LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Australia-focussed gold exploration and development company ECR Minerals updated the market on drilling and related activities underway across the Bailieston and Creswick gold exploration projects in the Victorian Goldfields on Thursday.
The AIM-traded firm said that in 2019, exploration drilling was undertaken at Creswick targeting gold mineralisation associated with quartz veins hosted in the Dimocks Main Shale (DMS).

It said the DMS is the hard-rock source of a lot of alluvial and deep lead gold, with historical alluvial and deep lead production estimated at up to 2.5 million ounces in the Creswick-Berry lead system, and up to 11 million ounces in the entire Ballarat area, of which the DMS is a "significant" contributor.

A 2019 drill programme conducted by the company tested around 300 metres of the DMS trend, which extends over about 15 kilometres - seven kilometres of which is covered by a granted exploration licence and two exploration licence applications held by its wholly-owned subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia (MGA).

It said MGA ahd engaged a contractor for a minimum of 1,200 metres of diamond drilling at Creswick, with the first drill hole in that programme now underway.

The company planned to drill around 10 holes from drill sites located on State Forest land within exploration licence EL006184.

It explained that the drill sites for the current programme were about 2.2 kilometres south along the DMS trend from those used in MGA's previous drilling programme at Creswick in 2019, individual samples from which returned assays as high as 80.97 grams of gold per tonne over one metre.

At Bailieston, drilling was ongoing in the Historic Reserve 3 (HR3) area of the project using the firm's own diamond drill rig.

Assay results from the first four holes, being BH3DD001 to 4, were announced on 20 April, with assay results and final geological interpretations currently being awaited over four further holes, being BH3DD005 to 8.

Hole BH3DD005 targeted the Maori Reef, and holes BH3DD006 and 7 targeted a hypothesised central anticline, while hole BH3DD006 was also drilled to test the Dan Genders Reef.

Initial geological interpretation of holes BH3DD005, 6 and 7 indicated that the hypothesised central anticline does exist, and represented a "favourable target" for hosting gold mineralisation such as limb-thrust type vein systems.

MGA had also received the results from laboratory analysis of 229 soil samples taken across the central and eastern part of the HR3 area, which were currently being plotted and analysed in comparison with results from portable x-ray fluorescence analysis.

The laboratory results included gold values up to 3.75 parts per million, with the results set to help identify potential extensions of and potential undiscovered veins running parallel to known reef systems.

"We are pleased to now have drilling underway at two gold projects in the Victoria Goldfields, and we look forward to updating the market with assay results in due course," said chief executive officer Craig Brown.

"Our drilling at Bailieston continues successfully using our in-house diamond drill rig and we look forward to assay results of recent holes, particularly following the initial geological review of the drill core.

"Additionally, soil sampling from the HR3 area has identified very high gold grades in soils, further supporting the geological modelling and drill targeting."

Brown said that, with a "strong" cash position, the company had been able to expand drilling operations and had now started drilling at Creswick using external contractors.

"We are very excited by the potential scale of the opportunity at Creswick and a larger scale drill programme at the project is something we have been eager to undertake."

At 1302 BST, shares in ECR Minerals were down 0.44% at 1.82p.

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