ECR Minerals Regulatory News (ECR)

13 Jun 2016 07:00

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

AIM: ECRUS OTC: MTGDY

UPDATE ON ACTIVITIES

LONDON: 13 JUNE 2016 - The directors of ECR Minerals plc (the “Directors”) are pleased to provide the following update on ECR’s activities.

Danglay gold project, Philippines

Cordillera Tiger Gold Resources, Inc. (“Cordillera Tiger”), the holder of the Exploration Permit (the “EP”) comprising the Danglay project, was last week invited by the Philippine Mines & Geosciences Bureau (MGB) to sign the renewed EP in quadruplicate. All signed copies have been returned to the MGB, and ECR expects the final renewed EP to be issued in due course.

An announcement regarding ECR’s intentions for further exploration at Danglay will be made at or around the time the final renewed EP is received by Cordillera Tiger.

Avoca gold project, Australia

Gold resource estimates encompassing four waste dumps within the Avoca project area have been compiled in draft form, and are being refined with additional data as it becomes available. Delays have been experienced in relation to assay results from augur sampling at some of the dumps carried out during April 2016. In turn, this has delayed the commissioning of metallurgical testwork on samples from the dumps, the results of which will be a key element of the planned economic study in relation to the reprocessing of dump material. Other elements of the study are underway, and completion of the study is now targeted for July 2016.

Bailieston gold project, Australia

A rotary air blast (RAB) percussion drilling programme is planned to commence at the Bailieston project during the second half of June 2016, to test targets in the Byron and Black Cat areas.

Encouraging results of soil sampling at the Bailieston project were received during May 2016, and additional soil sample assays are pending.

New Exploration Licence applications, Australia

Two new Exploration Licences (ELs) have been applied for in Victoria, Australia, by the Company’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”). One EL application is in the vicinity of the Avoca project, and the other is in the vicinity of the Bailieston project.

The EL application in the vicinity of Avoca contains a number of significant historical waste dumps originating from ‘deep lead’ alluvial gold mining activities, as is the case within EL5387 (the EL which currently comprises the Avoca project). Historical production from the main alluvial mines within the area of the new application is reported to have exceeded 272,000oz gold (as reported by the Geological Survey of Victoria). MGA’s intention is to assess the suitability of the resulting waste dumps for reprocessing in order to extract remnant gold.

Both EL applications have been accepted by the Victorian government, and issuance of the ELs, if granted, is expected in the second half of 2016.

SLM gold project, Argentina

It remains the preference of the Directors for the SLM project to be advanced in partnership with a local group, and discussions in this regard are taking place under confidentiality.

Stephen Clayson, Chief Executive Officer of ECR, commented:

“ECR’s primary current objective is to demonstrate the viability of reprocessing historical waste dumps at the Avoca project to produce gold, and we are pleased to have taken steps to secure additional waste dumps nearby, by means of the new EL application referred to above.

The Directors continue to consider the Company’s options in relation to the Danglay and SLM gold projects, our objective being to ensure that the path forward for both projects offers the best possible scope to create value for ECR shareholders.”

Review of Announcement by Qualified Person

This announcement has been reviewed by William (Bill) Howell BSc (Hons), FAusIMM, FSEG, ECR’s Non-Executive Chairman. Mr Howell is a geologist with 49 years of experience in the minerals industry, and is a Qualified Person as that term is defined by the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies.

ABOUT ECR

ECR is a mineral exploration and development company with the right to earn a 50% interest in the Danglay epithermal gold project in the Philippines. Danglay is 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 subsidiary Ochre Mining has a 100% interest in the SLM gold project in La Rioja Province, Argentina. Exploration at SLM has focused on identifying small tonnage mesothermal gold deposits which may be suitable for relatively near term production.

ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia (MGA) has agreed to acquire 100% ownership of the Avoca and Bailieston gold projects in Victoria, Australia. Mercator Gold Australia is estimated to have tax losses of approximately AUD 66M as at 30 June 2015, which may be available, subject to certain conditions (as described in ECR’s announcement dated 4 December 2014), to reduce MGA’s future taxable profits. This is considered particularly significant in view of an opportunity which may exist at Avoca to establish relatively near term gold production from the reprocessing of historical mine dumps, with the potential for sale of gravel and sand by-products. A competent person’s report in relation to the Avoca and Bailieston projects is available for download from ECR’s website.

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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.

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