SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, has entered into a Binding Term Sheet pursuant to which it has been granted a conditional option to acquire the entire issued share capital of Placer Gold Pty Limited.
Placer Gold is the beneficial holder of three granted mining tenements (EPM 27518, EPM 25855 and EPM 19437) located in NE Queensland, together known as the Hurricane Project.
The Hurricane Project area is situated in the Hodgkinson Province of NE Queensland (see Figure 2 below) and located in the Tregoora Belt to the north-west of the Northcote District. The area hosts several goldfields such as the Palmer River, West Normanby and Hodgkinson. Together these fields have produced more than 45 tonnes of gold from alluvial workings and mines.
The Directors consider Hurricane to be a late-stage exploration project. Previously the area has been the subject of intensive field work and sampling with three tenements all highly prospective for gold and antimony, a pathfinder mineral often associated with the presence of gold, see ‘Background to Hurricane’ below.
The Hurricane Project is located approximately 400km due north of the Lolworth Range project, where ECR Minerals will shortly complete a soil sampling programme across its three exploration tenements.
ECR Minerals CEO Andrew Haythorpe commented: I am pleased and proud to announce that ECR has arranged this conditional option to acquire Placer Gold, which wholly owns the Hurricane Project in North Queensland. This is a project I have detailed knowledge of through work prior to joining ECR. It is also in an area I am very familiar with having worked as a geologist in Far North Queensland and studied at James Cook University. Historic mineral and rock chip samples are detailed in the raft of historical data on Hurricane compiled by Dr Harry Wilhelmij. Hurricane is a later stage gold and antimony property which I believe has exceptional near-term development potential.”
“I believe this potential acquisition could add a new dimension of value to the ECR offering, and on the signing of the associated transaction documents, we expect to be in a position to commence additional exploration and study work on the ground, with the aim of establishing a maiden JORC Resource for the project. We anticipate satisfying the Option Fee and exercising the Option towards the end of the Option Period, after an extensive period of due diligence and additional exploration, and we look forward to providing shareholders with updates as this potential acquisition progresses”
ECR Chairman David Tang added: “I speak for the ECR board when I say I am delighted that having appointed Andrew as CEO earlier this year, he is bringing his own vision and expertise to bear on our asset portfolio. The potential acquisition of the Hurricane Project is an exciting opportunity for ECR as it could bring in a relatively late-stage exploration asset that Andrew and the team can fast-track using our in-house expertise and resources. I look forward to seeing how this potential acquisition progresses”.