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 an independent review of operations at its Raglan gold project in Queensland had identified a pathway towards improved gold recovery and more consistent production.
The AIM-traded Australia-focused gold exploration and development company said it had completed several initiatives in recent weeks, including a drone Lidar survey across the Raglan project area and a review of its mining and processing operations by an independent alluvial gold specialist with more than 30 years of industry experience.
ECR said the Lidar survey, completed by Victorian Geology and Survey Solutions in May, was now being processed and interpreted.
The company said the data could significantly improve its understanding of historical drainage systems, palaeochannels and mining targets, supporting future mine planning and production scheduling.
Mining to date had already identified areas with potentially higher gold grades, particularly gullies feeding into the mainstream, which can act as traps for alluvial gold.
The company said the independent review had identified several adjustments to optimise recovery across the processing circuit, including improvements to gravity recovery systems, water management, jig performance and overall plant calibration.
ECR said it believed the optimisation programme could increase recovery potential at Raglan, while priority target areas within its existing phase one mining plan were now being advanced based on ground analysis of favourable sections of the historical river channel system.
The company said it would also integrate the Lidar findings into future planning, with the aim of improving operational efficiency further.
As part of its wider Queensland growth strategy, ECR has started the process of appointing a consulting geologist to support development, exploration and production across its portfolio.
The role will cover projects including Raglan, Blue Mountain, Lolworth, Maddens and other potential development opportunities, following the company's acquisition of Paleogold.
Chairman Nick Tulloch said Raglan had delivered as a turnkey operation, with plant and equipment carrying a like-for-like replacement value above the acquisition price and a mining lease showing promising opportunities.
"Put simply, alluvial gold production is about mining in the right locations, processing the right material and ensuring the plant settings are optimised for that material," he said.
"Fairly small changes can produce significant results."
Tulloch said the independent review had provided a significantly improved understanding of both the processing plant and mining operations, giving ECR a clearer pathway towards consistent gold production.
"Raglan is a key component of ECR's strategy to build a meaningful Queensland gold business," he said.
"It was never expected to be our biggest project, but it is our first operational project, giving us initial gold production as we expand into bigger operations in Queensland and elsewhere in Australia."
At 1215 BST, shares in ECR Minerals were down 7.08% at 0.22p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
See latest RNS on Investegate