Last checked at 25 Sep 2018 09:00
25 September 2018
ECR MINERALS plc
(“ECR Minerals”, “ECR” or the “Company”)
EXPLORATION MAPPING REVEALS LARGE GOLD SYSTEM – CRESWICK AUSTRALIA
ECR Minerals plc (LON:ECR) the precious metals exploration and development company is pleased to confirm that exploration mapping undertaken by the Company at the Creswick Project has identified a large gold system in the Dimocks Main Shale (“DMS”) gold targets.
The DMS sits between two large gold producing areas where it is estimated historically, 15 million ounces of gold has been produced in Victoria, Australia. It is the proposition of the Company’s technical team that they have identified the hard rock source for a significant portion of the aforementioned 15 million ounces of gold production. Although further work is required to validate this proposition.
A visual representation of the DMS and the Company’s mapping, which demonstrates the potential link from the alluvial source with the DMS, is provided through following links to the ECR Minerals website:
https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/Creswick_Map1.jpg
https://www.ecrminerals.com/images/Creswick_Map2.jpg
The original acquisition of the Creswick project was announced by the Company on 20 April 2018 and readers may wish to review that announcement.
Highlights:
ECR Minerals holds a 100% interest in the Creswick Project which includes granted Exploration Licence 6184 and an adjacent exploration licence application numbered EL6713 submitted by the Company following the acquisition of the Creswick project in April 2018; Exploration mapping undertaken by ECR’s technical team led by Dr Rodney Boucher, who has significant experience in the area, has revealed a potential link between the large alluvial gold system at Ballarat and Creswick with the DMS gold source; The DMS system hosts strata-bound auriferous quartz veins hosting the gold mineralisation and has potential for bulk gold mining; The DMS is 25 m wide and runs for over 7 km through ECR’s tenements and is estimated to be 15 kilometres in total length, including adjacent tenements; The DMS is open at depth resulting in considerable in-situ tonnage that could be included in a bulk mining activity, if it is to be proven to contain economically extractable gold; The directors believe the DMS is an important gold source, which has been extensively worked along it’s entire length, as evidenced by ECR’s data suggesting there are 300 reef shafts (mine workings) on the DMS. These shafts, which are still located on the DMS, suggest that there were significant active alluvial workings on site; Notwithstanding this visual verification by the Company’s technical team, only two of these shafts are currently recorded in the government database along the DMS. The directors believe that this record is incomplete and that this may be a reason why the region has not attracted recent exploration activities; The technical team’s review of field mapping and understanding of the regional sedimentology of alluvial workings demonstrates that the DMS within ECR’s tenements is a potential contributing source to the Creswick/Berry Lead systems (estimated to have produced 2.6 million gold ounces) and a potential contributor to the Eureka Lead in the upper parts of the Ballarat goldfield that (estimated to have produced 11 million ounces of alluvial gold plus an additional 2 million ounces of reef gold); ECR Minerals will drill test the DMS to establish the gold endowment within the DMS tonnage identified; Rock chip sampling of the DMS is currently underway to supplement exploration data and analysis currently available, prior to commencement of drilling; The Directors believe that the DMS provides potential for the Company to identify a rare bulk tonnage gold operation in Victoria, Australia, although at this stage there is no guarantee that such an outcome will be achieved; and Further information will follow to outline material developments in the now prioritised Creswick Project exploration programme.Craig Brown, Chief Executive Officer of ECR Minerals plc, commented: “We are excited by this discovery of a potentially large gold system at Creswick which has been identified by our technical team, led by Dr Rodney Boucher, and is the outcome of many years of detailed study. We are very grateful for the professionalism, experience and commitment that has been applied to reach this point.
The news announced today is in line with our primary objective to make a significant and economic gold deposit discovery. The confirmation of a system which potentially feeds into two established gold producing areas is very exciting for the team; and an area of targeted future exploration.
We will be providing further information in respect of this project, and specifically the drilling programme for the DMS which will be undertaken in due course when preparatory works have been undertaken.
The board’s confidence in the Victoria region and its potential to hold further large gold deposits has been growing with our recent work and today’s announcement provides a significant step up in our confidence level.
Further work is required to substantiate our findings and quantify the extent of gold mineralisation, but without doubt, the Creswick licences are now a key project for the Company.”
Further Information – Dimocks Main Shale Gold Targets
In the view of the Company’s technical team contemporary exploration has continually been drawn to the district due the proximity of the Ballarat and Creswick goldfields and in particular exploration programs within EL6184 have sought the source alluvial gold that was in the Berry Lead system.
It is also the view of the technical team that despite numerous companies having held tenements over the area those companies failed to recognise the significance of the Dimocks Mains Shale and its potential for significant gold mineralisation.
ECR Minerals’ Geologist Rodney Boucher recognised the potential of the Dimocks Main Shale and has been mapping in the region for 15 years for several companies. When a differing company relinquished the ground to the north of North Ballarat’s tenements, Rodney Boucher applied for EL6184 and provided it to ECR Minerals. Subsequently ECR Minerals have applied for EL6713 over recently relinquished ground.
The Dimocks Main Shale provides an opportunity not previously recognised in Victoria. The DMS is 25m wide and hosts strata-bound auriferous quartz veins with potential for bulk mining (refer to Map 1).
The shale has been mapped and shown to run for over 7 km in EL’s 6184 and 6713 (refer to Map 1). The DMS continues 8 km to the south to form one third of the Ballarat goldfield at the locality of Nerrina or Little Bendigo.
Field mapping of alluvial workings (refer to Map 2) shows the potential link between the alluvial workings and their gold sources, in particular the DMS and suggests that the DMS is a major contributing source to the Berry Lead system (estimated to have produced 2.6 million ounces of gold) and a contributor to the Eureka Lead in the upper parts of the Ballarat goldfield (estimated to have produced 11 million ounces of alluvial gold plus an additional 2 million ounces of reef gold).
COMPETENT PERSON STATEMENT
The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results is based on information compiled by Dr Rodney Boucher of Linex Pty Ltd. Linex Pty Ltd provides geological services to Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd, including the services of Dr Boucher, who has a PhD in geology, is a Member and RPGeo of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Dr Boucher has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Dr Boucher consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the material based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
ABOUT ECR MINERALS PLC
ECR is a mineral exploration and development company. ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia has 100% ownership of the Avoca, Bailieston, Creswick, Moormbool and Timor gold exploration licences in central Victoria, Australia.
ECR has earned a 25% interest in the Danglay epithermal gold project, an advanced exploration project located in a prolific gold and copper mining district in the north of the Philippines. An NI43-101 technical report was completed in respect of the Danglay project in December 2015 and is available for download from ECR’s website.
ECR’s wholly owned Argentine subsidiary Ochre Mining has 100% ownership of the SLM gold project in La Rioja, Argentina. Exploration at SLM has focused on identifying small tonnage mesothermal gold deposits which may be suitable for relatively near-term production.
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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
| ECR Minerals plc | Tel: +44 (0)20 7929 1010 | |
| David Tang, Non-Executive Chairman | ||
| Craig Brown, Director & CEO | ||
| Email:
info@ecrminerals.com | ||
| Website: www.ecrminerals.com | ||
| WH Ireland Ltd | Tel: +44 (0)161 832 2174 | |
| Nominated Adviser | ||
| Katy Mitchell/James Sinclair-Ford | ||
| Optiva Securities Ltd | Tel: +44 (0)203 137 1902 | |
| Broker | ||
| Graeme Dickson | ||
| SI Capital Ltd | Tel: +44 (0)1483 413500 | |
| Broker | ||
| Nick Emerson |
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This announcement may include forward looking statements. Such statements may be subject to numerous 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 because of new information, future events or for any other reason.
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