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ECR Minerals #ECR – Asset Overview and Evaluation

ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce that the new directors are already conducting a comprehensive review of all exploration activities currently being undertaken. In addition a detailed evaluation of the existing asset base is underway, including the Company’s property, plant and other readily realisable assets.

A summary of the Company’s exploration assets, royalty assets, property and plant follows:

North Queensland assets:

  • Lolworth Project – An extensive fieldwork campaign of soil sampling and rock chips has already been successfully completed. However, ECR’s geological team continues to concentrate on areas of high potential to help delineate a series of future high-priority zones and drill targets.
  • Hurricane Project – Following a campaign of fieldwork undertaken during August and early
    September 2023, the Company is awaiting the highly anticipated sampling programme results to prove the near-term development potential of Hurricane.
  • Blue Mountain Project – Following the announcement of the conditional acquisition of the project in April 2023, initial studies have yet to commence. Based on reports from previous explorers, the Board believes that the project has potential for a gold discovery.

Victoria assets:

  • Creswick Project – The new directors are reviewing all of the Company’s assets at Creswick where ECR plans to seek a secondary (technical) opinion of its opportunities in Victoria. This will run alongside plans to investigate the discovery of two potential 100m gold ‘shoots’ at the Quartz Hill prospect and potential for further shoots along the Dimocks Main Shale strike and south towards Ballarat, further exploration work at the Davey Road prospect, Bush Inn Road prospect and at the Kuboid Hill and Mills Reef prospects.
  • Bailieston – The Company believes that the Bailieston licenses still hold considerable nascent value. Further work at the HR3 prospect at Bailieston tenement EL5433 is planned, including a soil geochemistry programme and follow-up drilling to the north of HR3.
  • Tambo Project – Following an initial field visit to the Tambo project, the rock chip sample results from the Duke of Cornwall prospect will be assessed prior to taking any next steps.  

Philippines asset

  • Danglay gold project – ECR owns 90% of 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. The Company is currently considering how best to extract value from this asset.

Royalty assets

  • Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (TSX-V: FSX) (“Fosterville South”) – 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 has the right to receive up to A$2m in payments subject to future resource estimation or production from the projects sold to Fosterville South (see announcement dated 20 April 2020).
  • SLM gold project, La Rioja Province, Argentina – ECR holds a royalty and can potentially receive up to US$2.7 million in aggregate across all licences.

Property

  • ECR owns a property at 35 Brewing Lane, Springmount, Australia. The property consists of 16 acres and is located within the Company’s existing 100% owned Creswick license area. The Board are considering a sale of the property, which is currently being used as a base for Creswick operations.

Plant

  • ECR owns several items of valuable mechanical equipment. All options including future deployment, plant rental or disposal are being considered by the Company.

ECR Managing Director Nick Tulloch commented: “It is very evident that ECR owns a valuable
and diverse portfolio of assets which we believe in time have the potential to offer considerable upside. This factor was certainly a catalyst in driving the recently announced board changes and the share subscription that is of course subject to approval at our forthcoming General Meeting. We hope to have a comprehensive technical view of both our historical projects as well as the conclusion of our latest work programme on Queensland in the coming weeks.”

ECR Chief Operations Officer Mike Whitlow added: “The Board are engaged in an intensive review of all of ECR’s assets and operations. Our primary objective is to ensure the Company is on a secure financial footing for all future activities, and we will be making a series of decisions that will be announced to our shareholders in the coming weeks. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our shareholders for their patience and steadfastness in these matters, and I look forward to reporting back to you on these next steps as they occur.”

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

 

ECR Minerals plc Tel: +44 (0) 20 7929 1010
David Tang, Non-Executive Chairman

Nick Tulloch, Managing Director

Andrew Scott, Director

Email:

info@ecrminerals.com

Website: www.ecrminerals.com
WH Ireland Ltd   Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666
Nominated Adviser

Katy Mitchell / Andrew de Andrade

SI Capital Ltd Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413500
Broker
Nick Emerson
Novum Securities Limited  Tel: +44 (0) 20 7399 9425
Broker

Jon Belliss

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. 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 also has an option to acquire 100% of Placer Gold, which wholly owns the Hurricane Project, a later stage gold and antimony project located west of Cairns in the Hodgkinson Province, NE 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), 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 90% 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.

The rise and fall – or should we say, fall and rise – of the gold market in 2021

by Hannah Howes

Gold investment demand fell early this year, largely attributed to outflows in gold-backed ETFs as growing expectations of higher interest rates influenced investor attitude, according to the most recent World Gold Council (WGC) report (Gold outlook for 2021 positive, despite uncertainty – World Gold Council (miningweekly.com). When analysing this trend more closely, it has been noted that investment demand actually saw positive growth in the retail market with ETF outflows negatively impacting the overall picture. The WGC market intelligence manager Krishan Gopaul notes that the “The overall picture of investment falling in the quarter really hides two different stories – we see the ETF outflows but there is still the more positive growth story on the bar and coin side”.There has also been an increase in consumer demand which has been further enhanced by low gold prices, one of the major buyers of such commodities being China and other emerging markets. The catalysed global economic recovery, bolstered by swift vaccination efforts, has also boosted consumer confidence in the technology sector raising demand by 11% year on year.

The cyclical elements of gold demand have been heightened by the 10% decrease in gold price in the first quarter, in combination with the global economic recovery in response to positive Covid-19 outlooks. Senior Market Analyst Louise Street at WGC has observed that “having seen investors take shelter in gold from the initial impacts of Covid-19, the first quarter saw a sell-off in the gold price as confidence in economic recovery grew and US interest rates rose sharply,”adding that, notwithstanding this, gold holds a strong position in the most well-balanced portfolios. This is particularly so given the repeatedly reported fears of inflation. In previous years where records show inflation rates of over 3%, the price of gold increased 15% on average (https://www.gold.org/goldhub/research/outlook-2021). When looking ahead to the next few less-tumultuous years, Louise sees “reasons to be optimistic about the gold market”due to the resilience of the markets main drivers, low interest rates and increasing yields.

History ready to repeat itself?

The only certain thing to come from the past year is uncertainty in abundance. That said, when it comes to gold mining, we can remain confident in the fact that the Victoria goldfields, southern Australia, continues to stand as a reputable and reliable source of precious metals. This follows decades of mining in the region, in the wake of a glimmering spotlight launched by the 19thcentury gold rush. Testament to this fact is the nugget of gold rested assertively on my mantel, panned by myself during a trip to the Sovereign Hill attraction at the Ballarat Gold Mine.

AIM listed ECR Minerals (AIM: ECR) is a company on the brink of a gold fest from current drilling in the territory, focused on delivering the next multi-million ounce gold resource. ECR outright owns the Bailieston and Creswick projects located in Central Victoria, Australia, and with an operational HQ at Bendigo, is able to process and fast track core samples and assay results.

As well as holding financial interests in the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor projects, following the sale of those licenses to TSX-V listed Fosterville South Exploration Ltd for up to £1.3 million. Further retaining a 25% interest in the Danglay epithermal gold project located in Northern Philippines and a net smelter royalty agreement from the sale of the SLM gold project in Argentina.

Creswick

The Dimocks Main Shale, a geological feature believed to be have great gold potential, is home to Creswick and extends some 15km from the aforementioned mining centre of Ballarat.

Drill sites for the current programme are 2.2km south from those used in the previous drill programme in 2019, individual samples of which returned assays as high as 80.97 g/t gold over one metre. A study by pre-eminent consulting geochemist Dr Dennis Arne, whose experience includes extensive consultancy at the exceedingly successful Fosterville gold mine in Central Victoria, emphasized the significant gold exploration potential at Creswick, and ‘nuggety gold mineralisation’.

Bailieston

Also located in the sought-after central Victoria region, Bailieston is not far from the renowned Fosterville mine owned by Kirkland Lake Gold. Bailieston is base to ongoing drilling in the HR3 area, undertaken using ECR’s own diamond drill rig, with prospects also including Cherry Tree, Red Moon and Yellow Moon. Assay results have been announced for four holes in the HR3 area, with a further four holes awaiting final geological interpretation. What has been reported is that BH3DD005 holes 6 and 7 indicate the hypothesized central anticline does exist and represents a favourable target for gold mineralisation. Quality samples have been recorded from drilling by ECR at the Blue Moon prospect in 2019, including a 17.8g/t sample from a 2 metre interval. Making Blue Moon a noteworthy new discovery.

Through previously selling three Victoria licences (Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold exploration projects) for cash and royalties to TSX-V listed Fosterville South Exploration Ltd, and a number of warrant exercises, the company is fully funded to continue drilling at its 100% owned Creswick and Bailieston projects through to into 2022. This strong cash position has given the company desirable footing moving forward, enabling them to push for the launch of further drilling programmes across existing property and acquire new opportunities.

In the recent Proactive Investors interview, ECR Minerals CEO Craig Brown spoke to Andrew Scott, highlighting the recent news of application for three new licenses in north-east Queensland, Australia. These permits are to cover a total of 900sq km of highly prospective ground within the Lolworth Range. Historical mining in the region totals 24.4mil ounces, equivalent to $48 billion worth of gold. Despite this, the area is relatively unexplored, offering “huge potential” according to Craig. As well as emphasising that he expects the gold price to only gain strength, with the precious metal being the hedge against inflation concerns.

Despite the recent retreat in share price, dropping from 4.25p in January, to 1.89p in May 2021, ECR’s strong cash position attributed to the aforementioned license sales and warrant exercises puts the company in an enviable industry spot. This, in combination with the fact the company owns a diamond drilling rig, currently operational at Bailieston while a contractor’s rig is active at Creswick, means ECR Minerals is set for a prosperous 2021/22 as demand for gold remains bullish. Making the current share price a bargain investment.

ECR Minerals #ECR CEO Interview – Alan Green talks to Craig Brown

Brand Comms CEO Alan Green talks to ECR Minerals #ECR CEO Craig Brown about the company’s flagship gold exploration projects in the heart of Australia’s Victoria Goldfields.

Craig talks about the recent placing to raise a further £2m with Novum Securities at 2.2p, and elaborates on the rationale behind it, before discussing the initial drilling results at the Bailieston Historic Reserve 3 prospect, that led to a fall in the share price despite identifying gold and gold mineralisation.

We look at slides from the current company presentation, and examine the scale of the operations and historic gold grades from the other Bailieston prospects including Blue Moon, Black Cat, HR4 (Cherry Tree, Cherry Tree South) and Yellow & Red Moon.

We move to Creswick and discuss the Dimocks Main Shale geological feature, the historical (2019) grades, license applications and JV implications and the upcoming drilling campaign. Craig then updates on the Tambo Project, and the connection with ECR’s Head Geologist Dr Rodney Boucher before we discuss the Bendigo HQ operation.

Alan and Craig then summarise by looking at the current company valuation vs. assets and work underway.

ECR Minerals #ECR – Annual Financial Report & Audited Financial Statements for Y/E 30 September 2020

AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2020

ECR Minerals plc is pleased to announce its audited financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020. The information presented below has been extracted from the Company’s Annual Report and Accounts 2020.

Copies of the Annual Report and Accounts 2020 with the notice of annual general meeting will be posted to shareholders tomorrow and will be available on the Company’s website www.ecrminerals.com. The Company intends to holds its annual general meeting at 9am on 19 April 2021 at Chester House, 81-83 Fulham High Street, Fulham Green, London SW6 3JA. As a result of the current crisis of COVID-19 and the UK Government’s restrictions on public gatherings, the holding of the Company’s AGM will be facilitated by the Company to ensure a quorum is present. Shareholders should therefore not attend the meeting in person and instead are strongly encouraged to submit their proxy vote, appointing the Chairman of the meeting as their proxy to ensure that their votes are registered. This can be done by completing their form of proxy which must be received before the proxy voting deadline of 9.00 a.m. on 15 April 2021.

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

Craig Brown, Director & CEO

Email:

info@ecrminerals.com

Website: www.ecrminerals.com

WH Ireland Ltd

Tel: +44 (0)207 220 1666

Nominated Adviser

Katy Mitchell/James Sinclair-Ford

SI Capital Ltd

Tel: +44 (0)1483 413500

Joint Broker

Nick Emerson

Novum Securities Limited

Tel: +44 (0)2073 999400

Joint Broker

Jon Belliss

ABOUT ECR MINERALS PLC

ECR Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company. ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd has 100% ownership of the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central Victoria, Australia, and two license applications lodged in eastern Victoria for the Tambo Gold project. ECR is currently drilling high priority targets on the Bailieston gold project using the Company’s own diamond drill rig, backed by a support network at the company’s central Victoria HQ at Bendigo. ECR has an experienced exploration team with significant local knowledge in the Victoria Goldfields and wider region.

Following the sale of the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold projects in Victoria, Australia to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (TSX-V: FSX), ECR has the right to receive up to A$2 million in payments subject to future resource estimation or production at those projects.

ECR has earned 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, and holds a royalty on the SLM gold project in La Rioja Province, Argentina.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This announcement may include forward looking statements. Such statements may be subject to numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and therefore actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. Any forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date hereof (unless stated otherwise) and, except as may be required by applicable laws or regulations (including the AIM Rules for Companies), the Company disclaims any obligation to update or modify such forward-looking statements because of new information, future events or for any other reason.

The Directors of ECR Minerals plc (the “Directors” or the “Board”) present their report and audited financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 for ECR Minerals plc (“ECR”, the “Company” or the “Parent Company”) and on a consolidated basis (the “Group”)

Chairman’s Statement

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the financial year ended 30 September 2020 and the period since the year-end have been a time of much progress for ECR. The centre of the Group’s operations remains the state of Victoria in Australia, where ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”) is concentrating on two highly promising gold exploration projects: Bailieston and Creswick.

As I write, MGA is drilling at the Baillieston gold project using its newly purchased diamond drill rig. The focus of initial drilling activity is the Historic Reserve #3 (HR3) area, which comprises at least four closely-spaced lines of reef, including the Byron, Dan Genders, Scoulars and Maori Reefs, plus numerous cross-structures. This provides a number of drill-ready targets, with Byron the first to be tested.

With the benefit of the Group’s strong cash position, which at the date of this report is approximately £3.955m, the intention is that in-house drilling activity will be sustained for a long period and the Directors believe this programme has the potential to generate transformational results for the Group. We therefore look to the future with great optimism.

MGA disposed of several non-core projects in Victoria during the year but retains exposure to potential upside from those projects by way of contingent payments of up to A$2 million in total. We remain open to the possibility of further transactions in relation to MGA’s assets in Victoria, and we have also taken steps to add to MGA’s Victorian gold project portfolio by applying for two exploration licences in eastern Victoria, which will comprise the Tambo project, and by applying for a licence surrounding the operating Ballarat gold mine.

Finally, I am pleased to welcome Adam Jones as a non-executive director of the Company. Adam, is an experienced gold geologist who is based in Victoria within easy reach of the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects. He already has detailed knowledge of these projects, having assisted MGA as a consultant since 2018, and I am sure as a director of ECR he will make a significant contribution to the success of our activities.

Weili (David) Tang

Chairman

23 March 2021

Chief Executive Officer’s Report

With the gold price having exceeded USD 2,000/oz last year and trading largely in a range between USD 1,700 and USD 1,900 in recent months, these are exciting times for gold explorers such as ECR. We are also fortunate to have experienced no significant operational disruption as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has not affected Australia to the same extent as, for example, the UK.

As in the previous year, the centre of the Group’s operations was Victoria, Australia, with activities concentrated on the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects. Several non-core projects in Victoria were disposed of by ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”), and a number of new exploration licences were applied for in order to rejuvenate MGA’s project portfolio and maintain a pipeline of opportunities for the future.

Interest from a number of third parties in joint venture or earn-in type transactions in relation to either Bailieston or Creswick was explored extensively during the financial year under review, and the Company continues to consider opportunities as they arrive.

Following the year under review, in January 2021, MGA commenced drilling in the Historic Reserve #3 (HR3) area of the Bailieston project, having taken delivery of a new Cortech CSD1300G diamond drill rig in November 2020. Drilling can now continue on a bespoke basis, supported by ECR’s strong cash position.

Exploration at Bailieston and Creswick Projects

Notable outcomes of exploration work during the year ended 30 September 2020 included positive findings of an alteration study on reverse circulation (RC) drill cuttings from the Creswick project, announced in March 2020, and confirmation of high-grade gold mineralisation at Creswick by the completion of ‘full bag’ testing, announced in November 2019.

At Bailieston, work during the year has included field mapping and geochemistry across numerous gold prospects, which has enabled MGA’s geologists to define a number of drill-ready targets. Drilling has now commenced at the Byron prospect in the HR3 area, and after Byron, it is planned that drilling will continue in the same area to test the Maori, Dan Genders, Scoulars and Hard-Up reefs. This drilling will aim to provide for the first time a framework of the geological structures hosting the reefs, which will be used to attempt to target coalescing reef intersections.

From HR3, it is currently planned that the rig will be moved to test the Cherry Tree prospect, or for further drilling at the Blue Moon discovery. Cherry Tree and Blue Moon are also within the Bailieston project. The results of 2019 drilling at Blue Moon by MGA included intersections of 15 metres at 3.81 g/t gold and 11 metres at 2.42 g/t gold (announced on 14 March 2019).

MGA is also keen to follow up on previous drilling results at Creswick, where individual samples returned assays as high as 80.97 g/t gold over one metre (announced on 5 November 2019). Further drill sites at Creswick have already been determined and approval has been received from the relevant government authorities. In addition, after the end of the period under review, in the final quarter of calendar year 2020, MGA completed a soil geochemistry survey of the Jackass Reef prospect at Creswick, the results of which, the Directors believe, will assist drill targeting in that area at the appropriate time.

Overview of Victorian Exploration Licence Portfolio

At the end of the financial year under review, MGA held six granted mineral exploration licences in Victoria (EL5387, EL5433, EL006184, EL006280, EL006278 and EL006913).

In April 2020 MGA entered into an agreement for the sale of exploration licences EL5387 (the Avoca project), EL006278 (the Timor project), plus EL006280 and EL006913 (the Moormbool project), and after the end of the period under review, these licences were formally transferred to Currawong Resources Pty Ltd.

At the time of this report, MGA has a total of eight exploration licence applications pending in Victoria, and holds two granted exploration licences (EL5433 and EL006184), which respectively forms part of the Bailieston and Creswick projects. These are augmented, in the case of Bailieston, by exploration licence applications EL006911, EL006912 and EL007296; and in the case of Creswick, exploration licence applications EL006713 and EL006907.

In November 2020, MGA lodged exploration licence application EL007537 for an area which surrounds mining licences MIN5396 and MIN4847. These mining licences, which are not held by MGA, contain the operating Ballarat gold mine. The area of EL007537 includes the southern extension of the Dimocks Main Shale, which is the principal target of exploration at MGA’s Creswick gold project located a short distance to the north, the northern extension of the Ballarat East line and the depth extensions of the Ballarat West line. EL007537 is a competitive bid with three other applicants.

New Gold Project: Tambo

In September 2020, MGA lodged two new exploration licence applications in eastern Victoria, EL007484 and EL007486, to comprise the Tambo gold project, which covers a sizeable area of prospective geology near historic goldfields and has received little contemporary exploration.

The applications cover portions of the historic Swifts Creek/Omeo and Haunted Stream goldfields. These goldfields have recorded historical gold production of 205,000 and 25,000 oz respectively, according to figures published by the Geological Survey of Victoria. MGA considers the application areas to be prospective for orogenic reef gold and additionally for intrusion-related gold and base metal systems.

Sale of Exploration Licences to Currawong Resources Pty Ltd

In April 2020 MGA entered into an agreement for the sale of exploration licences EL5387, EL006280, EL006913 and EL006278 in Victoria (the “Licences”) to Currawong Resources Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (“Fosterville South”), which listed on the TSX Venture Exchange in April 2020, for the following consideration:

1. A$500,000 in cash, which was paid to MGA immediately;

2. A further payment of A$1 for every ounce of gold or gold equivalent of measured resource, indicated resource or inferred resource estimated within the area of one or more of the Licences in any combination or aggregation of the foregoing, up to a maximum of A$1,000,000 in aggregate;

3. A further payment of A$1 for every ounce of gold or gold equivalent produced from within the area of one or more of the Licences, up to a maximum of A$1,000,000 in aggregate.

All of the Licences had been formally transferred to Currawong by January 2021.

In February 2021, Leviathan Gold Ltd (“Leviathan”) listed on the TSX Venture Exchange. Leviathan is a ‘spin-out’ from Fosterville South, and has acquired rights to EL5387 (the Avoca project) and EL006278 (the Timor project) from Currawong. MGA still has the right to further payments in respect of EL5387 and/or EL006278 based on resource estimation or production, as set out above.

Disposal of Ochre Mining SA and SLM Gold Project

In February 2020, the Company sold its wholly owned Argentine subsidiary Ochre Mining SA, which holds the SLM gold project in La Rioja, Argentina. The sale allows ECR to focus on its core gold exploration activities in Australia. The purchaser, Hanaq Argentina SA (“Hanaq”), is a Chinese-owned company engaged in lithium, base and precious metals exploration in Northwest Argentina including Salta, Jujuy and La Rioja, with a highly experienced management team.

ECR retains an NSR royalty of up to 2% to a maximum of USD 2.7 million in respect of future production from the SLM gold project. The Directors believe that Hanaq has the operational capabilities and access to Chinese investment capital necessary to put the SLM project into production, subject to the usual prerequisites such as further exploration and feasibility studies being successfully completed (if deemed necessary by Hanaq) and to the necessary permits for production being obtained.

The founder and CEO of Hanaq Group, of which Hanaq Argentina SA is part, is Mr Xiaohuan (Juan) Tang, who has a substantive track record in Latin America, including responsibility for the successful permitting of the Pampa de Pongo iron ore project in Peru in his former capacity as General Manager of Jinzhao Mining Peru. Pampa de Pongo is one of the largest iron ore deposits in Latin America. Mr Tang has degrees from Tsinghua University in China, and Imperial College, Cambridge University and Oxford University in the UK.

Danglay Gold Project, Philippines

ECR is entitled to a 25% interest in the Danglay gold project in the Philippines, which is held by a Philippine corporation called Cordillera Tiger Gold Resources, Inc. (“Cordillera Tiger”) under an Exploration Permit, the renewal of which is pending. The issuance of a 25% shareholding in Cordillera Tiger to the Company is expected in due course, but has been delayed since 2016, largely due to a court case filed by an individual who is a minority shareholder and former director of Cordillera Tiger. The court issued a decision in the case in June 2020 which is discussed in the Strategic Report.

The Directors believe the political climate for the minerals industry in the Philippines is on course to improve in future, and consider that the Danglay gold project, which is located in a prolific gold and copper mining district in the north of the country, has potential for further exploration to build upon the existing inferred mineral resource estimate of 63,500 ounces of gold at 1.55 g/t gold. This resource was reported by ECR in 2015 to the Canadian NI43-101 standard, based on exploration carried out at Danglay by ECR during 2014 and 2015. In addition to the resource, an NI43-101 target for further exploration (conceptual potential quantity and grade of mineralisation expressed as ranges) of 95,000 to 170,000 ounces of gold at 5 to 7.5 g/t was reported. Further information regarding Cordillera Tiger and the Danglay gold project is provided in the Strategic Report.

FINANCIAL RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2020

For the year to 30 September 2020 the Group recorded a total comprehensive loss of £2,595,002, compared with £762,586 for the year to 30 September 2019.

The largest contributor to the total comprehensive loss was the loss on disposal of Ochre Mining SA and the SLM gold project which amounted to £1,986,469. Excluding the loss on disposal of Ochre Mining SA and the SLM gold project the loss for the year to 30 September 2020 was less than the total comprehensive loss for the year to 30 September 2019. Although the disposal resulted in a loss the Group has the potential to recover more than this loss through future royalty payments from Ochre Mining SA.

The Group’s net assets at 30 September 2020 were £3,563,819, in comparison with £3,640,604 at 30 September 2019. The decrease is due to the disposal of Ochre Mining and SLM gold project during the year. The increase is due to increased exploration assets as a result of the capitalisation of exploration expenditure during the year, and an increase in cash as a consequence of the sale of projects by MGA to Currawong Resources Pty Ltd and the exercise of share warrants issued by the Company in previous years. At the time of writing, the Group cash position is approximately £4m.

Craig Brown

Chief Executive Officer

23 March 2021

Independent Auditor’s Report

For the year ended 30 September 2020

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of ECR Minerals Plc

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of ECR Minerals Plc (the ‘parent company’) and its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the year ended 30 September 2020 which comprise the Consolidated Income Statement, the Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income, the Consolidated and Parent Company Statements of Financial Position, the Consolidated and Parent Company Statements of Changes in Equity, the Consolidated and Parent Company Statements of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is international accounting standards in conformity with the Companies Act 2006 and as regards the parent company financial statements, as applied in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006.

In our opinion:

  • the financial statements give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the parent company’s affairs as at 30 September 2020 and of the group’s and parent company’s loss for the year then ended;
  • the group financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with international accounting standards in conformity with the Companies Act 2006;
  • the parent company financial statements have been properly prepared in accordance with international accounting standards in conformity with the Companies Act 2006 and as applied in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006; and
  • the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group and parent company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard as applied to listed entities, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:

  • the directors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is not appropriate; or
  • the directors have not disclosed in the financial statements any identified material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the group’s or the parent company’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting for a period of at least twelve months from the date when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our application of materiality

The scope of our audit was influenced by our application of materiality. The quantitative and qualitative thresholds for materiality determine the scope of our audit and the nature, timing and extent of our audit procedures. Group materiality was £55,000 (2019: £60,000) based upon 2% of gross assets. We consider gross assets to be the main driver of the business as the group is still in the exploration stage and therefore no revenues are currently being generated, and that current and potential investors will be most interested in the recoverability of the exploration and evaluation assets. The parent company materiality was £45,000 (2019: £40,000) based upon an average of 2% of gross assets and 5% of adjusted loss before tax.

Whilst materiality for the financial statements as a whole was set at £55,000, each significant component of the group was audited to an overall materiality ranging between £40,000 – £45,000 with performance materiality set at 70% for all entities.

We agreed with the audit committee that we would report to the committee all audit differences identified during the course of our audit in excess of £2,750 (2019: £3,000) as well as differences below these thresholds that, in our view, warranted reporting on qualitative grounds.

An overview of the scope of our audit

In designing our audit, we determined materiality and assessed the risk of material misstatement in the financial statements. In particular, we looked at areas requiring the directors to make subjective judgements, for example in respect of significant accounting estimates including the carrying value of intangible assets and the consideration of future events that are inherently uncertain. We also addressed the risk of management override of internal controls, including evaluating whether there was evidence of bias by the directors that represented a risk of material misstatement due to fraud.

An audit was performed on the financial information of the group’s operating entities which for the year ended 30 September 2020 were located in the United Kingdom and Australia. The Argentine operations which were previously held by the group were disposed of during the year. The audit work on each significant component was performed by us as group auditor based upon materiality or risk profile, or in response to potential risks of material misstatement to the group.

Key audit matters

Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the financial statements of the current period and include the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement (whether or not due to fraud) we identified, including those which had the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy, the allocation of resources in the audit; and directing the efforts of the engagement team. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.

Key Audit Matter

How the scope of our audit responded to the key audit matter

Recoverability of intangible assets – exploration and evaluation assets (refer to note 10)

The group as at 30 September 2020 had ongoing early stage exploration projects in the Philippines and Australia.

There is a risk that the expenditure is not correctly capitalised in accordance with IFRS 6. There is also a risk that the capitalised exploration costs are not recoverable and should be impaired. The carrying value of intangible exploration and evaluation assets as at 30 September 2020, which is tested annually for impairment, is £1,869,184. The impairment assessment requires management judgement and estimation of a range of applicable factors.

Specifically, there is an ongoing dispute over the Danglay Project (Philippines) where ECR believe they have fulfilled the criteria of the Earn-in and JV Agreement such that ECR has earned a 25% interest.

Relevant disclosures in the financial statements are made in Note 2 surrounding critical accounting judgements, and in Note 10 for Intangible assets.

Our work in this area included:

▪ Sample testing of exploration and evaluation expenditure to assess their eligibility for capitalisation under IFRS 6 by corroborating to the original source documentation.

▪ Inspection of the current exploration licences to verify they remained valid and that the group held good title.

▪ Review of correspondence (where applicable) with licensing authorities to ensure compliance and assess the risk of non-renewal. We assessed the sampling results and progress of the projects and whether they indicate the existence of commercially viable projects.

▪ Review and challenge of management’s documented consideration of impairment by individual project.

▪ Establishing the intention of the Board to undertake future exploration work.

▪ Review of any internal / external resource estimates produced during the year.

▪ Discussion of status of all projects with management.

As disclosed in Note 10 to the financial statements, the group has not yet formally acquired title to its 25% interest in Cordillera Tiger Gold Resources, Inc. (“Cordillera”) which is the holder of the exploration permit for the Danglay gold project in the Philippines. The conditions for the earn-in have been satisfied but the relevant shareholding has yet to be issued, despite the Board of Cordillera authorising the issue. In addition, the exploration permit for the Danglay gold project held by Cordillera expired on 30 September 2015. Cordillera is currently waiting for the Philippine authority to formally grant its renewal application. This indicates the existence of a material uncertainty over the recoverability of the carrying value of the Danglay gold project, which amounted to £1,185,297 as at 30 September 2020.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The directors are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the group and parent company financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

  • the information given in the strategic report and the directors’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
  • the strategic report and the directors’ report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent company and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the strategic report or the directors’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

  • adequate accounting records have not been kept by the parent company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
  • the parent company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
  • certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
  • we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of directors

As explained more fully in the directors’ responsibilities statement, the directors are responsible for the preparation of the group and parent company financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the directors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the group and parent company financial statements, the directors are responsible for assessing the group’s and the parent company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the directors either intend to liquidate the group or the parent company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities.This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone, other than the company and the company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

David Thompson (Senior Statutory Auditor) 15 Westferry Circus

For and on behalf of PKF Littlejohn LLP Canary Wharf

Statutory Auditor London E14 4HD

23 March 2021

Consolidated Income Statement

For the year ended 30 September 2020

Year ended

Year ended

30 September 2020

30 September 2019

Note

£

£

Proceeds from disposal of licenses

275,701

Less: expenditure on licences disposed

(169,509)

Gain on disposal

106,192

Continuing operations

Other administrative expenses

(799,585)

(833,203)

Currency exchange differences

(33,497)

(6,051)

Gain from hyperinflation adjustment

113,310

Total administrative expenses

(833,082)

(725,944)

Operating loss

3

(726,890)

(725,944)

Other financial assets – fair value movement

9

13,683

(8,112)

Aborted transaction option fee

(25,000)

(713,207)

(759,056)

Financial income

7

478

1,846

Other income

8,316

Finance income and costs

8,794

1,846

Loss for the year before taxation

Income tax

5

(704,413)

(757,210)

Loss for the year from continuing operations

(704,413)

(757,210)

Loss on disposal of subsidiary

(1,986,469)

Loss for the year from discontinued operations

(1,986,469)

Loss for the year – all attributable to owners of the parent

(2,690,882)

(757,210)

Earnings per share – basic and diluted

On continuing operations

4

(0.14)p

(0.18)p

On discontinued operations

(0.39)p

The notes set out below are an integral part of these financial statements.

Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income

For the year ended 30 September 2020

Year ended

Year ended

30 September 2020

30 September 2019

£

£

Loss for the year

(2,690,882)

(757,210)

Items that may be reclassified subsequently to profit or loss

Gain/(Loss) on exchange translation

95,880

(5,375)

Other comprehensive gain/(loss) for the year

95,880

(5,375)

Total comprehensive loss for the year

(2,595,002)

(762,586)

Attributable to: –

Loss on continuing operations

(608,533)

(762,586)

Loss on discontinued operations

(1,986,469)

The notes set out below are an integral part of these financial statements.

Consolidated & Company Statement of Financial Position

At 30 September 2020

Group

Company

30 September

30 September

30 September

30 September

Note

2020 £

2019

£

2020 £

2019

£

Assets

Non-current assets

Property, plant and equipment

8

183,539

1,041

2,737

548

Investments in subsidiaries

9

852,728

Intangible assets

10

1,869,184

3,295,996

1,333,282

2,272,553

Other receivables

11

1,029,067

983,864

2,052,723

3,297,037

2,365,086

4,109,694

Current assets

Trade and other receivables

11

108,617

108,654

726,689

616,190

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss

9

26,870

13,187

26,870

13,187

Cash and cash equivalents

12

1,497,231

268,517

1,207,190

227,508

1,632,718

390,358

1,960,749

856,885

Total assets

3,685,441

3,687,395

4,325,835

4,966,578

Current liabilities

,

Trade and other payables

14

121,622

46,791

93,848

22,990

121,622

46,791

93,848

22,990

Total liabilities

121,622

46,791

93,848

22,990

Net assets

3,563,819

3,640,604

4,231,987

4,943,589

Equity attributable to owners of the parent

Share capital

13

11,286,928

11,284,845

11,286,928

11,284,845

Share premium

13

47,090,048

45,391,202

47,090,048

45,391,202

Exchange reserve

531,453

(394,876)

Other reserves

440,706

742,698

440,706

742,698

Retained losses

(55,785,316)

(53,383,265)

(54,585,695)

(52,475,157)

Total equity

3,563,819

3,640,604

4,231,987

4,943,589

The Company has elected to take the exemption under section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 from presenting the parent company profit and loss account. The loss for the parent company for the year was £2,399,369 (2019: £623,683 loss).

The notes set out below are an integral part of these financial statements. The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Directors on 23 March 2021 and were signed on its behalf by:

Weili (David) Tang Craig Brown

Non–Executive Chairman Director & Chief Executive Officer

Consolidated Statement of Changes in Equity

For the year ended 30 September 2020

Share capital

Share premium

Exchange reserve

Other reserves

Retained reserves

(Note 13)

(Note 13)

Total

£

£

£

£

£

£

Balance at 30 September 2018

11,283,756

44,460,171

(389,501)

1,381,998

(53,084,878)

3,651,546

Loss for the year

(757,120)

(757,120)

Loss on exchange translation

(5,375)

(5,375)

Total comprehensive loss

(5,375)

(757,120)

(762,586)

Shares issued

1,039

737,745

738,784

Share issue costs

(38,040)

(38,040)

Lapsed or expired share-based payments

180,476

(639,300)

458,824

Shares issued in payment of creditors

50

50,850

50,900

Total transactions with owners,

recognised directly in equity

1,089

931,031

(639,300)

458,824

751,644

Balance at 30 September 2019

11,284,845

45,391,202

(394,876)

742,698

(53,383,264)

3,640,604

Loss for the year

(2,690,882)

(2,690,882)

Gain on exchange translation

95,880

95,880

Total comprehensive loss

95,880

(2,690,882)

(2,595,002)

Shares issued

2,067

1,754,986

1,757,053

Share issue costs

(77,000)

(77,000)

Share based payments

13,161

(301,992)

288,831

Recycled through profit or loss on disposal of subsidiary

830,449

830,449

Share issued in payment of creditors

15

7,699

7,714

Total transactions with owners, recognised directly in equity

2,083

1,698,846

830,449

(301,992)

288,831

2,518,216

Balance at 30 September 2020

11,286,928

47,090,048

531,453

440,706

(55,785,316)

3,563,819

The notes set out below are an integral part of these financial statements.

Company Statement of Changes in Equity

For the year ended 30 September 2020

Share capital

Share premium

Other reserves

Retained reserves

(Note 13)

(Note 13)

Total

£

£

£

£

£

Balance at 30 September 2018

11,283,756

44,460,171

1,381,998

(52,310,297)

4,815,628

Loss for the year

(623,682)

(623,682)

Total comprehensive expense

(623,682)

(623,682)

Shares issued

1,039

737,745

738,784

Share issue costs

(38,040)

(38,040)

Lapsed or expired share based payments

180,476

(639,300)

458,824

Shares issued in payment of creditors

50

50,850

50,900

Total transactions with owners, recognised directly in equity

1,089

931,031

(639,300)

458,824

751,644

Balance at 30 September 2019

11,284,845

45,391,202

742,698

(52,475,156)

4,943,589

Loss for the year

(2,399,369)

(2,399,369)

Total comprehensive expense

(2,399,369)

(2,399,369)

Shares issued

2,067

1,754,986

1,757,054

Share issue costs

(77,000)

(77,000)

Share based payment

13,161

(301,992)

288,831

Shares issued in payment of creditors

15

7,699

7,714

Total transactions with owners, recognised directly in equity

2,083

1,698,846

(301,992

) 288,831

1,687,768

Balance at 30 September 2020

11,286,928

47,090,048

440,706

(54,585,695)

4,231,987

The notes set out below are an integral part of these financial statements.

Consolidated & Company Cash Flow Statement

For the year ended 30 September 2020

Group

Company

Year ended 30 September

Year ended 30 September

Year ended 30 September

Year ended 30 September

Note

2020

£

2019

£

2020

£

2019

£

Net cash used in operations

20

(668,377)

(773,318)

(694,408)

(761,915)

Investing activities

Purchase of property, plant & equipment

8

(186,307)

(5,963)

Increase in exploration assets

10

(180,653)

(436,522)

(16,244)

Proceeds from disposal of licenses

275,701

R&D tax credits on exploration

307,818

Loan to subsidiary

(455,370)

Interest income

7

478

1,846

1,268

Net cash generated from / (used in) investing activities

217,037

(434,676)

(5,963)

(460,346)

Financing activities

Proceeds from issue of share capital (net of issue costs)

1,680,054

700,744

1,680,054

700,744

Net cash from financing activities

1,680,054

700,744

1,680,054

700,744

Net change in cash and cash equivalents

1,228,714

(507,250)

979,682

(521,517)

Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year

268,517

781,142

227,508

749,025

Effect of changes in foreign exchange rates

(5,375)

Cash and cash equivalents at end of the year

12

1,497,231

268,517

1,207,190

227,508

Non-cash transactions:

1. Settlement of creditors of £7,715 (2019: £89,684) with ordinary shares.

The notes on pages 28 to 44 are an integral part of these financial statements.

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 30 September 2020

1 General information

The Company and the Group operated mineral exploration and development projects. The Group’s principal interests are located in Australia, Argentina and the Philippines.

The Company is a public limited company incorporated and domiciled in England. The registered office of the Company and its principal place of business is Unit 119, Chester House, 81-83 Fulham High Street, Fulham Green, London SW6 3JA. The Company is quoted on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) of the London Stock Exchange.

2 Accounting policies

Overall considerations

The principal accounting policies that have been used in the preparation of these consolidated financial statements are set out below. The policies have been consistently applied unless otherwise stated.

Basis of preparation

a) Statement of compliance

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with international accounting standards in conformity with the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements are prepared on the historical cost basis or the fair value basis where the fair valuing of relevant assets or liabilities has been applied.

b) (i) New and amended standards, and interpretations issued and effective for the financial year beginning 1 October 2019

There were no new standards, amendments or interpretations effective for the first time for periods beginning on or after 1 October 2019 that had a material effect on the Group or Company financial statements

(ii) New standards, amendments and interpretations in issue but not yet effective

At the date of approval of these financial statements, the following standards and interpretations which have not been applied in these financial statements were in issue but not yet effective (and in some cases had not been adopted by the EU):

  • Amendments to References to Conceptual Framework in IFRS Standards – effective 1 January 2020
  • Definition of Material (Amendments to IAS 1 and IAS 8) – effective 1 January 2020
  • Amendment to IFRS 3 Business Combinations – effective 1 January 2020
  • Amendments to IFRS 9, IAS 39 and IFRS 17: Interest Rate Benchmark Reform – effective 1 January 2020
  • Amendments to IFRS 9, IAS 39, IFRS 7, IFRS 4 and IFRS 16: Interest Rate Benchmark Reform – Phase 2 – effective 1 January 2021*
  • Amendment to IFRS 3 Business Combinations – Reference to the Conceptual Framework – effective 1 January 2022*
  • Amendments to IAS 37: Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets – effective 1 January 2022*
  • Annual Improvements to IFRS Standards 2018-2020 Cycle – effective 1 January 2022*
  • Amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements: Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-current and Amendments to IAS 1: Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-current – Deferral of Effective Date – effective 1 January 2023*

*subject to EU endorsement

The Group and Company intend to adopt these standards when they become effective. The introduction of these new standards and amendments is not expected to have a material impact on the Group or Company.

Basis of consolidation

The consolidated financial statements incorporate the financial statements of the Company and one of its subsidiaries made up to 30 September 2020. Subsidiary undertakings acquired during the period are recorded under the acquisition method of accounting and their results consolidated from the date of acquisition, being the date on which the Company obtains control, and continue to be consolidated until the date such control ceases.

The Group controls an entity when the Group is exposed to, or has rights to, variable returns from its involvement with the entity and has the ability to affect those returns through its power over the entity.

Going concern

It is the prime responsibility of the Board to ensure the Group and Company remains a going concern. At 15 March 2021, the Group has cash and cash equivalents of £3,954,919 and no borrowings.

The Group’s financial projections and cash flow forecasts covering a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements show that the Group will have sufficient available funds in order to meet its contracted and committed expenditure. Further details are included in Note 21 to the financial statements.

Based on their assessment of the financial position, the Directors have a reasonable expectation that the Group and Company will be able to continue in operational existence for the next 12 months and continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing these Financial Statements.

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash includes petty cash and cash held in current bank accounts. Cash equivalents include short–term investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and which are subject to insignificant risk of changes in value.

Property, plant and equipment

Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation and any provision for impairment losses.

Depreciation is charged on each part of an item of property, plant and equipment so as to write off the cost of assets less the residual value over their estimated useful lives, using the straight–line method. Depreciation is charged to the income statement. The estimated useful lives are as follows:

Office equipment 3 years

Furniture and fittings 5 years

Machinery and equipment 5 years

Expenses incurred in respect of the maintenance and repair of property, plant and equipment are charged against income when incurred. Refurbishments and improvements expenditure, where the benefit is expected to be long lasting, is capitalised as part of the appropriate asset.

An item of property, plant and equipment ceases to be recognised upon disposal or when no future economic benefits are expected from its use or disposal. Any gain or loss arising on cessation of recognition of the asset (calculated as the difference between the net disposal proceeds and the carrying amount of the asset) is included in the income statement in the year the asset ceases to be recognised.

Exploration and development costs

All costs associated with mineral exploration and investments are capitalised on a project–by–project basis, pending determination of the feasibility of the project. Costs incurred include appropriate technical and administrative expenses but not general overheads. If an exploration project is successful, the related expenditures will be transferred to mining assets and amortised over the estimated life of the commercial ore reserves on a unit of production basis. Where a licence is relinquished or a project abandoned, the related costs are written off in the period in which the event occurs. Where the Group maintains an interest in a project, but the value of the project is considered to be impaired, a provision against the relevant capitalised costs will be raised.

The recoverability of all exploration and development costs is dependent upon continued good title to relevant assets being held (or, in the case of the Company’s interest in the Danglay gold project, to good title being secured), the discovery of economically recoverable reserves, the ability of the Group to obtain necessary financing to complete the development of reserves and future profitable production or proceeds from the disposition thereof.

Impairment testing

Individual assets are tested for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may exceed its recoverable amount, being the higher of net realisable value and value in use. Any such excess of carrying value over recoverable amount or value in use is taken as a debit to the income statement.

Intangible exploration assets are not subject to amortisation and are tested annually for impairment.

Provisions

A provision is recognised in the Statement of Financial Position when the Group or Company has a present legal or constructive obligation as a result of a past event, and it is probable that an outflow of economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation. If the effect is material, provisions are determined by discounting the expected future cash flows at a pre–tax rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and, where appropriate, the risks specific to the liability.

Leased assets

Assets and liabilities arising from a lease are initially measured on a present value basis. The lease payments are discounted using the interest rate implicit in the lease. If that rate cannot be readily determined, the lessee’s incremental borrowing rate is used, being the rate that the individual lessee would have to pay to borrow the funds necessary to obtain an asset of similar value to the right-of-use asset. Lease payments are allocated between principal and finance cost. All other short term leases are regarded as operating leases and the payments made under them are charged to the income statement on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Taxation

There is no current tax payable in view of e losses to date.

Deferred income taxes are calculated using the Statement of Financial Position liability method on temporary differences. Deferred tax is generally provided on the difference between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their tax bases. However, deferred tax is not provided on the initial recognition of goodwill or on the initial recognition of an asset or liability unless the related transaction is a business combination or affects tax or accounting profit. Deferred tax on temporary differences associated with shares in subsidiaries and joint ventures is not provided if reversal of these temporary differences can be controlled by the Company and it is probable that reversal will not occur in the foreseeable future. In addition, tax losses available to be carried forward as well as other income tax credits to the Company are assessed for recognition as deferred tax assets.

Deferred tax liabilities are provided in full, with no discounting. Deferred tax assets are recognised to the extent that it is probable that the underlying deductible temporary differences will be able to be offset against future taxable income. Current and deferred tax assets and liabilities are calculated at tax rates that are expected to apply to their respective period of realisation, provided they are enacted or substantively enacted at the Statement of Financial Position date.

Changes in deferred tax assets or liabilities are recognised as a component of tax expense in the income statement, except where they relate to items that are charged or credited directly to equity, in which case the related current or deferred tax is also charged or credited directly to equity.

Investments in subsidiaries

Subsidiaries are entities controlled by the Group. The Group controls an entity when it is exposed to, or has rights to, variable returns from its involvement with the entity and has the ability to affect those returns through its power over the entity.

The investments in subsidiaries held by the Company are valued at cost less any provision for impairment that is considered to have occurred, the resultant loss being recognised in the income statement.

Equity

Equity comprises the following:

  • “Share capital” represents the nominal value of equity shares, both ordinary and deferred.
  • “Share premium” represents the excess over nominal value of the fair value of consideration received for equity shares, net of expenses of the share issues.
  • “Other reserves” represent the fair values of share options and warrants issued.
  • “Retained reserves” include all current and prior year results, including fair value adjustments on financial assets, as disclosed in the consolidated statement of comprehensive income.
  • “Exchange reserve” includes the amounts described in more detail in the following note on foreign currency below.

Foreign currency translation

The consolidated financial statements are presented in pounds sterling which is the functional and presentational currency representing the primary economic environment of the Group.

Foreign currency transactions are translated into the respective functional currencies of the Company and its subsidiaries using the exchange rates prevailing at the date of the transaction or at an average rate where it is not practicable to translate individual transactions. Foreign exchange gains and losses are recognised in the income statement.

Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in a foreign currency are translated at the rates ruling at the Statement of Financial Position date.

The assets and liabilities of the Group’s foreign operations are translated at exchange rates ruling at the Statement of Financial Position date. Income and expense items are translated at the average rates for the period. Exchange differences are classified as equity and transferred to the Group’s exchange reserve. Such differences are recognised in the income statement in the periods in which the operation is disposed of.

Share–based payments

The Company awards share options to certain Company Directors and employees to acquire shares of the Company. Additionally, the Company has in previous years issued warrants to providers of equity finance.

All goods and services received in exchange for the grant of any share–based payment are measured at their fair values. Where employees are rewarded using share–based payments, the fair values of employees’ services are determined indirectly by reference to the fair value of the instrument granted to the employee.

The fair value is appraised at the grant date and excludes the impact of non–market vesting conditions. Fair value is measured by use of the Black Scholes model. The expected life used in the model has been adjusted, based on management’s best estimate, for the effects of non–transferability, exercise restrictions, and behavioural considerations.

All equity–settled share–based payments are ultimately recognised as an expense in the income statement with a corresponding credit to “other reserves”.

If vesting periods or other non–market vesting conditions apply, the expense is allocated over the vesting period, based on the best available estimate of the number of share options expected to vest. Estimates are subsequently revised if there is any indication that the number of share options expected to vest differs from previous estimates. Any cumulative adjustment prior to vesting is recognised in the current period. No adjustment is made to any expense recognised in prior years if share options ultimately exercised are different to that estimated on vesting.

Upon exercise of share options, the proceeds received net of attributable transaction costs are credited to share capital and, where appropriate, share premium.

A gain or loss is recognised in profit or loss when a financial liability is settled through the issuance of the Company’s own equity instruments. The amount of the gain or loss is calculated as the difference between the carrying value of the financial liability extinguished and the fair value of the equity instrument issued.

Financial instruments

Financial assets

The Group’s financial assets comprise equity investments held as financial assets at fair value through profit or loss as required by IFRS 9, and financial assets at amortised cost, being cash and cash equivalents and receivables balances. Financial assets are assigned to the respective categories on initial recognition, based on the Group’s business model for managing financial assets, which determines whether cash flows will result from collecting contractual cash flows, selling the financial assets, or both.

Financial assets at amortised cost are non–derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market. These assets are initially measured at fair value plus transaction costs directly attributable to their acquisition or issue, and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest rate method, less provision for impairment under the expected credit loss model.

The Group’s receivables fall into this category of financial instruments. Discounting is omitted where the effect of discounting is immaterial.

Equity investments are held as financial assets at fair value through profit or loss. These assets are initially recognised at fair value and subsequently carried in the financial statements at fair value, with net changes recognised in profit or loss.

Derecognition

A financial asset (or, where applicable, a part of a financial asset or part of a group of similar financial assets) is primarily derecognised (i.e., removed from the Group’s consolidated statement of financial position) when:

• The rights to receive cash flows from the asset have expired

Or

• The Group has transferred its rights to receive cash flows from the asset or has assumed an obligation to pay the received cash flows in full without material delay to a third party under a ‘pass-through’ arrangement; and either (a) the Group has transferred substantially all the risks and rewards of the asset, or (b) the Group has neither transferred nor retained substantially all the risks and rewards of the asset, but has transferred control of the asset.

Impairment of financial assets

The Group recognises an allowance for ECLs for all debt instruments not held at fair value through profit or loss.

The amount of the expected credit loss is measured as the difference between all contractual cash flows that are due in accordance with the contract and all the cash flows that are expected to be received (i.e. all cash shortfalls), discounted at the original effective interest rate (EIR).

For trade receivables (not subject to provisional pricing) and other receivables due in less than 12 months, the Group applies the simplified approach in calculating ECLs, as permitted by IFRS 9. Therefore, the Group does not track changes in credit risk, but instead, recognises a loss allowance based on the financial asset’s lifetime ECL at each reporting date.

Financial liabilities

All financial liabilities are recognised initially at fair value and, in the case of loans and borrowings and payables, net of directly attributable transaction costs.

The Group’s financial liabilities include trade and other payables and are held at amortised cost. After initial recognition, trade and other payables are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the EIR method. Gains and losses are recognised in the statement of profit or loss and other comprehensive income when the liabilities are derecognised, as well as through the EIR amortisation process.

Derecognition

A financial liability is derecognised when the associated obligation is discharged or cancelled or expires.

When an existing financial liability is replaced by another from the same lender on substantially different terms, or the terms of an existing liability are substantially modified, such an exchange or modification is treated as the derecognition of the original liability and the recognition of a new liability. The difference in the respective carrying amounts is recognised in profit or loss and other comprehensive income.

Critical accounting estimates and judgements

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRSs requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of policies and reported amounts of assets and liabilities, income and expenses. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis of making the judgements about carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an on–going basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the year in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that year or in the year of the revision and future years if the revision affects both current and future years.

The most critical accounting policies and estimates in determining the financial condition and results of the Group and Company are those requiring the greater degree of subjective or complete judgement. These relate to:

Capitalisation and recoverability of exploration costs (Note 10):

Capitalised exploration and evaluation costs consist of direct costs, licence payments and fixed salary/consultant costs, capitalised in accordance with IFRS 6 “Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources”. The group and company recognises expenditure as exploration and evaluation assets when it determines that those assets will be successful in finding specific mineral assets. Exploration and evaluation assets are initially measured at cost. Exploration and evaluation costs are assessed for impairment when facts and circumstances suggest that the carrying amount of an asset may exceed its recoverable amount. Any impairment is recognised directly in profit or loss.

Recoverability of investment in subsidiaries including intra group receivables (Note 9 and 11)

The recoverability of investments in subsidiaries, including intra group receivables, is directly linked to the recoverability of the exploration assets in those entities, which is subject to the same estimates and judgements as explained above.

3 Operating loss

Year ended

30 September 2020

Year ended
30 September
2019

The operating loss is stated after charging:

£

£

Depreciation of property, plant and equipment

3,809

1,701

Operating lease expenses

23,768

23,746

Auditors’ remuneration – fees payable to the Company’s auditor for the audit of

the parent company and consolidated financial statements

25,750

21,500

4

Earnings per share

Basic and Diluted

Year ended 30 September

2020

Year ended 30 September

2019

Weighted number of shares in issue during the year

512,411,527

423,047,928

£

£

Loss from continuing operations attributable to owners of the parent

(704,413)

(757,210)

Loss from discontinued operations attributable to owners of the parent

(1,986,469)

Basic earnings per share has been calculated by dividing the loss attributable to equity holders of the company after taxation by the weighted average number of shares in issue during the year. There is no difference between the basic and diluted earnings per share as the effect on the exercise of options and warrants would be to decrease the earnings per share.

Details of share options and warrants that could potentially dilute earnings per share in future periods is set out in Note 1.

ECR Minerals #ECR – CEO Craig Brown talks to Alan Green

Brand Comms CEO Alan Green talks to ECR Minerals #ECR CEO Craig Brown about the company’s flagship gold exploration projects in the heart of Australia’s Victoria Goldfields. Taking slides from the latest company presentation, Craig talks about ECR’s wholly owned drill rig, HQ at Bendigo and the £4m funding and extra cash resources owned by the company. We look at the Creswick Gold project located close to the Ballarat Gold Mine before discussing this year’s production numbers at the Fosterville goldmine and how they might compare to assay results and ore grades currently being drilled at the Bailieston HR3 target. Craig looks at Black Cat, Cherry Tree and other targets at Bailieston, before we move onto the blue sky potential at the Tambo Project, and the connection with ECR’s Head Geologist Dr Rodney Boucher. We end with some takeaway points for investors.

Money Guide interview ECR Minerals #ECR CEO Craig Brown

ECR Minerals #ECR CEO Craig Brown is interviewed by Money Guide. In the interview Craig discusses:

  • ECR now owns its own diamond drilling rig that can drill as deep as 1300 metres.
  • Tambo Gold Project, easy access, low costs. Principal geologist and Bruthen local boy Dr Rod Boucher is currently out conducting fieldwork
  • There are currently two parties interested in the Creswick project. One party is undertaking due diligence, although as Craig explains the progress has been hampered by the Victoria lockdown quarantine measures.
  • Drilling will shortly commence at the Bailieston project. This is located close to the Fosterville Gold mine, which has v low operating costs, producing 500,000oz a year and is ‘printing money’. Craig says that some ‘big players’ have moved into the region recently, and one is interested in Bailieston (HR3, Blue Moon, Cherry Tree).
  • ECR is very undervalued vs. peers – Craig looks at Fosterville South (TSX-FSX), which acquired ECR’s Avoca, Timor & Moormbool licenses earlier this year. The company currently has a value some 12 times that of ECR, and while the Golden Mountain project is progressing, Craig argues that ECR has ‘better projects’.

USD28tn COVID bill keeps the Gold bull case intact for ECR Minerals #ECR and the new Victoria Gold rush.

In October 2020 IMF economic counselor *Gita Gopinath described coronavirus as the worst crisis since the Great Depression, adding that the pandemic would leave deep and enduring scars from job losses, weaker investment and children being deprived of education.

In its flagship world economic outlook, the IMF said stronger than expected Q2 and Q3 performances would see global output fall by 4.4% in 2020 compared with the 5.2% drop forecast during the summer.

The groundbreaking news of a vaccine with high efficacy rates from both Pfizer and Moderna triggered strong rallies in global stock markets, and while this led to a downward correction in the gold price, most market analysts remained bullish on gold over the longer term.

US Investment Group Energy & Capital are of the view that gold remains in a bull market super cycle. Energy & Capital editor, Gold bug, and investment analyst Luke Burgess said “The historic gold run of 2011 actually began in 2001, when gold was trading around $300 per ounce.”

“The same exact gold super-cycle happened in 1971–1980, when gold ran from $50 per ounce to almost $700,” Burgess added. “The value of the U.S. dollar is being weakened every day and there is nothing that the Federal Reserve or politicians can do to stop it. This will continue to have a tremendous effect on gold prices and the gold market in general.”

Energy & Capital are ultra bullish in outlook, with a $6500oz target price for the yellow metal within 2 years. While other commentators are more circumspect, the view on the longer-term trend is clear.**

“It is worth recalling that the driver of investment flows into precious metals has ultimately been sourced from a powerful impulse lower in real rates,” TD Securities said in a note.

“The U.S. Federal Reserve’s continued attempt to spark higher inflation expectations should suppress real rates deeper into negative territory. This will continue to drive investment appetite for precious metals, as capital seeks to shelter itself from increasingly negative real rates.”

Junior Gold Miners Flourish

It has been an extraordinary year for junior gold miners. Despite the recent gold correction to $1860oz, global gold producers are under more pressure than ever to replace their depleting reserves. The major gold producing conglomerates face declines in production, shrinking reserves and a potential increase in production costs, which means it is cheaper (and faster) for these companies to buy developed or developing gold projects.

As a result, there has been a rush to develop and fast track quality assets, which for some junior miners has meant revisiting dormant mining projects. The latest tools, survey techniques and desktop assets available to mining engineers have proved invaluable in the search for precious metals within existing dormant assets and mines around the world.

As gold prospecting continues apace in far flung and remote areas, this year has seen the goldfields in Victoria, South Australia thrust into the limelight once again.

A major mining centre since the 19th century gold rush, modern technology has today has paved the way for another gold rush in the region.

Indeed the Geological Survey of Victoria estimates that some 75 million ounces of high-grade gold is currently awaiting discovery, and with grants available to mining companies operating in the region, it is no exaggeration to say that companies are literally queuing up for licenses.


As an incumbent operator owning some of the most fertile territory in Victoria, London listed ECR Minerals (LSE: ECR) is already at the front of the queue, with its 100% owned Bailieston and Creswick Victoria gold projects, plus the recently acquired Tambo Gold project.

ECR also has financial interests in the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor projects following the sale of those licenses to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (TSX.V:FSX), raising $500,000 plus $1 for every ounce of gold discovered. ECR also has interests in projects in the Philippines and Argentina.

Creswick

Creswick is situated within the Dimocks Main Shale, a geological feature considered to be highly prospective for gold, and which extends to the Ballarat gold mine centre and further south. ECR’s exploration licenses cover approximately 7km of this region, and along with several other mining companies with licenses in the region, has applied for a further license covering a further 140 sq km between Creswick and Ballarat.

A recent study by pre-eminent consulting geochemist Dr Dennis Arne, whose experience includes extensive consultancy at the Fosterville mine, (now the largest gold producer in Victoria), underlined the significant gold exploration potential at Creswick, and ‘nuggety gold mineralisation’. Joint venture / earn-in talks are continuing at Creswick.

Bailieston

Bailieston is also at the centre of the current gold exploration boom in Victoria, sited as it is a few km east of the world class Fosterville mine. Fosterville has delivered spectacular investment returns over recent years for owner Kirkland Lake Gold, not to mention some of it’s now millionaire shareholders.

The Bailieston license areas include a raft of prospects, including HR3, Black Cat, Cherry Tree, Red Moon and Yellow Moon, and with drilling permissions now received, the company reported last Friday that its newly acquired drilling rig will shortly be en route to the HR3 prospect from ECR’s new operational base at Bendigo. Work also continues apace at the Cherry Tree prospect, with soil geochemistry and geological mapping recently completed.

ECR’s Baillieston project also has a high profile neighbour in the form of mining giant Newmont, which has a license application in for ground immediately to the north of ECR’s Black Cat prospect.

Tambo Gold Project – Local Knowledge

One of the key advantages lies in the fact that ECR’s principal geologist Dr Rodney Boucher was born and raised in Bruthen, East Victoria, and therefore has an intimate knowledge of the region. In September 2020, this area knowledge was further employed by ECR when it lodged two new license applications for the new Tambo gold project in eastern Victoria. ECR CEO Craig Brown highlighted Dr Boucher’s knowledge in the stock exchange press release.

“Good quality exploration ground available for direct application is very difficult to find in Victoria, so we are very pleased to have identified and applied for the Tambo project, which covers a sizeable area of prospective geology near historic goldfields and has received little contemporary exploration.”

Brown added “Our principal geologist, Dr Rod Boucher, was born and raised nearby in Bruthen. He grew up gold prospecting with his father throughout the application areas and has an in-depth knowledge of the gold potential in the small streams and gullies. He is a descendant of gold miners from a locality once known as Boucher Town between Cassilis and Swifts Creek and completed his third-year undergraduate thesis on the geology of the Tambo Crossing area.”

Untapped Potential

There is a sense that despite the rush of license applications in the region, the current day Victoria gold rush is still very much in its infancy.

As other leading mining companies, including Newmont Corporation (NYSE: NEM), Power Metal Resources (LSE:POW), Red Rock Resources (LSE:RRR), Fosterville South and a host of other smaller mining groups queue for licenses, their respective CEO’s will no doubt be harbouring ambitions for a Kirkland Gold–esque share price explosion.  Indeed, Kirkland’s share price has rocketed over 2,200% in the past few years thanks to its ownership of the Fosterville Gold Mine and a 315% jump in annual gold production between 2014 and 2018 .

Despite movement restrictions in the Victoria region due to Covid-19, the foresight of the ECR board and CEO in securing the key licenses has not been lost on investors.

Following a further £600,000 fundraise in July, and further £400,000 from warrant exercises, ECR took the decision to acquire it’s own diamond drilling rig to press on with exploration Bailieston and Creswick. Investor bulletin boards are agog with anticipation, but despite the share price having nearly trebled between June and September 2020, in November the stock still trades on a ridiculously modest £13m market cap.

If, as all the pundits seem to be saying, we are at the start of a new Victoria Gold rush, then expectations that shares in small, incumbent explorers like ECR will deliver spectacular Kirkland-style increases in value may not be so far fetched after all.

*Source The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/13/imf-covid-cost-world-economic-outlook

**Source Reuters:

https://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious/precious-gold-holds-tight-range-as-vaccine-progress-offsets-rising-cases-idUSL4N2I43M1

 

ECR Minerals #ECR – Business Operations Update

ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the gold exploration and development company focussed on Australia, is pleased to provide the following update on its activities, which are centred on the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in Victoria, Australia. Both projects are 100% owned by ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”).

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Field mapping and geochemistry currently underway across numerous gold prospects in the Bailieston project area;
  • ECR has acquired a diamond drilling rig capable of drilling as deep as 1,300 metres, due for delivery next month and which will be deployed immediately on an ECR managed drill programme;
  • High priority gold prospects within the Bailieston and Creswick project areas with potential for immediate drilling have been identified.

Craig Brown, Chief Executive Officer of ECR, commented:

“There is continuing interest in ECR’s Bailieston and Creswick projects with regards to potential joint venture or earn in opportunities. However, there can be no guarantee that any transaction will occur. The Company will provide further updates as appropriate.

The engagement we are experiencing is not surprising given the interest in Victoria gold opportunities, as evidenced by the many corporate transactions that we have seen in the area.

ECR is also gearing up to launch next stage exploration campaigns across our properties and we look forward to providing updates as the work progresses

The Directors are very optimistic for the future, and the Company has a robust underlying cash position of £1.65m with which we can confidently push ahead with operational programmes.”

CURRENT EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES

With the approaching end of the Victorian winter, MGA has begun to ramp-up exploration at the Bailieston and Creswick projects. A programme of follow-up field mapping and geochemistry across numerous prospects in the Bailieston project area is currently underway. MGA has recently purchased its own portable Olympus XRF analyser in order to enhance and expedite its geochemical sampling capabilities.

A map of the eastern Bailieston project area showing some of the prospects and features referred to in this announcement can be viewed at:

https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2020/09/09/prospectsreefs-eastern-bailieston-tenement-area.jpg

Detailed mapping and geochemistry at the Cherry Tree, Cherry Tree South and Black Cat prospects is aimed at locating the surface position of shoots and identifying mineralisation along strike of trends established by historical and recent exploration. This will assist with the consideration of these prospects for drilling.

Cherry Tree (Historic Reserve #4) and Cherry Tree South are along the Bailieston trend and south of the Fosterville-style mineralisation mined in a small open cut in the 1990s at Historic Reserve #1 (HR1).

Rock chip samples were taken by MGA from Cherry Tree and Cherry Tree South as part of a 2018 sampling programme along the Bailieston trend. A total of 58 rock chip samples were taken at Cherry Tree and Cherry Tree South, with 17 samples returning grades of >1 g/t gold and the highest assay result being 8.8 g/t gold.

Field mapping and geochemical sampling at the Kings Cross and Pontings prospects in the Bailieston project area will follow-up earlier results including soil samples of up to 1.79 g/t gold at Kings Cross and rock chip samples of up to 8.31 g/t gold at Pontings.

PURCHASE OF DIAMOND DRILLING RIG AND POTENTIAL FUTURE DRILLING

MGA has recently signed a contract for the purchase of a new Cortech CSD1300G diamond drilling rig complete with spares and all downhole equipment, which is capable of drilling as deep as 1,300 metres. The rig is expected to be delivered in October 2020 and will give MGA an in-house drilling capability, which will be preferable to relying on contractors.

MGA has access to experienced drilling personnel to operate the rig, and it is expected that future drilling can be completed at lower cost and with greater flexibility using MGA’s own rig.

High priority gold prospects within the Bailieston and Creswick project areas which have the potential for immediate further drilling are detailed below. Once the drill rig has been received in Australia, a decision will be taken as to where it should first be put to work.

Bailieston Project – Blue Moon 

Blue Moon is an exciting new gold discovery made by MGA, with intercepts from 2019 reverse circulation (RC) drilling including 15 metres at 3.81 g/t gold from 51 metres downhole (with 2 metres at 17.87 g/t gold) (see announcement dated 14 March 2019 for full details of the drill programme). The best 2019 drilling results came from the western fence line. The host sandstone thins towards the east, where the drill results diminished accordingly.

ECR plans to test whether the mineralisation continues to improve towards the west, subject to gaining surface access. There is also potential to carry out further drilling within the zones already tested, with the objective of establishing an initial JORC Mineral Resource.

Bailieston Project – HR3

Three dimensional (3D) modelling of historical data for the Bailieston Historic Reserve #3 (HR3) and the results of drilling in the area by MGA in 2017 was completed in late 2019 and has assisted in the identification of the architecture of the major folds, structures and cross structures at the prospect. HR3 comprises at least four closely-spaced lines of reef, including the Byron, Dan Genders, Scoulars and Maori Reefs, plus numerous cross-structures. This provides a number of drill-ready targets.

Creswick Project 

Drilling conducted by MGA in 2019 at the Slades Reef prospect covered 300 metres of the 12.5 kilometre strike length of the Dimocks Main Shale (DMS) within ECR’s granted exploration licence (EL) and EL application areas at Creswick. This drilling encountered complex structures at Slades Reef; the cross section shown in ECR’s announcement dated 21 June 2019 showed drilling into interpreted faulted and parasitic folded DMS on an overall west-dipping limb.

Diamond drilling can be utilised to test this structural hypothesis and test the gold-bearing structures identified at Slades Reef where key faults intersect the anticline. Elsewhere at Creswick, field mapping and geochemical sampling could be used to attempt to delineate the surface expression of shoots to the south including Jackass Reef and Mills Reef ahead of potential drilling of these targets.

Review of Announcement by Qualified Person

This announcement has been reviewed by Dr Rodney Boucher of Linex Pty Ltd. Linex Pty Ltd provides geological services to Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd, including the services of Dr Boucher, who has a PhD in geology, is a Member and RPGeo of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and is a Member of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Dr Boucher 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   
Craig Brown, Director & CEO   
Email:info@ecrminerals.com   
Website: www.ecrminerals.com   
    
WH Ireland Ltd Tel: +44 (0)161 832 2174 
Nominated Adviser   
Katy Mitchell/James Sinclair-Ford   
    
SI Capital Ltd Tel: +44 (0)1483 413500 
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 Ltd has 100% ownership of the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central Victoria, Australia.

Following the sale of the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold projects in Victoria, Australia to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (TSX-V: FSX), ECR has the right to receive up to A$2 million in payments subject to future resource estimation or production at those projects.

ECR has earned 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, and holds a royalty on the SLM gold project in La Rioja Province, Argentina.

Insatiable Gold Demand Set To Continue – ECR On The Cusp Of ‘Great’ Ness.

Insatiable Gold Demand Set To Continue – ECR On The Cusp Of ‘Great’ Ness. 

With the US Fed signalling a more relaxed approach to inflation in its end of month policy meeting, gold rebounded sharply after falling from August highs of  $2,075oz as markets interpreted Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments to mean that low interest rates are here for years to come.

Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank believes that the Fed’s shift to let inflation and employment run higher will keep interest rates low for years to come, thereby lifting the appeal of non-interest-bearing gold.“There’s still room for bullion to set new all-time highs, although that may take time,” Hansen commented. “Powell’s speech did not threaten the bullish narrative for gold and silver.”

“Low interest rates for longer, a weaker dollar, massive amounts of stimulus and the increased demand for inflation hedges are likely to continue to drive demand for both metals,” he added.

Peter Hug, division head for precious metals at Kitco News is of the view that conditions have not changed for gold and silver.

Speaking to Kitco News on following the Fed meeting, Hug said conditions are positive for gold due to the amount of fiscal support provided by banks.

“The macro picture has not changed. Every central bank in the world has got their foot on the pedal, and I don’t think they’re going to take their foot off the pedal probably until the end of 2021.”

Old Gold projects resurfacing

The ever present strength in gold is sustaining huge levels of investor interest in junior gold explorers. As mining geologists take fees for their work in shares as well as cash, droves of canny investors are now following geologists on social media to try to get the early inside line to any upcoming projects, even to the point of investing into the company owning /operating the project as soon as a new appointment is announced. A successful drilling campaign can of course have a transformational effect the valuations of small cap explorers with quality projects, meaning that professional fees can potentially multiply in value. 

The outlook for gold being what it is, many dormant mining projects are being re-examined and feasibility studies revisited. The latest tools, survey techniques and digital / desktop assets available to mining engineers have proved transformative in the search for precious metals within existing dormant assets and mines around the world.  And as many projects have some infrastruture already in place, opportunities to ‘fast track’ such developments are ever present.

Mining Giants Lined Up for Fast Tracking 

The major mining companies around the world today all started somewhere. Many will have started life as microcap exporation companies, developing assets into production, and using the proceeds to fund other projects. In some cases, the fuding will have come from existing shareholders. With others a farm-in agreement will be reached with another mining company to share or bear the developments costs, which sees the partner ‘earn-in’, usually at an increasing level of project ownership as the money is spent.

The current ‘pedal to the metal’ approach to monetary easing is providing a perfect backdrop for project developments of this nature, and has created fertile hunting ground for the world’s leading mining companies seeking lucrative farm-in opportunities.  Equally, the project potential may see active investors support the board and go it alone.

AIM listed ECR Minerals (AIM: ECR) is a company on the cusp of a series of game changing deals. The company 100% owns Bailieston and Creswick projects in Central Victoria, Australia, and also has financial interests in the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor projects following the sale of those licenses to TSX-V listed Fosterville South Exploration Ltd. In addition ECR owns a 25% interest in the Danglay epithermal gold project in the north of the Philippines and a net smelter royalty agreement from the sale of the SLM gold project in Argentina.

Creswick

Creswick is situated within the Dimocks Main Shale, a geological feature considered to be highly prospective for gold, and which extends some 15km from the mining centre of Ballarat. ECR’s exploration licenses cover approximately 7km of this region. Following drilling results in 2019,  a highest grade duplicate result of 80.97 g/t gold came from a 1 metre interval that originally assayed 44.63 g/t, confirming the original findings. A study by pre-eminent consulting geochemist Dr Dennis Arne, whose experience includes extensive consultancy at the highly successful Fosterville gold mine in Central Victoria, underlined the significant gold exploration potential at Creswick, and ‘nuggety gold mineralisation’.

Bailieston

Bailieston is also at the centre of the current gold exploration boom in Victoria, close to the world-class Fosterville mine owned by Kirkland Lake Gold. Mining giant Newmont has a license application in for ground immediately to the north of ECR’s Black Cat prospect, plus an open cut gold mine was operated at Bailieston by Perseverance Corporation in the 1990’s. Quality samples have been logged from drilling by ECR at the Blue Moon prospect in 2019, including a 17.8g/t sample from a 2 metre interval, confirming Blue Moon as a new gold discovery. The Bailieston license areas also include a raft of other prospects, namely HR3, Cherry Tree, Red Moon and Yellow Moon.

Mining Major Joint Ventures and Drilling

Having previously sold three Victoria licences (Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold exploration projects) for upfront cash and royalties to TSX-V listed Fosterville South Exploration Ltd, along with a raft of warrant exercises, ECR is now fully funded to continue drilling at its 100% owned Creswick and Bailieston projects through to the end of 2021.

In a recent ShareTalk podcast here, ECR CEO Craig Brown provided some background on the most recent developments. He confirmed that several earlier offers to partner in the projects had been rejected, and that mining majors were interested in Creswick and the highly prospective Dimocks Main Shale gold trend that runs through Creswick from the Ballarat gold mine.  Citing some of the most recent gold asset sales in the region, Brown stated that both Creswick and Bailieston projects were superior in quality to many in the region, and that value could be realised in a Greatland Gold type asset sale and free carry deal structure. 

Progress and site visits are being hampered somewhat by the COVID lockdown – any teams flying in from other states are subject to a 14 day quarantine. But as regards the immediate future of both Creswick and Baileston, one thing is abundantly clear. ECR will commence drilling at one or both projects in the coming weeks, and given the ultra-bullish long term outlook for gold, mining majors seeking a JV will be keen to strike a deal sooner rather than later.

Currently valued at just GB£12m, many investors believe ECR is on the cusp of ‘Great’ Ness – a transformational Greatland Gold esque deal. Despite the lockdown restrictions, the insatiable demand for gold looks set to continue for the next 18 months – near perfect conditions for junior gold miners with superior quality assets. 

References:

Kitco: https://www.kitco.com/news/video/show/Kitco-NEWS/2957/2020-08-28/Every-central-bank-in-the-world-has-got-their-foot-on-the-pedal–Peter-Hug#_48_INSTANCE_puYLh9Vd66QY_=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kitco.com%2Fnews%2Fvideo%2Flatest%3Fshow%3DKitco-NEWS

Share Talk: https://www.pscp.tv/w/choS9jF4blFyWHlrQW5rall8MWt2SnBla0xBbWt4RVXUWZxBJJOsdYs2rhJuzDRWVD0-zN2rj-l_AWcuc8bF

ECR Minerals #ECR – Exercise of Warrants

ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the gold exploration and development company focussed on Australia, announces it has received notice to exercise warrants over 18,112,139 new ordinary shares in the Company. Of this number, 10,612,139 new ordinary shares are being issued pursuant to the exercise of warrants at 1.125p per share, and 7,500,000 new ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of warrants at 1p per share. Aggregate subscription monies of £194,386.56 have been received by ECR in respect of the exercise of these warrants.

Admission of the Warrant Shares to trading on AIM is expected to occur on or around 7 August 2020 (“Admission”). Upon Admission, ECR’s issued ordinary share capital will comprise 640,953,913 ordinary shares of 0.001p. This number will represent the total voting rights in the Company, and, following admission of the Warrant Shares, 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. The Warrant Shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the ordinary shares of the Company currently traded on AIM.

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

Craig Brown, Director & CEO

Email:

info@ecrminerals.com

Website: www.ecrminerals.com

WH Ireland Ltd

Tel: +44 (0)161 832 2174

Nominated Adviser

Katy Mitchell/James Sinclair-Ford

SI Capital Ltd

Tel: +44 (0)1483 413500

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 Ltd has 100% ownership of the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central Victoria, Australia.

Following the sale of the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold projects in Victoria, Australia to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (TSX-V: FSX), ECR has the right to receive up to A$2 million in payments subject to future resource estimation or production at those projects.

ECR has earned 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, and holds a royalty on the SLM gold project in La Rioja Province, Argentina.

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