ECR Minerals #ECR – Tambo Gold Project Diamond Drilling Update

ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce an update on drilling at the Duke of Cornwall prospect within the Company’s Tambo Gold Project in Victoria, Australia (the “Tambo Gold Project”) where results have been received for an additional 90 core samples submitted from diamond drill holes DOCD003 and DOCD004.

HIGHLIGHTS

●    Best results from hole DOCD004 include 0.15 metres @ 10.6 g/t Au, 0.35 metres @ 1.47 g/t Au and 0.15 metres @ 1.42 g/t Au

●     DOCD004 successfully intercepts Main Lode at a depth of 62.3 metres

●     Hole DOCD003 delineates shear zone’s location

Tambo Gold Project

As announced on 20 November 2024, a maiden diamond drilling campaign was completed at the Tambo Gold Project. The diamond drilling campaign targeted beneath the historic workings of the Duke of Cornwall Mine, Swifts Creek. The campaign consisted of five diamond core drill holes, totalling approximately 439 metres in aggregate.

Drilling Programme Overview

Drilling at the Project’s Duke of Cornwall prospect aimed to demonstrate grade continuity and refine initial geological interpretations. Results to date confirm that these objectives have been achieved, with diamond drilling providing high-accuracy structural and mineralisation data.

·      Main Lode Gold Continuity: Results from DOCD002 (0.4 metres @ 8.51 g/t Au) and DOCD004 confirm vertical gold continuity extending at least 70 metres below the Adit workings.

·      Historical Continuity: Historical records report average grades of approximately 10 g/t Au from lodes up to 4 metres wide. Several of the best drilling results to date closely align with this average (see Table 1 and Table 2 of highlighted recent results below).

Geological mapping and structural data suggest potential for high-grade zones where cleavage veins intersect the Main Lode. These intersections may represent historical wider lode sections. 

Drill hole DOCD004 (see Table 1)

Hole DOCD004 was drilled to test for grade continuity vertically below previous high-grade results obtained from the Adit workings and DOCD002. The target Main Lode was successfully intercepted at a depth of 62.3 metres with gold values of 0.15 metres @ 10.6 g/t Au. This hole was drilled to a final depth of 86.4 metres. Two additional intercepts of 0.15 metres @ 1.42 g/t and 0.35 metres @ 1.47 g/t Au were from two distinct quartz veins located in the footwall and hanging wall of the Main Lode. The Board believes that these two veins show the potential for the development of undiscovered veins within the system. The overall average grade across all reported intervals was 4.50 g/t Au (see Table 1). 

Drill hole DOCD003

No significant gold intercepts have been reported from the intervals tested from drill hole DOCD003, although the Board considers that this result provides valuable geological insights into delineating the location of the shear zone and controls on mineralisation.  Hole DOCD003 was drilled to a total depth of 69.7 metres.

Next Steps

The Company is awaiting the assay results from drill hole DOCD005 which was designed to test for mineralisation under the extreme northern strike of the system and also for drill hole DOCD001. Results for both remaining holes are expected before the end of the year. Geological logging of DOCD005 thus far has identified two distinct quartz veins, aligning with historical reports of similar lodes. 

Adam Jones, ECR’s Chief Geologist, said: “The results from drill hole DOCD004 mark another positive step forward in our exploration of the Duke of Cornwall prospect. While DOCD003 provides valuable geological insights into the location of the shear zone, DOCD004 has confirmed gold continuity within the Main Lode and highlights the potential for additional undiscovered veins within the system. I’m highly encouraged by how the best findings from DOCD002 and DOCD004 match up with historical records and the Board is optimistic about the potential for high-grade gold mineralisation as we continue to explore the strike and depth of the system. We eagerly await the assay results from DOCD005, which will provide further insight into the mineralisation potential at the northern end of the Duke of Cornwall system.”

Technical Disclosure

All sampling and drilling were conducted in accordance with industry best practice, and all assays were performed by an independent, accredited laboratory.

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.

Table 1: Reportable Drill Intercepts For Hole DOCD004 (=> 0.1 g/t Au)

Table 2: Highlighted Gold Sampling to Date from Duke of Cornwall (DOCD002 Drill Results And Rock Chip Channel Samples, as announced on 20 November 2024)

Figure 1: Plan View Of Duke Of Cornwall – DOCD004 And Best Sampling Results To Date

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Glossary 

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.