Approval of Two New Exploration Tenements in Victoria, Australia

Approval of Two New Exploration Tenements in Victoria, Australia

ECR Minerals plc

 

ECR MINERALS plc

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

Approval of Two New Exploration Tenements in Victoria, Australia

ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the gold exploration and development company focussed on gold exploration in Australia, is pleased to announce the granting of two gold exploration tenements in Victoria, Australia.

ECR Minerals plc has 100% ownership of the Bailieston Project (EL5433) and the Creswick Project (EL006184), both of which are currently undergoing intense exploration by ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”).

ECR Chairman David Tang commented: “On behalf of the board and our team on the ground in Victoria, I am very pleased to announce that we can confirm the award of exploration licenses EL006907 and EL007484. In particular, the granting of license EL006907 linking Creswick to Ballarat East-Nerrina goldfield was something our former CEO Craig Brown always viewed as a key step in developing our Creswick interests and our understanding of the Dimocks Main Shale. With the data and knowledge base we have amassed now, I know our team on the ground, headed by Adam Jones are very keen to start work in the new area and bring Craig’s vision to fruition.

Licence EL007484 is an important addition to our enlarged footprint to the east of Victoria in the Tambo region. With a second drilling machine due to arrive any day now, I look forward to reporting further exploration progress as our intensive exploration and drilling campaigns expand and develop.

Our board are actively engaged in a search for a new CEO, and I look forward to reporting back with developments here in the near term.”

SUMMARY:

  • Two new tenements recently granted for undertaking exploration work within Victoria, Australia. ‘MGA’ now has a total of 523 km2 of ground granted for exploration for gold within Victoria.
  • One tenement (EL006907) is strategically placed between the historical rich Ballarat East-Nerrina goldfield and the current exploration licence ‘EL006148’. This tenement is host to the continued strike of the Dimocks Main Shale (“DMS”) horizon, believed to host the source veining for much of the alluvial gold within the Creswick deep lead alluvial system.
  • The second tenement (EL007484) is situated 50km north of Bairnsdale in the east of the state of Victoria encompassing the alluvial fields of Swifts Creek and the Mid to Upper reaches of the Tambo River.

EL006907 (Creswick)

MGA is pleased to report that Exploration licence 006907 was granted on 26/11/2021 for a period of five years, with the added possibility of an extension, provided expenditure requirements, (a minimum of $160,050 AUD over the five-year term), are met. The licence lies midway between the current Creswick lease of EL006184 and the Ballarat East and Nerrina goldfields, with a total ground area of 81km2.

EL006907 contains the southern strike extension of the DMS horizon believed to host the source rocks to the abundant historical alluvial gold production within the region. Although the true figures of alluvial gold produced are not known, the Geological Survey of Victoria estimates the region has produced in excess of one million ounces of gold, with most of the production occurring between the period of 1852-1930. Around 4km of DMS strike length is believed to be within this tenement.

Records of past exploration show that no known extensive drilling or geochemical surveys have been undertaken within the tenement.

EL007484 (Tambo North)

Licence EL007484 was also granted on 26/11/2021 for a five-year term. The total land area covers 374 km2, and covers the historic alluvial goldfields of the Tambo River and Swifts Creek. Exploration work for both precious metals and base metals has been undertaken previously, added to which the region is known for intrusives that may offer opportunity for discovering new deposits.

The figure showing location of both tenements are shown in the link below;

https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/fig1_mga_new_tenements_12_21.jpg

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

We are delighted that the long-awaited license grants for these two tenements have been awarded to MGA. MGA is still awaiting the final grant of EL006713 (Creswick) and EL007486 (Tambo South), which are both adjacent to the newly approved tenements. If approved, MGA will have exploration licenses covering the majority of the ground linking Ballarat and Creswick – an exciting and challenging prospect given the historical abundance of alluvial gold and under-explored nature of the region. Initially, the company intends to define geochemical patterns related to known alluvial gold dispersion to help define the optimum method to locate the ‘blind’ gold ‘shoots’ the central Victorian region is known for. Best outcomes will be followed up by drilling using MGA owned and operated equipment. The MGA team are very well aware that many of the gold deposits at Creswick are ‘spotty’ and coarse in nature, but this consideration is always in balance with the potential rewards.

MGA will continue to prioritise EL5433 (Bailieston) into the new year as this tenement is reaching maturity. Staff will be transitioning into exploration within the Creswick area which will include follow-up work on the recently drilled EL006184. Exploration opportunities are also available on the companies owned land also within EL006184.

REVIEW OF ANNOUNCEMENT BY QUALIFIED PERSON

This announcement has been reviewed by Adam Jones, a director of 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 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

 

Email:

info@ecrminerals.com

Website: www.ecrminerals.com

 

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ABOUT ECR MINERALS PLC

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 including one licence application lodged in eastern Victoria. (Tambo gold project). MGA is currently exploring at both the Bailieston (EL5433) and Creswick (EL6148) projects and has an experienced exploration team with significant local knowledge in the Victoria Goldfields and wider region.

https://mercatorgold.com.au/

ECR also owns 100% of an Australian subsidiary LUX Exploration Pty Ltd (“LUX”) which has three licence applications covering 900 km2 covering a relatively unexplored area in Queensland, Australia.

https://luxexploration.com/

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), Mercator Gold Australia Pty Limited 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 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, which has a 43-101 compliant resource. ECR also holds a royalty on the SLM gold project in La Rioja Province, Argentina and can potentially receive up to US$2.7 million in aggregate across all licences.

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