ECR Minerals completes 2025 drilling programme at Lolworth
By Josh White
Date: Friday 17 Oct 2025
(Sharecast News) - ECR Minerals said on Friday that it had completed its 2025 drilling programme at the Lolworth gold and rare earths project in North Queensland, confirming multiple gold- and silver-bearing veins and paving the way for a wider push into near-term production across its Australian portfolio.
The AIM-traded company outlined plans to advance alluvial gold operations at its Blue Mountain and Raglan projects, alongside a potential joint venture at its Creswick project in Victoria.
ECR said drilling at Lolworth, which covers nearly 1,000 square kilometres and remains free of native title claims, had validated its geological model at the Uncle Terry prospect, with all predicted veins intersected.
A total of 28 reverse circulation holes were drilled to depths of between 30 and 42 metres across two prospects.
Chief geologist Adam Jones, who oversaw the campaign, said the results were "highly encouraging".
"We've confirmed the presence of gold and silver in multiple vein systems and identified several new mineralised outcrops for follow-up," he said.
"The visuals are highly encouraging, and the Lolworth Project continues to show the scale and geological potential to be a major discovery in Queensland.
"With no native title constraints and close to 1,000 square kilometres of prospective ground, we believe Lolworth to be a project with truly district-scale potential."
At the Blue Mountain project, ECR said it had completed nearly 400 drill holes and confirmed visible coarse gold in multiple zones.
Wash plant trials were scheduled to begin shortly to assess both high- and low-grade material and to inform an initial internal resource estimate.
The company said it planned to submit a mining lease application in the fourth quarter, targeting near-term gold production and cashflow.
ECR said its proposed acquisition of the Raglan project near Gladstone, a fully permitted alluvial gold operation with an existing wash plant on site, is progressing toward completion.
The deal, valued at AUD 1.01m (£0.49m) following pre-completion restructuring, is expected to deliver initial production capability in the final quarter of the year.
It said the vendors' restructuring would allow Raglan Resources, the licence holder, to bring AUD 1.2m of tax losses that can be amalgamated with ECR's existing AUD 75m in tax losses.
Chairman Nick Tulloch said the progress across the portfolio marked a pivotal phase for the company.
"The successful drilling at the Lolworth Project marks an important milestone for ECR as we build momentum across our Queensland portfolio," he said.
"With production planning advancing at both the Raglan Project and the Blue Mountain Project, and assay results and wash plant trials due in the coming weeks, the remainder of 2025 is expected to set the scene for what is a pivotal period for the company as we graduate from an explorer to a producer.
"We are entering the fourth quarter of 2025 with a significant number of near-term value catalysts that we believe are capable of redefining ECR."
ECR also reported progress on its proposed joint venture with Bold Gold at the Creswick gold project in Victoria, which would see Bold Gold invest up to AUD 3m to earn an 80% interest through staged exploration expenditure.
The arrangement remained subject to due diligence and final agreement but would allow ECR to retain exposure to the project's upside while focusing management resources on its Queensland operations.
At 1020 BST, shares in ECR Minerals were flat at 0.22p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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