ECR Minerals PLC (AIM:ECR) shares moved higher on Wednesday after the explorer told investors it has completed an alluvial drilling program at the Blue Mountain gold project in Queensland - confirming visible gold at the Lower Patterson, Windmill and Upper Kariboe Creek locations.
Coarse, heavy-textured gold was observed for the first time at Upper Kariboe Creek, and trial wash tests are planned to assess recovery rates and average grades, it added.
Also, a drill rig is currently en route to the company’s Lolworth project, where first holes will target the Uncle Terry prospect following rock-chip sampling that returned gold grades up to 75.6 g/t.
Initial drilling will test quartz blow outcrops and shear zones open along strike.
“Our Queensland portfolio continues to stand out and deliver exciting results,” chief geologist Adam Jones said. “With the rig now moving to the Lolworth Project, we are due to drill some of the most prospective ground we have seen to date.”
In London, ECR shares traded up to 0.26p in Wednesday morning's exchanges, valuing the firm at just over £5 million.