ECR MINERALS
plc
("ECR Minerals", "ECR" or the
"Company")
Photon Analysis Yields Grades
Up to 51.5 g/t Gold at Swifts Creek (Tambo)
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the
exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia,
is pleased to provide the first gold results from photon analysis
of rock chips from the historic Duke of Cornwall Mine, Swifts Creek
(Tambo), Eastern Victoria, Australia.
HIGHLIGHTS
●
A selection of 37 rock chips from the Duke of
Cornwall Lode have been analysed for gold using photon
analysis.
●
Best results include 51.5 g/t Au, 26.5 g/t Au and 24 g/t
Au.
●
A further 5 rock chips contain gold grades
greater than 5 g/t
Au.
●
Total of 56 rock chips and 84 soil samples were
taken across the broader strike of mineralisation with results from
these additional samples due shortly.
●
The Eastern Victorian exploration tenements offer
a new area for gold and base metal exploration.
Recently completed
exploration
ECR Minerals holds exploration
tenement EL007484 in eastern Victoria, Australia. It has also
applied for, but is awaiting final approval, for exploration
licence EL007486 (in the same area). Situated approximately 500km
east of ECR's Central Victorian projects (Creswick and Bailieston),
the project area hosts distinct geology offering potential
opportunities for gold and base metals.
There has been no significant
exploration work completed on EL007484 since a site visit by ECR in
2023. Initial findings at that time
included a significant rock chip sample of 0.2m @ 22 g/t Au from
the Duke of Cornwall Mine. Elevated levels of pathfinder elements
arsenic and bismuth alongside gold indicated the potential for
further discoveries.
A recent exploration campaign
included detailed mapping of historical gold workings and the
collection of 56 rock chips and 84 soil samples taken at spaced intervals across and along strike of the
mineralisation to gain a better understanding of the spread of
pathfinder elements. Notably, historical mine development
below 20m from surface remains unexplored.
With positive community and
landowner relations the Board is confident that ECR is well
positioned to make substantial progress on the project going
forward.
Photon analysis
In response to recent challenges in
obtaining laboratory results for gold through conventional fire
assay methods, as previously announced, ECR has been trialling
alternative approaches, including the use of photon analysis.
PhotonAssay, described in more detail at the end of this
announcement, is a novel, cost effective and non-destructive
analytical technique, which can significantly reduce both sample
preparation time and the duration of final analysis. This method
has undergone testing by a number of mining companies and its
consultants, in recent years, to understand its precision and the
Directors understand it has been extensively used for grade control
sampling at the Fosterville Goldmine (owned by Agnico-Eagle).
Whilst it is still a new technique, the work done to date suggests
that gold grade analysis does not necessarily need fire assay
accuracy and that photon analysis can achieve the same results,
particularly if grades mined are high and the sample size is
large.
Out of the 56 rock chips, 37 have
been analysed for their gold content using Photon analysis. The
initial findings suggest encouraging indications of high-grade
gold. Notably, eight samples have revealed gold concentrations
exceeding 5 grams per tonne (g/t). Sample BTR056 was obtained from
in-situ unmined vein material and has demonstrated an expected
grade of up to 51.5 g/t Au. Sample BTR047, extracted from a vein
previously sampled in 2023 where a fire assay indicated 0.2 meters
at 22 g/t Au, yielded a photon analysis result consistent with
expectations, measuring 24 g/t Au.
All 56 rock chips are now undergoing
duplicate analysis for gold by way of fire assay, and the results
of this analysis will be announced as soon as they are available.
In addition, earlier findings from 2023 indicate the presence of
the metal bismuth, with concentrations reaching up to 0.4 kilograms
per tonne, alongside gold. Further work is underway to better
understand the significance and implications of bismuth in these
samples.
Table One: Rock chip results above 0.5g/t Gold from Latest
Tambo Project Exploration
SAMPLE ID
|
g/t
Au
|
Comment
|
BTR056
|
51.5
|
40cm wide Unmined quartz outcrop
above Adit
|
BTR044
|
26.5
|
Quartz from dump
|
BTR047
|
24
|
20cm Quartz vein in situ. (Same
sample site from 2023 at 22 g/t Au)
|
BTR054
|
19.7
|
10 cm Unmined vein extension within
Adit
|
BTR046
|
16.9
|
Quartz from mine dump
|
BTR021
|
16.7
|
Quartz from mine dump
|
BTR027
|
7
|
Subcropping quartz vein
|
BTR025
|
5.01
|
Quartz from mine dump
|
BTR045
|
2.03
|
-
|
BTR028
|
1.07
|
-
|
BTR029
|
1.04
|
-
|
BTR026
|
0.84
|
-
|
No other rock chip samples returned
reportable results.
Figure One: Plan view of Duke of Cornwall Lode and Best Rock
Chips.
Mike Whitlow Chief Operating
Officer said: "Our technical strategy in
Victoria continues to deliver promising results. We are observing
significant variations in the geological age and footprint at our
easternmost tenement, Tambo. Today's findings are particularly
encouraging, as they are based on new scientific data analysis,
further supporting the potential for drilling this asset in the
second half of this year.''
Adam Jones Chief Geologist
added: "The Eastern Adit has shown
very encouraging high-grade results which merit further
exploration. Although still early stage, our work done to date
suggests these grades continue at greater depths below surface and
beyond the shallow historical workings. These encouraging findings
have pinpointed several high-priority drill targets which we will
revisit in the coming months. What was also apparent during
my visit is that large parts of the tenement are yet to be explored
so there is considerable scope to follow up. It's worth considering
what other sites have been overlooked since the early days of
mining, especially in the current strong gold price
environment.''
REVIEW OF ANNOUNCEMENT BY QUALIFIED PERSON
This announcement has been reviewed
by Adam Jones, Chief Geologist at ECR Minerals
plc. Adam Jones is a professional geologist and is a
Member of the Australian Institute of
Geoscientists (MAIG). He is a qualified person as that term is
defined by the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas
Companies.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR)
Disclosure
This announcement contains inside
information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse
Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by
virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is
disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under
Article 17 of MAR.
FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
ECR Minerals
plc
|
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Tel: +44 (0) 1738 317 693
|
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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WH Ireland
Ltd
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Tel: +44 (0) 207 220 1666
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Nominated Adviser
Katy Mitchell / Andrew de Andrade
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Axis Capital
Markets Limited
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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
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Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413500
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Broker
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Nick Emerson
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Novum
Securities Limited
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Tel: +44 (0) 20 7399 9425
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Broker
Jon Belliss
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Brand
Communications
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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.
ECR holds a royalty on the SLM gold project in
La Rioja Province, Argentina which could potentially receive up to
US$2.7 million in aggregate across all licences.
ABOUT PHOTON
ASSAY
Developed by Australia's national science
agency, CSIRO, photon assay is described as a technique that can
deliver faster, safer, and more accurate gold analysis. The
developers of PhotonAssay are positioning it as an
environmentally-friendly replacement for fire assay that can
provide rapid turnaround on high sample volumes. Samples can
be processed in less than 2 minutes in an automated process,
compared to 3-4 hours for fire assay samples. A number of companies
have undertaken a thorough evaluation of the method on their
projects by undertaking extensive testing against fire assays
(currently considered the gold standard for grade determination)
with excellent results. PhotonAssay is considered most suitable for
coarse gold mineralisation where analysis of large sample sizes is
advantageous.
The technique works by hitting samples with
high-energy X-rays, which causes excitation of atomic nuclei
allowing enhanced analysis of gold, silver, copper and other
elements in as little as two minutes. A highly sensitive detector
picks up the unique atomic signatures from these elements to
determine concentrations.
PhotonAssay has the following
features:
·
Bulk measurement of large samples, typically 400-650
g
·
Minimal sample preparation e.g. crush to 2-3 mm
top-size
·
Non-destructive; no chemical reagents required
·
Rapid (< 2 mins per sample, 70 samples/hour)
·
Excellent sensitivity (0.01 ppm detection limit on reagent
blanks, 0.015-0.030 on typical gold ores)
·
Independent of sample matrix, chemistry or
mineralogy
·
Fully-automated