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ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to provide the following overview of its Lolworth Project in Queensland. The 2023 field work season concluded with soil sampling which, together with exploration work already undertaken, has provided the Company with a solid overview of the project area and, importantly, a guide for the next phase of exploration this year.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Reedy Creek returned best rock chips of 22g/t with stream samples of 205 PPM.
• Gorge Creek returned rock chips of 75g/t with stream samples of 1395 PPM.
• Butterfly Creek reported stream samples of 962 PPM.
• An overview of soil, rock chip and stream sediment sampling indicate that the best-ranking gold prospects so far may be Flaggy Creek, Butterfly Creek and Gorge Creek West areas. Other prospects identified but yet to be explored in more detail include Brumby Creek and Gorge Creek East where our soil sampling campaign demonstrated sporadic anomalous gold.
• Laboratory results have been received for soil sampling completed at Flaggy Creek and Reedy Creek West. Peak gold results in soils at Flaggy Creek include 0.41 g/t Au, 0.19 g/t Au and 0.13 g/t Au. The results align to an obscure North-Easterly trend. Anomalous peak results of lead within these soils correlate adjacent to previous rock-chipped gold-bearing veins. Best results from soil sampling at Reedy Creek West were 2.01 g/t Au. Early interpretations of geochemistry results show these are near to a possible geological boundary.
• Previous pan concentrate sampling identified Oaky Creek to be carrying good values of Niobium and Tantalum (Nb-Ta) mineralisation. Follow-up soil sampling led to specific outcropping areas that are yet to be sampled and mapped.
• Similar geological rock types associated with Nb-Ta mineralisation at Oaky Creek have been noted to exist within the eastern boundary of the Lolworth tenements. No modern exploration has been undertaken within this region before.

ECR Technical Director Adam Jones commented: “We took on Lolworth as a ‘greenfield’ project and, with some 900 square km of ground to explore, we believed that it was within a geological province that had every potential for significant discoveries for ECR Minerals. Our work in 2023 has gone some way to endorse that, proving that gold exists in multiple places within the project area.  Our soil sampling results back up the high-grade stream sedimentary samples and rock chips reported in 2023.  By definition work at surface, whilst early stage, is designed to predict what may occur in greater concentrations at deeper levels and the widespread presence of gold in our sample results increases our confidence in both the prospectivity and potential scale of the Lolworth resource.” 

Mike Whitlow Chief Operating Officer said: “The conclusion of the 2023 field work season at Lolworth has given us a solid platform from which to plan the next stage of our reconnaissance programme.  We have identified several locations to hone in on and we believe that there are still other gold sources that can be followed up over in the coming year. Alongside the gold, we also have found the presence of the sought after Niobium-Tantalum Rare Earth minerals and, whilst this is only an initial indication, we expect this story will continue to develop.  Our work for the 2024 season in Queensland is likely to include trench sampling and drill target generation. Additionally, we look forward to updating shareholders as operations continue In Victoria.”

OVERVIEW OF GOLD EXPLORATION TO DATE

The Lolworth Project is located approximately 120km west of the historic gold mining centre of Charters Towers, North Queensland, Australia. The project consists of three exploration tenements (EPM27901, EPM27902 and EPM27903) covering over 900 square kilometres of ground where numerous Gold, Niobium and REE anomalies have been identified within the project. The operations are being explored by LUX Exploration Pty Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ECR.

Exploration has been undertaken by methods of stream sampling (heavy pan concentrate sampling), rock chip (outcrop mapping) and soil sampling over prospective ridgelines. The Lolworth Project covers over 900 km² of exploration ground. The host rocks have undergone some degree of alteration by intrusive rocks and pegmatites and hence are favourable for exploring for multiple commodities. Approximately 700km² of the project has now been initially explored by stream sampling. Gold, Niobium-Tantalum and REE (in particular Neodymium) are the main commodities discovered from the stream sampling programmes. The gold prospects of interest are named Gorge Creek West, Gorge Creek East, Reedy Creek, and of recent discovery Flaggy Creek, Butterfly Creek and Reedy Creek West. The main focus of Niobium-Tantalum exploration has been at Oaky Creek. See Figure One for locations in the project area. Best results from exploration to date are included in Table One below.

Figure One: Lolworth Project Prospects

All gold prospects have been found from following up positive stream sampling results and now are targeting the hill slopes above such streams, looking for the source of the gold. The directors consider the results to be outstanding. Visible gold has often been found in creeks that have had no modern exploration. Best results to date include 1395 ppm Au (Gorge Creek), 962 ppm Au (Butterfly Creek), 594 ppm Au (Reedy Creek). Multiple clusters of gold mineralisation have been found in specific streams of Flaggy Creek, Gorge Creek West, Reedy Creek West and Butterfly Creek. This has led to outcrop sampling and mapping and soil sampling firstly at Flaggy Creek and Gorge Creek West. Further detailed work has been planned for Reedy Creek and Butterfly Creek and will include geological mapping and outcrop sampling and detailed soil sampling. The ridgeline between Reedy Creek and Butterfly Creek which the gold bearing creeks are draining from is an area over 1km in strike length to explore in detail.

NIOBIUM-TANTALUM AND REE EXPLORATION

Critical listed minerals Niobium-Tantalum (Nb-Ta) and other REE (Neodymium) have been discovered in the Oaky Creek drainage system. High Niobium and Tantalum results from pan concentrate sampling in the headwaters of Oaky Creek led to the completion of a regional soil sampling programme over the adjacent hillslopes. Results from this show the best Niobium concentrations in soils (up to 146 ppm Nb) (see RNS September 25 2023 here). A mapping and sampling programme over the immediate outcrop of the best Niobium results is planned for 2024. Elevated Nb-Ta and REE results are associated with a mapped pegmatitic intrusive complex. The same type of rock outcrop has been noted to occur on the eastern province of the Lolworth Project area. The field team will access the streams within this eastern province to investigate the potential for gold and critical minerals.

FLAGGY CREEK AND REEDY CREEK WEST SOIL SAMPLING RESULTS

Results from a soil sampling programme centred around a cluster of gold bearing creeks discovered by pan concentrate sampling at Flaggy Creek (previously called Woolshed Creek) and Reedy Creek West has been received. Initial rock chip and outcrop mapping at one notable hillslope at Flaggy Creek were reported last October (see RNS 31^st October 31 2023 here). Best results from rock chip and outcrop mapping included 4.66 g/t Au, 3.97 g/t Au and 3.28 g/t Au. Gold has also been discovered in quartz fragments that is lying on the nearby surface, indicating gold veinlets in a primary source is nearby. Where visible, the quartz veining at Flaggy Creek is running in groups of narrow veins that lie parallel to each other. The veins can be traced along the surface for 70 metres before passing under soil cover. The anecdotal evidence from surface scree and fragments shows the parallel veins to be in a zonation of up to 100m wide. The potential size of this zonation is what makes Flaggy Creek an attractive gold exploration target. The soil sampling programme has been completed north and south of these discovered veins, the target being to discover any gold values in soils that are potentially hiding other parallel gold veins hiding under the shallow soil cover. The best gold results from the soil sampling were 0.41 g/t Au, 0.19 g/t Au and 0.13 g/t Au (see Table Two), highlighting three ‘spot’ anomalies which lie along a discrete north-easterly trend. (see Figure Two). This north-easterly trend also correlates to the upper source line of the gold found in the surrounding streams. Interestingly, lead is elevated in the soil immediately surrounding the known gold bearing veins and is now looked at being a pathfinder element to the proximity to gold veins. Lead results are also elevated in previous best gold results from rock chipping.  The best gold result from this soil sampling is located to the north-east of the already mapped veins. ECR has not mapped these new anomalous areas and will extend mapping and sampling of visible outcrop to these new areas this year.

Figure Two: Flaggy Creek Exploration Update

A soil sampling programme was also completed over the headwaters of three gold bearing creeks that drain into the western side of Reedy Creek. Previous pan concentrate sampling revealed plenty of visible gold backed up with good laboratory results within these creeks. One spot gold anomaly of 2.01 g/t Au was picked up in the soil sampling results. An abrupt boundary where background higher values of lead concentration in soil is higher in the southern half of the soil sampling (see Figure Three). Early interpretations show this boundary is likely coincide with a geological boundary. Field staff reported the nearby soil to be red (from iron) and contain quartz float which are evidently from nearby quartz veins. Mapping and sampling of all quartz veining within the anomalous area and near the geological contact will be completed this year.

Figure Three: Reedy Creek West Exploration Update

Table One. Some of the best results from exploration at the Lolworth Project to date (see previous announcements).

NOTE: (1 ppm Au = 1 g/t Au)

Table Two. Latest Gold results above reportable levels (>0.01 ppm Au) for Soil Sampling at Flaggy Creek and Reedy Creek, Lolworth Project.

NOTE: (1 ppm Au = 1 g/t Au)

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.

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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 eight active exploration tenements and two in application (Ballarat and Tambo).

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), 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