RNS detail13 May 2021 08:36
EXPLORATION UPDATE – VICTORIA GOLDFIELDS AUSTRALIA
COMMENCEMENT OF DRILLING AT CRESWICK GOLD PROJECT AND
BAILIESTON GOLD PROJECT PROGRESS UPDATE
ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the gold exploration and development company focussed on Australia, is pleased to provide an exploration update for shareholders covering drilling and related activities underway across the Bailieston and Creswick gold exploration projects.
Both projects are located in the Victoria Goldfields, Australia and are 100%-owned by ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”).
Craig Brown, Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“We are pleased to now have drilling underway at two gold projects in the Victoria Goldfields, and we look forward to updating the market with assay results in due course.
Our drilling at Bailieston continues successfully using our in-house diamond drill rig and we look forward to assay results of recent holes, particularly following the initial geological review of the drill core. Additionally, soil sampling from the HR3 area (see below) has identified very high gold grades in soils, further supporting the geological modelling and drill targeting.
With our strong cash position we have been able to expand drilling operations and have now commenced drilling at Creswick using external contractors. We are very excited by the potential scale of the opportunity at Creswick and a larger scale drill programme at the project is something we have been eager to undertake.
We look forward to providing further updates in due course.”
COMMENCEMENT OF DRILLING AT CRESWICK GOLD PROJECT
In 2019 exploration drilling was undertaken at Creswick targeting gold mineralisation associated with quartz veins hosted in the Dimocks Main Shale (DMS).
The DMS is the hard-rock source of much alluvial and deep lead gold, with historical alluvial and deep lead production estimated at up to 2.5 million ounces in the Creswick/Berry lead system, and up to 11 million ounces in the entire Ballarat area, of which the DMS is a significant contributor.
A 2019 drill programme conducted by the Company tested circa 300 metres of the DMS trend, which extends over approximately 15 kilometres, 7 kilometres of which is covered by MGA’s granted exploration licence and two exploration licence applications.
MGA has engaged a contractor for a minimum of 1,200 metres of diamond drilling at Creswick, and the first drill hole in this programme is now underway. It is planned to drill around 10 holes from drill sites located on State Forest land within exploration licence EL006184.
The drill sites for the current programme are approximately 2.2 km south along the DMS-trend from those used in MGA’s previous drilling programme at Creswick in 2019, individual samples from which returned assays as high as 80.97 g/t gold over one metre (announced on 5 November 2019).
PROGRESS AT BAILIESTON GOLD PROJECT
As previously announced, drilling is