ECR Minerals plc (AIM: ECR), the gold exploration and development company focused on Australia, is pleased to announce its unaudited half-yearly financial results for the six months ended 31 March 2026 for the Company as consolidated with its subsidiaries (the “Group”), along with a review of significant developments during and post period.
HIGHLIGHTS
Operational highlights:
· Acquisition of Paleogold Limited via a fully funded staged transaction structure following the period end, adding further nearer-term producing assets to ECR, together with an experienced operational team to oversee and accelerate their development.
· Acquisition of the Raglan Project (ML3665), a fully permitted and turnkey alluvial gold mining operation in Queensland, Australia, accelerating ECR’s transition from gold explorer to gold producer, with operational optimisation continuing to improve mining and recovery performance.
· Completion of the underground survey at Maddens is estimated to save 2-3 weeks on ventilation and escape way works, while significantly improving the Company’s understanding of the wider mineralised system and accelerating the pathway to production.
· Drone LiDAR surveys at Raglan and Maddens are currently being interpreted, with initial analysis supporting new targets at Raglan and identifying additional mineralised systems at Maddens.
· Cartwright Creek: an additional Maddens prospective area for alluvial and hard rock mining identified and surveyed, with Mining Licence application submitted.
· Lolworth continues to demonstrate what ECR considers to be district-scale exploration potential across almost 1,000 km² in North Queensland, with maiden drilling confirming a gold-silver system and further exploration programmes planned.
· Submission of the Blue Mountain Mining Licence application, supported by positive results from drilling campaigns.
· Progression of the proposed Joint Venture with Bold Gold at Creswick, through which Bold Gold would be responsible for all mandated expenditure on the Creswick licences up to a limit of A$3 million during the proposed JV period.
· Award of Exploration Licence EL007486 in Victoria (the Tambo South Licence), a tenement located directly to the south of ECR’s Tambo project.
· Assignment of the up to A$2 million royalty interest that ECR holds over the Timor Gold Project following the sale of the project by Leviathan Metals Corp. to Au Gold Corp.
Financial highlights:
· Net assets of £7,121,842 at 31 March 2026 (2025: £5,520,965)
· Total comprehensive expenses for the six months ended 31 March 2026 were £225,565 (H1 2025: £720,821)
· Operating Loss for the six months ended 31 March 2026 of £548,683 (2025: £400,729)
· Fundraising completed in January 2026 to raise gross proceeds of £1,500,000
· ECR carries A$77 million of unutilised tax losses which can be applied to production, meaning that the Board believes it will be many years before the future profits from the Company’s gold mining become taxable
ECR Chairman Nick Tulloch commented: “Over the past six months, the Board has taken a deliberate strategic decision to reposition ECR from a junior exploration company into a business focused on building a portfolio of producing and near-producing Australian gold assets with genuine scale.
“The acquisition of the Raglan Project represented the first step in that transition, giving ECR its first producing asset and invaluable operational experience. Our fully funded, staged structured acquisition of Paleogold following the period end has accelerated that strategy considerably, bringing near-producing assets, an experienced operational team and exposure to projects capable of delivering significant long-term value.
“Maddens brings not only nearer-term production potential at grades that dwarf anything achievable from alluvial operations, but also a largely unexplored 50km² district with six known historical workings, no systematic drilling and a high-grade vein system open at depth and along strike. Alongside this, our Lolworth project, close to 1,000km² in one of Queensland’s most prospective gold provinces, we believe represents the kind of district-scale exploration upside that major gold companies take notice of. Together these assets define a genuinely different ECR and we are only at the beginning of understanding what they contain.
“By the middle of next year, we remain committed to bringing Blue Mountain and Salt Bush into production, alongside Raglan and Maddens, which would give ECR a portfolio of four producing gold assets in Australia. If we are successful in these endeavours, I believe ECR will establish itself as a leading emerging Australian gold producer with multiple cash-generating operations and an exceptional pipeline of growth opportunities.”
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
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ECR Minerals plc |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 8080 8176 |
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Nick Tulloch, Chairman Andrew Scott, Director |
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Website: www.ecrminerals.com |
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Allenby Capital Limited |
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Tel: +44 (0) 20 3328 5656 |
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Nominated Adviser and Joint Broker Alex Brearley / Nick Naylor / Vivek Bhardwaj (Corporate Finance) Kelly Gardiner (Sales and Corporate Broking)
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OAK Securities Joint Broker Jerry Keen / Robert Bell
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Tel: +44 (0) 20 3973 3678 |
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Axis Capital Markets Limited |
Tel: +44 (0) 20 3026 0320 |
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Joint Broker |
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Lewis Jones |
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SI Capital Ltd |
Tel: +44 (0) 1483 413500 |
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Joint Broker |
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Nick Emerson
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Brand Communications |
Tel: +44 (0) 7976 431608 |
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Public & Investor Relations |
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Alan Green |
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