Mercator Gold Australia Pty Limited – Tax Update

Mercator Gold Australia Pty Limited – Tax Update

ECR Minerals plc

ECR MINERALS plc

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

Mercator Gold Australia Pty Limited - Tax Update

ECR Minerals plc (LON:ECR), the precious metals exploration and development company, is pleased to provide an update in respect of a Research and Development refund received under the R&D Tax Incentive from the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science of the Australian Government.

Highlights:

• Mercator Gold Australia Pty Limited (“MGA”) ECR’s 100% owned Australian subsidiary has received a cash Research and Development refund of A$318,971.73 (approximately £171,000);
• The refund received relates to qualifying expenditure incurred by MGA in the year ended 30 June 2018;
• In addition, MGA is entitled to submit a further claim for the year ended 30 June 2019 and based on current estimated qualifying expenditure the amount of the claim for the period to date will be approximately A$370,000 (approximately £198,000) which the Company would expect to receive in around August 2019, although there can be no guarantee that this amount will be obtained;
• Finally, included within the MGA Tax Return for the year ended 30 June 2018, MGA has carried forward corporate income tax losses of A$66,203,862 (approximately £35.5million) in respect of historical losses which are available for carry forward.

Craig Brown, Chief Executive Officer commented: “I am pleased to confirm the receipt of a significant cash refund by MGA our Australian subsidiary. This incoming cash augments existing cash resources and will applied toward the Company’s active gold exploration programmes in Australia.

A further refund claim will be made for the year ended 30 June 2019 and based on current qualifying expenditure, we anticipate a claim of A$370,000 against which we would expect to receive cash payment around August 2019, based on our current planned financial accounts and tax reporting schedule although there can be no guarantee that this amount will be obtained.

We are grateful for the immense support offered by the Australian Government which we believe demonstrates the attractiveness of Australia as a destination for investment in exploration and development projects.

As a result of Government support, the Company’s cash resources are bolstered, enabling it to maintain a considerable and active exploration programme.”

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: [phone]
David Tang, Non-Executive Chairman
Craig Brown, Director & CEO
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.ecrminerals.com
WH Ireland Ltd		Tel: [phone]
Nominated Adviser
Katy Mitchell/James Sinclair-Ford
SI Capital Ltd		Tel: [phone]
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 Limited has 100% ownership of the Avoca, Bailieston, Creswick, Moormbool and Timor gold exploration licences in central Victoria, Australia and the Windidda Gold Project in the Yilgarn Region, Western Australia.

ECR has earned a 25% interest in the Danglay epithermal gold project, an advanced exploration project located in a prolific gold and copper mining district in the north of the Philippines. An NI43-101 technical report was completed in respect of the Danglay project in December 2015 and is available for download from ECR’s website.

ECR’s wholly owned Argentine subsidiary Ochre Mining has 100% ownership of the SLM gold project in La Rioja, Argentina. Exploration at SLM has focused on identifying small tonnage mesothermal gold deposits which may be suitable for relatively near-term production.

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