ECR Minerals Regulatory News (ECR)

1 Jun 2015 10:03

ECR MINERALS plc

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

AIM: ECR

US OTC: MTGDY

DIRECTORATE CHANGE

LONDON: 1 JUNE 2015 - ECR Minerals plc is pleased to announce the appointment of William John Selwood Howell as a director of ECR and as Non-Executive Chairman of the board of directors (the “Board”) with effect from 31 May 2015. Paul Johnson, the previous Non-Executive Chairman of the Board, has stepped down as a director of ECR with effect from today’s date.

William (Bill) Howell (aged 70) is a geologist with 48 years of experience in the minerals industry. Bill holds British and Australian nationality and is currently based in Vietnam. He graduated from Southampton University, UK with an honours degree in geology in 1966. Bill is a Fellow of both the Australasian Institute of Mining & Metallurgy (AusIMM) and the Society of Economic Geologists, and is a Competent/Qualified Person for JORC Code and NI43-101 reporting purposes. He is listed as a Senior Associate Geologist with UK-based geological and mining consultancy ACA Howe International Ltd.

Bill has served as a director of several public companies, including as Exploration Director of Triple Plate Junction plc (now named Aurasian Minerals plc), a company admitted to trading on AIM, until 2011, having co-founded that company in 2003. From 2009 to 2012 Bill was also a director of Asian Mineral Resources Ltd, which is quoted on the TSX Venture Exchange, and held the role of Non-Executive Chairman during that company’s reorganisation in 2012. Asian Mineral Resources commenced production at the Ban Phuc nickel sulphide mine in Vietnam in 2013.

In his career to date Bill has specialised mainly in the countries of South East Asia and the Pacific, including, from 1995 to 2003, as Managing Director and Regional Exploration Manager South East Asia for Normandy Mining Ltd and later Newmont Mining Corporation following its takeover of Normandy. He was employed by the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Ltd (BHP) from 1967-81, including as Superintendent Geologist South East Asia from 1975-81, and was responsible for opening and managing BHP’s first mineral exploration offices in Papua New Guinea (1968), in East Malaysia (1973) and in the Philippines (1976). In these roles Bill led teams through the exploration to feasibility stages of a number of gold and copper-gold discoveries, four of which are now significant operating mines in Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Laos.

Bill currently heads the Mining Working Group of the Vietnam Business Forum established by the World Bank, and has previously provided contributions on mineral policy to the Chinese and Philippine governments, the Pacific Basin Economic Council and the Ian Clunies Ross Foundation in Australia.

Paul Johnson, former Non-Executive Chairman of ECR, commented:

“Since my appointment as a director of ECR in May 2012 and as Non-Executive Chairman in January 2013 the Company has undergone considerable change. This process of change has been undertaken against a backdrop of severely deteriorating sentiment in the mineral sector. The survival and development of ECR over this period required greater focus, strategic discipline and operating efficiency.

The restructured business is now focused on two gold exploration assets which the Board consider to be promising, one in Argentina and the other in the Philippines, with an overarching drive to become a gold producer and/or position ECR as a compelling takeover target. There is still work to be done to achieve this, but a key part of doing so is to make sure the Company is led by a Board with the right balance of skills. In this respect there is a need to add a geological capability to the Board and to ensure that the chairman has the time available to commit to the next phase of the Company’s development.

I am pleased that Bill Howell is able and willing to take on the role as Non-Executive Chairman of ECR and I wish him and the Company well with the work ahead. Bill’s experience and knowledge will I believe be an asset to the Company both in respect of current operations and the ongoing review of new opportunities.”

Bill Howell, newly appointed Non-Executive Chairman of ECR, commented:

“On behalf of all at ECR I wish to acknowledge and thank Paul Johnson for the commitment and steadying hand with which he has chaired the Company through difficult times of restructure and development. I am delighted to take on the challenging role of Non-Executive Chairman of ECR at this time, as I believe that with continued hard work and good technical judgement, ECR has the people, the exploration assets and the ability to evaluate new opportunities to position the Company well in the straitened conditions which currently prevail in the sector and for the next minerals cycle upswing when it occurs.”

Additional Information Required by AIM Rule 17

Pursuant to Rule 17, Schedule Two (g) of the AIM Rules, the following information is disclosed in respect of Mr Howell.

Current appointments:

Triple Plate Junction Ltd

Pacific Basin Holdings Pty Ltd

Pacific Basin Minerals Pty Ltd

Appointments in the past five years:

Asian Mineral Resources Ltd

Triple Plate Junction plc (now named Aurasian Minerals plc)

Triple Plate Junction (South Pacific) Ltd

Triple Plate Junction (PNG) Ltd

Terenure Ltd

There is no other information regarding Mr Howell required to be disclosed under the AIM Rules.

ABOUT ECR

ECR is a mineral exploration and development company with, among other interests, the right to earn a 50% interest in the Itogon gold project in the Philippines. Itogon is an advanced exploration project located in a gold and copper mining district in the north of the Philippines.

ECR has a 100% interest in the SLM gold project in La Rioja Province, Argentina, the exploration strategy for which is to delineate multiple medium to high grade, low tonnage deposits suitable for advancement to production on a relatively low capital, near term basis.

ECR continues to review potential new investments on a highly selective basis, with a concentration on precious, base and strategic metals projects in Asia and South America.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This announcement may include forward looking statements. Such statements may be subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and therefore actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. Any forward looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date hereof (unless stated otherwise) and, except as may be required by applicable laws or regulations (including the AIM Rules for Companies), the Company disclaims any obligation to update or modify such forward looking statements as a result of new information, future events or for any other reason.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150601005687/en/

Copyright Business Wire 2015