Announcement • Sep 08

ECR Minerals Identifies New Visible Gold-Bearing Quartz Reef At Maddens Mine

ECR Minerals plc announced the identification of a new visible gold-bearing quartz reef at the Maddens Mine in the Maddens Gold Project in North Queensland. The newly recognised reef, named Jack's Reef, was encountered during underground development work associated with ventilation infrastructure at the Maddens Mine. Jack's Reef is a consistent quartz structure, approximately 50 centimetres or more in width in places, with clearly visible gold observed within parts of the exposed reef. The position of Jack's Reef may explain why mineralisation appears to terminate at the northern end of the mine and could indicate a continuation or change in orientation of the existing Maddens Mine mineralised system due to structural controls. The discovery potentially opens up additional ground around the existing mine and towards the known Maddens Northern Lode for targeted exploration. Existing mine infrastructure provides an important advantage, allowing the Company to investigate Jack's Reef from active underground workings rather than relying solely on surface exploration. A significant amount of material from Jack's Reef is already stockpiled on surface, with processing activity expected to commence later this month. Jack's Reef was encountered during development of an underground rise for the ventilation system at the Maddens Mine at the northern limit of the known mineralisation. The reef is a consistent quartz structure, constrained within host-rock foliation, approximately 50 centimetres or more in width in places, with visible gold regularly observed within the quartz. The exposed vertical extent of the reef is approximately 10 m in the rise and 5-10 m along strike. Jack's Reef is considered particularly significant because of its locality and geological characteristics. Recent three-dimensional surveying of the historic Maddens Mine workings shows that the existing mineralisation appears to terminate close to the area where Jack's Reef begins. The Maddens Mine's mineralisation mined to date cross-cuts host-rock foliation by about 30 degrees, whereas Jack's Reef follows foliation. Underground examination and surface exposures indicate that the Maddens Mine's mineralisation broadly changes bearing by 30 degrees clockwise at the northern end of the underground mine workings and becomes foliation-parallel over several horizons. The major manifestation of this orientation change is Jack's Reef. This form of structure is known as a ramp and flat, where the structures ramp across foliation and then exploit foliation-parallel weaknesses to propagate further. The Jack's Reef flat trends towards the Maddens Northern Lode and, although poorly exposed at only one site, appears to connect the Maddens Mine and the Maddens Northern Lode. The Maddens Northern Lode, a site of known mineralisation with significant historic underground workings, ramps (cross-cuts) foliation again, until a northern flat splay can be traced by pitting carried out by previous operators. The dimensions of the system are understood to be as follows: Maddens Mine Ramp 60-90 m, Jack's Reef Flat 120 m, Maddens Northern Lode Ramp 70 m, North Flat Flat 60 m. The south end of Maddens Mine also shows characteristics of entering into a flat. The North Flat has yet to be explored in any detail. All structures dip moderately to steeply west to south-west. The presence of ramp and flat structures at Maddens should significantly increase the exploration potential. In compressional structural regimes such as the Maddens project area, ramp-to-flat transitions create dilatant zones that can trigger gold deposition due to pressure drops and fracturing; at the same sites, permeability zones can form, with increased potential for high grades. Whilst mineralisation is not yet confirmed to be continuous across the whole system, the potential focus of high-grade zones at ramp-to-flat interfaces is considered to be a significant exploration advance, not only for the Maddens Mine but across the whole exploration tenement. If confirmed through further work, this could materially increase the geological opportunity around the existing mine by demonstrating that gold-bearing structures continue beyond areas previously thought to represent the limits of historic development. Jack's Reef gives ECR the opportunity to investigate potential additional mineralised areas at the Maddens Mine by targeted follow-up work from underground and/or a potential focused surface drill program. Such mineralised areas, if confirmed by continuity, thickness, and grade, could be accessed by stoping from current mine infrastructure with little additional development required. The wider Maddens project tenements contain a number of historic mines and workings, and until now, there has been limited modern, systematic exploration to understand how these structures may be connected. The identification of Jack's Reef therefore provides a potentially important new piece of the geological model and may help the Company build a clearer picture of the scale and continuity of the broader mineralised system. The Company intends to continue to investigate Jack's Reef and undertake targeted follow-up work to better understand its orientation, continuity of dimensions and grade, and relationship with the existing Maddens Mine reef system. This work will also consider whether similar structures may exist elsewhere around the historic mine area. The combination of visible gold, the consistent nature of the reef, its position relative to the existing workings, and the wider historic mineralisation across the Maddens project tenements creates a compelling opportunity for further exploration alongside ongoing mine development. A significant amount of material from both Jack's Reef and the main Maddens Mine is already stockpiled on surface and processing activity is expected to commence this month.

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