ECR Minerals Regulatory News (ECR)

15 Sep 2023 13:12

ECR MINERALS plc

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

Board and Management Changes

ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the gold exploration and development company focused on Australia, is pleased to announce the following board and management changes at a pivotal time for the Company’s exploration and development work across its assets in Australia.

Nicholas (‘Nick’) Tulloch has been appointed to the Board as Executive Director and Managing Director and Michael (‘Mike’) Whitlow has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer (a non-board position). The new leadership team are taking up their roles with immediate effect. They have already begun to address ECR’s operational and strategic opportunities and the Company expects to make a further update to shareholders shortly.

Andrew Haythorpe has informed the Board that he has decided to step down as CEO (non-board position) in order to pursue his other interests. Andrew has overseen the development of ECR during a challenging period for the Company, and in particular has worked closely with ECR’s geology team to develop the Company’s Queensland assets since taking up the role in April 2022.

Nick Tulloch is Founder and CEO at Aquis listed Voyager Life plc, a health & wellness company focused on high quality CBD and hemp seed oil products. Prior to founding Voyager, Nick advised companies on the UK capital markets for over 20 years, working for several well-known investment banks and stockbrokers, including Cazenove, Arbuthnot, Cenkos and Cantor Fitzgerald. For much of his career, he specialised in international resources companies. He was finance director and then subsequently CEO of Zoetic International plc, the first CBD company listed on the London Stock Exchange (now Chill Bands Group plc). Nick began his career as a solicitor with Gouldens and he holds a Masters in law from Oxford University. The disclosures required pursuant to the AIM Rule for Companies, in relation to this appointment, are set out at the end of this announcement.

Mike Whitlow is highly regarded as an entrepreneur with a long standing and successful business-building track record. Mike has spent over 20 years investing and financing small cap / start-up companies. Having started his career in the natural resources industry, more recently Mike has overseen and assembled a number of resource projects through his company Axies Ventures Ltd, where he has personally overseen two funding rounds and two work programmes in the Mediterranean and North America including a successful drilling campaign earlier this year. Mike is being appointed as COO in a non-board position at the Company, with the intention that, subject to requisite checks and approvals, he will be appointed to the board of the Company in due course. Further updates will be provided as appropriate.

Managing Director Nick Tulloch commented: “I am hugely excited to be joining the ECR board at such an important time for the Company. Having known and worked with Mike Whitlow for a number of years, I know he is equally excited at the scale of the opportunity, and at the same time, both he and I wish to be fully aligned with all shareholders as we embark on this journey. We look forward to working with the ECR board to help realise the potential of the Company asset portfolio and deliver shareholder value.”

Chairman David Tang commented: “I am delighted to announce the appointment of Nick Tulloch to the Board at such a pivotal time for ECR and its asset portfolio. Nick’s long-standing experience and knowledge of the City and capital markets will add an important dimension to our Company as we develop our assets in Australia. I am also delighted to welcome Mike Whitlow to ECR as our new Chief Operating Officer. Mike’s track record and ‘hands on’ experience in developing assets in the natural resources space, coupled with his profile among the investment community brings a unique and well-suited skillset to ECR at an important time.’

“I would also like to take this opportunity on behalf of both the Board and our shareholders to thank Andrew Haythorpe for his service and for overseeing the Company through a particularly challenging period. We wish him every success in his future endeavours.”

MARKET ABUSE REGULATIONS (EU) No. 596/2014

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 (MAR). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service (RIS), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

Additional Disclosures

The following information is disclosed pursuant to Schedule Two paragraph (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies:

Nicholas Tulloch (aged 50) is currently a director of Voyager Life plc, VoyagerCann Limited, DG Innovate plc, Axies Ventures Limited, Fetlar Capital Limited and GasRock Limited. During the past five years he has been a director of Chill Bands Group plc, U4EA plc, Brent Natural Resources Limited, Highlands Natural Resources Corporation, Highlands Montana Corporation and Zoetic Corporation.

There is no further information regarding Mr Tulloch required to be disclosed pursuant to AIM Rule 17 and Schedule Two (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies and Mr Tulloch holds no shares or options in the Company.

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.

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