Extended Gold Prospectivity and Niobium Bullseye Discovery at the Lolworth Project

25th Sep 2023 09:18

 

ECR MINERALS plc

(“ECR Minerals”, “ECR” or the “Company”)

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 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 (see Figure Four above).

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: [email protected]
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).

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 also has an option to acquire 100% of Placer Gold, which wholly owns the Hurricane Project, a later stage gold and antimony project located west of Cairns in the Hodgkinson Province, NE 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.

APPENDIX ONE

Table One. Gold results greater than 0.1 ppm from the recent pan concentrate stream sampling. (1 ppm = 1 g/t Au)

SAMPLEID	PROSPECT	Easting	Northing	Au ppm	VG
LWSS766	Reedy Creek	309536	7751113	0.37	y
LWSS780	Reedy Creek	308395	7751332	60.9	y
LWSS783	Reedy Creek	308155	7751007	128	y
LWSS803	Reedy Creek	307906	7750851	42.3	y
LWSS806	Reedy Creek	308530	7751218	23.7	y
LWSS807	Reedy Creek	308060	7750779	0.17	n

Note: Locations given in GDA94 Zone 55 grid format.

VG = visible gold seen in sampling process (yes/no)

Table Two. Niobium results greater than 80 ppm from the recent pan concentrate stream sampling. Selected REE results also included.

SAMPLEID	Easting	Northing	Nb ppm	La ppm	Nd ppm	Pr ppm	Ta ppm	Y ppm
LWSS673	314320	7766812	2380	5250	4490	1220	940	1830
LWSS663	310866	7763211	723	144	127.5	35.4	188	148
LWSS686	307205	7759657	704	2520	2040	560	171.5	2440
LWSS672	314589	7767180	527	1975	1640	449	146.5	2040
LWSS657	305441	7760325	521	1260	1045	283	80.4	1785
LWSS653	306939	7760374	471	1595	1285	355	57.2	2210
LWSS652	306743	7760606	428	2210	1765	491	75.7	3120
LWSS690	306193	7758821	395	1675	1460	390	62.3	2160
LWSS655	306161	7760554	350	1375	1140	311	47.7	2150
LWSS654	306559	7760121	349	2030	1615	451	60.2	3010
LWSS651	307483	7760937	333	703	666	176.5	53.2	487
LWSS689	306000	7758856	157	1295	1065	288	39.2	1585
LWSS780	308395	7751332	118	1175	916	254	19.4	349
LWSS806	308530	7751218	80	859	676	185.5	13.2	286

Note: Locations given in GDA94 Zone 55 grid format.

Table Three. Niobium pXRF results greater than 80 ppm with selected REE’s from the second pass soil grid within the Oaky Creek area.

SAMPLEID	PROSPECT	Easting	Northing	Nb ppm	La ppm	Nd ppm	Pr ppm	Y ppm
LWL2102	Oaky Creek	313232	7757193	479	76	bdl	bdl	13
LWL2039	Oaky Creek	313202	7756898	173	bdl	bdl	104	12
LWL2100	Oaky Creek	313282	7757193	135	bdl	bdl	bdl	31
LWL1585	Oaky Creek	311328	7756267	121	61	bdl	bdl	27
LWL2077	Oaky Creek	313217	7757097	120	bdl	bdl	bdl	19
LWL2081	Oaky Creek	313317	7757096	102	bdl	bdl	bdl	7
LWL2425	Oaky Creek	313737	7757952	94	bdl	bdl	bdl	16
LWL2020	Oaky Creek	313480	7756812	90	bdl	bdl	bdl	21
LWL1641	Oaky Creek	311935	7756740	86	78	bdl	109	26
LWL2078	Oaky Creek	313242	7757097	86	bdl	bdl	bdl	12
LWL1989	Oaky Creek	313392	7756464	85	54	bdl	98	19
LWL1956	Oaky Creek	313375	7756272	84	bdl	bdl	bdl	37
LWL2082	Oaky Creek	313342	7757096	84	51	bdl	107	9
LWL1716	Oaky Creek	311728	7756935	83	bdl	bdl	bdl	25
LWL1986	Oaky Creek	313317	7756465	81	bdl	bdl	bdl	18
LWL2055	Oaky Creek	313417	7756996	81	63	bdl	bdl	30
LWL2099	Oaky Creek	313307	7757193	81	bdl	bdl	bdl	30

Note: Locations given in GDA94 Zone 55 grid format.

Bdl = below detection limit of pXRF

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