ECR MINERALS
plc
("ECR Minerals", "ECR" or the
"Company")
Exploration Update for Blue
Mountain and Lolworth Projects, Queensland
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the
exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia,
is pleased to announce an update on exploration activities across
the Company's Blue Mountain and Lolworth Projects in Queensland,
Australia.
HIGHLIGHTS
Blue
Mountain
·
Trenching completed at former alluvial gold sites
producing 9 bulk concentrate samples
·
Samples submitted for laboratory analysis to
determine next steps, which may include metallurgical test work to
assess commercial opportunities
·
Application submitted for 5-year extension of the
licence area
Lolworth
·
Initial hard rock trenching planned for Gorge
Creek West
·
Chief Geologist to join field crews as focus
shifts to the north of the Lolworth Project area where niobium and
additional gold prospects are located
·
ECR remains fully funded for its planned
operations in Queensland and Victoria in 2024
Blue
Mountain
Trenching has now been completed by
ECR across several former alluvial gold sites sampled by the
previous owner of Blue Mountain in 2021. A total of 11 trenches
were excavated, resulting in 9 individual bulk concentrate samples.
Gravels from 9 of the trenches were processed through a trommel
wash plant. These excavations were carried out jointly with the
landholder who has been fully supportive of ECR's exploration
activities.
As previously announced, the
Directors of ECR understand that, historically, the Cania &
Kroombit Mineral Fields within Blue Mountain were gold producers.
Alluvial gold was discovered in 1871 with a steady fall in alluvial
mining by 1875 but, in 1879, the discovery of nearby gold bearing
quartz reefs triggered a short-term revival. Independent work from
BlueKebble Pty Limited ("BlueKebble"), the previous owner of the
project, suggests that over 1,000 ounces of gold (reef and
alluvial) were recovered in 1880. Whilst ECR has just commenced
on-ground verification work at the tenements, as set out in this
announcement, the Board believes that there is an excellent
opportunity to investigate the hard rock potential source of the
alluvial gold, based on internal reports provided by Bluekebble as
part of the acquisition. The information from Bluekebble has not
been verified by ECR (and accordingly it cannot be relied upon and
there can be no guarantee the findings are correct), however the
following key points from Bluekebble's internal reports have helped
inform the board as to the potential at this site:
'The whole area is believed to host
shallow gold mineralisation evidenced by trenches carrying
gold.
An area 1 km by 2km was
systematically tested and Bluekebble believed they could show
visible gold to be present in the volcanic basalts to the south and
within the metasediments to the north. Bluekebble also utilised a
Wilfley Table to make a heavy mineral concentrate to calculate
additional alluvial gold resources within Denny Gully. This table
concentrates alluvial gravels down to a heavy mineral concentrate,
which is then is analysed for gold. The results are back calculated
to a meaningful grade per cubic metre of alluvial gravel
equivalent. Bluekebble believed that nearby sources of the alluvial
gold could be hosted in the northern section proximal to the creeks
where they observed visible coarse and nuggetty gold during their
Wilfley Table testing. Bluekebble also believed that good gold
grades could be hosted within the volcanic basalts within the
tenement and that shallow mineralisation down to 4 metres could
potentially yield over 100,000 oz gold.'
Recent surveys by ECR have identified
multiple locations along the creek system within the tenement that
warrant further follow up and testing. Extensive creek flats,
elevated creek gravels and remnants of historical 'gold rush'
activities suggest substantial areas of unexplored and potentially
prospective ground.
With both tenements scheduled to
expire later this year, ECR, through its wholly owned subsidiary
LUX Exploration Pty Ltd ("LUX"), has submitted an application for a
5-year extension of the licence area. The Directors believe that
LUX is well placed for approval of this extension.
Next Steps
The bulk concentrate samples from the
trenching have been dispatched to the laboratory for gold content
analysis. Should the results meet with ECR's expectations, the next
steps for the project will involve metallurgical testing which will
be crucial in assessing the viability and potential commercial
opportunities for the project as well as further delineation of the
alluvial gold potential both upstream and downstream of the recent
testing.
The Board is of the view that, while
the Company awaits the results from laboratory analysis, the
Company's cash resources and personnel are best spent accelerating
exploration efforts at its other highly prospective asset in
Queensland - Lolworth.
Confirmation of Acquisition
of Blue Mountain
On 5 April 2023 the Company announced
the potential acquisition of a 100% interest in the Blue Mountain
Project, Queensland subject to certain conditions. The Company
confirms that all conditions have been satisfied and 31,913,196
Ordinary Shares have been issued (at a price of 0.06267p being the
VWAP for trading in ECRs shares on AIM in the 30 days prior to the
date of the relevant agreement) (the 'Consideration Shares").
Application has been made for the Consideration Shares to trading
on AIM ("Admission") and Admission is expected to commence, and
dealing in the Consideration Shares is expected to start on or
around 17 July 2024. The Consideration Shares will rank pari
passu with the existing ordinary shares.
Full details of the acquisition are
set out in the announcement dated 5 April 2023. Link
here to view.
Lolworth
Two field staff have been working on
site since early May 2024 and Chief Geologist Adam Jones along with
his team currently at Blue Mountain will join them in the coming
weeks. Initial field work across several gold prospects in the
Upper Gorge Creek area has shown promising signs, including visible
gold in streams and hillsides. Soil sampling grids have been
established above streams with previous positive results, and plans
are in place for initial hard rock trenching in the Gorge Creek
West area.
Geological mapping indicates an
anomalous gold trend along the westerly striking contact between
granite and altered sedimentary rocks. Previous rock chip samples
have returned grades of up to 3.13 g/t Au, with localised higher
grades up to 13.75 g/t Au (see
Fig.1 below). Additionally, gold nuggets weighing up to 12
grams have been identified in the immediate watershed below.
Further trenching is planned to assess the width of the granite and
altered rocks.
Other notable prospects include a 4m
x 200m rhyolitic intrusion where previous samples averaged about
0.4 g/t Au, with highs up to 8 g/t Au. This intrusion's strike is a
key focus for the team during the current visit.
Figure 1:
Lolworth Project Overview and Results
Next Steps
ECR's team will move north to focus
on the Reedy Creek (Gold) and Oaky Creek (Niobium) prospects. They
will conduct intensive soil sampling, geological mapping, and
outcrop sampling, with particular interest in the headwaters
between Reedy Creek and Butterfly Creek, known for coarse gold in
stream samples of up to 962 ppm Au. Aerial imagery has identified
potential quartz veining in the hills above this area.
Adam
Jones Chief Geologist commented; ''I'm delighted with the
progress and results achieved at Blue Mountain. The recovery of
visible gold through our washplant has exceeded expectations and
validates our decision to acquire the asset."
Mike
Whitlow Chief Operating Officer added; ''We eagerly await the results
of laboratory analysis which will guide our next steps for Blue
Mountain and ideally it will support our view that this is a highly
prospective gold project. I'm equally
excited to have our Chief Geologist join the field crew at Lolworth
in the coming weeks as we step up our exploration efforts there and
seek to unlock the significant potential for gold and rare earths
that the Board recognises in this project.''
Admission and Disclosure and Transparency
Rules
Following Admission, ECR's issued
ordinary share capital will comprise 1,857,061,117 ordinary shares
of 0.001 pence. This number represents the total voting rights
in the Company, and, following admission may be used by
shareholders as the denominator for the calculation by which they
can determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or
a change to their interest in, the Company under the Financial
Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency
Rules.
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.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)
Disclosure
This announcement contains inside
information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse
Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is
disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under
Article 17 of MAR.
FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
ECR Minerals
plc
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Tel: +44 (0) 1738 317 693
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Nick Tulloch, Chairman
Andrew Scott, Director
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Email:
info@ecrminerals.com
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Website:
www.ecrminerals.com
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WH Ireland
Ltd
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Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666
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Nominated Adviser
Katy Mitchell / Andrew de Andrade
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Axis Capital
Markets Limited
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Tel: +44 (0) 203 026
0320
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Broker
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Ben Tadd/Lewis Jones
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Brand
Communications
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Tel: +44 (0) 7976 431608
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Public & Investor
Relations
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Alan Green
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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 km2 over a relatively unexplored
area in Lolworth Range, Queensland, Australia. The Company has also
submitted a license 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), 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 holds a royalty on
the SLM gold project in La Rioja Province, Argentina which could
potentially receive up to US$2.7 million in aggregate across all
licences.
MGA also has approximately A$75 million of
unutilised tax losses incurred during previous
operations.