ECR Minerals plc (the “Company”) is a mineral exploration and development company incorporated in England and Wales. Exploration for gold in the Australian states of Victoria and Queensland is ECR’s current focus. For the latest updates, please see the Company’s regulatory announcements. In Victoria ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary, Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd (“MGA”), has 100% ownership of the Bailieston and Creswick gold exploration projects near Bendigo and Ballarat in the central part of the state.  ECR also owns two exploration licences in eastern Victoria, known as the Tambo project. 

The Company owns exploration licences EPM27901, EPM27902 and EPM27903 at the Lolworth Range area in Northern Queensland. In April 2023, ECR announced the conditional acquisition of the Blue Mountain project, which consists of exploration permits EPM 27175 and EPM 27183 and includes the Denny Gully Gold project, situated south west of Gladstone port and south east of Biloela. In October 2023 the Company applied for EPM28910 at Kondaparinga. This area is situated close to the original geological features that first bought the former Hurricane project to the attention of the board and located in the famous Hodgkinson Goldfield district of North Queensland..

MGA also retains an interest in the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor projects (the “Projects”) which were sold by MGA to Fosterville South in 2020.  MGA is entitled to receive a payment of A$1 for every ounce of gold or gold equivalent of measured resource, indicated resource or inferred resource estimated within the area of one or more of the Projects in any combination or aggregation of the foregoing, up to a maximum of A$1,000,000 in aggregate; and in addiition, a payment of A$1 for every ounce of gold or gold equivalent produced from within the area of one or more of the Projects, up to a maximum of A$1,000,000 in aggregate. For more information regarding MGA’s interest in the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor projects to Fosterville South, please see the RNS announcement released on 20 April 2020.

MGA has accumulated tax losses estimated to total approximately $75 million from its past trading and these tax losses, which are worth between A$18 million and A$22 million, are expected to be available to the company for offset against any taxable profits made in future.  Alternatively it is possible to realise value from them through a sale to a third party.

ECR’s ordinary shares are listed on AIM with the symbol ECR.