ECR Minerals #ECR Maddens Operations Advance. Decline Progresses

Maddens Operations Advance as Decline Progresses Through Planned Turn

Plant Commissioned and Operational; Stockpiled Material Targeted for Processing by End October

ECR Minerals plc (AIM: ECR), the gold exploration and development company focused on Australia, is pleased to provide a further operational update on the Maddens Flat Group of Mines in North Queensland, Australia, in which ECR holds a 50% interest.

Highlights

• Underground decline at Maddens now advancing through the planned turn, with development progressing well towards the targeted production areas.
• Maddens processing plant commissioned and operational, representing a key milestone in the project’s progression towards gold production.
• Processing circuit optimised, including optimisation of the feed configuration into the Knelson concentrator.
• Stockpiled development material targeted to be processed by the end of October.
• Main production ore targeted to commence processing during November, representing the next major underground milestone at Maddens.
• Preparations at Brothers area continuing to advance, with initial alluvial operations planned to commence at a point following the processing of the Maddens stockpiled material.

Maddens Underground Development 

Development of the underground decline at Maddens continues to advance in line with expectations, with the decline now progressing through the planned turn.

Underground development has recommenced and the mining team is continuing to advance the decline towards the targeted production areas.

Progress through the turn represents another important physical development milestone in the current underground programme. Ground conditions remain good as development continues towards access to the main production ore, which is currently targeted to commence processing during November.

Processing Plant

The Maddens processing plant has now been commissioned and is operational, representing another significant step forward for the project.

The processing circuit has also been optimised, including the configuration for material fed into the Knelson concentrator as part of preparations for gold recovery.

Material generated from underground development has already been stockpiled at surface, with the Company targeting the completion of the processing of the stockpiled material by the end of October.

This provides a clear sequence of near-term operational milestones at Maddens, with processing of existing stockpiled material to be followed by the targeted access to main production ore, which is expected to commence processing during November.

Brothers

Progress is also continuing at Brothers area, which forms part of the wider Maddens Flat Group of Mines.

Preparations are advancing towards the commencement of initial alluvial operations at Brothers, which are planned to begin at a point following completion of processing of the stockpiled material at Maddens.

The Company continues to progress Brothers alongside the underground development programme at Maddens, providing a second area of operational activity within the wider Maddens Flat Group of Mines.

ECR Non-Executive Director Mike Parker commented: “The latest progress at Maddens represents another important step forward. The decline is now advancing through the planned turn and the underground team continues to make good progress towards the targeted production areas.

“Importantly, the processing plant is now commissioned and operational, with the circuit optimised and ready to process the material already stockpiled at surface. We are targeting completion of that processing by the end of October, with the main production ore from Maddens targeted to commence processing during November. 

“Preparations at Brothers are also advancing, with initial alluvial operations planned to follow the processing of the Maddens stockpile. We therefore have a clear sequence of operational activity across the wider Maddens Flat Group of Mines.”

ECR Chairman Nick Tulloch added: “We are very pleased with the continued progress at Maddens. Having the processing plant commissioned and operational is an important milestone, while underground development is advancing strongly through the planned turn.

“With material already stockpiled at surface and targeted for completion of processing by the end of October, we are entering an increasingly active period for Maddens. This will be followed by our targeted progression to commence processing of the main production ore during November.

“At the same time, preparations at Brothers continue to advance towards initial alluvial operations. This growing level of activity across both Maddens and Brothers demonstrates the broader opportunity within the Maddens Flat Group of Mines as we continue to execute our development plans.”

Review of Announcement by Qualified Person

This announcement has been reviewed by Michael Parker, Technical Director of ECR Minerals Plc. Michael Parker has a BSc in Mining Geology and is a professional geologist and Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM). He is a qualified person as that term is defined by the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies.

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ABOUT ECR MINERALS PLC

ECR Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company operating through four wholly owned Australian subsidiaries ECR Minerals (Australia) Pty Ltd (“ECR Australia”), ECR Minerals (Queensland) Pty Ltd (“ECR Queensland”), ECR Minerals (Raglan) Pty Ltd (“ECR Raglan”) and ECR Minerals (Paleogold) Ltd (“ECR Paleogold”).

ECR Paleogold has a 50% interest in the Maddens hard rock mining project in Northern Queensland where work is underway for production this year.  It also has a 20% interest in the Salt Bush shallow open cut mining project in South Australia where preparations are underway for production which is expected to commence around mid-2027.  ECR Paleogold also owns 80% of the Tuckanarra exploration project in Western Australia.

ECR Australia owns the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central Victoria, Australia as well as the Tambo gold project in eastern Victoria. 

ECR Raglan has a mining lease at the Raglan alluvial gold project in central Queensland, Australia and ECR Queensland has two approved exploration permits over the nearby Blue Mountain alluvial gold project.   ECR is currently working to bring the Blue Mountain alluvial gold project into production.  ECR Queensland also has three approved exploration permits covering 946 km2 over a relatively unexplored area in Lolworth Range in northern Queensland. Furthermore, it has also submitted a licence application at Kondaparinga which is approximately 120km2 in area and located within the Hodgkinson Gold Province, 80km NW of Mareeba, North Queensland.

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), ECR Australia has the right to receive up to A$2 million in payments subject to future resource estimation or production from these projects. 

ECR Australia also has approximately A$77 million of unutilised tax losses incurred during previous operations.