ECR Minerals PLC (LON:ECR) shares rose on Thursday after it reported significant high-grade gold assays from the reverse circulation (RC) drilling programme recently completed at the Blue Moon prospect in Australia.
The AIM-listed precious metals exploration and development company said, following its announcement reporting visible gold from hole number BBM007 on 28 February 2019, assay results received for holes BBM007, BBM006 and BBM004 have shown both high-grade intervals and significant widths of anomalous gold grades.
READ: ECR Minerals shares jump as it hails “positive progress” for gold drilling at Creswick and Blue Moon projects
It added that significant intersections included 2 metres at 17.87 grammes per tonne (g/t) of gold from 57 metres down hole BBM007 within a zone of 15 metres at 3.81 g/t gold from 51 metres.
In addition, the group said, hole BBM006 returned 3 metres at 3.88 g/t gold from 170 metres down within a zone of 11 metres at 2.42 g/t gold from 169 metres.
ECR Minerals said these results from Blue Moon indicate that a high-grade zone exists within the target sandstone host and further results and work will be required to understand any concentration of mineralisation within shoots.
Craig Brown, the company’s chief executive officer commented: “These results quantify the field geologists’ assessment of visible gold at Blue Moon during drilling of BBM007 and provide great encouragement for the Company and the Bailieston gold project.”
He added: “To achieve an intersection of 17.87g/t gold over 2 metres is notable. But also of significance is that this was part of an intersection of 15 metres at 3.81g/t gold from relatively shallow depth.”
Brown concluded: “The Company awaits further results from drilling across Blue Moon, Creswick and Black Cat and will provide updates to the market as appropriate.”
The Blue Moon project is located within the Bailieston gold project area in the state of Victoria, of which ECR’s wholly-owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd has 100% ownership.
In lunchtime trading, shares in ECR Minerals were 6.1% higher at 0.88p.