and NNE striking structural trends, with the strongest mineralisation concentrated around the intersection of such structures.
Table Four: Rock Chip Sampling Results from the Uncle Terry Prospect
Sample #
Easting
Northing
Relative Level(RL)
Au g/t
Ag g/t
LWC965
312331.7
7752301.4
697.6
0.01
btl
LWC966
312329.0
7752303.3
696.9
btl
btl
LWC967
312332.2
7752305.9
697.6
0.01
btl
LWC968
312334.5
7752314.6
697.2
0.44
btl
LWC969
312337.3
7752317.5
697.2
btl
btl
LWC970
312341.2
7752327.8
697.1
0.01
btl
LWC971
312338.4
7752320.8
697.1
0.01
btl
LWC972
312337.3
7752386.3
693.6
0.42
0.7
LWC973
312339.4
7752388.0
693.6
0.56
0.2
LWC974
312341.1
7752380.2
694.3
1.52
0.5
LWC975
312299.0
7752302.0
689.8
0.01
btl
LWC976
312302.0
7752304.5
690.7
btl
btl
LWC977
312295.5
7752298.9
688.3
0.01
btl
LWC978
312294.7
7752302.0
688.5
btl
btl
LWC979
312291.4
7752306.3
688.5
btl
btl
LWC981
312326.6
7751997.1
716.1
0.01
4.8
LWC982
312327.0
7752000.7
717.8
0.08
13.2
LWC983
312323.3
7751993.1
714.4
0.04
9.4
LWC984
312315.1
7751984.8
710.7
0.08
44.9
LWC985
312299.5
7751969.8
711.3
0.06
0.7
LWC986
312295.4
7751969.2
710.3
0.04
0.4
LWC987
312275.9
7751974.5
707.2
0.03
46.5
LWC988
312323.2
7752163.2
709.9
0.01
3
LWC989
312266.6
7751969.9
706.8
0.04
35.2
LWC990
312264.0
7751966.8
708.3
0.02
22.5
LWC991
312323.4
7751989.7
713.3
btl
9.4
LWC992
312327.4
7752170.2
710.1
0.04
14.9
LWC993
312207.1
7752242.6
690.9
btl
0.2
LWC994
312200.7
7752236.7
690.7
btl
btl
LWC995
312199.0
7752234.3
690.4
0.01
btl
LWC996
312200.8
7752232.9
691.0
0.02
btl
LWC997
312218.2
7752219.7
694.0
btl
btl
LWC998
312221.2
7752222.5
693.8
btl
btl
LWC999
312175.8
7752283.4
679.0
0.04
0.3
LWC1003
312175.0
7752279.9
678.8
btl
btl
LWC1004
312171.6
7752274.1
678.5
btl
btl
LWC1005
312174.4
7752286.4
678.1
0.02
btl
*Rock Chip locations given in GDA94 Zone 55 co-ordinates.
(btl = below detection limit).
Next Steps
The results from this maiden drill programme demonstrate the presence of silver and gold mineralisation at shallow depths within these two prospects at the Lolworth Project. Outcrop mapping and geochemistry also indicates that silver mineralisation is also broader than the areas drilled. Due to time constraints and drilling logistics, these outcrops were not able to be drilled whilst the rig was present on site on this occasion. However, off the back of these highly encouraging results, the Board believes that these outcrops (and other prospects) should be drilled during the next campaign at the Lolworth Project. Proposed follow up drilling methods would include diamond drilling, which will allow structural measurements to be taken and to determine what is controlling this mineralisation. Deeper drillholes will also be beneficial on both prospects.
This maiden drilling campaign and associated mapping has significantly increased ECR's understanding of mineralisation at the Lolworth Project. In addition, the team have already established that a number of other anomalies exist adjacent to these areas drilled which show similar geological traits. These include:
· A mineralised vein traceable for over 30m lying 350m east of Gorge Creek West. Rock chip samples of up to 14 g/t Au and 54 g/t Ag have been obtained from here.
· Visible gold halo in soils with no visible outcrop located only 170m west of the drilling at Gorge Creek West, indicating other blind deposits.
· At Flaggy Creek, sub-cropping multiple narrow quartz veins over an area 70m x 100m. Rock chip samples of up to 6.6 g/t Au and 24.3 g/t Ag have been obtained from here.
Raglan Project - Near-Term Production of Alluvial Gold
As announced on 1 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 for the Proposed Acquisition is now agreed in all material respects. The final step is for the vendors to remove certain unrelated tenements and non-core assets from Raglan Resources Pty Ltd, the owner of the Raglan Project and the company that ECR is proposing to acquire. The vendors are currently finalising their tax and restructuring advice in order to proceed and, as such, ECR anticipates completing the Proposed Acquisition later this month.
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.
Creswick
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. Following a successful meeting between the parties in the last week of November, these discussions are progressing well and ECR is working with Bold Gold to seek to finalise the terms of the Creswick JV.
The Creswick JV will be subject to, among other things, entry into a legally binding JV agreement and the satisfaction of regulatory requirements. There can therefore be no certainty that final binding terms will be agreed, nor as to the timing or final terms, value or conditions of the proposed Creswick JV.
Figure One. Plan of Uncle Terry
Figure Two. Plan of Gorge Creek West.
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 Andrew Scott, Director
info@ecrminerals.com
Website:www.ecrminerals.com
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.
Glossary
Ag:
Silver
As:
Arsenic
Au:
Gold
g:
Grammes (Metric)
kg:
Kilogrammes (Metric)
km:
Kilometres (Metric)
km²:
Kilometre squared (Metric)
M:
Metres (Metric)
Pb:
Lead
pXRF:
Portable x-ray fluorescence (analyser)
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