Shares of ECR Minerals PLC (AIM:ECR) rose 30% in afternoon trading after the company ramped up exploration and development across its Queensland gold projects.
ECR reported that a drilling rig has been mobilised to its Blue Mountain site, where the technical team, led by chief geologist Adam Jones, will begin bulk sampling and testing a modified wash plant to establish gold recovery rates.
The company is also considering larger wash plant options and potential production partnerships to support future expansion.
In addition to the Blue Mountain work, ECR defined drill-ready targets at the Lolworth gold and rare earths project and plans to start a 1,500-metre drilling campaign in mid-July.
Previous surface assays at Lolworth returned grades of up to 75.6 grams per tonne gold. ECR said operations remain on budget and on schedule.
The shares rose 0.052p to 0.23p.