LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - ECR Minerals announced highly encouraging results from test work at the Blue Mountain Project in Queensland on Tuesday, revealing a 91.7% gold recovery rate from ore samples using a single-stage gravity recoverable gold (GRG) process.
The AIM-traded firm said the test, conducted by Gekko Systems, suggested that the ore was suitable for gravity concentration using a batch centrifugal concentrator, potentially paving the way for a commercial production plant on site if the results were confirmed across the broader project area.

It said the Blue Mountain Project, based on an alluvial gold system, offered significant advantages in terms of mining costs.

With gold located at or near the surface, extraction would not require the high capital spend typically associated with deeper mining operations.

Earlier trenching and bulk concentrate sampling yielded strong results, including gold grades of 192.15 grams per tonne and 97.4 grams per tonne, providing further confidence in the project's commercial viability.

If the results were successfully corroborated through additional test work, ECR Minerals could move forward with plans to establish a production plant at the site, using gravity concentration to process near-surface ore.

"These results from the Blue Mountain Project, using a straightforward gravity recovery process, are highly encouraging and have significantly bolstered our confidence in the commercial credentials of the Blue Mountain Project," said managing director Mike Whitlow.

"Although further analysis is still required, the concentrations of gold being found at or around surface level fully validates examining the viability of installing a production plant at the site.

"Significantly, the results so far have provided evidence that potential commercial opportunities still exist in some of the historical goldfields through the application of modern technology."

Whitlow said that at the Blue Mountain Project, the indications were that, based on Gekko's report, materially higher quantities of gold could be recovered than the levels achieved by the first prospectors.

"The board and ECR's technical team will now further evaluate these results and determine the next steps for the Blue Mountain Project."

At 1551 BST, shares in ECR Minerals were up 14.23% at 0.28p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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