Operational Update

ECR Minerals PLC

14 April 2025

 

14 April 2025

ECR MINERALS plc

("ECR Minerals", "ECR" or the "Company")

Antimony drilling set to commence at the Bailieston Project

and

update on recent field work  

ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, provides the following update on its ongoing geological investigations targeting principally antimony at the HR3 prospect within the Bailieston Project area in Central Victoria, Australia (the "Bailieston Project").

HIGHLIGHTS

●   Proposed antimony focused diamond drilling programme to commence this month at the Bailieston Project

●     Historical soil sampling has identified four in-situ antimony anomalies at the Bailieston Project

●    72 follow-up rock chip samples were recently collected from around these anomalies; 34 samples returned antimony grades between 0.25% and 1.91%

●     42 rock chips also returned gold grades above 1 g/t Au, with channel sampling highlights including 0.3m @ 41.3 g/t Au

Bailieston gold and antimony project

Strong antimony and gold prices have sparked renewed exploration in Victoria's Costerfield Bailieston-Nagambie corridor. On 3 July 2024, ECR's Bailieston Project sampling uncovered high-grade antimony, with hole BH3DD019 hitting 32% Sb over 0.3m and BH3DD027 yielding 1.2% Sb over 0.1m. ECR is now finalising plans for a follow-up diamond drilling programme to investigate these targets further.

Recent field work (See Table 1)

ECR's geology team has recently reviewed historical portable x-ray fluorescence ("PXRF") data from soil sampling campaigns conducted at the Bailieston Project between 2020 and 2022. Statistical analysis defined eight sub-populations of increasing antimony values. These were then spatially correlated with known mineralised vein systems, revealing four key antimony anomalies along the Hardup, Hardup South, Scanlons and Scoulars veins.

To verify the soil sampling results 72 rock chip samples were collected from oxidised, veined and sheared material within historical trenches and pits. Seven of these were in-situ channel samples taken across exposed mineralised structures.

Summary of key rock chip sample results include:

●     0.3m @ 41.3 g/t Au, 0.89% Sb

●     0.5m @ 36.1 g/t Au, 0.48% Sb

●     0.31m @ 10.6 g/t Au, 1.13% Sb

●     0.8m @ 6.51 g/t Au, 0.19% Sb

These samples were all taken from the Hardup Reef, part of a north-northeast trending vein system that has seen limited modern exploration. Given the current commodity price environment, these high-grade zones represent compelling drill targets.

Drill targets (See Figure 1)

ECR has completed internal and external structural interpretations of prior diamond drilling campaigns (2021-2022), focusing on the standout antimony intercept in hole BH3DD019. The results suggest that the main Maori-Bailieston anticline has undergone eastward rollover at a key inflection point, creating a zone of structural dilation-or 'bulge' -that may host significant antimony and gold mineralisation.

Four diamond drillholes are now budgeted to test this target zone, with planned depths ranging between 100m to 180m. Previous drilling in this area yielded composite intercepts including:

●     1m @ 4.96 g/t Au (hole BH3DD019)

●     1m @ 16.16 g/t Au (hole BH3DD034)

The diamond core drill rig is expected to mobilise to site within the next two weeks.

Mike Whitlow, ECR's Managing Director, said: "We're seeing a compelling convergence of data pointing to a potential structurally controlled zone of antimony and gold mineralisation at the Bailieston Project. With rock chip and soil anomalies aligning with high-grade historical intercepts, our upcoming drill programme is designed to test this 'bulge' zone directly. This is the kind of focused, high-impact exploration that we believe can potentially unlock real value for shareholders-especially in a market where both gold and antimony prices are on the rise.''

Figure 1: Plan of HR3, Bailieston Project

Table 1: Best results (Au/Sb) from rock chips taken at HR3, Bailieston Project in April 2025.

*Locations in GDA94 Zone 55

Antimony results (=> 0.25 % Sb)

SAMPLE	EAST	NORTH	Sb %	VEIN/REEF
BH3R113	326475.4	5931404.0	1.91	SCOULARS
BH3R100	326517.6	5931334.7	1.14	SCOULARS
BH3R089	326671.7	5931239.5	1.13	HARD UP SOUTH
BH3R102	326517.8	5931343.6	1.11	SCOULARS
BH3R064	326703.8	5931382.7	0.89	HARD UP
BH3R106	326520.8	5931327.0	0.87	SCOULARS
BH3R101	326522.1	5931342.0	0.84	SCOULARS
BH3R111	326480.4	5931404.6	0.83	SCOULARS
BH3R080	326765.2	5931082.3	0.82	SCANLONS
BH3R098	326522.2	5931334.2	0.75	SCOULARS
BH3R099	326521.3	5931332.7	0.75	SCOULARS
BH3R105	326507.4	5931326.1	0.71	SCOULARS
BH3R108	326512.8	5931312.5	0.68	SCOULARS
BH3R110	326474.5	5931412.3	0.66	SCOULARS
BH3R091	326667.3	5931225.4	0.61	HARD UP SOUTH
BH3R090	326671.1	5931229.1	0.55	HARD UP SOUTH
BH3R065	326703.8	5931384.9	0.48	HARD UP
BH3R077	326675.5	5930912.2	0.46	UNKNOWN STH
BH3R079	326752.8	5931063.1	0.45	SCANLONS
BH3R114	326471.4	5931403.6	0.41	SCOULARS
BH3R069	326702.0	5931377.3	0.39	HARD UP
BH3R088	326767.2	5931092.0	0.39	SCANLONS
BH3R107	326515.8	5931313.3	0.39	SCOULARS
BH3R109	326470.2	5931413.6	0.39	SCOULARS
BH3R066	326703.1	5931383.7	0.38	HARD UP
BH3R083	326765.3	5931087.1	0.37	SCANLONS
BH3R097	326527.2	5931331.5	0.35	SCOULARS
BH3R115	326470.0	5931404.5	0.35	SCOULARS
BH3R103	326514.5	5931331.1	0.34	SCOULARS
BH3R112	326469.3	5931424.2	0.34	SCOULARS
BH3R068	326702.4	5931376.9	0.32	HARD UP
BH3R084	326771.3	5931087.2	0.31	SCANLONS
BH3R059	326704.8	5931390.4	0.25	HARD UP
BH3R063	326704.1	5931382.6	0.25	HARD UP

Gold results (>  1 g/t Au)

SAMPLE	EAST	NORTH	AU g/t	VEIN/REEF
BH3R106	326520.8	5931327.0	43.70	SCOULARS
BH3R064	326703.8	5931382.7	41.30	HARD UP
BH3R121	326625.7	5931591.5	40.20	UNKNOWN NTH
BH3R065	326703.8	5931384.9	36.10	HARD UP
BH3R113	326475.4	5931404.0	25.40	SCOULARS
BH3R070	326699.1	5931371.6	20.70	HARD UP
BH3R099	326521.3	5931332.7	15.80	SCOULARS
BH3R103	326514.5	5931331.1	14.80	SCOULARS
BH3R105	326507.4	5931326.1	14.80	SCOULARS
BH3R097	326527.2	5931331.5	12.60	SCOULARS
BH3R068	326702.4	5931376.9	10.70	HARD UP
BH3R089	326671.7	5931239.5	10.60	HARD UP SOUTH
BH3R100	326517.6	5931334.7	10.30	SCOULARS
BH3R091	326667.3	5931225.4	9.81	HARD UP SOUTH
BH3R090	326671.1	5931229.1	9.39	HARD UP SOUTH
BH3R102	326517.8	5931343.6	9.03	SCOULARS
BH3R079	326752.8	5931063.1	8.35	SCANLONS
BH3R098	326522.2	5931334.2	6.74	SCOULARS
BH3R092	326664.5	5931219.8	6.61	HARD UP SOUTH
BH3R107	326515.8	5931313.3	6.59	SCOULARS
BH3R060	326702.8	5931387.6	6.51	HARD UP
BH3R111	326480.4	5931404.6	5.79	SCOULARS
BH3R101	326522.1	5931342.0	5.71	SCOULARS
BH3R077	326675.5	5930912.2	5.05	UNKNOWN STH
BH3R080	326765.2	5931082.3	4.78	SCANLONS
BH3R110	326474.5	5931412.3	4.63	SCOULARS
BH3R104	326509.2	5931323.4	4.24	SCOULARS
BH3R108	326512.8	5931312.5	4.08	SCOULARS
BH3R084	326771.3	5931087.2	4.00	SCANLONS
BH3R067	326703.8	5931380.2	3.82	HARD UP
BH3R088	326767.2	5931092.0	3.56	SCANLONS
BH3R083	326765.3	5931087.1	3.32	SCANLONS
BH3R114	326471.4	5931403.6	3.08	SCOULARS
BH3R109	326470.2	5931413.6	2.82	SCOULARS
BH3R115	326470.0	5931404.5	2.71	SCOULARS
BH3R076	326672.8	5930907.7	1.99	UNKNOWN STH
BH3R120	326637.6	5931560.4	1.97	UNKNOWN NTH
BH3R082	326766.2	5931086.4	1.94	SCANLONS
BH3R061	326703.3	5931386.8	1.61	HARD UP
BH3R095	326702.7	5931242.8	1.59	HARD UP SOUTH
BH3R069	326702.0	5931377.3	1.53	HARD UP
BH3R112	326469.3	5931424.2	1.26	SCOULARS
BH3R066	326703.1	5931383.7	1.18	HARD UP
BH3R078	326754.2	5931064.3	1.07	SCANLONS
BH3R096	326704.2	5931245.8	1.06	HARD UP SOUTH

Review of announcement by a 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: [phone]
Nick Tulloch, Chairman Andrew Scott, Director
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.ecrminerals.com
Allenby Capital Limited			Tel: [phone]
Nominated Adviser  Nick Naylor / Alex Brearley / Vivek Bhardwaj			[e-mail]
Axis Capital Markets Limited			Tel: [phone]
Broker
Lewis Jones
SI Capital Ltd			Tel: [phone]
Broker
Nick Emerson
Brand Communications		Tel: [phone]
Public & Investor Relations
Alan Green

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. 

MGA also has approximately A$75 million of unutilised tax losses incurred during previous operations.

ECR is also in exclusive negotiations to acquire Maximus Minerals Ltd for £500,000 along with exercising that company's option over the Cat Key advanced gold project for C$600,000.  The consideration, if the transaction completes, will be settled in new ECR shares, issued at no less than 0.33 pence per share.

Glossary 

Au:	Gold
g/t:	Grammes per Tonne (Metric)
km:	Kilometres (Metric)
km²:	Kilometre squared (Metric)
M:	Metres (Metric)
PXRF	portable x-ray fluorescence
Sb:	Antimony
Sq:	Square (Metric)

 

END