ECR Minerals PLC (LON:ECR) has completed a diamond drilling programme across the Bung Bong and Monte Christo gold prospects in Central Victoria, Australia.
“All five holes at Bung Bong and the two holes at Monte Christo fulfilled their intended purpose, which was to test the structural architecture of the target areas and guide further drilling, if warranted,” said Craig Brown, ECR chief executive.
READ: ECR drilling moves on to Blue Moon
“These were the first ever drill holes at Bung Bong and Monte Christo, and gold mineralisation was intersected at both prospects, although we did not encounter any high-grade shoots in this drilling.”
Brown added: “The company will be considering what future work, whether drilling, geophysics or surface geochemistry, may be appropriate at these two prospects.
“Separately, we look forward to receiving assay results from the recently completed drilling at Blue Moon.”
Monte Cristo
ECR revealed that one hole at Monte Cristo encountered two quartz zones, although further analysis showed the zones to be weakly mineralised.
Another hole did not encounter the same reef development as AMC001, but it did measure 1 metre with a gold grade of 1.89 grams per tonne.
Bung Bong
The company said that the Bung Bong area showed potential for bulk tonnage but drill results did not identify the location of a mineralised shoot. It added that previously recorded gold intercept was below the oxide zone and it is possible that sulphide destruction has led to gold depletion, as hypothesised at Monte Christo.
This raises the possibility that there may be further exploration potential at depth, below the base of oxidation, in the case of both Monte Christo and Bung Bong, ECR added.