Option Agreement – Iceberg Gold Project Weste...

Option Agreement – Iceberg Gold Project Western Australia

ECR Minerals plc

ECR MINERALS plc

(“ECR Minerals”, “ECR” or the “Company”)

OPTION AGREEMENT – ICEBERG GOLD PROJECT WESTERN AUSTRALIA

ECR Minerals plc (LON:ECR) the precious metals exploration and development company is pleased to announce the signing of an agreement with Pacific Trends Resources Pty Limited, securing an option over the Iceberg Gold Project in Western Australia.

Highlights:

• The Iceberg Gold Project comprises 3 tenements under application totalling 137km² of ground immediately along strike and adjacent to the Tropicana gold mine (circa 8m ounces of gold mineral resource estimate) operated by AngloGold Ashanti and Independence Group under Joint Venture;
• The Iceberg Gold Project represents a portfolio of ground lying within a Proterozoic belt and within the Plumridge terrane that hosts the Tropicana deposit;
• Proterozoic belts are host to known significant deposits of gold, copper, nickel and uranium;
• Option fee payable of £25,000 securing 60 day option period and comprising £10,000 cash which is payable immediately and £15,000 through the immediate issue of 1.5m new ordinary shares in ECR Minerals at a deemed price of 1.0p per share (the “Option Shares”):
• Should ECR wish to exercise the option it may acquire a 100% interest in the Iceberg Gold Project through a further payment of £225,000 satisfied by way of the issue of 22.5m new ordinary shares in ECR Minerals (at the same deemed price of 1.0p per share);
• In the event that ECR or a member of it’s group develops the Iceberg Gold Project and enters into production, a further payment to the vendors, Pacific Trends Resources Pty Limited, will be payable through the issue of a further 30,000,000 new ordinary shares in ECR Minerals (at the deemed price of 1p per share);
• ECR Minerals will produce a further information update for shareholders in respect of this Iceberg Gold Project in due course, along with updates as its due diligence work progresses.

Craig Brown, Chief Executive Officer of ECR Minerals plc, commented: “The signing of this Option Agreement is another step forward in ECR’s campaign to become a leading Australian focused gold and strategic metals exploration and development company.

Competition for project opportunities in the Proterozoic belts is increasing, particularly following recent large discoveries in the Paterson Province of Western Australia. There remains the potential for further multi-million ounce discoveries within this type of geology.

Given this backdrop, the ECR Minerals team are excited to be offered an opportunity to secure an option over this project package. Subject to the successful completion of our due diligence work, we look forward to moving forward with the project.

Following its recent financing ECR is well funded and able to engage proactively on its project interests. Your company continues to build on these activities to deliver a broader based and refocused ECR Minerals.”

FURTHER INFORMATION – ICEBERG PROJECT

The Iceberg Project comprises of 3 tenements under application totalling 137km² of ground. The package includes tenements under application EL-2050, EL39-2051 and EL39-2082 (EL = Exploration Licence). These tenements represent new licence applications and accordingly no book value currently attaches to them.

The minimum reported annual statutory expenditure commitment for all three of the licences combined is A$146,000 (circa £82,000 at current exchange rates) over years 1 – 3 from licence granting.

ADMISSION OF OPTION SHARES AND TOTAL VOTING RIGHTS

Application has been made for the Option Shares to be admitted to trading on AIM, and admission of the Option Shares is expected to occur on or around 10 August 2018. Following Admission of the Option Shares, ECR’s issued ordinary share capital will comprise 341,962,383 ordinary shares of 0.001 pence. This number will represent the total voting rights in the Company, and, following admission of both the placing and subscription shares, may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculation by which they can determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in, the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. The new shares will rank pari passu in all respects with the ordinary shares of the Company currently traded on AIM.

COMPETENT PERSON STATEMENT

The information in this announcement that relates to Exploration Results is based on information compiled by Dr Rodney Boucher of Linex Pty Ltd. Linex Pty Ltd provides geological services to Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd, including the services of Dr Boucher, who has a PhD in geology, is a Member and RPGeo of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Dr Boucher has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the ‘Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves’. Dr Boucher consents to the inclusion in the announcement of the material based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

ABOUT ECR MINERALS PLC

ECR is a mineral exploration and development company. ECR’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia has 100% ownership of the Avoca, Bailieston, Creswick, Moormbool and Timor gold exploration licences in central Victoria, Australia.

ECR has earned a 25% interest in the Danglay epithermal gold project, an advanced exploration project located in a prolific gold and copper mining district in the north of the Philippines. An NI43-101 technical report was completed in respect of the Danglay project in December 2015 and is available for download from ECR’s website.

ECR’s wholly owned Argentine subsidiary Ochre Mining has 100% ownership of the SLM gold project in La Rioja, Argentina. Exploration at SLM has focused on identifying small tonnage mesothermal gold deposits which may be suitable for relatively near-term production.

MARKET ABUSE REGULATIONS (EU) No. 596/2014

The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 (MAR). Upon the publication of this announcement via Regulatory Information Service (RIS), this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

ECR Minerals plc	Â	Tel: [phone]
David Tang, Non-Executive Chairman
Craig Brown, Director & CEO
Email:   [e-mail]
Website: www.ecrminerals.com
		Â
WH Ireland Ltd		Tel: [phone]
Nominated Adviser
Katy Mitchell/James Sinclair-Ford
		Â
Optiva Securities Ltd		Tel: [phone]
Broker
Graeme Dickson
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SI Capital Ltd		Tel: [phone]
Broker
Nick Emerson

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This announcement may include forward looking statements. Such statements may be subject to numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and therefore actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking statements. Any forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date hereof (unless stated otherwise) and, except as may be required by applicable laws or regulations (including the AIM Rules for Companies), the Company disclaims any obligation to update or modify such forward-looking statements because of new information, future events or for any other reason.

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