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ECR Minerals #ECR – Heads of Terms for Proposed Disposal of MGA
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce that, further to previous announcements, it has entered into a non-binding heads of terms (the “Heads of Terms”) with Octo Holdings Pty Ltd (“Octo”) regarding the proposed sale (the “Proposed Disposal”) of the entire issued share capital of ECR’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”). MGA holds certain of the Company’s exploration assets in Victoria, Australia but will be restructured prior to the Proposed Disposal as described below.
Highlights of the Proposed Disposal pursuant to the non-binding Heads of Terms:
- Total cash consideration to be payable of A$4.5 million
- Payable in two equal cash tranches: the first tranche on completion of the Proposed Disposal
and the second tranche on or before 31 March 2025 - MGA is to be restructured such that the Creswick and Tambo projects will be transferred to another of the Company’s subsidiaries, so that these projects are excluded from the Proposed Disposal
- The Bailieston gold and antimony exploration project will remain in MGA and therefore would be included in the Proposed Disposal
- MGA holds ECR’s A$75 million of tax losses which represent the main asset that is to be disposed
Overview of the Proposed Disposal
Pursuant to the Heads of Terms, Octo has agreed to acquire MGA on a cash-free and debt-free basis. It is proposed that, on or before completion of the Proposed Disposal, ECR will effect a reorganisation of MGA such that the only exploration assets remaining within MGA will be the four exploration tenements collectively known as the Bailieston project (EL5433, EL006911, EL006912, and EL007296), which targets gold and antimony mineralisation over 142 km2 of exploration ground within the Melbourne zone. Although potentially encouraging antimony results have been reported from the Bailieston project (as announced on 3 July 2024), the Bailieston project is considered by the Board to be a non-core asset given ECR’s key focus on gold exploration.
It is proposed that the tenements comprising ECR’s core Creswick and Tambo gold exploration projects, along with the lease of ECR’s premises near Bendigo, Victoria, will be transferred to another of the Company’s wholly owned subsidiaries and so would be excluded from the Proposed Disposal. Furthermore, MGA’s contracts with ECR’s employees, consultants and other suppliers will be similarly transferred such that the Proposed Disposal will have no impact on ECR’s ongoing Victoria operations at the Creswick and Tambo projects. For the avoidance of doubt, ECR’s core Lolworth and Blue Mountain projects and the Kondaparinga project (all of which are based in Queensland) are held via a different ECR subsidiary and will therefore be unaffected by the Proposed Disposal.
Under the Heads of Terms, the consideration to be payable by Octo is to be A$4.5 million and is to be settled in two equal tranches in cash, with the first tranche on completion of the Proposed Disposal and the second tranche on or before 31 March 2025.
The Heads of Terms restate the exclusivity period between ECR and Octo until 31 January 2025 and it is the parties’ expectation that the Proposed Disposal will be concluded before that date. In the event that further time is required to finalise the pre-completion steps summarised in this announcement, then Octo has the right to extend the exclusivity period for a further 28 days in return for the payment of a commitment fee of A$50,000 (which is refundable in certain circumstances), which would be deductible from the first tranche of the consideration.
It is noted that the Heads of Terms are not binding in relation to the terms of the Proposed Disposal, as described above, and that the Proposed Disposal will be subject, among other things, to due diligence by Octo and the execution of a legally binding agreement governing the transaction. There can therefore be no certainty that final binding terms will be agreed, nor as to the timing or final terms, value or conditions of the Proposed Disposal or the final position in respect of the proposed pre- completion restructuring of MGA.
As previously announced, the Proposed Disposal may be considered to be a fundamental change of business pursuant to Rule 15 of the AIM Rules for Companies. If applicable, this would require, amongst other items, the Proposed Disposal to be conditional on the consent of shareholders being given in a general meeting, the publication of a shareholder circular detailing the terms of the transaction and certain other disclosures as set out in the AIM Rules.
Proposed use of proceeds
Subject to its completion, ECR currently intends to use the net proceeds from the Proposed Disposal to advance the exploration and development of its Queensland and Victoria projects, as previously announced. In particular, the Board considers that the stronger balance sheet that the Company would have on completion of the Proposed Disposal will accelerate its ability to commercialise its core projects.
The board will also assess potential additional value-accretive opportunities for the Company.
The Board considers that the combination of the subscription that was announced in November 2024 and the Proposed Disposal proceeds would ensure that ECR would be fully funded for all of its currently planned activities for the medium-term future.
Next Steps
It is proposed that the parties’ legal advisers will now prepare the necessary definitive and binding agreement to effect the Proposed Disposal and, as described above, ECR will organise the pre- completion restructuring of MGA. Octo will conclude any remaining due diligence on MGA and its assets simultaneously with these workstreams.
Nick Tulloch, ECR’s Chairman, said: “These Heads of Terms represent a significant milestone in our strategy to unlock value from our Australian assets. As investors will know, this has been a complex process and it is a credit to the entire ECR team that we are now at this stage. Once completed, the Proposed Disposal will provide significant cash proceeds to strengthen our balance sheet and the simultaneous restructuring has been designed to preserve the core value within ECR without interruption to our ongoing key operations at Creswick and Tambo. Once the Proposed Disposal has been completed, ECR will be fully funded for all of its currently planned activities for the medium-term future.”
Financial information relating to the Proposed Disposal
Set out in the Appendix to this announcement is a summary of the audited Statement of the Financial Position and the Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income for MGA for the year ended 30 September 2023, being the date to which ECR’s last audit was prepared.
It is noted that this historic financial information does not reflect the proposed pre-completion restructuring of MGA described above. In particular, shareholders should note the following key adjustments to MGA which are anticipated to occur in relation to its proposed pre-completion restructuring:
- All cash balances within MGA at the point immediately prior to completion will be retained by ECR (MGA’s cash balances as at 20 December 2024 are approximately A$10,000)
- MGA’s assets, and particularly the fixed assets and Capitalised Development Expenditure, will be apportioned between the Bailieston, Creswick and Tambo projects, with the Creswick and Tambo projects (comprising the majority of MGA’s assets) being retained by ECR
- Investments by MGA in ECR’s other subsidiaries, Mercator Gold Holding and Lux Exploration, will be written off
- The inter-group loan from ECR to MGA of A$99 million will similarly be written off
- All other liabilities of MGA, save for those in respect of the remaining Bailieston project tenements, will be settled in full
- The majority of the expenses in the Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive
Income relate to the Creswick and Tambo projects, as well as the ongoing running of ECR’s administrative functions in Australia and so will continue to be borne by ECR following completion of the Proposed Disposal
Appendix – extracted audited historic financial information on MGA
Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd
Statement of Financial Position
For the Year ended 30 September 2023
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30 September 2023 |
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| A$ | |
| Current Assets | |
| Cash and cash equivalents | 132,874 |
| Other receivables | 18,903 |
| Inventory | – |
| Total Current Asset | 151,777 |
| Fixed Assets | |
| Fixed Assets | 753,585 |
| Accumulated depreciation | (215,609) |
| Total Fixed Assets | 537,976 |
|
Other Non-Current Assets |
|
| Acquisition of Mining Properties | 50,000 |
| Capitalised Development Expenditure | 7,319,104 |
| Investment in Mercator Gold Holding | 849,800 |
| Investment in Lux Exploration | 636,200 |
| 8,855,104 | |
| Total Assets | 9,544,857 |
| Current Liabilities | |
| Trade and other payables | 61,368 |
| Loan from ECR Minerals Plc | 99,036,939 |
| Total current liabilities | 99,098,307 |
| Non-current Liabilities | |
| Trade and other payables | 2,434,859 |
| 2,434,859 | |
| Total Liabilities | 101,553,166 |
| Net Liabilities | (91,988,309) |
| Equity | |
| Issued capital | 391 |
| Accumulated losses | (91,988,700) |
| Total Equity | (91,988,309) |
Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd
Statement of Profit or Loss and Other Comprehensive Income For the Year ended 30 September 2023
|
30 September 2023 |
|
| A$ | |
| Revenue | – |
| – | |
| Income | |
| Interest Income | 3,591 |
| Other income | 4,818 |
| Gross profit | 8,408 |
| Expenses | |
| Accounting and audit fees | 790 |
| Consultants | 99,916 |
| Bank charges | 913 |
| Depreciation expense | 225,817 |
| Insurance | 13,716 |
| Legal fees | 7,652 |
| Development expenses | 1,121,517 |
| Director’s fee | 20,000 |
| General expenses | 24,623 |
| Office expenses | 6,174 |
| Management Fees | 270,620 |
| Rent | 42,317 |
| Travel | 17,240 |
| Employment expenses | 37,153 |
| Loss on investment | – |
| Loss on disposal of asset | 81,734 |
| Total Expenses | 1,970,182 |
| Less: Development expenses Capitalised | (1,121,517) |
| Profit/(Loss) before income tax | (840,256) |
| Income tax expense | – |
| Profit/(Loss) for the year | (840,256) |
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
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ECR Minerals Plc |
Tel: +44 (0) 1738 317 693 |
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Nick Tulloch, Chairman Andrew Scott, Director |
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Email: info@ecrminerals.com |
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Website: www.ecrminerals.com |
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Allenby Capital Limited |
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Tel: +44 (0) 3328 5656 |
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Nominated Adviser Nick Naylor / Alex Brearley / Vivek Bhardwaj |
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Axis Capital Markets Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 203 026 0320 |
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Broker |
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Ben Tadd / Lewis Jones |
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SI Capital Ltd |
Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413500 |
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Broker |
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Nick Emerson
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Brand Communications |
Tel: +44 (0) 7976 431608 |
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Public & Investor Relations |
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Alan Green |
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ABOUT ECR MINERALS PLC
ECR Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company. ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”) has 100% ownership of the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central Victoria, Australia, has six licence applications outstanding which includes one licence application lodged in eastern Victoria (Tambo gold project).
ECR also owns 100% of an Australian subsidiary LUX Exploration Pty Ltd (“LUX”) which has three approved exploration permits covering 946 km2 over a relatively unexplored area in Lolworth Range, Queensland, Australia. The Company has also submitted a license application at Kondaparinga which is approximately 120km2 in area and located within the Hodgkinson Gold Province, 80km NW of Mareeba, North Queensland.
Following the sale of the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold projects in Victoria, Australia to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (TSX-V: FSX) and the subsequent spin-out of the Avoca and Timor projects to Leviathan Gold Ltd (TSX-V: LVX), MGA has the right to receive up to A$2 million in payments subject to future resource estimation or production from projects sold to Fosterville South Exploration Limited.
MGA also has approximately A$75 million of unutilised tax losses incurred during previous operations.
Bailieston Project – Background
The Bailieston project targets epizonal gold and antimony mineralisation and lies within the Melbourne zone, located approximately 150km north of the Victorian state capital, Melbourne. The project is located geologically within the orogenic Lachlan Fold Belt (LFB), and is subdivided into geological zones based on distinct geological and metallurgical characteristics.
The project is characterised by gold and antimony mineralisation, and across the zone ECR Minerals holds a total of 142 km2 of exploration ground across four tenements (EL5433, EL006911, EL006912 and EL007296). These tenements enjoy good road access, and contain the historical prospects known as HR3 (Byron-Maori), HR4 (Cherry Tree), Blue Moon, Black Cat and Pontings, all of which have a history of exploration and some modest production. Updates relating to the Bailieston project were recently announced on 10 September 2024 and 3 July 2024 and further information on the Bailieston project can be found on the Company’s website: https://ecrminerals.com
ECR Minerals #ECR – Subscription to raise £950,000
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce that it has raised, subject only to Admission, £950,000 before expenses through a subscription of a total of 287,878,787 new ordinary shares of 0.001 pence each in the Company (“Ordinary Shares”) at a price of 0.33 pence per new Ordinary Share (the “Subscription Price”) (together the “Subscription”).
The Subscription Price represents a discount of approximately 20.5 per cent. to the closing middle market price of 0.415 pence per Ordinary Share on 22 November 2024, being the latest practicable business day prior to the publication of this announcement.
The new Ordinary Shares will be issued using the Directors’ existing share allotment authorities, as approved at the Company’s annual general meeting held on 23 April 2024.
The net proceeds from the Subscription will primarily be used to advance ECR’s projects in Victoria and Queensland during 2025, specifically:
· Concluding the proposed sale of the Company’s tax losses which are held in the Company’s subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”) – ECR is currently in exclusive negotiations with a prospective purchaser
· Completing the commercialisation assessment of production at Blue Mountain during the first quarter of 2025 – the independent report from Gekko Systems Pty Limited announced on 8 October 2024 demonstrated a 91.7% gold recovery into 0.40% of the mass
· Preparing Blue Mountain to be capable of production and revenue generation by the end of the first half of the year
· Re-starting the field campaign in Lolworth in the second quarter of 2025, drawing on the Company’s partnership with the Geological Survey of Queensland (“GSQ”) to further investigate the critical minerals potential at the project
· Subject to the forthcoming results from the diamond drilling campaign at Tambo, which are due in the coming weeks, preparing a follow up and potentially more detailed campaign at Tambo
· Further investigations of ECR’s prospective antimony potential at Bailieston where a 32% (best) core sample was reanalysed from historical data
Following completion of the Subscription, ECR will be funded for its planned activities in 2025.
Nick Tulloch, Chairman, said: “Through the Subscription we will be funded for our planned 2025 programme, meaning that whilst we seek to conclude what could be a valuable sale of our tax losses, held in our subsidiary MGA, we can commence detailed preparations for the coming year. A particular highlight is our intention to prepare Blue Mountain to be capable of going into production and our assessment of the commercialisation of that project is already well underway. We are also optimistic about our opportunities at Lolworth where our partnership with the GSQ adds further validity to the potential breadth of that project. Nearer term, the initial drilling results at Tambo announced last week point to what could also be a very promising ongoing campaign there.”
Admission and Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules
Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange Plc for the 287,878,787 new Ordinary Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM (“Admission”) and it is expected that Admission will become effective on or around 9 December 2024. The 287,878,787 new Ordinary Shares will rank pari passu with the existing Ordinary Shares. Upon Admission, ECR’s issued ordinary share capital will comprise 2,191,885,012 Ordinary Shares. Upon Admission, this number will represent the total voting rights in the Company, and, following Admission may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculation by which they can determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency Rules.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
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ECR Minerals Plc |
Tel: +44 (0) 1738 317 693 |
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Nick Tulloch, Chairman Andrew Scott, Director |
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Email: |
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Website: www.ecrminerals.com |
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Allenby Capital Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3328 5656 |
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Nominated Adviser Nick Naylor / Alex Brearley / Vivek Bhardwaj |
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Axis Capital Markets Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 203 026 0320 |
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Broker |
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Ben Tadd / Lewis Jones |
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SI Capital Ltd |
Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413500 |
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Broker |
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Nick Emerson
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Brand Communications |
Tel: +44 (0) 7976 431608 |
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Public & Investor Relations |
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Alan Green |
ABOUT ECR MINERALS PLC
ECR Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company. ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”) has 100% ownership of the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central Victoria, Australia, has six licence applications outstanding which includes one licence application lodged in eastern Victoria (Tambo gold project).
ECR also owns 100% of an Australian subsidiary LUX Exploration Pty Ltd (“LUX”) which has three approved exploration permits covering 946 km2 over a relatively unexplored area in Lolworth Range, Queensland, Australia. The Company has also submitted a license application at Kondaparinga which is approximately 120km2 in area and located within the Hodgkinson Gold Province, 80km NW of Mareeba, North Queensland.
Following the sale of the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold projects in Victoria, Australia to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (TSX-V: FSX) and the subsequent spin-out of the Avoca and Timor projects to Leviathan Gold Ltd (TSX-V: LVX), MGA has the right to receive up to A$2 million in payments subject to future resource estimation or production from projects sold to Fosterville South Exploration Limited.
MGA also has approximately A$75 million of unutilised tax losses incurred during previous operations.
ECR Minerals #ECR – Appointment of adviser to realise value from tax losses
ECR Minerals plc (LON:ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce that it has engaged Argonaut PCF Ltd (“Argonaut”) to assist it in realising value from the A$75 million of tax losses through the potential sale of certain of the company’s Victorian assets which carry those losses.
Argonaut is an Australian based investment banking and corporate advisory firm focused on the natural resources sector with offices in Perth and Sydney. It typically targets corporate clients with market capitalisations between A$30 million and A$5 billion and has advised on, arranged and participated in excess of A$10 billion of corporate finance transactions over the past decade.. With Argonaut’s market presence in Australia, ECR considers that this appointment offers a conduit to senior mining executives, mining companies, institutions and other interested parties.
By way of an indicative guide to investors, current tax rates for companies in Australia vary between 25 per cent. and 30 per cent, depending on circumstances, meaning that ECR’s tax losses could have a theoretical value to a prospective buyer in the range of approximately A$18 – 22 million. In practice, any valuation will be based on several different attributes of any buyer including its existing profits, type of business, ongoing profit expectations and its own assessment of how quickly the tax losses could be used. Taking these factors into account, the Directors are advised it is unlikely that any buyer would pay more than half of this theoretical value and even then, this is still a very early stage and specialised process. There can be no guarantee that any offer will be received by ECR.
Background to tax losses
ECR’s tax losses are held within Mercator Gold Australia Pty. Ltd (“MGA”) and were incurred in the period since 2006 to date. Activities undertaken by the company in this period were predominantly exploration for gold in originally Western Australia and thereafter Victoria over a series of projects. Australian rules on transferring tax losses changed in 2015, the main change being that the “similar” business test replaced the “same” business test. As over 80 per cent. of MGA’s losses predate 2015, any buyer will need to comply with the tighter historic rules. It is also likely that some of MGA’s assets may need to be sold as part of any transaction (but it is not expected that any of ECR’s primary assets will be included in any potential transaction).
Nick Tulloch Chairman of ECR commented: “The market for transferring tax losses is understandably very specialist and relatively small. However, it would be an understatement to say that the potential value of tax losses that we are carrying within MGA could be significant to ECR.
“We have been examining suitable processes for advertising this asset and we have concluded that this is the right time to extend our market reach. Argonaut provides a very comprehensive marketing programme, well suited to our purpose, with the ability to deliver our offering directly to the key decision makers of small, medium and large companies with operations in Australia.
“Any sale of these tax losses would most likely be realised through a sale of MGA and so, in anticipation of a transaction, we have already put plans in place to ensure that our valuable Victorian projects are removed from that company, although still retained within the Group, ahead of any sale. The availability of the tax losses is going to be very personal to any prospective buyer based on its type of operations so we will ensure we retain flexibility on the structure to maximise the value.”
Depending on the terms that are agreed for any transaction to realise the tax losses, it is possible, but not guaranteed, that the disposal of MGA may be a fundamental change of business pursuant to Rule 15 of the AIM Rules for Companies. This would require, amongst other items, the transaction to be conditional on the consent of shareholders being given in a general meeting; a shareholders circular detailing the terms of the transaction and certain other disclosures as set out in the AIM Rules. Further updates on the way forward will be provided as conversations progress.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
| ECR Minerals plc | Tel: +44 (0) 1738 317 693 | ||
| Nick Tulloch, Chairman
Andrew Scott, Director |
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| Email: | |||
| Website: www.ecrminerals.com | |||
| WH Ireland Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666 | ||
| Nominated Adviser
Katy Mitchell / Andrew de Andrade |
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| Axis Capital Markets Limited | Tel: +44 (0) 203 026 0320 | ||
| Broker | |||
| Ben Tadd/Lewis Jones | |||
| SI Capital Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413500 | ||
| Broker | |||
| Nick Emerson | |||
| Brand Communications | Tel: +44 (0) 7976 431608 | ||
| Public & Investor Relations | |||
| Alan Green | |||
ECR Minerals #ECR – Approval Received For Two Further Exploration Tenements in Victoria, Australia
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce it has received approval for two new exploration tenements in Victoria, Australia.
HIGHLIGHTS
- New tenement EL007296 now completes the total exploration package at Bailieston, Victoria.
- New Creswick tenement EL006713 effectively connects EL006184 and EL006907, creating a continuous land package from ECR’s Springmount property south through to the outskirts of Ballarat.
ECR CEO Andrew Haythorpe commented: “This is a great start to 2023 for our Company. The new Bailieston tenements effectively cover the strike extension of the Bailieston Anticline, providing us with an opportunity to continue with the Blue Moon drill campaign and push further west. The new Creswick tenement means that our land package there now provides almost uninterrupted land access from our Springmount property to the outskirts of Ballarat, which given our field team believe they have identified a new parallel gold system at Davey Road and South Davey (see December 23 2022 announcement here) should now mean we can fully explore these anomalies through to their origin.”
“Our field teams will be on the ground on our new tenements during Q1 2023, and I very much look forward to reporting on progress.”
The location of the new tenements can be found here:
Figure 1: https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig1_New_Tenements_230102.png
EL0007296 and EL006713 have been formally approved by the Victorian Government as of the 28th December 2022. Initial ground activities such as mapping, soil and rock chip sampling will begin in early 2023.
EL007296 adjoins EL5433 and covers the strike extension of the Bailieston Anticline. Known mineralisation occurring across the Bailieston prospects at HR3, Cherry Tree and Blue Moon are closely related to this anticline, and to date, there is no record of any exploration taking place within these new tenements.
EL006713 is located between ECR’s two other approved tenements EL006184 and EL006907 at Creswick, and effectively creates a continuous land package from ECR’s Brewing Lane property at Springmount south through to the outskirts of Ballarat. The approval of EL006713 means that on-ground exploration activities such as soil sampling and rock chips can now begin, with initial targets focusing on the proposed strike of quartz veins which the Board believe are hosted within the Dimocks Main Shale. In addition, the source of the alluvial gold within the western headwaters of the Madame Berry Deep Lead may reside within this new tenement.
Table 1: ECR Minerals current exploration tenements (granted and applied), Victoria, Australia (as of January 2023)
| Tenement | Name | Granted | Expiry | Area (km2) |
| EL5433 | Bailieston | 28/03/2013 | 27/03/2023 | 23 |
| EL006184 | Old Creswick | 29/12/2016 | *Renewal applied | 45 |
| EL006907 | South Creswick | 26/11/2021 | 25/11/2026 | 81 |
| EL007484 | Boucher Town | 26/11/2021 | 25/11/2026 | 374 |
| EL006911 | Graytown 1 | 5/12/2022 | 4/12/2027 | 10 |
| EL006912 | Graytown 2 | 8/12/2022 | 7/12/2027 | 77 |
| EL006713 | New Creswick | 28/12/2022 | 27/12/2027 | 66 |
| EL007296 | Wirrate | 28/12/2022 | 27/12/2027 | 32 |
| EL007486 | Ramrod Creek | in application | (322) | |
| EL007537 | Ballarat | Competing application | (138) | |
| TOTAL granted (km2) | 708 | |||
(…) notes exploration area in square kilometres.
REVIEW OF ANNOUNCEMENT BY QUALIFIED PERSON
This announcement has been reviewed by Adam Jones, Technical Director of Exploration at ECR Minerals plc. Adam Jones is a professional geologist and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (MAIG). He is a qualified person as that term is defined by the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
| ECR Minerals plc | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7929 1010 | |||
| David Tang, Non-Executive Chairman
Andrew Haythorpe, CEO |
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| Email: | ||||
| Website: www.ecrminerals.com | ||||
| WH Ireland Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666 | |||
| Nominated Adviser
Katy Mitchell / Andrew de Andrade |
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| SI Capital Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413500 | |||
| Broker | ||||
| Nick Emerson | ||||
| Novum Securities Limited | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7399 9425 | |||
| Broker
Jon Belliss |
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| Brand Communications | Tel: +44 (0) 7976 431608 | |||
| Public & Investor Relations | ||||
| Alan Green
|
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ABOUT ECR MINERALS PLC
ECR Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company. ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”) has 100% ownership of the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central Victoria, Australia, has six licence applications outstanding which includes one licence application lodged in eastern Victoria. (Tambo gold project). MGA is currently drilling at the Bailieston Blue Moon Project (EL5433) and undertaking geochemical exploration on the Creswick (EL6148) project and has an experienced exploration team with significant local knowledge in the Victoria Goldfields and wider region.
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 Queensland, Australia.
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 70% 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
ECR Minerals #ECR – New Exploration Tenements EL006911 and EL006912 Granted at Bailieston, Victoria
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce two new exploration tenements have been granted to ECR’s wholly owned subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”) at Bailieston, Victoria, Australia.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Two new exploration tenements (EL006911 and EL 006912) adjacent to EL5433 have been formally granted to ECR’s wholly owned subsidiary MGA.
- Total exploration land package at Bailieston (EL5433, EL006911, EL006912) now totals 179 square kilometres.
ECR CEO Andrew Haythorpe commented: “I am delighted to report that we have finally been able to secure these long-awaited exploration licenses. The two tenement packages add what we consider to be a significant new dimension to the exploration potential at Bailieston, and with our planned exploration activities in Victoria and N Queensland funded from our recent fundraise, we are entering a busy and potentially productive period in our evolution as a Company.”
The location of ECR Minerals plc new Bailieston tenements can found at the following link:
Figure 1: https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2022/fig1_EL006911-EL006912_Granted_131222.png
Exploration tenements EL006911 and EL006912 were applied for on 25th January 2019 and were formally granted to ECR’s wholly owned subsidiary MGA by the Victorian Government on 8 December 2022. Both tenements have been granted for a five-year term. ECR is required to commit a minimum expenditure of $85,500 AUD on EL006911 and $155,850 AUD on EL006912 over the term of the licence. Initial ground activities such as mapping, soil and rock chip sampling will commence in the new year.
EL006911 adjoins the historic gold mining area known as the ‘Old Black Cat’. EL006912 adjoins EL5433 immediately on the western side of the HR3 Goldfield and Blue Moon prospects. Gold and Antimony prospects lie within the tenements.
ECR is still awaiting the granting of EL007296 which was applied for earlier this year, and which will complete the Bailieston exploration package.
ECR Minerals total granted Victorian exploration package now totals 610 square kilometres.
Table 1: ECR Minerals current exploration tenements (granted and applied), Victoria, Australia (as of December 2022)
| Tenement | Name | Granted | Expiry | Area (km2) |
| EL5433 | Bailieston | 28/03/2013 | 27/03/2023 | 23 |
| EL006184 | Old Creswick | 29/12/2016 | *Renewal applied | 45 |
| EL006907 | South Creswick | 26/11/2021 | 25/11/2026 | 81 |
| EL007484 | Boucher Town | 26/11/2021 | 25/11/2026 | 374 |
| EL006911 | Graytown 1 | 5/12/2022 | 4/12/2027 | 10 |
| EL006912 | Graytown 2 | 8/12/2022 | 7/12/2027 | 77 |
| EL006713 | New Creswick | in application | (66) | |
| EL007296 | Wirrate | in application | (32) | |
| EL007486 | Ramrod Creek | in application | (322) | |
| EL007537 | Ballarat | Competing application | (138) | |
| TOTAL granted | 610 | |||
(*) notes exploration application area in square kilometres.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
| ECR Minerals plc | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7929 1010 | |||
| David Tang, Non-Executive Chairman
Andrew Haythorpe, CEO |
||||
| Email: | ||||
| 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
|
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ABOUT ECR MINERALS PLC
ECR Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company. ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”) has 100% ownership of the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central Victoria, Australia, has six licence applications outstanding which includes one licence application lodged in eastern Victoria. (Tambo gold project). MGA is currently drilling at the Bailieston Blue Moon Project (EL5433) and undertaking geochemical exploration on the Creswick (EL6148) project and has an experienced exploration team with significant local knowledge in the Victoria Goldfields and wider region.
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 Queensland, Australia.
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 70% 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
ECR Minerals #ECR – Bendigo Property Sale Proceeds of A$950,000 Now Received
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the gold exploration and development company focused on Australia, is pleased to announce that, further to the announcement of 29 July 2022, it has now received the A$950,000 sale proceeds from the property at 177 Bassett Road, Sebastian.
ECR’s 100% owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Holdings Pty Ltd (“MGA”) will continue to have use of the property until 1 January 2023 for a nominal sum.
CEO Andrew Haythorpe commented: “I am pleased to announce that funds in respect of the Bassett Road sale have now been received into the ECR bank account. In the meantime, I look forward to reporting back to you on the Blue Moon drilling campaign, which starts in early September 2022, and on any developments from North Queensland as our team get onto the ground at Lolworth Range.”
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
| ECR Minerals plc | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7929 1010 | |
| David Tang, Non-Executive Chairman
Andrew Haythorpe, CEO |
||
| 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 | ||
| BlytheRay | Tel: +44 (0) 207 138 3204 | |
| Public Relations | ||
| Tim Blythe |
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 eight licence applications outstanding including two licence applications lodged in eastern Victoria. (Tambo gold project). MGA is currently drilling at both the Bailieston (EL5433) and Creswick (EL6148) projects and has an experienced exploration team with significant local knowledge in the Victoria Goldfields and wider region. https://mercatorgold.com.au/
ECR also owns 100% of an Australian subsidiary LUX Exploration Pty Ltd (“LUX”) which has three licence applications covering 900 km2 covering a relatively unexplored area in Queensland, Australia. https://luxexploration.com/
Following the sale of the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold projects in Victoria, Australia to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (TSX-V: FSX) and the subsequent spin-out of the Avoca and Timor projects to Leviathan Gold Ltd (TSX-V: LVX), Mercator Gold Australia Pty Limited has the right to receive up to A$2 million in payments subject to future resource estimation or production from projects sold to Fosterville South Exploration Limited.
ECR holds a 70% 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.
ECR Minerals #ECR – Half-yearly financial results for the six months ended 31 March 2022
LONDON: 30 JUNE 2022 – ECR Minerals plc, the gold exploration and development company, is pleased to announce unaudited half-yearly financial results for the six months ended 31 March 2022 for the Company as consolidated with its subsidiaries (the “Group”), along with a review of significant developments during the period and subsequently.
HIGHLIGHTS
- The gold exploration boom in Victoria, Australia has continued, with material progress made at the Company’s flagship Creswick and Bailieston assets. ECR’s acquisition of the Brewing Lane and Nagambie-Rushworth Road properties has enhanced access and exploration opportunities at both projects.
- In December 2022, the Company was notified it had been granted licence EL006907 linking Creswick to Ballarat East-Nerrina. The board views this as a key step in building our understanding of the Dimocks Main Shale anomaly and developing ECR’s Creswick project. Also granted was licence EL007484 in East Victoria, situated 50km north of Bairnsdale in the east of the state of Victoria encompassing the alluvial fields of Swifts Creek and the Mid to Upper reaches of the Tambo River.
- Despite severe delays in receiving assay results during the period due to the impact of COVID-19, the results we did receive from our ongoing drilling campaigns at Bailieston and HR3 delivered substantial progress in both gold grades and our understanding of the regional geology.
- Drilling and subsequent 3D modelling of HR3 drillholes BH3DD005, BH3DD006 and BH3DD007 earlier in the year revealed a moderate south plunging fold underneath and along strike of the Maori Reef workings. In November 2022 we reported initial results from BH3DD009, the first hole completed, which returned 0.7m @ 28.06g/t Au from 52.7m depth from the Maori Reef. Holes BH3DD010 and BH3DD011 reported consistent gold grades in December 2022, while soil sampling results revealed a larger area of anomalies, supporting a dilational jog model theory developed by our head geologist Adam Jones. In March 2022 further data identified five mineralised zones, all correlated to the Maori Anticline (within the Maori Reef), plus consistent gold grades were identified in hole BH3DD012 and visible gold in hole BH3DD034 (see announcement dated 14 March 2022 for full details).
- In February 2022, exploration licences EPM27901, EPM27902 and EPM27903 were granted to 100% owned subsidiary LUX Exploration Limited (“LUX”), in the Lolworth Region, North Queensland. The licences are located approximately 120km west of the historic Charters Towers Gold Mine in North Queensland and cover 964 km2. Historic stream sediment sampling indicates that the Lolworth Range area is prospective for gold, tungsten and tin.
- During the period under review, Dr Trevor George Davenport was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director. Most recently Dr Davenport consulted for Kryso Resources Plc at the time of the takeover of control of the company by China Nonferrous International Mining Co. Ltd in 2011. In January 2022, Andrew Scott, a communications specialist and media professional was also appointed as a Non-Executive Director. The sad loss of former CEO Craig Brown presented a substantial challenge to the management team. Nonetheless, a committee was formed with Chairman David Tang, and Non-Exec Directors Dr Davenport and Adam Jones, to manage the company up to the appointment of a new CEO.
- Post-period end, on 11 April 2022 Andrew Haythorpe was appointed as CEO (currently a non-board position). Andrew has more than 20 years of experience managing listed gold miners and explorers on the ASX and TSX as well as working as a mining analyst and actively exploring for gold as a geologist.
- Post-period end, Ludevico Estacio, the Chairman of Philippines company Cordillera Tiger Gold Resources, Inc., (in which ECR had a 25% shareholding), agreed to sell his shares (1,499,996 in total) to ECR. The consideration of 1,499,996.00 Philippine pesos (approximately £22,000) was paid for in cash, and ECR now holds 2,333,329 Ordinary Shares in Cordillera representing 70% of its issued share capital (see announcement dated 27 April 2022 for full details).
- Group comprehensive expenses of £324,333 are reported for the six months ended 31 March 2022 (£468,112 for the six months ended 31 March 2021) and net assets of £7,536,209 at 31 March 2022 (£6,442,465 at 31 March 2021).
- A Group Operating Loss is reported for the six months ended 31 March 2022 of £552,202, compared with £403,079 for the six months ended 31 March 2021.
- Despite the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, the board believes ECR is in a robust financial position and continues to provide shareholders with exposure to an exciting range of gold projects.
FINANCIAL RESULTS
For the six months ended 31 March 2022 the unaudited financial statements of the Group recorded a total comprehensive expense of £324,333.
The Group’s total assets were £7,674,007 at 31 March 2022, compared with £6,522,307 at 31 March 2021. The increase in total assets has occurred largely due to the increase in exploration assets following the capitalisation of exploration expenditure during the period as a result of the current aggressive drilling programme.
The Group held £1,204,289 of cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2022, compared with £3,928,905 at 31 March 2021.
REVIEW OF PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS DURING THE PERIOD AND SUBSEQUENTLY
The six months to 31 March 2022 and the subsequent period since have been notable as a period of great progress, sadness and change. Former CEO Craig Brown died suddenly at the end of October 2021, and while a committee including Chairman David Tang, and non-exec directors Trevor Davenport and Adam Jones continued to run the Company without interruption, the shock of his sudden loss remains with us to this day. Nonetheless he would be pleased and proud with the operational progress to date, and we believe he would be delighted with the calibre of his recently appointed successor Andrew Haythorpe.
During the period under review, Dr Trevor Davenport was appointed as an Independent Non-Executive Director. Most recently Dr Davenport consulted for Kryso Resources Plc at the time of the takeover of control of the company by China Nonferrous International Mining Co. Ltd in 2011.
In January 2022, Andrew Scott, a communications specialist and media professional was also appointed as a Non-Executive Director. Andrew is well known in the UK and across Australia as a business and markets interviewer. He has worked at Sky News UK, Reuters and Proactive as well as in presenting and media roles at ITV and Television NZ (TVNZ).
Post-period end, on 11 April 2022 Andrew Haythorpe was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (currently a non-board position). Andrew has more than 20 years of experience managing listed gold miners and explorers on the ASX and TSX as well as working as a mining analyst and actively exploring for gold as a geologist. His board experience includes the role of Managing Director at TSX and ASX-listed Crescent Gold Limited, which started with a market capitalisation of $8 million and, under his leadership, reached $250 million within four years. He was also Managing Director of ASX-listed gold producer Michelago Resources and is currently the Managing Director of GoldOz Limited, a gold company seeking to relist on the ASX. As an analyst, Andrew was considered a global leader in the Industrial Minerals sector and rated 12th best gold analyst at Hartley Poynton Ltd.
Currently, through ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”), the board remains focused on the fast-paced drilling programme at Bailieston and Creswick. During the period, large quantities of drill core have been amassed for technical review, processing and assay testing. Although, the impact of intermittent COVID lockdowns on the region has resulted in delays to assay results, our geologist Adam Jones and his team continue to make solid progress. In particular, the ongoing drilling campaign at Bailieston and HR3 delivered substantial progress in both gold grades and our understanding of the regional geology.
Post-period end, Ludevico Estacio, the Chairman of Philippines company Cordillera Tiger Gold Resources, Inc., (in which ECR had a 25% shareholding), agreed to sell his shares (1,499,996 in total) to ECR. The consideration of 1,499,996.00 Philippine pesos (approximately £22,000) was paid for in cash, and ECR now holds 2,333,329 Ordinary Shares in Cordillera representing 70% of its issued share capital (see announcement dated 27 April 2022 for full details of this transaction).
Creswick
At Creswick, in December MGA was notified that license EL006907 linking Creswick to Ballarat East-Nerrina had been granted. The board views this as a key step in building our understanding of the Dimocks Main Shale anomaly and developing ECR’s Creswick asset. The Company has also applied to renew Creswick licence EL006184 for another five years and is awaiting final approval. As the current incumbent, we have first rights over the licence, and our geologist Adam Jones plans to develop the project with soil sampling programmes in the vicinity of the quartz mineralisation identified in the 2021 diamond drilling campaign and to test for sub-cropping gold shoots. The Brewing Lane property at Springmount contains numerous abandoned historical gold workings with some underground exposures that offer opportunities for mapping and sampling, followed up by drilling. The team will also commence evaluation of prospects in the recently approved EL006907 area using exploration techniques that proved successful on EL006184.
Bailieston
Notwithstanding the delays in receiving assay results, MGA is continuing to progress with drilling at the Bailieston tenements (EL5433), focussing on the Maori Reef and parallel reef systems within the HR3 goldfield. The geology team is also making progress with near-term plans to re-enter and continue exploration on the Blue Moon prospect located on the southern extent of EL5433. Drilling and subsequent 3D modelling of HR3 drillholes BH3DD005, BH3DD006 and BH3DD007 earlier in the year revealed a moderate south plunging fold underneath and along strike of the Maori Reef workings (see announcement dated 1 July 2022). In November 2022 we reported initial results from the first hole completed, (BH3DD009), which returned 0.7m @ 28.06g/t Au from 52.7m depth from the Maori Reef. Holes BH3DD010 and BH3DD011 reported consistent gold grades in December, while soil sampling results revealed a larger area of anomalies, supporting a dilational jog model theory developed by Adam Jones. In March 2022 further data received identified five mineralised zones, all correlated to the Maori Anticline (within the Maori Reef), plus consistent gold grades in hole BH3DD012 and visible gold in hole BH3DD034.
Post-period end, we reported the highest grade gold intercept yet at hole BH3DD027, HR3 with 0.2m @ 52.5 g/t Au from 126.3m depth. This was followed by HR3 drill hole BH3DD022, which returned a result of 0.5m @ 12.74 g/t Au (see announcements dated 22 April 2022 and 4 May 2022).
Lolworth District of North Queensland, Australia.
In February 2022, exploration licences EPM27901, EPM27902 and EPM27903 were granted to ECR’s 100% owned subsidiary LUX Exploration Limited, in the Lolworth Region, North Queensland. The area contains metamorphic rocks of the Charters Towers Province, that host large historical gold producing centres such as Charters Tower (6.6M Oz Au) and Ravenswood (>1M Oz Au). The structural and basement geology is poorly understood in the area, suggesting numerous opportunities to find new deposits. The area also contains reported rhyolitic volcanism, which plays host to intrusion-related breccia gold deposits in the region such as Mount Leyshon (>2.5M oz) and Mount Wright (>1M oz). Historic samples also highlighted tin-tungsten mineralisation in the western areas of EPM27902. Reports show no detailed follow-up work has been undertaken.
Exploration licence EL007484 in East Victoria was also granted in February 2022. This licence area is situated 50km north of Bairnsdale in the east of the state of Victoria encompassing the alluvial fields of Swifts Creek and the Mid to Upper reaches of the Tambo River.
The Directors believe exploration licence EPM27901, 27902 and 27903 offer significant potential for precious and base metal discoveries in an area of Australia where multiple large-scale discoveries have already been made.
Outlook
After a challenging transition period, the directors of ECR Minerals plc are excited about the Company’s near-term and future prospects under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Andrew Haythorpe. As eagerly anticipated assay results begin to arrive, our board, geologists, drilling team and wider staff at the Bendigo headquarters are enthused by the possibility of developing a resource at both the Bailieston and Creswick projects. We are equally encouraged about the prospectivity demonstrated by our new licences at Lolworth Range, North Queensland and our East Victoria exploration licence at Tambo.
These factors, together with the potential to realise shareholder value from our Danglay asset in the Philippines, could result in an exciting year ahead as ECR’s operations and opportunities evolve.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
|
ECR Minerals plc |
Tel: +44 (0)20 7929 1010 |
| David Tang, Non-Executive Chairman | |
| Andrew Haythorpe, CEO | |
| 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 | Tel: +44 (0)1483 413500 |
| Broker | |
| Nick Emerson | |
| Novum Securities | Tel: +44 (0)20 7399 9425 |
| Broker | |
| Jon Belliss | |
| BlytheRay | Tel: +44 (0) 207 138 3204 |
| Public Relations | |
| Tim Blythe |
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 eight licence applications outstanding including one licence application lodged in eastern Victoria. (Tambo gold project). MGA is currently drilling at both the Bailieston (EL5433) and Creswick (EL6148) projects and has an experienced exploration team with significant local knowledge in the Victoria Goldfields and wider region.
https://mercatorgold.com.au/
ECR also owns 100% of an Australian subsidiary LUX Exploration Pty Ltd (“LUX”) which has three licence applications covering 900 km2 covering a relatively unexplored area in Queensland, Australia.
https://luxexploration.com/
Following the sale of the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold projects in Victoria, Australia to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (TSX-V: FSX) and the subsequent spin-out of the Avoca and Timor projects to Leviathan Gold Ltd (TSX-V: LVX), Mercator Gold Australia Pty Limited has the right to receive up to A$2 million in payments subject to future resource estimation or production from projects sold to Fosterville South Exploration Limited.
ECR holds a 70% 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.
Link here to view the financial statements
ECR Minerals #ECR – Alan Green talks to CEO Craig Brown
ECR Minerals #ECR CEO Craig Brown talks to Alan Green:
~ Latest Bailieston & Creswick drilling updates, ‘mineral shoots’ etc
~ Property acquisitions – strategy, evolution into gold producer etc
~ N Queensland & license application progress
~ Danglay Gold project, Philippines
~ Upcoming milestones for shareholders to watch out for
ECR Minerals #ECR – Property Purchase in Central Victorian Goldfields, Australia
Central Victorian Goldfields Property Purchase to Provide Accommodation, Potential Site for New Core Shed, Storage and Workshop Facilities, and additional Exploration Opportunity
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the gold exploration and development company focused on Australia, is pleased to announce that its 100% owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Holdings Pty Ltd (“MGA”) has concluded the purchase of a property at 177 Bassett Road, Sebastian (the “Property”). The Property is located approx. 12.5 miles north of Bendigo (11 miles from current core shed location) and is located within easy reach of ECR’s 100% owned Bailieston and Creswick license areas.
Highlights:
- Accommodation with five bedrooms and three living rooms plus an office currently, with plans to convert into seven bedrooms and two living rooms. The Bassett Road property will save ECR a substantial amount in annual hotel accommodation and commercial property rental costs, providing convenient co-location of employees and consequentially a substantial reduction in travel time and expenses.
- Bassett Road is positioned on approx. 59 acres of farming land, with ability to construct additional buildings on the land subject to planning approval.
- The potential exists to develop and construct a geological core processing facility with sample storage shed, drilling supplies warehouse and mechanical workshop on the land, subject to local council planning approval being granted.
- Currently connected to the mains power supply with an additional 3kW Solar system with batteries and 3kW wind turbine, the property can be powered “off grid” as it has been for the past 10 years, along with an independent water supply connection.
- The purchase price of the property is A$887,500, has been settled in full. The purchase has been funded by the Company’s existing cash resources. As at the close of business on 17 September 2021 the Group had £3,400,000 (USD equivalent $4,650,000) in the bank after paying the full settlement for the property.
- Quartz is visible at sites across the 59 acres of the Property. As gold in Australia can be contained in quartz the Company is looking to obtain an exploration licence over the Property.
Craig Brown, Chief Executive Officer commented: “I am pleased to announce ECR’s third property acquisition in the Victoria Goldfields. As we maintain our aggressive drilling campaigns at Bailieston and Creswick, our profile in Victoria is growing rapidly. The Bassett Road property and land acquisition marks the next step along the road, cutting out our mounting monthly accommodation and property rental costs, and bringing our Bendigo storage and core logging activities all onto one site. Added to this, regional property market data indicates that the Victoria property market should see our properties and land at Bassett Road, Nagambie-Rushworth Road and Brewing Lane grow in value in the coming months and years. Furthermore, within the 59 acres of the property, there is visible evidence of quartz which could also indicate potential for gold. With this positive indication, we have been in discussions to obtain the exploration licence over the property.”
“In addition, mining companies are often receiving negative press for their lack of ‘green’ credentials, so the opportunity to run the Bassett Lane property and site wholly ‘off grid’ with our own solar and wind turbine power marks a small step for ECR along the road to reducing our carbon footprint.”
Rationale for Purchase of 177 Bassett Road, Sebastian
As ECR continues its aggressive drilling campaigns at its 100% owned Bailieston and Creswick licence areas, the costs of hiring and accommodating employees is growing exponentially. Since drilling with the Midas rig kicked off at Bailieston in January 2021, we have seen our monthly accommodation expenses increase substantially, on top of the considerable monthly outlay for renting the core logging premises at Bendigo. Given this backdrop, the ECR Board (“Board”) took the decision to seek a fixed cost alternative, with the potential to create accommodation, core logging and processing and storage all in one location.
The Property was shortlisted against a number of properties conveniently located around Bendigo and following due consideration the decision was taken to purchase 177 Bassett Road. The Property is positioned on approx. 59 acres of farming land, currently with the potential to sleep at least seven people. The property enjoys an independent water supply connection, with connection to the mains power supply plus an additional 3kW Solar system with batteries and 3kW wind turbine. As such the property has the ability to run “off the grid” (power) as it has for the last 10 years. Most significantly, the Property comes with approx. 59 acres of farming land, of which 50 acres has been used for sharecropping, a system where the landlord allows a tenant to use the land in exchange for a share of the crop. The land offers ample scope to construct buildings for a geological core processing facility with sample storage shed, drilling supplies warehouse and mechanical workshop.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (“CBA”), Australia’s biggest housing lender, published its full year results in February 2021 and forecast property prices would rise by 8 per cent in 2021 and 6 per cent in 2022, with house prices to rise 16 per cent in that time and unit prices by 9 per cent. Whilst there can be no guarantee as to the performance of the property market in Australia, in making the purchase, the Board has given due consideration to the prevailing property market, including the data published by CBA*.
*Commonwealth Bank of Australia statistics (February 2021)
The vendors are a private family who have been using the Property for residential purposes.
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: | |||
| Website: www.ecrminerals.com | |||
| WH Ireland Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 161 832 2174 | ||
| Nominated Adviser | |||
| SI Capital Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413500 | ||
| Broker | |||
| Nick Emerson | |||
| Novum Securities Limited | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7399 9425 | ||
| Broker
Jon Belliss |
|||
| Blytheweigh | Tel: +44 (0) 207 138 3204 | ||
| Public Relations | |||
| Tim Blythe
|
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 eight licence applications outstanding including two licence applications lodged in eastern Victoria. (Tambo gold project). MGA is currently drilling at both the Bailieston and Creswick projects and has an experienced exploration team with significant local knowledge in the Victoria Goldfields and wider region. https://mercatorgold.com.au
ECR also owns 100% of an Australian subsidiary LUX Exploration Pty Ltd (“LUX”) which has three licence applications covering 900 km2 covering a relatively unexplored area in Queensland, Australia. https://luxeploration.com
Following the sale of the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold projects in Victoria, Australia to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (TSX-V: FSX) and the subsequent spin-out of the Avoca and Timor projects to Leviathan Gold Ltd (TSX-V: LVX), Mercator Gold Australia Pty Limited has the right to receive up to A$2 million in payments subject to future resource estimation or production from projects sold to Fosterville South Exploration Limited.
ECR 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, 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.
ECR Minerals #ECR – Property purchase within the Creswick License Area
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the gold exploration and development company focused on Australia, is pleased to announce that its 100% owned Australian subsidiary, Mercator Gold Holdings Pty Ltd (“MGA”), has purchased a property at 35 Brewing Lane, Springmount. The property is located within the Company’s existing 100% owned Creswick license area.
Highlights:
- The property consists of 16 acres, within the 45 square kilometre Creswick license area in Victoria, Australia
- The property is held over three titles
- The property will provide a base for activities across the license area as ECR advances its drilling programmes and, when appropriate will be the site for development for the mine decline
- The purchase price of the property is US$500,000, which is settled in two tranches, consisting of a US$50,000 deposit which has already been paid, with the balance to be paid on 27 September. The purchase will be funded by the Company’s existing cash resources. Currently the Group has £4,222,940 in cash after paying the deposit. This is the equivalent of USD 5,824,631.
Craig Brown, Chief Executive Officer commented: “Following the positive progress of the drilling programme at Creswick, we are pleased to announce the purchase of the Brewing Lane property which sits in our existing license area. The property will provide the Company with an operational base and, in future, can be developed as a site for the decline access to existing, and potential, vein mineralisation.
“Earlier this year, we reported strong results from the [ongoing/current] drilling programme at the Creswick license which has continued to delineate gold mineralisation along strike, with all assayed holes returning gold. Of particular significance are holes CSD003 and CSD004 which returned 9.93 g/t and 23.58 g/t gold, respectively.”
“I remain enthused by the pace of developments at Creswick, Bailieston and our other assets, and look forward to receiving the remaining assay results at Creswick and reporting on progress.”
The property was purchased from a private individual.
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: | |||
| Website: www.ecrminerals.com | |||
| WH Ireland Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 161 832 2174 | ||
| Nominated Adviser | |||
| SI Capital Ltd | Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413500 | ||
| Broker | |||
| Nick Emerson | |||
| Novum Securities Limited | Tel: +44 (0) 20 7399 9425 | ||
| Broker
Jon Belliss |
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| Blytheweigh | Tel: +44 (0) 207 138 3204 | ||
| Public Relations | |||
| Tim Blythe
|
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 eight licence applications outstanding including two licence applications lodged in eastern Victoria. (Tambo gold project). MGA is currently drilling at both the Bailieston and Creswick projects and has an experienced exploration team with significant local knowledge in the Victoria Goldfields and wider region.https://mercatorgold.com.au/
ECR also owns 100% of an Australian subsidiary LUX Exploration Pty Ltd (“LUX”) which has three licence applications covering 900 km2 covering a relatively unexplored area in Queensland, Australia.https://luxexploration.com/
Following the sale of the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold projects in Victoria, Australia to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (TSX-V: FSX) and the subsequent spin-out of the Avoca and Timor projects to Leviathan Gold Ltd (TSX-V: LVX), Mercator Gold Australia Pty Limited has the right to receive up to A$2 million in payments subject to future resource estimation or production from projects sold to Fosterville South Exploration Limited.
ECR 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, 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.