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ECR Minerals #ECR – Review of Lolworth Project
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 31st 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)
| PROSPECT | EXPLORATION METHOD | Easting | Northing | Au g/t | Pb ppm | Announcement Date |
| Gorge Creek | Stream Sampling | 314342.3 | 7749643 | 1395 | n/a | 23/03/23 |
| Butterfly Creek | Stream Sampling | 310193.5 | 7749951 | 962 | n/a | 20/11/23 |
| Butterfly Creek | Stream Sampling | 310289 | 7750626 | 594 | n/a | 8/8/23 |
| Reedy Creek | Stream Sampling | 310475.6 | 7751531 | 205 | n/a | 23/03/23 |
| Gorge Creek West | Stream Sampling | 314025 | 7751352 | 152.5 | n/a | 12/12/22 |
| Butterfly Creek | Stream Sampling | 310247.8 | 7750052 | 139 | n/a | 20/11/23 |
| Reedy Creek | Stream Sampling | 309411.5 | 7750724 | 138 | n/a | 8/8/23 |
| Reedy Creek West | Stream Sampling | 308154.7 | 7751007 | 128 | n/a | 25/9/23 |
| Reedy Creek West | Stream Sampling | 308394.7 | 7751332 | 60.9 | n/a | 25/9/23 |
| Reedy Creek | Stream Sampling | 310359.1 | 7752184 | 51 | n/a | 01/02/23 |
| Reedy Creek | Rock Chip | 309345.6 | 7750941 | 22.00 | 104 | 15/8/23 |
| Gorge Creek West | Rock Chip | 313557.5 | 7751157 | 13.75 | 14250 | 23/10/23 |
| Gorge Creek East | Rock Chip | 314942.4 | 7751994 | 8.02 | 199 | 20/10/23 |
| Flaggy Creek | Rock Chip | 298711.6 | 7760551 | 6.05 | 267 | 31/10/23 |
| Flaggy Creek | Rock Chip | 298696.6 | 7760564 | 5.96 | 751 | 31/10/23 |
| Flaggy Creek | Rock Chip | 298694 | 7760685 | 4.73 | 542 | 01/02/23 |
| Flaggy Creek | Rock Chip | 298697.5 | 7760694 | 4.66 | 480 | 31/10/23 |
| Flaggy Creek | Rock Chip | 298694.4 | 7760683 | 3.97 | 91 | 31/10/23 |
| Flaggy Creek | Rock Chip | 298705.1 | 7760729 | 3.28 | 685 | 31/10/23 |
| Flaggy Creek | Rock Chip | 298701.1 | 7760710 | 3.19 | 3270 | 31/10/23 |
| Gorge Creek West | Rock Chip | 313268.9 | 7751424 | 3.13 | 375 | 20/10/23 |
| Flaggy Creek | Soil Sampling | 298875.9 | 7760698 | 0.41 | 8 | This announcement |
| Flaggy Creek | Soil Sampling | 313239 | 7751347 | 0.39 | 12 | This announcement |
| Flaggy Creek | Soil Sampling | 313198.6 | 7751347 | 0.32 | 11 | This announcement |
| Flaggy Creek | Soil Sampling | 299071.3 | 7761011 | 0.19 | 4 | This announcement |
| Flaggy Creek | Soil Sampling | 313267 | 7751305 | 0.18 | 17 | This announcement |
| Flaggy Creek | Soil Sampling | 313295.6 | 7751171 | 0.13 | 18 | This announcement |
| Flaggy Creek | Soil Sampling | 298434.6 | 7760314 | 0.13 | 12 | This announcement |
| Reedy Creek West | Soil Sampling | 308349.2 | 7751205 | 2.01 | n/a | This announcement |
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)
| PROSPECT | SAMPLEID | EASTING
(GDA94 Zone 55) |
NORTHING
(GDA94 Zone 55) |
Au ppm |
| Reedy Creek West | LWL3650 | 308349.2 | 7751205 | 2.01 |
| Reedy Creek West | LWL3610 | 308190.5 | 7751091 | 0.03 |
| Reedy Creek West | LWL3616 | 308317 | 7751089 | 0.02 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3400 | 298875.9 | 7760698 | 0.41 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3439 | 299071.3 | 7761011 | 0.19 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3179 | 298434.6 | 7760314 | 0.13 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3394 | 298908.6 | 7760741 | 0.09 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3438 | 299105.6 | 7760974 | 0.09 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3493 | 299497.2 | 7761071 | 0.07 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3038 | 298725.4 | 7760724 | 0.05 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3487 | 299377.4 | 7761287 | 0.05 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3408 | 299380 | 7760838 | 0.04 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3007 | 298717.2 | 7760799 | 0.03 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3029 | 298626 | 7760805 | 0.03 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3039 | 298703.8 | 7760737 | 0.03 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3068 | 298698.7 | 7760697 | 0.03 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3359 | 299052.5 | 7760806 | 0.03 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3374 | 298983.1 | 7760815 | 0.03 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3403 | 298790.9 | 7760822 | 0.03 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3448 | 299056.1 | 7760954 | 0.03 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3452 | 299193.7 | 7760809 | 0.03 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3009 | 298760.6 | 7760774 | 0.02 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3014 | 298715.6 | 7760777 | 0.02 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3033 | 298712.5 | 7760755 | 0.02 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3043 | 298617.3 | 7760787 | 0.02 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3110 | 298730 | 7760585 | 0.02 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3123 | 298549.3 | 7760597 | 0.02 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3268 | 298863.9 | 7760492 | 0.02 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3380 | 298948.6 | 7760771 | 0.02 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3402 | 298819.2 | 7760780 | 0.02 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3453 | 299228.1 | 7760773 | 0.02 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3464 | 299386.8 | 7760934 | 0.02 |
| Flaggy Creek | LWL3468 | 299325.6 | 7761125 | 0.02 |
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
Nick Tulloch, Managing Director Andrew Scott, Director |
||||
| 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 | ||||
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
ECR Minerals #ECR – Latest Lolworth Gold Exploration Results Suggest Extended Mineralisation
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce the latest gold exploration developments at its Lolworth Project, North Queensland, Australia. The results from the latest pan concentrate stream samples, whilst still early stage, are considered significant by the Directors as they suggest an extension in the size of the gold footprint south of the Reedy Creek area into Butterfly Creek. The latest soil results from the Gorge Creek West area also correlate with a quartz sub-crop which has been mapped across the ridgeline.
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) which are operated by LUX Exploration Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of ECR (“LUX”). Numerous Gold, Niobium and REE anomalies have been identified within the project.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Pan concentrate sampling south of the Reedy Creek drainage divide into Butterfly Creek indicates the likely existence of a gold source that also extends further south. Visible gold continues to be seen in sampling.
- The peak soil sampling results from Gorge Creek West area correlate along strike to a mapped quartz vein sub-crop. Further investigations are planned.
- Results from Flaggy Creek and Reedy Creek West soil sampling are due soon, with interpretation of these results determining the next steps to be taken. Operations have been paused while we evaluate our workplan.
- Follow-up investigations into targeting other Niobium and REE stream anomalies also in progress.
ECR Technical Director Adam Jones commented: “I am pleased to report good grades from pan concentrate sampling, which indicate that additional sources of gold could exist within the headwaters of Butterfly Creek and extend the region’s prospectivity some 2km further south of Reedy Creek. Local landholders have reported to us that good sizeable gold discoveries were made in this watershed by early prospectors and the evidence of our work to date supports these theories. In addition to this, the field team are steadily building a picture of extended gold mineralisation in the headwaters of Gorge Creek West resulting from on-going results from soil sampling and outcrop mapping.”
ECR Chief Operations Officer Mike Whitlow added: “Our Lolworth project is progressing nicely and we are consistently seeing visible gold, which supports the historical evidence, but more importantly validates our own thesis. We are collating the data into our work plan to conclude the reconnaissance work and prepare for the target generation stage. We expect to provide further updates soon.”
Figure One: Plan showing the location of the latest results;
https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig1_Latest-Results-Lolworth_231115.jpg
Reportable results from sampling presented in Table 1 and Table 2 below.
STREAM SAMPLING INTO BUTTERFLY CREEK
Butterfly Creek runs south from the dividing range that separates the Reedy Creek area to the north (see Figure One above). Recent field work completed infill pan concentrate sampling along the headwaters of streams in the Reedy Creek area and Butterfly Creek, with visible gold consistently noted throughout the sampling process. The most recent lab results confirm these findings, with high concentrations of gold resulting in 962 ppm Au, 139 ppm Au and 29.7 ppm Au. One ppm is equal to One g/t Au; however, these results are from concentrating a 5kg stream sample into a laboratory sized sample and therefore are not representative of an in situ-resource within the stream. The results do however show the coarse nature of the gold, confirming that the stream is strongly gold-bearing and close to a nearby source up the hillslopes. From the sampling evidence received ECR can conclude the source of gold is likely to reside within the saddle ridge as marked on Figure One. The round coloured markers on the map relate to the corresponding gold grades in the map legend, with previous pan sampling results shown as coloured stars. Gold anomalies are clustered as shown on Figure One at Reedy Creek West, Reedy Creek and Gorge Creek West. ECR is still waiting for final soil sampling results within the Reedy Creek West area.
GORGE CREEK WEST SOIL SAMPLING
Results from soil sampling over part of the western ridgeline above the gold-bearing streams of Gorge Creek West have also been received. 14 samples report gold above background levels of 0.01 g/t Au, with best results of 0.39 g/t Au and 0.32 g/t Au. Although modest, these results are important in context as they correlate spatially along strike of a large quartz sub-crop vein exceeding 4 metres wide. This vein was sampled previously and delivered a best result of 0.56 g/t Au.
The results from the quartz sub-crop vein do not match the results from the creek below, where the team located numerous gold nuggets during previous pan concentrate sampling. A single rock chip along strike to the east returned 13.75 g/t Au, while rock chip results immediately to the north of the soil sampling and the quartz sub-crop show promise, with large outcrops of quartz veins (grading up to 3.13 g/t Au) sited adjacent to the contact of the intruded granite. Further investigation is required.
NIOBIUM AND REE EXPLORATION
Niobium (Nb) and Rare Earth elements discoveries have also been reported previously at Oaky Creek, which contains an anomalous (Nb) zone located in the northern part of the project area. Sampling work at Oaky Creek transitioned from Nb and REE exploration to gold exploration during the last couple of months to give landholders the chance to conduct agricultural activities in the north of the project area. ECR has a good working relationship with all landholders in the area, and field work to follow-up on the Niobium and REE regions will recommence at the earliest availability.
Table One. Gold results for all pan concentrate stream sampling from the Butterfly Creek region. Results in Au ppm. Best results presented first.
| SAMPLEID | EASTING
(GDA94 Zone 55) |
NORTHING
(GDA94 Zone 55) |
Au ppm |
| LWSS963 | 310193 | 7749951 | 962 |
| LWSS966 | 310248 | 7750052 | 139 |
| LWSS965 | 310230 | 7750014 | 29.7 |
| LWSS946 | 310693 | 7749535 | 25.8 |
| LWSS949 | 310491 | 7749771 | 10.25 |
| LWSS967 | 310201 | 7750188 | 8.95 |
| LWSS917 | 311380 | 7749011 | 2.2 |
| LWSS964 | 310259 | 7750002 | 2.04 |
| LWSS957 | 310145 | 7749398 | 0.84 |
| LWSS919 | 311136 | 7749379 | 0.64 |
| LWSS950 | 310323 | 7749768 | 0.58 |
| LWSS918 | 311245 | 7749317 | 0.36 |
| LWSS948 | 310664 | 7749669 | 0.33 |
| LWSS921 | 311348 | 7749487 | 0.14 |
| LWSS923 | 311820 | 7749490 | 0.07 |
| LWSS955 | 310839 | 7749895 | 0.07 |
| LWSS929 | 312026 | 7749435 | 0.04 |
| LWSS939 | 311195 | 7749033 | 0.04 |
| LWSS956 | 311086 | 7749538 | 0.04 |
| LWSS922 | 311546 | 7749380 | 0.03 |
| LWSS940 | 311118 | 7749082 | 0.02 |
| LWSS947 | 310406 | 7749538 | 0.02 |
| LWSS924 | 311854 | 7749454 | 0.01 |
| LWSS938 | 310996 | 7750078 | 0.01 |
| LWSS942 | 311014 | 7749071 | 0.01 |
| LWSS943 | 310773 | 7749239 | 0.01 |
| LWSS944 | 310796 | 7749314 | 0.01 |
| LWSS945 | 310676 | 7749448 | 0.01 |
| LWSS958 | 310046 | 7749512 | 0.01 |
| LWSS959 | 310037 | 7749442 | 0.01 |
| LWSS960 | 309808 | 7749938 | 0.01 |
| LWSS961 | 309985 | 7750079 | 0.01 |
| LWSS962 | 309981 | 7750127 | 0.01 |
Table Two. Reportable gold results (> 0.01 g/t Au) for soil sampling the Gorge Creek West area.
| SAMPLEID | EASTING
(GDA94 Zone 55) |
NORTHING
(GDA94 Zone 55) |
Au ppm |
| LWL2900 | 313239 | 7751347 | 0.39 |
| LWL2892 | 313199 | 7751346.7 | 0.32 |
| LWL2888 | 313267 | 7751305.2 | 0.18 |
| LWL2830 | 313296 | 7751170.6 | 0.13 |
| LWL2786 | 313080 | 7751653.4 | 0.09 |
| LWL2748 | 313048 | 7751412.8 | 0.07 |
| LWL2925 | 313392 | 7751355.9 | 0.05 |
| LWL2904 | 313307 | 7751305 | 0.04 |
| LWL2913 | 313302 | 7751372.3 | 0.03 |
| LWL2947 | 313126 | 7751741.3 | 0.03 |
| LWL2805 | 313287 | 7751153.9 | 0.02 |
| LWL2811 | 313184 | 7751216.4 | 0.02 |
| LWL2875 | 313218 | 7751312.3 | 0.02 |
| LWL2902 | 313273 | 7751326 | 0.02 |
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
Nick Tulloch, Managing Director Andrew Scott, Director |
||||
| 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 | ||||
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
ECR Minerals #ECR – Discovery of Gold Bearing Quartz Veins in Flaggy Creek, Lolworth, Queensland
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce that following rock chip sampling and outcrop mapping at the Flaggy Creek area at the Lolworth Project, N Queensland, Australia, gold bearing quartz veins have been discovered.
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) which are operated by LUX Exploration Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of ECR (“LUX”). Numerous Gold, Niobium and REE anomalies have been identified within the project.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Results from mapping a quartz veinlet system within the upper creek drainage of Flaggy Creek have proven to be gold-bearing.
- The veinlet system consists of multiple narrow veins outcropping over a length of 70 metres long and within a zone up to 100m wide.
- Best rock chip results from outcrop include 6.05 g/t Au, 5.96 g/t Au, 4.66 g/t Au and 3.97 g/t Au.
- Soil sampling programme just completed over the ridgelines in Flaggy Creek, above the best gold bearing pan concentrate samples.
ECR Technical Director Adam Jones commented: “The veinlet gold system we have now identified at Flaggy Creek has come about through our systematic approach to the groundwork. The geology field team have seen for themselves how the initial sampling work and mapping has through a process of elimination arrived at an outcrop that has delivered some encouraging grades within a concentrated area. We are confident that we have potentially identified a style of gold bearing vein system that we can expect to find throughout the region, and furthermore, we have identified other gold bearing creeks from our stream sampling programme that are in close proximity to and show very similar geological features to the Flaggy Creek area. Coupled with the major soil sampling work completed along strike at the Flaggy Creek outcrop, we are hoping the results from this work may show a much larger system than currently mapped.”
ECR Chief Operations Officer Mike Whitlow added: “It is still early days, but the ECR Board share Adam’s excitement at what would seem to be a robust gold vein discovery at Lolworth. We will continue to be led by the geology and the assay results, but the discovery announced today has indicated the potential for further discoveries along strike and over the broader area. This has certainly provided us with some cause for optimism.”
Figure One: Plan to show locations of reportable rock chips at Flaggy Creek:
https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig1_Flaggy-Creek_301023.png
ROCKCHIP RESULTS
Flaggy Creek is located in the NW part of ECR’s Lolworth exploration tenements. Previous work in 2022 shows the presence of gold in pan concentrate sampling and a single rock chip from outcrop (see announcement from 12 December 2022 here). As a result of further mapping and multiple rock chip sampling work undertaken along the exposed outcrop, the team has now expanded on these initial results, with grades of up to 6.05 g/t Au recorded.
Geological mapping shows that the gold is contained within narrow quartz veinlets cutting through the granitic host rock. Each quartz veinlet ranges between 0.2 and 1m wide. Multiple veinlets have been observed, running in parallel groups that form a system 70 metres long and up to 100m wide. Significantly, a broken quartz rock ‘float’ sitting on top of the adjacent surface indicates the vein system could possibly be wider than mapped. Some of this quartz float has been sampled and results of up to 5.96 g/t Au have been recorded.
ADDITIONAL SOIL SAMPLING PROGRAMME
Further supporting the mapped outcrop detailed in this announcement, the field team have also completed a large soil sampling programme over and along strike of the quartz vein system identified. The extent of this programme can be seen by the black points shown in Figure 1 above.
The soil programme has two objectives. Firstly, to discover gold bearing soils that are likely sitting in close proximity to other quartz vein systems in the adjacent creek system and secondly, to identify the best gold ‘hotspots’ above the sub-cropping gold bearing quartz float. The geo team fully expect this methodology will provide specific targeting for subsequent trenching and drilling work.
With additional results still due from Flaggy Creek and other Lolworth prospects, further updates will be provided in the coming months.
Table One. Gold results greater than 0.1 g/t Au from recent rock chip sampling and outcrop mapping at Flaggy Creek (in order of best results):
| SAMPLEID | EASTING
(GDA94 Zone 55) |
NORTHING
(GDA94 Zone 55) |
Au g/t | Ag g/t |
| LWC294 | 298788.8 | 7760822 | 6.05 | 7.12 |
| LWC295 | 298696.6 | 7760564 | 5.96 | 28.9 |
| LWC256 | 298697.4 | 7760687 | 4.66 | 1.94 |
| LWC251 | 298694.4 | 7760683 | 3.97 | 2.35 |
| LWC267 | 298703.6 | 7760728 | 3.28 | 2.33 |
| LWC261 | 298698.4 | 7760708 | 3.19 | 14.15 |
| LWC264 | 298693.9 | 7760692 | 2.89 | 4.03 |
| LWC266 | 298700.3 | 7760723 | 2.63 | 4.49 |
| LWC268 | 298705.1 | 7760729 | 2.17 | 1.18 |
| LWC252 | 298694.4 | 7760683 | 2.01 | 1.08 |
| LWC276 | 298657.6 | 7760751 | 2 | 4.7 |
| LWC259 | 298697.7 | 7760705 | 1.6 | 2.98 |
| LWC275 | 298639.9 | 7760758 | 1.53 | 2.91 |
| LWC262 | 298701.1 | 7760710 | 1.44 | 5.86 |
| LWC265 | 298699.1 | 7760718 | 1.37 | 2.52 |
| LWC257 | 298697.5 | 7760694 | 1.33 | 1.08 |
| LWC263 | 298697.1 | 7760697 | 1.22 | 0.86 |
| LWC260 | 298698.5 | 7760707 | 0.88 | 2.84 |
| LWC253 | 298692.3 | 7760681 | 0.67 | 0.7 |
| LWC292 | 298765.3 | 7760783 | 0.65 | 1.31 |
| LWC291 | 298765.6 | 7760784 | 0.61 | 24.3 |
| LWC255 | 298688 | 7760673 | 0.54 | 0.2 |
| LWC258 | 298697.7 | 7760702 | 0.47 | 4.43 |
| LWC254 | 298692.7 | 7760681 | 0.41 | 0.22 |
| LWC288 | 298738.7 | 7760724 | 0.38 | 0.2 |
| LWC273 | 298632.4 | 7760734 | 0.22 | 5.94 |
| LWC284 | 298736.9 | 7760680 | 0.21 | 4.95 |
| LWC272 | 298642.1 | 7760737 | 0.2 | 7.27 |
| LWC283 | 298760.8 | 7760659 | 0.17 | 1.72 |
| LWC274 | 298633.5 | 7760739 | 0.14 | 3.81 |
| LWC293 | 298785.2 | 7760818 | 0.12 | 0.26 |
| LWC278 | 298704.5 | 7760673 | 0.1 | 3.37 |
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
Nick Tulloch, Managing Director Andrew Scott, Director |
||||
| 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 | ||||
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.
ECR Minerals #ECR – Encouraging Gold Results from Lolworth Project
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce the results from outcrop mapping and sampling within the vicinity of the Upper Gorge Creek at the Lolworth Project, North Queensland, Australia.
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) which are operated by LUX Exploration Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of ECR (“LUX”). LUX has identified numerous Gold, Niobium and REE anomalies within the project.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Mapping and sampling results from recent on-site geological investigations in the Upper Gorge Creek show the presence of gold.
- A number of exposed outcrops up to 3m wide x 20m long in the Gorge Creek West ridgeline show gold results up to 13.75 g/t Au from initial rock chip testing. Results from soil grid work over the ridgeline to test for other gold bearing sub-crops in the vicinity are also due shortly.
- A rhyolitic dyke 5m wide x 200m long that contains anomalous gold has been discovered in the Gorge Creek East area. Rock chips collected over the extent of the outcrop average 0.25 g/t Au, with one best result of 8.02 g/t Au. Whilst the results are still at an early stage, the Board are greatly encouraged by these findings and the Directors believe these gold sources within the rocks could form part of a larger system within the tenement.
ECR Technical Director Adam Jones commented: “Following on from the Reedy Creek, Gorge Creek and Woolshed Creek results announced on 25 September 2023, today’s results from Gorge Creek provides further evidence that Lolworth is becoming a bona fide exploration opportunity. Our best result of 128 ppm Gold announced in September 2023 is backed up by a number of additional high-grade samples taken within the surrounding area. We still have further data to collect, but we are now entering this information and historical data into our area plan so we can start to accurately map out drill targets.”
Figure One: Plan locations of reportable rock chips: https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig1_Gorge-Ck-Rockchips.png
ROCKCHIP RESULTS
A number of rock chips were taken from the Upper Gorge Creek area during recent field mapping in during August 2023. The locations are shown in Figure One linked above.
The recent heavy concentrate pan sampling programme has helped us to confirm that the streams within the Upper Gorge Creek Western area are highly anomalous in gold, added to which the field team have also discovered numerous gold nuggets within these drainages. Recent geological mapping during August this year led to the discovery of numerous silica outcrops within the ridgeline above these gold bearing streams. The Company has now received the results from rock chipping at these outcrops with best results of 13.75 g/t Au, 3.13 g/t Au and 2.17 g/t Au (full details are set out in Table 1 at the end of this announcement). Where mapped, a number of outcrops measure up to 3m wide x 20m long, while the remaining outcrops are hidden under the shallow soil cover. A large soil sampling grid has recently been completed over the cover sequence to confirm the direction of the extensions to the gold bearing outcrops. The results from this are due shortly.
Geological mapping and sampling of outcrop has also been completed in parts of the Gorge Creek East area. A Rhyolitic dyke (intrusion) 5.5m wide x 200m long and anomalous in gold has been discovered. The majority of rock chips from the dyke returned an average of 0.25 g/t Au. One rock chip from the centre of the dyke returned 8.02 g/t Au. Other dykes are known to exist within the tenement area and these have never been sampled or mapped. Whilst these results are still at an early stage, and significant work is still required at site to determine the economic potential of the opportunity, the Board are greatly encouraged by these findings and the Directors believe these gold sources within the rocks could lead to further gold discoveries in other dykes yet to be sampled.
ADDITIONAL WORK PROGRAMMES
Other exploration work continues to be undertaken on the Lolworth Project and results are due shortly from soil sampling over the ridgeline of Gorge Creek West. The Board believes this work could help the Company confirm whether other hidden gold bearing outcrops are present under the soil cover, particularly given that the streams draining this ridgeline have already been proven to contain gold.
The field team are also continuing to soil sample two other gold-bearing areas, namely Woolshed/Flaggy Creek and Reedy Creek. Rock chip results from a system of narrow stringer quartz veins from Flaggy Creek are also expected shortly.
Further announcements will be made when the results are known.
Table One. Gold results greater than 0.1 g/t Au from recent rock chip sampling and outcrop mapping at Gorge Creek:
| SampleID | Easting (GDA94 Z55) | Northing (GDA94 Z55) | Au g/t | Prospect |
| LWC145 | 294145 | 7755719 | 0.02 | |
| LWC147 | 314942 | 7751994 | 8.02 | Rhyolite Dyke |
| LWC162 | 313557 | 7751157 | 13.75 | Gorge Ck West |
| LWC166 | 313695 | 7751338 | 0.1 | |
| LWC168 | 313707 | 7751331 | 0.15 | |
| LWC169 | 313680 | 7751310 | 0.56 | |
| LWC170 | 313682 | 7751308 | 2.64 | |
| LWC171 | 313682 | 7751307 | 0.19 | |
| LWC172 | 313683 | 7751306 | 0.78 | |
| LWC173 | 313684 | 7751306 | 0.34 | |
| LWC174 | 313684 | 7751307 | 0.16 | |
| LWC193 | 313269 | 7751424 | 3.13 | Gorge Ck West |
| LWC194 | 313351 | 7751428 | 0.33 | Gorge Ck West |
| LWC195 | 313358 | 7751441 | 1.73 | Gorge Ck West |
| LWC196 | 313352 | 7751428 | 0.68 | Gorge Ck West |
| LWC197 | 313358 | 7751433 | 0.84 | Gorge Ck West |
| LWC198 | 313358 | 7751436 | 0.24 | Gorge Ck West |
| LWC199 | 313327 | 7751421 | 0.33 | Gorge Ck West |
| LWC200 | 313335 | 7751418 | 0.85 | Gorge Ck West |
| LWC201 | 313361 | 7751446 | 2.17 | Gorge Ck West |
| LWC202 | 313366 | 7751452 | 0.62 | Gorge Ck West |
| LWC215 | 313162 | 7751359 | 0.38 | |
| LWC216 | 314940 | 7751988 | 0.52 | Rhyolite Dyke |
| LWC217 | 314941 | 7751992 | 0.19 | Rhyolite Dyke |
| LWC218 | 314944 | 7751996 | 0.39 | Rhyolite Dyke |
| LWC219 | 314949 | 7752002 | 0.16 | Rhyolite Dyke |
| LWC221 | 314956 | 7752008 | 0.17 | Rhyolite Dyke |
| LWC222 | 314965 | 7752019 | 0.18 | Rhyolite Dyke |
| LWC225 | 314971 | 7752029 | 0.22 | Rhyolite Dyke |
| LWC227 | 314991 | 7752049 | 0.42 | Rhyolite Dyke |
| LWC228 | 314944 | 7752004 | 0.11 | Rhyolite Dyke |
| LWC230 | 314918 | 7751965 | 0.16 | Rhyolite Dyke |
| LWC231 | 314915 | 7751962 | 0.33 | Rhyolite Dyke |
| LWC232 | 314910 | 7751955 | 0.2 | Rhyolite Dyke |
| LWC311 | 316430 | 7750263 | 0.26 | |
| LWC313 | 316435 | 7750265 | 0.19 | |
| LWC317 | 316443 | 7750263 | 0.35 | |
| LWC318 | 316432 | 7750259 | 1.64 | |
| LWC319 | 316432 | 7750259 | 0.29 | |
| LWC320 | 316433 | 7750259 | 0.26 | |
| LWC321 | 316434 | 7750258 | 0.61 | |
| LWC325 | 316435 | 7750255 | 0.1 | |
| LWC326 | 316434 | 7750253 | 1.43 |
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
Nick Tulloch, Managing Director Andrew Scott, Director |
||||
| 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 | ||||
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.
ECR Minerals #ECR – Extended Gold Prospectivity and Niobium Bullseye Discovery at the Lolworth Project
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce the latest exploration developments for the Lolworth Project, North Queensland, Australia.
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) and are operated under the 100% owned LUX Exploration Pty Ltd. The Company has identified numerous Gold, Niobium and REE anomalous within the project.
HIGHLIGHTS
- 81 follow-up pan concentrate stream samples results have been returned. Best results include 128 ppm Au, 23.7 ppm Au, 42.3 ppm Au and 60.9 ppm Au. These results have further extended the gold prospectivity of the Reedy Creek area to the west.
- Results (pXRF) from a tighter spaced soil sampling campaign in the Oaky Creek area have identified an interesting Niobium target.
- Field work, including rock chipping, mapping and tighter spaced pan concentrate stream sampling at both Woolshed Creek and Gorge Creek prospects continue to reveal visible gold, indicating potential for increased prospectivity across the project area.
ECR Managing Director Nick Tulloch commented: “In the midst of significant structural changes at ECR and our ongoing work to evaluate the Company’s asset base, Adam Jones and the field team are to be commended for their tireless work in bringing these exciting developments at our Lolworth Range project to life.”
ECR Chief Operations Officer Mike Whitlow added: “Echoing Nick’s words, our team have been particularly pleased with the latest results as this gives confirmation to our exploration thesis at Lolworth, 128 ppm Gold being our best result has been supported by a number of additional very high-grade samples taken within the surrounding area. Whilst we recognise the early stage nature of this work, the confidence in today’s announcement leaves us naturally inspired to continue our efforts at Lolworth towards the end of the year, at which point we will have the perfect opportunity to plan our accelerated future work programme. We are understandably very excited by this latest development.”
Figure One: Oaky Creek Niobium soil anomaly:
https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig1_Niobium-230924.png
Figure Two: Reedy Creek gold result:
https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig2_Reedy-Ck-230924.png
Figure Three: Woolshed Creek gold anomalism:
https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig3_Woolshed-Ck-230924.png
Figure Four: Visible gold extent from sampling in Upper Gorge Creek:
https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig4_Gorge-Ck-West.png
NIOBIUM SOIL SAMPLING RESULTS (Oaky Creek)
Since commencing work at Oaky Creek, ECR has logged a series of highly anomalous Niobium (Nb) and Tantalum (Ta) stream sampling results from the upper reaches of the creek.
The Company reported up to 146 ppm Nb in the first pass soil sampling grid on the 19th July 2023 (see July 19 2023 RNS here). Whilst still early stage, the high priority zones identified from the first pass grid and tested in-house using a pXRF have been followed up, and 17 samples reporting greater than 80 ppm Nb have been identified, with a best result of 497 ppm Nb. It is important to note the results from pXRF data are qualitative not quantitative and should only to be used for identifying the pathfinder anomaly.
These new results combined with the first pass soil sampling show strongly elevated levels of Nb within the centre of the sampled area. Previous high-grade Nb and Ta results from sampling the drainage systems that originate from this elevated centre support the new soil sampling results within the anomalous area and bullseye identified (shown in Figure One above).
The field team and the Board have agreed that the next logical next step will be to undertake a traverse ‘ridge and spur’ rock chip sampling program over the anomalous area. This work is expected to be completed before the 2023 field season ends.
PAN CONCENTRATE SAMPLING PROGRAMME UPDATE
Results from a further 81 samples have been received from the ongoing pan concentrate stream sampling program from streams tested in the northern part of the tenement area. Although these results returned no gold, a small group of samples were taken from streams located approximately 2km to the west of the Reedy Creek area which returned high concentrations of gold with results up to 128 ppm Au. Visible coarse gold particles were often seen during the sampling process and for the majority, correlate well with the best laboratory gold results. More significantly, these results extend the gold footprint further west from Reedy Creek, and a follow-up soil sample grid programme has been scheduled for completion in the near future (see Reedy Creek map images in Figure Two above). All gold results greater than 0.1 ppm Au have been tabled in Appendix One to this announcement.
The majority of these stream results have been taken from outside of the Niobium-Tantalum and REE prospective area. Results have returned 14 stream samples reporting greater than 80 ppm Nb with one best result of 2380 ppm Nb. This best result also correlates to other REE elements including Lanthanum (La), Neodymium (Nd), Praseodymium (Pr), Ta and Yttrium (Y). The best Nb results have been identified within isolated creeks in the eastern part of the project area and are encouraging signs for the regional prospectivity for critical minerals and REE in other unexplored areas of the tenement area. All received Nb results greater than 80 ppm are tabulated in Appendix One to this announcement.
RECENT FIELD WORK
ECR Technical Director Adam Jones visited the Lolworth Project in September. He and his field team collected some 180 rock chips from prospective outcrops at Woolshed Creek area and the upper reaches of Gorge Creek and were greatly encouraged by the general prospectivity of the region. The lab results for this work are due in October 2023.
Within the upper reaches of the Gorge Creek catchment area, the creek system divides into western and eastern tributaries. While undertaking sampling work in the western tributary, the field team noted visible gold up to the dividing range spur, and acquired a number of small gold nuggets up to 11 grams in weight. A targeted soil sampling program is now underway across the spur to identify the source of this gold.
The Company has also undertaken detailed outcrop mapping and rock chip sampling within the Woolshed Creek area which is located north west of Reedy Creek (see Figure Three above). A series of parallel creeks showing gold values backed up by visible gold were identified previously, and a rock chip located in a narrow-mineralised vein returned 4.73 g/t Au. The field team returned to this vein during the September 2023 work programme to map out and rock chip sample other similar small veins running in parallel. Results from this work are expected in October 2023. Although it is unlikely that all veins will be gold-bearing, the Board and field team are of the opinion that the trend of previous stream results in the area along the strike of outcrop provides sufficient evidence to mark out the zone as an area of high prospectivity. A follow-up soil sampling grid over this strike area is planned shortly.
NEXT STEPS
The exploration season in North Queensland typically ends by December 2023 with the onset of the tropical wet season and with flooding preventing access. Before this, our exploration work plan is shown below with the objective being to gather sufficient data to be analysed whilst the team are off-site during the wet season to identify the broader exploration potential of the region.
- Soil sampling programme across the creeks at the head of Gorge Creek West.
- Ridge and spur sampling across the best Niobium soil anomalies at the Oaky Creek prospect.
- Soil Sampling over the Woolshed Creek headwaters.
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
Nick Tulloch, Managing Director Andrew Scott, Director |
||||
| 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 | ||||
ECR Minerals #ECR – Gold and Niobium Rock Chip Results from the Lolworth Project, Queensland
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce the results from the first batch of rock chips at the Lolworth Project, Queensland.
ECR Minerals plc has 100% ownership of three exploration tenements (EPM27901, EPM27902 and EPM27903), which covers the Lolworth Range, located 120km west of the famous gold district of Charters Towers. Previous exploration campaigns from 2021 have identified the presence of Gold (Au), Niobium-Tantalum (Nb-Ta) and REE mineralisation within the licenced area. The project is being explored under ECR’s Australian wholly owned subsidiary Lux Exploration Pty Ltd (“LUX”).
HIGHLIGHTS
- Gold results from outcrop in the Reedy Creek area of 22 g/t Au and 0.54 g/t Au.
- Niobium results up to 96.7 ppm from Pegmatite outcrops in the headwaters of Oaky Creek.
CEO Andrew Haythorpe commented: “Further great work from Adam Jones and the field team in collating and defining the key areas of interest at our Lolworth project. Exploring and mapping a large area of virgin territory requires an organised and disciplined approach, but it is rapidly becoming evident that thanks to the diligence of our field team, we are zeroing in on areas with high potential at Oaky Creek and Reedy Creek.”
“I look forward to reporting further news in the coming weeks.”
(Figure One) Map of the anomalous Niobium areas identified from soil sampling and rock chips to date in the headwaters of Oaky Creek:
Figure One: https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig1_Nb_Chips_230815.png
NIOBIUM ROCK CHIP RESULTS
A total of 74 rock chips were taken from outcropping pegmatites that abound within a highly anomalous niobium stream catchment area forming part of the upper end of Oaky Creek. Previous results from this stream for Niobium and Tantalum indicated the mineralisation source was likely to exist within the amphitheatre of this ridgeline (see Figure One above), and this was supported by pXRF analysis of soil samples taken and analysed with our hand held pXRF device (see announcement dated July 22 2023 here). The best Niobium samples were located on the western edge of the drainage area (see Figure One), and it was noted that these pegmatites had become altered by silica-albatised fluids. Results up to 96.7 ppm Nb were recorded, along with results across a further twelve samples all greater than 50 ppm Nb. Our team continue to systematically work across a large area, collecting further rock chip samples, and the Board believes that the combination of previous soil sample results and follow-up rock chip samples could ultimately lead our team to a potential source of mineralisation.
REEDY CREEK AREA
Reedy Creek has been a focus for gold mineralisation for the ECR field team. An initial 28 rock chips were taken from the hill slopes within the catchment area where visible coarse gold had been noted in the pan concentrate samples and where gold nuggets were located on the slopes above the best pan concentrate results. Only two rock chips to date have shown gold mineralisation, with a best result of 22 g/t Au obtained from a large quartz outcrop on one of the hillsides. A rock chip returning 0.54 g/t Au was obtained from a narrow quartz sub-crop residing on a spur ridge situated between two gold bearing creek drainages. The Board have concluded that the Reedy Creek area is host to gold mineralisation only.
FOLLOW UP ACTIVITIES
The field team has now moved further to the south of the project area to follow up gold bearing drainages. Prior to this move, a further batch of stream samples were submitted from streams on the western and southern side of Reedy Creek, some of which showed visible gold. The Board believes this could lead to another potential anomalous gold bearing area.
A programme of further defined soil sampling has been undertaken across the best results previously identified from the preliminary soil grid. These will be also analysed for Niobium by pXRF this month. The Board believes that these results will guide to better outcrops, that can in turn be followed up with rock chip sampling to confirm the presence of Niobium. The timing of this work is governed by cattle mustering activities in the area, but nonetheless it is expected that the work will be completed within the next few weeks.
Exploration is also continuing to the south of Reedy Creek on an adjoining cattle grazing property. The creeks observed within the area are geologically similar to Reedy Creek where coarse gold is present. The field team will map the area and take rock chips from the creek headwaters during the month, with results expected approximately 15 days from the samples arriving at the laboratory.
Separately, a large rock chip programme is scheduled to commence shortly at the Hurricane Project, located 400km north of the Lolworth Project.
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 |
||||
| 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 | ||||
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 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.
ECR Minerals #ECR – Latest Results for Lolworth Gold, Niobium, Tantalum and REE Pan Concentrate Stream Samples
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce the first batch of results for follow-up pan concentrate stream sampling targeting Gold, Niobium, Tantalum and REE at the Lolworth Project, Queensland.
ECR Minerals plc has 100% ownership of three exploration tenements (EPM27901, EPM27902 and EPM27903), which covers the Lolworth Range, located 120km west of the famous gold district of Charters Towers. Previous exploration campaigns from 2021 have identified the presence of Gold (Au), Niobium-Tantalum (Nb-Ta) and REE mineralisation within the licenced area. The project is being explored under ECR’s Australian wholly owned subsidiary Lux Exploration Pty Ltd (“LUX”).
HIGHLIGHTS
- A total of 200 results for pan concentration stream samples from the first part of the 2023 field season have been received.
- Gold pan concentrates with results up to 594 ppm and multiple occurrences of visible gold have been recorded around the Reedy Creek area.
- 28 out of 200 samples show values greater than 500 ppm in Niobium, and these results continue to add to the Board’s confidence that we are zeroing in on the source rocks and a potentially significant discovery.
- Rare Earth Element (Neodymium) has also been identified over a broad area of the project area with 19 out of the 200 samples greater than 1000ppm Nd.
CEO Andrew Haythorpe commented: “Putting aside the fact today’s results add a further significant piece to the Lolworth jigsaw, the progress announced today also serves to illustrate the painstaking and methodical work by Adam Jones and the field team in mapping and logging a hitherto virtually untouched and unexplored area. The detail now provided by the numerous Gold, Niobium and Tantalum results generated from this work are enabling us to zero in on the sources and the high potential locations in order that we can delineate drill targets.”
“ECR’s Lolworth project continues to exceed expectations. Meanwhile we expect to report further results from our projects within a week.”
(Figure One) Map of the Lolworth Project area with locations of best Gold Prospects Identified to date on the Lolworth Project Area:
https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig1_Gold_Aug-2023.png
(Figure Two) Map of Gold results to date from the Reedy Creek area:
https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig2_Reedy-Ck_Aug-2023.png
(Figure Three) Overview map showing the values of Niobium and Neodymium across the Lolworth Project area:
https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig3_Nb-Ta-Nd_Aug-2023.png
FIRST PAN CONCENTRATE RESULTS FOR 2023
ECR has received 200 results from the first submitted batch of pan concentrate samples for the 2023 field season. A total of 628 pan concentrate samples have been taken since the beginning of exploration at the Lolworth Project in 2022, and the field team continue to record daily occurrences of visible gold during the pan sampling process. Best gold results include 594 ppm and 138 ppm Au, and these are supported by the recurring presence of coarse visible gold.
Despite these promising readings, there is naturally a degree of bias due to the regular visible gold occurences, and the Board wish to stress that these results are not indicative of an in-situ resource within the creek itself. Nonetheless, the collective results do conclude that gold is present in these creeks and the sources could be present in the headwaters of these stream drainages. The field team has started the field season focussed on the Niobium-Tantalum (Nb-Ta) drainages of Oaky Creek and the Gold (Au) drainages in the vicinity of Reedy Creek (see Figures Two and Three above).
REEDY CREEK AREA
Situated within the centre of the Project area (see Figure One above), the drainages in the vicinity of Reedy Creek show the presence of gold only, with no indication of Nb or Ta. During field work, it was discovered that one stream within the area displayed signs of previous alluvial mining activity, most likely to be from the 1870’s. Although the adjacent drainage channels have yet to be fully worked through, the field team has already recorded the presence of gold during the current exploration program (see Figure Two above). In addition to this, the field team has also discovered coarse nuggety gold on the flats adjacent to other drainage channels in this area, along with visible gold discoveries in streams to the west. The overall picture for these gold results indicates that they originate from a high hill located in the centre of Reedy Creek (see Figure Two above). Further results from follow-up work samples taken across the Reedy Creek streams are awaited. In addition, numerous rock chips have been taken as a part of the first pass exploration within the headwaters of some these gold bearing streams. Results from these are due shortly.
NIOBIUM, TANTALUM AND REE (Neodymium)
The field team has also followed up the best stream drainage results from the previous campaign that recorded Niobium, Tantalum and other potential Rare-Earth Elements (REE) around the Oaky Creek area (see Figure One above). Due to the presence of Nb and Ta, the team are now testing for all known 12 REE’s (not previously tested for). These latest results add to the existing evidence, and continue to show a strong presence of Nb and Ta within the Oaky Creek area. In addition, the team have also proved that the presence of Neodymium (Nd) is spatially associated with Nb and Ta results across the Project area (see Figure Three above). Neodymium of course has numerous applications, and is used for strong magnets in electrical motors.
NEXT STEPS AND FURTHER RESULTS EXPECTED
As previously mentioned, the field team has taken numerous rock chips within the Reedy Creek area (Gold) and from the headwaters of the Oaky Creek area (Nb-Ta). These rock chips represent samples from outcrops seen on our first pass through Reedy Creek and Oaky Creek, and results from these samples are also expected.
Secondly, follow-up soil samples from the recently reported pXRF soil sampling results last month have now been completed ready for initial pXRF analysis during August.
The field team have now moved to the south from Reedy Creek into Gorge Creek (see Figure One above). The Project area covers working cattle properties, and as such a comprehensive work-around plan is in place. Given the progress to date, the Board are confident the field team will return to the Reedy Creek and Oaky Creek area before the field season finishes this summer to undertake further rock chip and soil sampling and to delineate future drill targets.
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 |
||||
| 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 | ||||
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 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
ECR Minerals #ECR – Initial interpretations of pXRF analysis from the first Lolworth Range Niobium Soil Grid
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce the initial geological interpretations from pXRF analysis of the first planned soil grid which is following up previously identified pan concentrate Niobium results to date from the Lolworth Project, Queensland.
ECR Minerals plc has 100% ownership of three exploration tenements (EPM27901, EPM27902 and EPM27903), which covers the Lolworth Range, located 120km west of the famous gold district of Charters Towers. Previous exploration campaigns from 2021 have identified the presence of Gold (Au), Niobium-Tantalum (Nb-Ta) and REE mineralisation within the licenced area. The project is being explored under ECR’s Australian wholly owned subsidiary Lux Exploration Pty Ltd (“LUX”).
HIGHLIGHTS
- A total of 1488 planned soil samples have been completed.
- Samples were taken on a 100m x 50m grid pattern on ridgelines immediately above anomalous streams that were previously found to contain over 5000 ppm Nb (0.5%).
- In-house pXRF analysis of 1386 samples from the completed soil sampling have shown Nb values up to 146 ppm to be present in soils below the eroded ridgelines.
- The best Nb values also correlate with a decreasing K/Rb Ratio which suggests fractionation of the pegmatitic rocks and the increased fertility for the mineralisation of critical minerals.
- More defined follow-up soil sampling and rock chip sampling is on track to be completed this year.
CEO Andrew Haythorpe commented: “These pXRF results are part of the Lolworth exploration campaign and continue to contribute to the emerging picture there. The method saves both time and money and enables our field team to zero in on areas most likely to contain anomalous mineralisation without the expense of lab testing. Initial pXRF interpretations show consistent indicative Nb values, and as can be seen in Fig 2, the Nb grid values closely correlate with the results of the K/Rb fractionation ratio.”
“These results continue to support our view that Lolworth could be host to a significant Gold, Niobium, Tantalum and REE discovery, and I look forward to reporting back with the next phase of sampling and fieldwork results, along with our initial findings from the fieldwork follow up to the Hurricane project LIDAR survey.”
(Figure 1) Map of the Lolworth Project area with the location of the best Niobium pan concentrate results previously discovered and the location of the completed soil grid:
Figure 1: https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig1_230719
(Figure 2) Two maps showing the comparison of results from pXRF analysis of the soil samples. The fractionation index (K/Rb ratio) shown within the top plan and the Nb results are shown in the bottom plan. Note the highest Nb results spatially correlate to the increased fractionated of the pegmatite rocks (K/Rb ratio):
Figure 2: https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig2_230719
FOLLOW UP TO PREVIOUS WORK
ECR previously announced the identification of Nb-Ta mineralisation from the pan concentrate stream sampling programs on December 23rd 2022 here and February 1st 2023 here. The results of this sampling work concluded with the discovery of an anomalous north-south striking ridgeline in the centre of the project area, (see Figure One above for this location).
A broad soil sampling grid with a spacing 50m x 100m was then created over this ridgeline in order to identify the source rocks for the Nb-Ta. A pXRF spectrum instrument that detects heavy elements such as Nb was used for initial in-house testing for a total of 1386 samples. pXRF testing is a well proven methodology and stands up well in comparison to laboratory results although it cannot be used for quantifiable purposes. Even so the Board are satisfied that the pXRF results provide a firm and accurate identification of anomalous areas that can be sampled in greater detail and concentration, before finally undergoing laboratory testing. Importantly, this early stage sampling method saves valuable time and money.
K/Rb FRACTIONATION AND THE LINK TO FERTILE GRANTIES FOR NB-TA AND REE MINERALISATION
It is accepted geological practice that the Potassium (K) and Rubidium (Rb) values of granitic rocks can be used to calculate a fractionation ratio index. During the formation of the granitic host rocks, the Potassium can be replaced by the element Rubidium during the formation of the granite melt. Incompatible elements (such as Lithium and REE’s) are preferentially exsolved from this melt where the K/Rb ratio is broadly less than 150. The initial results of the K/Rb ratio derived from soil pXRF analysis show the lowest numbers are centrally located in the gridded area, (see Figure Two, top map). The K/Rb ratio is also supported by the increase of Nb concentrations within the gridded area, (see Figure Two, bottom map).
NEXT STEPS
The Board has already planned follow up soil sampling within the most prospective areas, with work scheduled to commence by end of August 2023. Rock chip samples have been taken from some of the anomalous stream catchment areas, and results from this work are anticipated within the next three weeks. Further rock chip sampling will be undertaken in other anomalous areas identified from these soil results.
Pan concentrate stream sampling work continues, with some 180 samples awaiting analysis at the laboratory. These samples follow up previous stream results, and it is anticipated that these will assist in identifying additional prospective ridgelines. The sampling process remains focussed on Gold, Nb-Ta and REE mineralisation, in addition to which numerous visible gold samples were noted during recent pan sampling work.
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 |
||||
| 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 | ||||
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 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.
Link here for results appendix
ECR Minerals playing the big game – Andrew Scott talks to Andrew Haythorpe and Adam Jones
In a new June 2023 ‘on the ground’ interview, Andrew Scott talks to Andrew Haythorpe and Adam Jones about the exploration programme. Adam covers his schedule, boots on the ground at Hurricane (5-7 days) meeting the previous owner, and he will then be at Lolworth for the rest of June taking rock chips and sampling where the tantalum & niobium and rare earths were discovered last year. Andrew Haythorpe talks about the bigger picture for Lolworth in the back yard of Charters Towers, Pajingo etc, looks at the 1980s results, how the area is so unexplored and why the results, size and scale of the area offers so much potential. Both believe that very little would be needed to put the Lolworth discoveries on the scale of Charters Towers, given the 10km ridgeline, the specific area of interest 3.5 x 4km (12-20sq km), but there is also an overlap in the SE of the tenement with the same geology, which is totally untested, which could be 3x the size of the current ridgeline. Adam and Andrew then discuss the planning for Hurricane, putting in access tracks to the breccia veins with bulldozers and an initial RC drilling plan. Andrew explains how the current private landowners have been unable to exploit the asset, and how ECR are the first company with significant resources to get on the ground there.
Moving to Creswick, Adam touches on the underwhelming initial results, but points to the fact there is a 10k trend that remains to be tested, and the reasons why ECR has to work smarter. Adam looks at the geology of nearby Ballarat compared to Creswick – similar structure, narrow vein, anticlines etc, with some 30 veins already identified along the 10k strike. In summary, Andrew highlights the work Adam and the team have done with soil geochemistry and sampling and how they are ‘ranking’ the prospects to get the biggest bang for the ECR buck. In summary, the ECR team are are here to find good grades. Lolworth has some ‘smoking’ mineralisation and Andrew believes at Hurricane will deliver at 20-40-60m below surface, in other words a classicAustralian open cut mining start up which gives ECR a chance to play the big game.
ECR Minerals #ECR – Potential for Rare Earth Minerals at the Lolworth Range Project, Queensland
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce that investigations into the previous 2022 field season stream geochemistry results of the Lolworth Project, Queensland are showing potential for the presence of rare earth elements within the project area.
ECR Minerals plc has 100% ownership of three exploration tenements (EPM27901, EPM27902 and EPM27903), which covers the Lolworth Range, located 120km west of the famous gold district of Charters Towers. The project is being explored under ECR’s Australian wholly owned subsidiary Lux Exploration Pty Ltd (“LUX”).
HIGHLIGHTS
- A selected number of pan concentrate stream sediment samples from the 2022 field season are highly anomalous for Rare Earth Elements (REE), including Cesium (Ce), Lanthalum (La) and Yttrium (Y).
- The top ten values include anomaly readings such as (Ce greater than 6000 ppm (0.6%), (La greater than 2760 ppm) and (Y greater than 530 ppm)
- The top anomalous values of Ce, La and Y spatially correlate to a north east trend across the project with some of the best values coinciding with previously mapped intrusive centres.
- The Lolworth Project is showing a diverse range of exploration targets for Gold, Niobium-Tantalum and REE.
- Field work following up these targets is well underway.
CEO Andrew Haythorpe commented: “ECR’s Lolworth project is continuing to exceed our early expectations, and along with Gold, Niobium and Tantalum, the presence of key Rare Earth Elements adds yet another dimension to the scope and diversity of mineralisation in this region.”
“The mounting anecdotal evidence and volume of positive results continues to support the Board’s view that Lolworth could be host to significant Gold, Niobium, Tantalum and REE discoveries. I look forward to reporting the sample results from the latest fieldwork back to the markets as soon as possible”
(Figure 1) Map of the Lolworth Project showing the distribution of Ce, Y and La from pan concentrate sampling to date (May 2023) can be found here:
Figure 1: https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig1_REE_Potential_230524.png
RARE EARTH ELEMENTS
REE’s (Rare Earth Elements) are a group of 17 elements from the periodic table. While they are abundant within the Earth’s crust, discoveries of sufficient concentration of REE’s s to constitute an economically viable deposit are rare, with few currently mined sources in the western world. The most abundant REEs include Cerium (Ce), Neodymium (Nd) and Lanthanum (La). REEs, and these are becoming increasingly sought after as a result of their increased use in ‘green’ related technologies such as batteries, magnets in electrical motors, catalytic convertors and aircraft alloys.
REE RESULTS IN STREAM SAMPLING TO DATE
All pan concentrate stream sampling to date at Lolworth has been analysed using a four-acid digest that is aggressive in digesting most elements. A total of 33 elements including Gold have been analysed since sampling began in mid-2022, and to date ECR has detected Gold, Niobium and Tantalum from within the streams draining the Lolworth Range. Exceptional concentrations of Niobium and Tantalum have been recorded in streams draining a 10km long ridgeline just north of Gorge Creek. Previous announcements regarding these results can be found in ECR’s RNS from February 1 2023 here, and RNS from April 3 2023 here
Although the Company has not specifically analysed all stream samples for REEs, Cesium (Ce), Lanthalum (La) and Yttrium (Y) have been included as part of the 33 elements analysed. Results to date show high values of Ce, La and Y, all of which have been tabulated in Table One below. In summary, ten samples are greater than 0.6% in (Ce), over ten samples are greater than 2760 ppm in (La) and over ten samples are greater than 530 ppm in (Y).
REE CORRELATION BETWEEN NB-TA AND MAPPED INTRUSIVE CENTRES
It is important to note that a number of the high Ce, La and Y results spatially correlate and group together well (see Figure One above). The highest concentrations of these REEs trend in a north-east pattern across the project area, and while the reason for this geochemical trend has yet to be determined, it is hoped that the on-site geological mapping and sampling currently underway in the area will be able to provide some answers. Niobium and Tantalum (Nb-Ta) anomalies highlighted in previous announcements also correlate to some of the best REE results within the same region.
Although the Geological Survey of Queensland previously identified two intrusive areas of interest within the tenements (see Figure One above), the Lolworth Project area has not yet been mapped in detail. While the boundaries of these intrusives and their mineralogy has yet to be established, the Board is greatly encouraged by the fact that the highest concentrations of Niobium and Tantalum (including some of the REEs) are associated with these mapped intrusives. In particular a large intrusive identified by historic aerial mapping located in the extreme south-east of tenement EPM 27903 has been prioritised for exploration by the Board, and a number of sampling campaigns have been planned within this area to identify its potential for Gold, Nb-Ta and REEs.
NEXT STEPS
Pan concentrate stream sampling has been well underway for the last two weeks. Numerous follow-up samples have been taken around and to the north of the 10km Nb-Ta anomalous ridgeline, and these along with a number of additional soil samples scheduled for collection from the best anomalous ridgelines will be submitted for laboratory analysis. ECR’s Technical Director Adam Jones will be on the ground for the next two weeks to map and sample the areas showing the best anomalies to date. The Board look forward to reporting these results back to shareholders in the coming months.
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 |
||||
| 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 | ||||
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 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