From Nuggets to Millions? ECR Minerals Unearths Another Golden Opportunity.
“…The rule of thumb is if you’re finding gold at surface, you will probably find more beneath surface…”
ECR Minerals is edging closer to its ambition of becoming a gold producer with a series of encouraging nugget discoveries at Brothers Creek in Australia adding another prospect to a portfolio spanning 10 projects across four states.
Chairman Nick Tulloch explains how multiple gold nuggets, including a 12.3-gram specimen, have been recovered from the surface using metal detectors and this discovery using basic technology has prompted ECR to investigate whether the old riverbed could support a commercially viable alluvial gold operation.
“The fact we’re seeing so much gold and quite sizeable gold at surface is encouraging enough to say let’s spend some money and time to actually start trenching the riverbed to see what we get.”
The next step is to move beyond promising surface finds and establish what lies beneath. ECR has mobilised equipment from its previous Raglan operation, including a smaller wash plant capable of processing 10 tonnes per hour. Systematic trenching and trial processing will help determine gold grades and recovery rates.
A typical commercial alluvial operation might yield between 0.3 and 0.5 grams of gold per tonne says Tulloch, and ECR believes approximately 100,000 cubic metres of material could potentially be extracted from the section of river within its existing mining lease.
On illustrative assumptions of 0.5 grams of gold per cubic metre, Tulloch estimates the opportunity could represent around 1,600 ounces of gold worth approximately A$10 million at current prices, with ECR’s 50 per cent interest potentially equating to A$5 million.
These are indicative figures rather than a production forecast and the company must demonstrate the gold is sufficiently widespread and economical to recover before commercial viability can be established.
Brothers Creek is just one part of a broader production strategy with Tulloch identifying three immediate priorities: progressing the flagship Madden’s underground mine towards meaningful production, proving the commercial potential of Brothers Creek, and determining the scale of the Saltbush project in South Australia.
In this video interview with Sarah Lowther he emphasises the company has been very open about turning ECR from an explorer into a producer while acknowledging progress would involve both successes and setbacks.
The coming months should provide important evidence of whether ECR can translate exploration promise into gold production and, ultimately, cash generation. Brothers Creek offers an exciting additional opportunity, but Madden’s remains the principal near-term production focus as the company works to advance several assets in parallel.
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Read the latest Research note here
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The author was remunerated but does not hold shares in the company
