No recommendation
No news or research item is a personal recommendation to deal. Hargreaves Lansdown may not share ShareCast's (powered by Digital Look) views.
(Sharecast News) - ECR Minerals said on Wednesday that it expects to start gold production at its Raglan alluvial gold project in Queensland before the end of January, after securing an experienced operating team and completing site preparations.
The AIM-traded group said all key infrastructure, including the wash plant, mobile fleet and site facilities, was already in place, enabling mining operations to begin in the coming weeks.
It said the move would mark its transition into a revenue-generating gold producer following the completion of its acquisition of the fully permitted, turnkey Raglan Project in December.
ECR said the Raglan Project was intended to provide early cashflow to support the development of its wider Queensland portfolio, including the larger Blue Mountain project.
The company added that strong gold prices provided favourable market conditions for the start of production.
It described the Raglan Project as a fully permitted alluvial gold operation located in central Queensland, including a near-new 60 tonne-per-hour wash plant, a fully equipped gold room, established water supply, accommodation camp and mobile mining fleet.
ECR said the project offered a low-capex and rapid pathway to production and is strategically located close to Blue Mountain, creating potential operational synergies.
"Securing our operating team is the final major step to bring the Raglan Project into production, and I am thrilled that we can now set a clear expectation of initial gold production before the end of January," said chairman Nick Tulloch.
"This is a pivotal moment in ECR's journey - the Raglan Project gives us a low-capex, near-term route into gold production, and the revenues which we ultimately anticipate should be able to support the development of our broader Queensland portfolio - most notably the much larger Blue Mountain project."
Tulloch added that momentum across the company had been "pleasing" in recent months, from strong maiden drill results at the Lolworth project confirming a gold-silver system, to completing the acquisition of the Raglan Project.
"With current gold prices sitting at historically high levels, the Raglan Project has the potential to be a profitable project, generating meaningful cashflow in due course that can be reinvested across the business.
"We entered 2026 with confidence and a clear operational plan.
"I look forward to updating shareholders as we move into production and begin generating cashflow for the first time in ECR's history."
At 1345 GMT, shares in ECR Minerals were up 13.33% at 0.36p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.