17 October 2025

ECR MINERALS PLC

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

ECR defines Queensland gold growth strategy following successful drilling at Lolworth

Strategic focus on near-term alluvial gold production and major exploration in Queensland

ECR Minerals plc (AIM: ECR), the gold exploration and development company focused on Australia, is pleased to announce the successful conclusion of its 2025 drilling programme at the Lolworth gold and rare earths project in North Queensland, Australia (the "Lolworth Project"), together with a wider update on progress at its alluvial gold operations at the Blue Mountain project in Queensland, Australia (the "Blue Mountain Project") and its proposed acquisition of Licence ML 3665 (the "Raglan Project").

The Company's operational focus continues to centre on establishing near-term production at its advanced-stage Queensland alluvial gold projects, while unlocking the large-scale discovery potential across its broader tenement package in one of Australia's most prospective gold provinces.

Highlights

·    Successful completion of drilling at the Lolworth Project, confirming gold and silver-bearing veins at shallow depths.

·    Ongoing wash plant trials and resource modelling at the Blue Mountain Project ahead of a full mining lease application intended to be made in the fourth quarter of 2025 ("Q4 2025").

·    Proposed acquisition of the Raglan Project (the "Proposed Acquisition") advancing towards completion, with first gold production targeted for Q4 2025.

·    Pre-completion restructuring to remove surplus assets has reduced the cost of the Proposed Acquisition to A$1.01 million plus any applicable GST in cash.

·    Further updates in Q4 2025 are expected to include assay results, wash plant trial outcomes and the potential conclusion of the Creswick JV (as defined below).

Lolworth Project

Located close to 1,000 square kilometres in North Queensland, the Lolworth Project is a large-scale exploration project prospective for gold, silver, lead and rare earth elements. The Lolworth Project remains free of native title claims, enabling straightforward and low-cost exploration access.

The 2025 drill programme has successfully validated the Company's geological interpretation of gold and silver-bearing vein systems at Uncle Terry prospect, with all predicted veins intersected. ECR drilled 21 reverse circulation ("RC") holes at the Uncle Terry prospect and a further seven at the Gorge Creek West prospect, to depths of between 30 and 42 metres.

ECR's chief geologist Adam Jones, who has been on site throughout the drilling campaign, reported strong visual results including multiple intersections of sulphides and, in particular, visible silver mineralisation. Rock chip sampling and soil XRF analysis will be undertaken before Adam's departure from site, with initial assay results from the drilling campaign expected in the coming weeks.

Blue Mountain Project

At Blue Mountain, ECR is finalising its most extensive alluvial gold drilling programme to date, with close to 400 holes completed across the Lower Patterson, Windmill and Upper Kariboe Creek areas. Visible coarse gold has been confirmed in multiple zones.

Adam Jones is expected to return to the Blue Mountain Project site next week to pan and weigh more than 150 samples prior to detailed assay testing. These results are expected to feed into the upcoming wash plant trials, which will include selective testing of both high-and-low-grade material to validate the drill results and inform an initial internal resource estimate.

Following the conclusion of wash plant trials, and therefore evidence of the extent of the commercial opportunity at the Blue Mountain Project, ECR intends to submit a mining lease application during Q4 2025, an important milestone towards near-term production and cashflow generation.

Raglan Project - near-term production of Alluvial Gold

The Raglan Project, located near Gladstone, Queensland, represents a fully permitted alluvial gold operation with an existing mining lease and a 60-tonne-per-hour wash plant on site. Following a successful due diligence site visit earlier this month, ECR is aiming to complete the Proposed Acquisition in the coming weeks and is already preparing personnel for mobilisation.  The final stages of the Proposed Acquisition are expected to involve concluding the legal documentation and due diligence. This is well underway and proceeding satisfactorily and, in particular, the parties have agreed certain simplifications of the structure.

ECR will now only acquire Raglan Resources Pty Ltd ("Raglan Resources"), the holder of Licence ML 3665, and Raglan Mining Pty Ltd will be retained by the vendors.  This is part of the pre-completion restructuring of Raglan Resources by the vendors so that any unrelated tenements and non-core assets can be excluded from the Proposed Acquisition, in line with the Company's notification on 1 October 2025.  The vendors have confirmed that Raglan Resources carries A$1.2 million of unutilised tax losses that can be amalgamated with ECR's existing A$75 million of tax losses and applied against its forthcoming production projects.

Pursuant to this restructuring, the parties have also agreed that certain surplus equipment will also be excluded from the Proposed Acquisition and sold separately by the vendors.  As a result, a corresponding A$90,000 price reduction to A$1.01 million plus any applicable GST in cash has been agreed.

Operations at the Raglan Project are targeted to commence during Q4 2025, providing the Company potentially with immediate production capability - and revenue - while the Blue Mountain Project final planning process and mining lease application progresses.  As previously announced, there are expected to be operational synergies between the two projects with the ability to redeploy both personnel and operating equipment at the Blue Mountain Project at the appropriate time.

This dual-track approach positions ECR to potentially generate near-term revenues while advancing the larger-scale development potential of its Queensland portfolio.

The Proposed Acquisition remains subject to, among other things, further due diligence by ECR and the execution of a legally binding agreement governing the Proposed Acquisition. There can therefore be no certainty that final binding terms will be agreed in order to complete the Proposed Acquisition, nor as to the timing or final terms, value or conditions of the Proposed Acquisition. Further updates will be provided in due course.

Raglan Resources reported unaudited total assets of A$1.37 million for the year ended 30 June 2024 and an unaudited total net loss of A$0.15 million for the same period. This unaudited financial information is before the proposed restructuring of Raglan Resources, to exclude any unrelated tenements and non-core assets from the Proposed Acquisition, as described above.

Proposed joint venture at the Creswick Gold Project, Victoria

On 18 September 2025, ECR announced that it had entered into non-binding heads of terms with Exertis Pty Ltd trading as Bold Gold ("Bold Gold") for a proposed joint venture (the "Creswick JV") covering the Company's Creswick Gold Project in Victoria, Australia.  The Company has prepared a data room detailing the history of the project and which Bold Gold have access to.  Following completion of Bold Gold's due diligence, the final step are expected to be the entry into a legally binding agreement for the Creswick JV, the terms of which are agreed and set out in the 18 September 2025 announcement.

Under the terms of the Creswick JV, Bold Gold will fund all exploration costs by investing up to A$3 million to earn an 80% interest through staged exploration expenditure.  ECR will retain an interest in a project which it believes potentially has considerable potential upside but is able to focus its management time and resources on its Queensland projects.

The Creswick JV will be subject to, among other things, due diligence by Bold Gold, entry into a legally binding JV agreement and satisfaction of regulatory requirements. There can therefore be no certainty that final binding terms will be agreed, nor as to the timing or final terms, value or conditions of the Creswick JV.

ECR Chief Geologist Adam Jones commented: "The completion of our first drilling campaign at the Lolworth Project marks a significant step forward for ECR. We've confirmed the presence of gold and silver in multiple vein systems and identified several new mineralised outcrops for follow-up. The visuals are highly encouraging, and the Lolworth Project continues to show the scale and geological potential to be a major discovery in Queensland. With no native title constraints and close to 1,000 square kilometres of prospective ground, we believe Lolworth to be a project with truly district-scale potential."

ECR Chairman Nick Tulloch added: "The successful drilling at the Lolworth Project marks an important milestone for ECR as we build momentum across our Queensland portfolio. With production planning advancing at both the Raglan Project and the Blue Mountain Project, and assay results and wash plant trials due in the coming weeks, the remainder of 2025 is expected to set the scene for what is a pivotal period for the Company as we graduate from an explorer to a producer. We are entering Q4 2025 with a significant number of near-term value catalysts that we believe are capable of redefining ECR. The Lolworth Project remains our flagship exploration project with enormous upside potential, while our near-term production projects at the Blue Mountain Project and the Raglan Project underpin the Company's transition towards cashflow generation."

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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

ABOUT ECR MINERALS PLC

ECR Minerals is a mineral exploration and development company operating through two wholly owned Australian subsidiaries ECR Minerals (Australia) Pty Ltd ("ECR Australia") and ECR Minerals (Queensland) Pty Ltd ("ECR Queensland").

ECR Australia owns the Bailieston and Creswick gold projects in central Victoria, Australia as well as the Tambo gold project in eastern Victoria.

ECR Queensland has two approved exploration permits over the Blue Mountain alluvial gold project in central Queensland, Australia, which it is currently working to bring into production.  It also has three approved exploration permits covering 946 km2 over a relatively unexplored area in Lolworth Range in northern Queensland. Furthermore, ECR Queensland has also submitted a licence 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), ECR Australia has the right to receive up to A$2 million in payments subject to future resource estimation or production from these projects. 

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