Tag Archives: tantalum

ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce the final Niobium and Tantalum results from the stream sampling campaign at the Lolworth Range project, North Queensland, Australia.

ECR, through its wholly owned subsidiary, 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

• 76 Lithium, Niobium and Tantalum (Li-Nb-Ta) results from the final batch of pan concentrate stream sediment samples now received.
• Best results include Niobium up to 894 ppm and Tantalum up to 290 ppm.
• These new results extend the anomalous Nb-Ta drainages 10km further west of the previously announced high Nb-Ta results (see announcement from Feb 1 2023 here).
• Approximately 50 square kilometres of the Lolworth Project now showing signs of hosting a potential Li-Nb-Ta hardrock source.

ECR CEO Andrew Haythorpe commented: “Although ECR Minerals is currently in an early exploration phase at Lolworth, it is nonetheless gratifying to see the project take a significant step forward on the back of an extension to the potential drainage sources for Niobium and Tantalum. To already have a 50 sq km area indicating a potential combined resource for Lithium, Niobium and Tantalum at this phase of exploration is an exciting development by any standard. Whilst still at an early stage, these results together with the gold anomalies reported last week (see announcement from Feb 23 2023 here), adds further credence to the Board’s view that the Lolworth Project has great potential to develop into a multi mineral flagship project for the Company.”

“I look forward to reporting back on further developments.”

Summary plan of all anomalous Niobium and Tantalum areas identified from the 2022 stream sampling campaign at the Lolworth Project are shown in Figure 1 below:

Figure 1: https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/2023/Fig1_230331_Ta-Nb-Update.png

FINAL Li-Ta-Nb RESULTS

The last remaining multi-element results from the pan concentrate stream sampling campaign completed at the end of 2022 have now been received. Previous results have identified that several streams within the Lolworth Project are host to anomalous Gold, Lithium, Tantalum and Niobium, with Li-Ta-Nb sample results indicating that a 10km north-south ridgeline north of Gorge Creek is close to the possible source rocks. Details of this work are shown in Figure One above.

The final results are anomalous in Ta and Nb with over 10 of the 76 results greater than 300 ppm in Niobium and 9 greater than 150ppm in Tantalum. Although there were no traces of anomalous Lithium in these results, we have extended the search for potential host rocks for Ta-Nb to the centre of EPM27902.

NEXT STEPS

The 2023 field work campaign is anticipated to start next month (May 2023). The Board has already identified key areas to follow-up from last season’s work, targeting the sources for the gold anomalies, along with lithium, tantalum and niobium. Initial work will focus on soil sampling and rock chipping outcrops over the 10km north-south ridgeline where the most promising Ta-Nb source streams drain from. Pegmatites are known sources for Li-Ta and Nb and these are known to outcrop throughout the area.

The Board is enthused by the possibilities and nascent potential that is believed to exist at Lolworth. While our license tenements there represent virgin territory for lithium, tantalum and niobium exploration, given what has already been identified at such an early phase of exploration, we believe the Lolworth Project has great potential as a future, multi mineral flagship project for the Company.

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:

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.

APPENDIX ONE

TABLE ONE: All Li-Ni-Ta results from the remaining 76 stream samples, Lolworth Range Project. (Locations reported as GDA94-Zone 55 grid).