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Anticipation builds on Creswick Assay results 

ECR’s investors are eagerly awaiting the remaining assay results to be revealed from the whole-of-bag testing process at the Company’s Creswick Gold project. 

If the partial assay results released on the 27th August 2019 are anything to go by, then investors definitely have something to be hopeful about. The 17 samples tested demonstrate a substantial increase in average gold grades. 

The remaining 113 samples, which are expected to be released in the near future will provide an important insight into Creswick’s potential million ounce resource. So be sure to keep your eyes peeled for any announcements over the coming weeks. 

Windidda Gold Project – Farm-In offer and Positive GeoPhysics survey 

It’s not just Creswick grabbing attention though. ECR revealed at the end of September that they had been approached by a listed mineral exploration company to farm into their Windidda Gold Project in Western Australia. 

Whilst ECR have decided not to proceed with the farm-in, another company looking to come on board is certainly an encouraging indication of the project potential. 

ECR may also be expecting some better offers to come to the table. Given how sought after licenses are in the Yilgarn Craton, not to mention difficult to come by, such a development wouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise given that the area is home to around 30% of the world’s known gold reserves. 

The decision to retain 100% ownership is also an indication of ECR’s own strong belief in its value and confidence in its ability to go it alone. 

“We were fortunate to get the licences at the Yilgarn Craton, given the area’s excellent reputation” CEO Craig Brown told Mining Maven 

“The permissions we have applied for currently are covered by a layer of other rocks, but, most importantly, underneath have significant exposure to that same critical greenstone belt that our peers are utilising successfully. The idea is that we want to drill down through the upper layers into the greenstone, where the large majority of the gold deposits in the Yilgarn Craton are contained. There has been some geophysics completed in the past that boast very positive indications for our work,” he added. 

On the back of this, ECR commisioned Western GeoPhysics to process and interpret existing airborne magnetic and ground gravity data. The survey results announced mid October 2019 noted that the depths to magnetic sources were shallowest on a highly magnetic trend striking NNW-SSE in the western half of the Windidda project area. Added to this, previous gold intersections drilled by North Ltd (NL) in 1998-2000 coincide with the highly magnetic units in the NL Bermuda project area, which lies outside the Windidda project area to the south. 

This magnetic and mineralised ‘Bermuda’ trend projects into Windidda exploration licence application E38-3369, and the modelling results indicate shallow feasible drill targets there. 

“The results of the study by Western Geophysics are most encouraging and demonstrate real potential for the discovery of gold mineralisation”, said Brown. 

“The under-cover greenstone exploration model has been successfully tested to date by Greatland Gold at its Ernest Giles project located approximately 125km east of ECR’s Windidda gold project.” 

Gold price rally could continue into the long-term 

The push by ECR throughout the year to develop and expand its gold exploration activities could not have been timed better. 2019 has been a fantastic year for the precious metal. The gold spot price has rallied by over 25% during the past year, currently hovering around $1,505 per ounce and predicted to continue delivering long-term growth. 

Several geopolitical and economic issues across the world have contributed to this incline and are likely to shape prices further. 

From a volatile oil market, escalating concerns regarding the US-China trade war, ongoing Brexit uncertainty, talk of a global recession, negative bond yields and falling interest rates – all these are resulting in investors turning towards gold. 

Speaking on Palisade Radio, Resource Maven’s Gwen Preston, discusses how global currencies are in a race to the bottom as countries compete for trade, and central banks continue to cut interest rates. She points to the uncertainty facing investors today, and how, as a result they are seeking a safe haven’ which is likely to be gold. 

According to Gwen, “Gold can perform and is performing already against the strong US Dollar. When gold performs against a strong US dollar, it is the mark of a real gold bull market. So I think that is something to grant a lot of confidence to gold moves so far.’ 

Bloomberg’s October commodity update also expect gold’s rally to long continue, predicting that it will beat other commodities and reach record highs. 

“Gold will remain at the top of the precious metals leaderboard, and its performance [will] accelerate into year-end. A definitive reversal in weakening global economic conditions should be needed to reverse this trend, yet further woes in 4Q appear the greater risk,” writes Bloomberg Intelligence senior commodity strategist Mike McGlone. 

Looking beyond this, Frank Holmes CEO at US Global Investors predicts that extremely dovish monetary policies around the world and economic conditions could propel gold prices much higher, possibly even reaching $10,000 oz over the long-term. 

ECR a potential steal 

Such long-term predictions will certainly please the ECR board. Should the remaining assays from their Creswick site prove positive, the company might well undergo a substantial upward re-rating. 

Unlike many of its peers though, ECR mitigates risk across a broad and diverse spread of projects. Hopes and aspirations are high for the Windidda Gold Project, as well as their three additional sites in Victoria, all of which are under active exploration. 

ECR CEO Craig Brown certainly believes the company is well undervalued. “If ECR was listed on the ASX our market cap would be 3-4 times higher” said Brown after a recent ShareTalk evening. Sat at just 0.77p I’d have to agree with him. Either way, ECR’s story is one to keep an eye on. 

Harry Dacres-Dixon

References:

• Brand Communications – ECR Minerals #ECR – Australian Gold – Business Update
• The Motley Fool – Brexit it or not here’s why I’m keeping an eye on the gold market
• Gwen Preston – The Fundamentals for Gold & Gold Stocks are Outstanding
• Kitco – Gold prices to follow palladium to record highs – Bloomberg Intelligence
• Share Talk – Craig Brown Snapshots