ECR Minerals PLC (AIM:ECR) shares were up in Wednesday's early trade, rising just over 14% to 0.36p, after announcing it had secured an operating team to commence initial mining at its Raglan alluvial gold project in Queensland.
The small-cap miner said it expects initial gold production before the end of January 2026 following its acquisition of the project in December.
ECR said the fully permitted Raglan Project in central Queensland includes a near-new 60 tonne-per-hour wash plant, a fully equipped gold room and an established water supply.
It also includes an accommodation camp, mobile mining fleet and complete site infrastructure, which the company said should support an efficient ramp-up.
“Securing our operating team is the final major step to bring the Raglan Project into production, and I am thrilled that we can now set a clear expectation of initial gold production before the end of January 2026," said chair Nick Tulloch.
He added: “The Raglan Project gives us a low-capex, near-term route into gold production, and the revenues which we ultimately anticipate should be able to support the development of our broader Queensland portfolio - most notably the much larger Blue Mountain project.”
ECR said the Raglan Project is located close to its Blue Mountain alluvial project, which it said could allow operational synergies across its Queensland hub.