ECR Minerals advancing Australian multi-project portfolio plans
By Josh White
Date: Monday 27 Apr 2026
(Sharecast News) - ECR Minerals said on Monday it was advancing plans to build a multi-project Australian gold portfolio, with the proposed acquisition of Paleogold expected to add nearer-term hard rock production opportunities alongside its existing alluvial and exploration assets.
The AIM-traded company said Paleogold had secured acceptances from more than 94% of shareholders for the acquisition, with acceptances from the remaining shareholders expected shortly.
Further updates on completion of the acquisition and related transactions would be provided in due course, it said.
ECR said that, following completion, it expected to hold interests in 10 projects across four Australian states, combining nearer-term production opportunities with district-scale exploration upside.
The firm said it would also, via Paleogold, exercise an option to acquire 50% of Lucky Strike, the owner of the Maddens Flat Group of Mines in Queensland.
"2026 has already started strongly for ECR, and we believe the remainder of the year will be even more exciting as the completion of the Paleogold transactions brings multiple projects closer to production," said chairman Nick Tulloch.
"With the addition of the Paleogold projects, we will have a substantial and diversified gold portfolio across Australia, combining nearer-term production opportunities with significant longer-term upside.
"Importantly, this is all taking place in a Tier-1 mining jurisdiction at a time of strong gold prices, which provides a highly supportive backdrop for our strategy."
At Maddens, ECR said underground development was progressing, with production targeted in the nearer term after completion of the Paleogold transactions.
The Maddens Flat group of mines comprises six historical mining sites within a 50 square kilometre exploration tenement in northern Queensland, where the company said there had been no systematic exploration programme to date.
As part of the option exercise, ECR said it would commit AUD 1m (£0.53m) to development of the Maddens underground mine, including extending the existing decline by about 120 metres to access the next level.
Based on historical production grades and technical assessments, the board believed the next level could generate around 2,500 ounces of gold.
"Our immediate focus is clear - advancing Maddens, Raglan and Blue Mountain," Tulloch said.
"At Maddens, underground development is progressing well, with the potential to deliver meaningful production this year alongside near-mine exploration upside.
"At Raglan, the team has used the central Queensland wet season productively and we are transitioning into increased-scale mining following optimisation work.
"We look forward to providing updates on gold production from Raglan in due course."
ECR said Maddens would represent its first hard rock mining interest and had the potential to make a meaningful financial contribution in 2026 after completion.
Non-executive director Mike Parker was expected to visit the project in May.
At Raglan, a fully permitted alluvial gold operation acquired in December, ECR said site preparation, equipment servicing and operational readiness work had been under way since January.
Trial pit mining and processing programmes had been completed, providing initial production and allowing optimisation of the wash plant and refinement of mining targets across the historic river channel.
The company said the wet season in central Queensland was now largely over, allowing the team to remobilise after Easter and begin ramping up to increased-scale mining, with throughput expected to build progressively through the second quarter.
Updates on gold production from Raglan were expected in the coming months.
ECR said Raglan remained a key production asset with the potential to generate enough cashflow to support corporate overheads and development of its larger Blue Mountain project.
At Blue Mountain, the company said it was progressing towards securing a mining lease following drilling, wash plant trials and operational work completed in 2024 and 2025.
It said discussions with the relevant mining authority were ongoing and that the board remained confident the application could be concluded this year.
The company also reported ongoing exploration and development work across Lolworth, Kondaparinga, Creswick, Bailieston and Tambo.
At Lolworth, soil samples from recent fieldwork have been submitted for laboratory analysis after maiden drilling results announced in December confirmed a gold-silver system.
Further work, including geophysical surveys and follow-up drilling, is planned.
In South Australia, ECR said the Salt Bush project, which would be added through the Paleogold acquisition, was a shallow open-cut development opportunity with potential to deliver more than 10,000 ounces of gold from near-surface mineralisation.
ECR said it would commit AUD 0.2m over six months to advance the project towards production readiness, with production targeted around mid-2027.
The firm said it would hold a 20% interest after completion.
In Western Australia, Paleogold owns an 80% interest in the Tuckanarra project, located adjacent to Odyssey Gold's 407,000-ounce gold resource.
ECR said exploration programmes were being designed to test extensions of known mineralised systems into the licence area.
In Victoria, ECR said discussions were continuing over the proposed joint venture with Bold Gold at Creswick, while Bailieston remained under review after previous drilling confirmed gold and antimony mineralisation.
At Tambo, where ECR was awarded the Tambo South exploration licence in March, initial work will include stream sampling, rock chip sampling and LIDAR surveys across a contiguous 47 kilometre strike.
"What is particularly exciting is the depth of our pipeline," Tulloch said.
"Beyond our initial and nearer-term production projects, we have Salt Bush as a more medium-term production asset and a range of exploration projects which should continue to build value across the portfolio.
"We also now benefit from a high-quality operating team at Maddens, along with the team from Paleogold who are to join ECR as part of the completion of the Paleogold Transactions and bring significant experience in developing and operating gold mines.
"ECR will be entering a new phase - one defined by execution, production and growth - and we look forward to updating shareholders regularly as we deliver on that strategy."
At 1121 BST, shares in ECR Minerals were up 0.77% at 0.26p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
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