This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Regulation 11 of the Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019/310.

25 June 2025

ECR MINERALS PLC

("ECR Minerals", "ECR" or the "Company")

Unaudited Half-Yearly Results for the Six Months Ended 31 March 2025

and Operations Update

ECR Minerals plc (LON: ECR), the exploration and development company focused on gold in Australia, is pleased to announce the Company's unaudited half-yearly financial results for the six months ended 31 March 2025, along with a review of significant developments during and post period.

HIGHLIGHTS

Operational highlights:

·    2025 work programme fully funded with recent drilling project at Bailieston under budget

·    Drilling rig mobilised for Blue Mountain with bulk sampling and prototype wash plant testing to demonstrate recovery and revenue potential

·    Forthcoming drilling programme at Lolworth where a minimum of 1,500 metres of percussion drilling is planned

·    Drilling at Bailieston, Victoria following up on historic 32% antimony grade confirms structural continuity of gold and antimony

·    Maiden diamond drilling campaign at Tambo, Victoria with best drill intercepts of 0.15 metres @ 24.10 g/t Au, 0.15 metres @ 10.6 g/t Au, 0.40 metres @ 8.51 g/t Au, 0.35 metres @ 1.47 g/t Au and 0.15 metres @ 1.42 g/t Au

Financial highlights:

·    Sale of land at Brewing Lane in Victoria realised A$225,000

·    Ongoing programme to seek to realise value from historic accumulated tax losses of over A$75 million either by sale to a third party or by application to ECR's proposed production plans

·    Further cost savings through reduction in scope of Australian consultants and advisers

·    Fundraising completed in December 2024 to raise gross proceeds of £950,000

Nick Tulloch, Chairman, said: "Much of the commentary on ECR over the past six months was dominated by our A$75 million of tax losses and there are two things that I want to make clear. Realising value from these tax losses is still very much on our agenda but we will not let them go cheaply and we will weigh up any third party offer against the value that ECR itself can obtain from them via its proposed production plans.    

"This latter point is most important.  The development of Blue Mountain gives ECR, for the first time in its history, a clear line of sight on revenues and, with the prevailing strength in the gold price, a meaningful expectation of value.  If that project performs as we expect it to, then the economic savings from utilising our tax losses there have the potential to considerably exceed the value that we may realise by selling our tax losses.  Alongside Blue Mountain, promising results elsewhere in our operations, alongside forthcoming exploration activities, provide further encouragement in relation to future financial performance.  But we are also mindful of the costs of developing production and we will look carefully at all approaches for the tax losses which, if structured appropriately, may provide a significant source of funding.

"The next two months in particular marks a pivotal moment for ECR.  Our work in Queensland got underway this week and in the immediate term our eyes are on Blue Mountain where we are carrying out a shallow drilling programme and wash plant prototype testing to determine the process for moving to large scale alluvial mining at the project.  From there the team will move 1,000 km north to Lolworth with the rig to target the high-grade gold and rare earth prospects that our surface exploration has pointed to."

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CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT

I am pleased to present ECR's interim results for the six months ended 31 March 2025.

The period began with our announcement in October 2024 of highly encouraging results from the enhanced gold recovery process at our Blue Mountain project in Queensland.  Working with Gekko Systems Pty Limited ("Gekko"), we have demonstrated a recovery rate of 91.7% gold into 0.40% of the mass and suggesting that the ore located at the Blue Mountain Project is suitable for gravity concentration using a batch centrifugal concentrator.  We said at the time that, if these results are repeatable across the Blue Mountain project area, then ECR might have a commercial project.  This news set the tone for much of the work done at Blue Mountain since, all of which is targeting the installation of a production plant on site and a move to an alluvial mining operation.

As with any small natural resources company, moving from exploration into production and, with that, to revenue generation will in due course mark a decisive moment in our development and I am pleased to report that this very much remains our primary objective.  As we announced on 19 June 2025, we have recently mobilised a rig and our team will be on site in the final week of this month.  This marks a major operational milestone as we carry out further bulk sampling and test our revised prototype wash plant modifications to support our future alluvial mining model. 

In these endeavours, we are supported by rising gold prices which this year have set several new highs and it is self-evident that at recent prices the prospective margins for our forthcoming operations at Blue Mountain would have already improved from just a few months ago when we carried out our preliminary economic analysis.

The year so far has created many uncertainties for investors.  Ongoing conflicts in the Ukraine and Gaza, and more recently elsewhere in the Middle East, coupled with slowing economies in much of the world may bring gold's safe-haven status into further focus.  We retain our commitment to cost management and frugal use of our capital resources and we will work hard to bring Blue Mountain into production so that shareholders may benefit from the then prevailing gold price. 

ECR is of course far more than one project and, whilst the Board is unanimous in our belief that Blue Mountain is deserving of its status as our primary focus, we have an extensive portfolio of other opportunities and I have summarised below how we envisage developing these over the remainder of this calendar year.

As we announced on 19 June 2025, the progress from our recent projects is increasing the awareness of ECR in Australia with both prospective counterparties and investors. We are reinforcing this by renaming our two Australian subsidiaries ECR Minerals (Australia) Pty Limited ("ECR Australia") and ECR Minerals (Queensland) Pty Limited, as the previous names did not directly identify them as ECR group companies.

Before moving into a review of our operations, it is important to note that one of ECR's largest assets is financial rather than project based.  ECR's wholly owned Australian subsidiary, ECR Australia, carries historic tax losses of A$75 million that were incurred in previous operations in both Victoria and Western Australia.  As investors will know, we commenced a process to seek buyers for those tax losses, which in practice means selling ECR Australia (subject to a corporate reorganisation), last year.  As it is in other countries, selling tax losses is highly specialised and buyers need to be satisfied of numerous restrictions around utilising those losses outside of the group in which they were incurred.  In spite of these restrictions, we were flattered by the interest we received and that very quickly validated our belief that a sale is possible.  Our first chosen buyer ultimately was unable to proceed on the timeline we established due to delays in other unconnected transactions that it was involved in.  We withdrew from negotiations and, although we continue to receive enquiries from buyers, our own landscape has changed. The emergence of Blue Mountain as being capable of going into production, and therefore the possibility of utilising those tax losses in-house far earlier than we previously envisaged, has created a new competitive dynamic.

We have put measures in place to be able to separate ECR Australia from the ECR group should we receive a suitable offer, but we have also ensured that all of our Australian operations form a single tax group so that potential future profits from Blue Mountain (or other operations) can be offset against our historic tax losses.

Whichever solution we settle on, A$75 million of tax losses is a core part of our value.

Finally, Trevor Davenport retired as a non-executive director of ECR on 31 December 2024.  Trevor joined the Board over three years ago and played an invaluable role in guiding the Company through a period of significant changes. His insight and expertise were instrumental in supporting ECR's strategic direction during this time and I am very grateful for all that he has done for us.

QUEENSLAND

Lolworth

At approximately 900km², Lolworth represents over half of ECR's total land under licence.  In July and August this year we will be carrying out our inaugural drilling programme at Lolworth following extensive fieldwork campaigns conducted over the past two years. Gold, Niobium-Tantalum and REE (in particular Neodymium) are the main commodities discovered from these surface activities. 

We reported the results of rock chip sampling and trenching activities in October 2024 where the highest-grade gold results included 11.05, 14.15 and 14.7 g/t Au.   In addition, 23 rock chips returned silver grades greater than 10 g/t Ag with six samples exceeding 50 g/t Ag.  Trenching at the Gorge Creek West Prospect identified broader zones of gold mineralisation, including best grades of 11.05, 3.72 and 4.82 g/t Au within a quartz shear zone.  Newly-discovered gold-bearing veins were also identified near Gorge Creek West and the Uncle Terry prospects.

At the start of 2025, we reported on 165 pan concentrate samples which were collected from alluvial sources in the eastern area, covering creeks located north of the Uncle Terry Prospect, east of the Gorge Creek Prospects and southeast of the Dagwood Prospect.  Nine samples returned gold values greater than 9 ppm Au (with three high-grade samples reporting concentrations of 1,245 ppm, 175.5 ppm and 127 ppm Au) and five samples returned Niobium-Tantalum concentrations greater than 1,000 ppm of Nb (0.1%).

Once work is complete at Blue Mountain in the coming weeks, the ECR team and the rig will move north to Lolworth.  Drill-ready targets have been clearly defined based on the surface work to date. The first-pass drilling programme will prioritise the gold prospects at Gorge Creek West, Uncle Terry and Gorge Diggings, with Butterfly Creek also under consideration if time and budget permit.  Drilling is expected to commence mid-July, with completion anticipated in August.  A minimum of 1,500 metres of percussion drilling is planned, using a rig capable of 100mm diameter holes to at least 100 metres depth.  The focus will be on near-surface mineralisation continuity (up to 70m depth), optimising intercept density over depth for cost-effectiveness.

If further evidence was needed of the potential significance of Lolworth, our partnerships with the Geological Survey of Queensland and James Cook University are a reminder of the widening interest in a project that is prospective for both gold and critical minerals.

Kondaparinga

As announced in October 2023, we took the decision to terminate the proposed "Hurricane" acquisition and shortly ahead of that applied for Exploration License EPM28910 at Kondaparinga. This area is situated close to the original geological features that first bought Hurricane to our attention. Significantly, it is also twice the size of Hurricane. We continue to work through the process for the licence to be granted and we expect to have this concluded this year.

Blue Mountain

As I summarised above, Gekko carried out a Single Stage Gravity Recoverable Gold and Sighter Leach test on samples of ore collected at the Company's Blue Mountain project in Queensland last year.  The findings demonstrated a very good recovery rate (estimated by Gekko as 91.7% gold into 0.40% of the mass) and suggested that the ore located at the Blue Mountain project is suitable for gravity concentration using a batch centrifugal concentrator. Our expectation is that, if these results are repeatable across the project area, then ECR may have a commercial project suitable for a production plant on site.

Since the start of 2025, the ECR team have visited the site to develop plans for a production programme. This included meeting with the landowner and carrying out further surveys of historical workings on the site.  We have also used drones and ground penetrating radar to develop a more detailed understanding of the ground conditions and particularly the depth of bedrock and this will shortly be followed up by a series of 3 - 5 metres depth holes on gridlines across the core areas of the alluvial resource. 

We have completed modifications to our prototype wash plant and this is being tested this week to determine what we believe will be a more efficient gold capture process.

The bulk sampling campaign that is now ongoing will ensure the validity of the Company's financial modelling of the Blue Mountain Project prior to moving to production.  We previously announced on 3 February 2025, by way of illustration, that we believe that the Blue Mountain Project is capable of having an indicative revenue potential of approximately A$470,000 (US$295,000) per month. This potential revenue illustration uses an average grade of 0.6 grammes per bank cubic metre and Gekko's projected recovery rate, with a wash plant with a 25 tonne per hour capacity, to provide prospective output per month of over 3,000 grammes (over 100 ounces) per month.

This illustrative financial return could potentially be increased by operating dual wash plants but, more significantly, the above calculations were based on a gold price of US$2,790 per ounce. With prices now some 20% higher, we consider that the value of the project has potentially increased.

As previously announced, the Blue Mountain project is based on an alluvial gold system where gold is therefore found at or near the surface. ECR's deepest trench to date was four metres but the highest recovery was at a depth of just 1.5 metres. Consequently, bringing the Blue Mountain project into commercial production is anticipated to not have the high capital expenditure that other gold mining projects have where higher grades are located at great depth.

VICTORIA

Bailieston

As announced on 3 July 2024, further sampling of previous drill results at our Bailieston project identified a high-grade antimony zone, including an impressive 32% antimony grade over 0.3 metres and 1.2% antimony over 0.1 metres.

In the early part of this year, field teams successfully completed a rock chip sampling programme as well as an X-Ray Fluorescence ("PXRF") analysis which, together, identified surface expressions of antimony ("Sb").

With antimony being one of the best performing commodities over the past two years, the next logical step was to commission a diamond drilling programme to further explore the presence of both gold and antimony mineralisation.  A total of approximately 570 metres of drilling has now been completed across four holes with two of those holes previously being reported as intersecting antimony at grades of 1.62% and 1.41%.

ECR has now received the final results from its recent drilling campaign at the Bailieston project in Victoria. Hole 4 (BH3DD047), designed to test the continuity of the high-grade antimony vein intercepted in previous drilling, successfully intercepted the shear zone at the planned depth of 107m. Although no significant elevated antimony intercepts were recorded, hole 4 returned an average grade of 0.3m @ 0.69 g/t Au from an interval at 107.0 to 107.3 metres, indicating the presence of gold mineralisation within the target zone (although no significant intercepts were reported from the other intervals tested from that drill hole).

This extends the known gold-bearing mineralisation from the high-grade antimony intercept in historic hole BH3DD019, where 32% Sb was previously reported - an extraordinary concentration that highlights the potential of discrete, high-grade pods within the system. All four holes in the current campaign successfully intercepted the shear zone associated with BH3DD019, confirming structural continuity, though the high-grade antimony zone appears to have a secondary control not as yet defined. Detailed geological assessment of the core samples will be undertaken to further the understanding of the zone to optimise future exploration.

Importantly, larger scale geological trends related to the shear zone observed during the campaign provide technical confidence for further exploration, especially given the previously reported channel samples of up to 0.3m @ 41.3 g/t Au along the Hard Up Reef. This reef system, historically undeveloped, warrants follow-up investigation, as well as evaluating regional gold occurrences and mining in the area that add to the potential of prospective trends and exploration zones as yet untested.

The main shear trend appears to extend further north for at least another 6km and hosts substantial historic mining activity for both gold and antimony. The small Bailieston open pit (located just to the north of ECR's property) was opened up in the early 1990s and produced some 24,000 oz Au and is on the same trend just 2 km north of ECR's Bailieston's HR3 prospect on gold veins of the same nature. The nearby Black Cloud Mine also produced over 100 tonnes of high grade antimony ore in the early 1900s.

Creswick

Although no work was carried out on our Creswick project during the period under review, its location in the heart of Victoria's historic gold mining industry and the results of our previous drilling programmes mean that it remains a significant part of our future operations.  We established last year an extensive broad mineralisation in several holes where contiguous gold is present indicating the hallmarks of a potential future small-scale operation.

The nature of being a small company is that we make choices on where to focus our time and resources.  The near-term opportunity at Blue Mountain may take priority at the moment but we expect to return to Creswick in due course and continue our work there.  As I announced in our AGM statement in April, we were approached by a third party interested in a potential collaboration on the development of our Creswick project.  Whilst discussions have not advanced to date, the unsolicited approach itself is a reminder of the ongoing interest in this region.

Tambo

In October 2024, we commenced our maiden diamond drilling campaign at the Tambo gold project targeting beneath the historical workings of the Duke of Cornwall Mine, Swifts Creek.   The campaign consisted of five diamond core drill holes, totalling approximately 439 metres in aggregate, to test strike and depth continuity of gold mineralisation from the Company's previous surface rock chip results and to refine the structural model.

The best drill intercepts included 0.15 metres @ 24.10 g/t Au, 0.15 metres @ 10.6 g/t Au, 0.40 metres @ 8.51 g/t Au, 0.35 metres @ 1.47 g/t Au and 0.15 metres @ 1.42 g/t Au.  These drill results were support by surface channel (chip) sampling from the Main Lode carried out at the same time and which returned exceptional results including 0.2 metres @ 180 g/t Au and 0.25 metres @ 27.80 g/t Au.

The drilling campaign successfully demonstrated that mineralisation continues at depth below the old Duke of Cornwall mine workings in key areas and considerably enhanced our geological understanding of the prospect. The structural insights gained will inform the design of future campaigns aimed at targeting high-grade zones and testing the unexamined central portions of the Lode. 

ACQUISITION STRATEGY

ECR will continue to examine suitable acquisitions and other collaborations and joint ventures.  However, in line with our previous statements, we are conservative in our approach, guard our cash resources carefully and will only proceed if we are convinced of compelling value for shareholders.

On 3 March 2025, we announced that we were in exclusive discussion for the proposed acquisition of Maximus Minerals Ltd ("Maximus"), the owner of three properties in Ontario, Canada and with an option to acquire a license over a fourth property also in Ontario.  Maximus' prospective resource base was compelling and potentially a strong fit with ECR by contributing both gold and base metals to our portfolio, as well as providing geographic diversification.  However, during the due diligence phase of the proposed acquisition, it became apparent that there were certain unforeseen structural challenges regarding Maximus that would increase the complications of successfully concluding any such transaction and thereby detract from its potential value to ECR. As a result, we took the decision to terminate discussions.

OTHER ASSETS

Royalties

ECR continues to be entitled to royalties from our former Avoca and Timor exploration licences being A$1 for every ounce of gold or gold equivalent of measured resource, indicated resource or inferred resource estimated and A$1 for every ounce of gold or gold equivalent produced, up to a maximum of A$2,000,000 in aggregate.  No payments under the Avoca and Timor exploration licence were received in the year.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The Group's net assets at 31 March 2025 were £5,520,965 in comparison with £5,192,056 as at 31 March 2024.

Despite being active across its portfolio of projects, ECR's capital position has improved during the period.  The Company raised £950,000 before expenses in December 2024. Savings from closing the London office a year ago, coupled with a reduction in the scope of work of certain consultants in Australia, are creating more scope to apply our funds to exploration activities. Also, as mentioned in previous reports, the Company has continued to operate a share-based remuneration package for its board and certain consultants, thereby significantly reducing its cash outlays. 

In March 2025, we successfully sold property at Brewing Lane (within the Creswick licence area) for a consideration of A$225,000.  The sale does not impact the exploration licences that we hold in the area.  This year we have also temporarily sublet part of our office and yard at Eaglehawk, Bendigo.  The arrangement, which only lasted two months, provided some cost reimbursement whilst the team are on site and our facilities are not in use.  The arrangement was successful and we are now working with a local estate agent to source other tenants.  The yard and core shed are in ongoing use for ECR but there is a considerable part of the office and site that could be made available for third parties to use without compromising our own activities.

Importantly, we are fully funded for our 2025 exploration programme. 

ECR's wholly owned Australian subsidiary, ECR Australia, carries historic tax losses of A$75 million that were incurred in previous operations in both Victoria and Western Australia.  In common with other countries, transferred tax losses in Australia are subject to certain restrictions, primarily on similarity of business operations, but nevertheless the quantum of these losses represents a potentially significant asset for ECR and work is ongoing to seek to realise this value.  As I explained above, this could include a sale to a third party or utilising the tax losses ourselves, most probably against future profits to be generated via production operations at Blue Mountain.

On 18 June 2025, we incorporated a new wholly owned subsidiary, ECR Digital Limited ("ECR Digital"), to provide a platform for managing and exploring digital asset strategies. This initiative is designed to support ECR's evolving financial strategy as we move closer to a potential revenue-generating phase, particularly from Blue Mountain. With increasing investor interest in alternative treasury structures, we believe that ECR Digital will give us optionality to potentially hold a portion of our treasury reserves in digital currency, such as select cryptocurrencies, as either a partial hedge against fluctuations in gold prices or as a standalone store of value, which the Board views as effectively functioning as a modern form of digital inventory.

While this initiative remains at an early stage, we have already conducted extensive research and any movement into digital currency treasury management will be subject to strict governance protocols (including a prescribed treasury policy), including board-level oversight, regulatory compliance and formal risk management processes. Importantly, this development does not shift our core operational focus from mineral exploration and production. ECR Digital is instead viewed as a potentially complementary tool to enhance our financial agility and safeguard long-term shareholder value in a changing economic landscape.  

The Group's ongoing activities are solely in mineral exploration and development. It is not in production at any of its current projects and therefore has no revenue.

As the Group is not generating revenue from operations, the Directors consider that profit and loss is a metric of less utility than in many other businesses. For the period to 31 March 2025 the Group recorded a loss for the period of £400,729 compared with £451,412 for the corresponding period to 31 March 2024, a decrease of 11%, reflecting how the sale of the Brewing Lane property offset increased exploration activity.  The largest contributor to the total comprehensive loss was the administrative expenses.

Exploration activity took place in both Central Victoria and Northern Queensland, Australia during the period to 31 March 2025, as discussed in the Chairman's Report. Capitalised exploration assets are valued at cost; this value should not be confused with the potential realisable value of the relevant projects or be considered to determine the value accorded to the projects by the stock market, which in both cases may be considerably different.

Outlook

During the period, we have continued to advance our assets across the group and, hopefully, as shareholders will observe, our pace of activity has accelerated throughout 2025. Our team's arrival in Queensland this week marks the start of a campaign running for almost two months - a campaign that we expect to define production plans at Blue Mountain and considerably advance our Lolworth gold and rare earths project.

Over the remainder of this calendar year, the Company's work programme will include:

·    Ongoing preparations at Blue Mountain, Queensland aimed at commencing production

·    Our inaugural drilling campaign in Lolworth, Queensland 

·    Potentially a return to Bailieston, utilising the same rig that we have on hire to further investigate the Hard Up Reef and the shear zone observed during the recent drilling campaign

Through a combination of the fundraising announced in December 2024, the Board's focus on cost management and share based remuneration and this year's property sale, these activities are fully funded.

Review of Announcement by Qualified Person

This announcement has been reviewed by Adam Jones, Chief Geologist at ECR Minerals Plc. Adam Jones is a professional geologist and is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (MAIG). He is a qualified person as that term is defined by the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies.

ABOUT ECR MINERALS PLC

ECR Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company. ECR's wholly owned Australian subsidiary, ECR Minerals (Australia) Pty Ltd ("ECR Australia"), has 100% ownership of the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central Victoria, Australia, has six licence applications outstanding which includes one licence application lodged in eastern Victoria (Tambo gold project).

ECR also owns 100% of an Australian subsidiary, ECR Minerals (Queensland) Pty Ltd, which has three approved exploration permits covering 946 km² over a relatively unexplored area in Lolworth Range, Queensland, Australia. The Company has also submitted a license application at Kondaparinga which is approximately 120km² in area and located within the Hodgkinson Gold Province, 80km NW of Mareeba, North Queensland.

Following the sale of the Avoca, Moormbool and Timor gold projects in Victoria, Australia to Fosterville South Exploration Ltd (TSX-V: FSX) and the subsequent spin-out of the Avoca and Timor projects to Leviathan Gold Ltd (TSX-V: LVX), MGA has the right to receive up to A$2 million in payments subject to future resource estimation or production from projects sold to Fosterville South Exploration Limited. 

ECR Australia also has approximately A$75 million of unutilised tax losses incurred during previous operations.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This announcement may include forward-looking statements. Such statements may be subject to a number of 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 as a result of new information, future events or for any other reason.

GLOSSARY

Notes to the Condensed Half-Yearly Financial Statements

For the six months ended 31 March 2025

1.   Basis of preparation

The condensed consolidated half-yearly financial statements incorporate the financial statements of the Company and its subsidiaries (the "Group") made up to 31 March 2025. The results of the subsidiaries are consolidated from the date of acquisition, being the date on which the Company obtains control, and continue to be consolidated until the date such control ceases.

These condensed half-yearly consolidated financial statements do not include all of the information required for full annual financial statements, and should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements of the Group for the year ended 30 September 2024. They have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies adopted in the last annual financial statements for the year to 30 September 2024.  The report of the auditors on those accounts was unqualified and did not contain a statement under section 498(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 2006.

The accounting policies have been applied consistently throughout the Group for the purpose of preparation of these consolidated half-yearly financial statements. New and amended standards, and interpretations issued and effective for the financial year beginning 1 October 2024 have been adopted but do not have a material impact on the condensed consolidated financial statements. The Group has not early adopted any other standard, interpretation or amendment that has been issued but is not yet effective.

The financial information in this statement does not constitute full statutory accounts within the meaning of Section 434 of the Companies Act 2006.  The financial information for the six months ended 31 March 2025 and 31 March 2024 is unaudited.  The comparative figures for the year ended 30 September 2024 were derived from the Group's audited financial statements for that period as filed with the Registrar of Companies.  They do not constitute the financial statements for that period.

2.   Going concern

The Directors are satisfied that the Group has sufficient resources to continue its operations and to meet its commitments for the immediate future. The Group therefore continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its condensed half-yearly financial statements.

3.   Cash and cash equivalents

Cash includes petty cash and cash held in bank current accounts. Cash equivalents include short-term investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and which are subject to insignificant risk of changes in value.

4.   Earnings per share

The disclosure of the diluted loss per share is the same as the basic loss per share as the conversion of share options decreases the basic loss per share thus being anti-dilutive.       

5.   Income tax

No charge to tax arises on the results and no deferred tax provision arises or deferred tax asset is identified.

6.   Shares and options transactions during the period

The share capital of the Company consists of three classes of shares: ordinary shares of 0.001p each which have equal rights to receive dividends or capital repayments and each of which represents one vote at shareholder meetings; and two classes of deferred shares, one of 9.9p each and the other of 0.099p each, which have limited rights as laid out in the Company's articles: in particular deferred shares carry no right to dividends or to attend or vote at shareholder meetings and deferred share capital is only repayable after the nominal value of the ordinary share capital has been repaid.

a)    Changes in issued share capital and share premium:

All the shares issued are fully paid up and none of the Company's shares are held by any of its subsidiaries.

7.   Consolidated Cash Flow Statement

8.   Post period end events

On 1 April 2025 the Company issued an aggregate of 27,485,708 new Ordinary Shares to certain Directors, consultants and advisers both as part of their remuneration or fee arrangements.

On 13 May 2025 the Company terminated discussions in respect of the proposed acquisition of Maximus Minerals Ltd ("Maximus"), details of which were originally announced by the Company on 3 March 2025. Maximus is the owner of three properties in Ontario, Canada and has an option to acquire a license over a fourth property also in Ontario.