ECR Minerals Advances Maddens Gold Project with Trial Alluvial Mining at Brothers Lease

Strategic Portfolio Shift Towards a Diversified Australian Gold Producer

Over the past year, ECR Minerals has strategically repositioned itself from a traditional exploration entity to a diversified Australian gold company with multiple production and exploration projects across four states. This expansion has significantly increased the company's portfolio scale and the number of projects capable of delivering future shareholder value. The Board has identified Maddens in northern Queensland as the highest-priority opportunity within the expanded hard rock portfolio, supported by Salt Bush and Lolworth for future development.

The Board's portfolio review led to a disciplined capital allocation strategy focusing operational resources and technical expertise on assets with the strongest long-term returns. Chairman Nick Tulloch emphasized the importance of allocating people, capital, and equipment to projects that maximize shareholder value as the portfolio grows. This realignment underlines ECR's commitment to efficient resource deployment during its evolution into a diversified gold producer generating near-term revenues and long-term value.

Maddens Gold Project: ECR's Priority Development Asset

Maddens stands out as a top development asset for ECR, benefiting from multiple existing mining leases, established underground workings, and numerous historic mining areas. These factors differentiate Maddens from many development-stage gold projects, enabling quicker progression to production test work. The project includes the Maddens mine and the Brothers, Sisters, and You Can Tell Us mining areas, each offering additional development potential as the company's understanding deepens.

Recent technical work, including underground surveying and LiDAR, has enhanced geological understanding and improved structural geology interpretation. This will help prioritize future mining and exploration across the licence area. Technical Director Mike Parker noted Maddens’ unique position due to existing infrastructure and historic mining, allowing faster movement to production testing. ECR holds a 50% interest in Maddens through ECR Paleogold, with production work planned for this year.

Alluvial Potential and Resource Estimate at Brothers Mining Lease

Surface prospecting at Brothers has revealed a promising high-grade alluvial mining opportunity. Geological mapping shows the area lies within a structurally complex, strongly sheared mineralised zone. Historic underground development identified a steeply dipping mineralised shoot, while recent prospecting recovered water-worn nuggety gold from gullies north and south of historic workings. The Board supports immediate trial alluvial mining and further investigation of alluvial material and its potential hard-rock source.

ECR estimates around 100,000 cubic metres of minable material at Brothers based on surface samples and geological assessments, though gold grade details were not disclosed. Trial alluvial mining will use the recently mobilised ECR test processing plant to establish operational baselines and guide future development, including potential larger-scale processing deployment. Surface gold recoveries from gullies support the alluvial opportunity assessment.

Operational Shift from Raglan to Support Maddens Trial Mining

Operational personnel and a mobile wash plant are being redeployed from Raglan to Maddens to facilitate trial alluvial mining at Brothers. Active mining at Raglan will pause temporarily as the project moves into geological evaluation and mine planning. The initial Raglan phase provided valuable mining and processing experience and improved geological understanding.

Management plans further geological interpretation and mine planning at Raglan before committing additional resources. Chairman Nick Tulloch acknowledged Raglan’s slower-than-expected recovery consistency and clarified that the resource shift is a disciplined capital allocation, not the end of Raglan. Depending on Brothers trial success, further Raglan equipment, including a 60-tonne per hour wash plant, may be transferred to Maddens. Final Raglan clean-up will collect concentrated sands for processing, possibly at Maddens, with recovered gold added to previous Raglan production for sale.

Enhanced Geological Insights from Surveying and LiDAR at Maddens

Recent underground surveying and LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) have significantly improved geological understanding at Maddens, particularly regarding structural geology and mineralised zone complexities. While specific data were not disclosed, this work is expected to guide prioritization of mining and exploration across the licence.

Technical Director Mike Parker highlighted that these advances, combined with upcoming trial mining, position Maddens as a potential flagship asset within ECR's Australian gold portfolio. The geological insights provide a foundation to optimize mining strategies and exploration targeting across multiple areas within Maddens.

District-Scale Gold Potential at Lolworth and Exploration Progress

ECR continues to advance its Queensland exploration strategy, with recent success at Lolworth reinforcing its potential as a district-scale gold system. A new 200-metre drill-ready gold corridor was identified at the Butterfly Creek Prospect within the 946 square kilometre Lolworth Project. Laboratory assays showed peak soil gold values of 3.51 grams per tonne. Alongside prior discoveries at Uncle Terry and Gorge Creek West, these findings support the view that Lolworth could evolve into a significant gold district.

The company is focusing technical and operational efforts on Maddens, Salt Bush, and the expanded Queensland exploration portfolio. ECR Queensland holds three approved exploration permits covering 946 square kilometres in the Lolworth Range and has submitted a licence application at Kondaparinga in the Hodgkinson Gold Province, about 80 kilometres northwest of Mareeba. Lolworth’s longer-term discovery potential complements ECR’s near-term production focus at Maddens and Salt Bush, aligning with its strategy to build a diversified Australian gold company with both immediate and future value.

Blue Mountain Mining Lease and Development Initiatives

Progress continues at Blue Mountain, where a mining lease application has been lodged as part of ECR's goal to develop a diversified Australian gold portfolio with near-term production and discovery assets. ECR Raglan holds a mining lease at the Raglan alluvial gold project in central Queensland, while ECR Queensland has two approved exploration permits nearby at Blue Mountain. The company is working to bring Blue Mountain into production, though no specific timeline was provided.

Blue Mountain is integral to ECR’s broader Queensland growth strategy, complementing Maddens and Raglan operations. Further updates on Blue Mountain and Lolworth exploration are expected as development advances. Near-term operational focus remains on trial alluvial mining at Brothers within Maddens.

Salt Bush Open Cut Project in Development Pipeline

ECR holds a 20% interest in the Salt Bush shallow open cut mining project in South Australia via ECR Paleogold, with production preparations targeting mid-2027 commencement. Salt Bush is a high-priority development opportunity alongside Maddens. The Board views Salt Bush as a key future asset within the expanded hard rock portfolio, supporting ECR’s objective to build a diversified Australian gold producer with multiple production sites.

Specific resource estimates, production guidance, capital needs, or timelines beyond mid-2027 were not disclosed. The focus on accelerating Maddens reflects its nearer-term production potential, with Salt Bush contributing to the longer-term pipeline. ECR’s portfolio now spans multiple projects across four states, with Maddens and Salt Bush as principal near-term production assets driving the company’s transition.

Phased Trial Mining Approach and Equipment Deployment Strategy

The company plans a phased trial mining approach at Brothers, starting with establishing operational baselines and evaluating the need for larger processing equipment. The mobile wash plant and personnel will be mobilised to Brothers for initial trial alluvial mining and bulk processing. Results on grades, throughput, and recovery will guide future decisions.

Target grades, throughput volumes, and recovery rates for the trial were not disclosed. Successful trial outcomes will determine if larger-scale equipment, such as the 60-tonne per hour wash plant from Raglan, will be deployed. This cautious capital allocation ensures full-scale equipment deployment only follows proven operational success. Concurrent underground development planning and LiDAR interpretation will continue to maximize potential across Maddens.

ECR Minerals’ Australian Gold Portfolio and Corporate Structure

ECR Minerals operates through four wholly owned Australian subsidiaries: ECR Minerals (Australia) Pty Ltd, ECR Minerals (Queensland) Pty Ltd, ECR Minerals (Raglan) Pty Ltd, and ECR Minerals (Paleogold) Ltd. This structure supports a multi-state portfolio spanning operations and exploration across four states. ECR Paleogold holds 50% of the Maddens hard rock project in Northern Queensland and 20% of the Salt Bush open cut project in South Australia, plus 80% of the Tuckanarra exploration project in Western Australia.

ECR Australia owns the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central Victoria and the Tambo gold project in eastern Victoria. Following the sale of Avoca, Moormbool, and Timor projects to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd and the spin-out of Avoca and Timor to Leviathan Gold Ltd, ECR Australia retains rights to up to A$2 million in payments contingent on future resource estimations or production. ECR Australia also holds approximately A$77 million in unutilised tax losses from prior operations. This portfolio positions ECR as a diversified gold company with exposure to multiple development and exploration projects, aligned with its goal to generate near-term production revenues and long-term shareholder value.