ECR Minerals (AIM:ECR), the AIM-listed gold exploration and development company focused on Australia, has executed legally binding conditional farm-in and joint venture agreements with Bold Gold Resources over its Creswick Gold Project in Victoria.
The deal, first flagged in September 2025, lets Bold Gold invest up to A$3 million in staged exploration spending to earn as much as 80% of Creswick.
Bold Gold must commit a minimum A$250,000 in exploration spending within the first 12 months under an option period. It can then earn a 51% stake by sole-funding a further A$1.0 million over two years, taking cumulative spend to A$1.25 million, before earning up to 80% by funding a further A$1.75 million within two years of the option period ending. Meeting certain licence retention milestones could reduce Bold Gold's final expenditure requirement to A$2.75 million.
No interest transfers until the A$1.25 million threshold is met.
The farm-in is conditional on renewal of two licences, EL006907 and EL006184, both expiring this year, with Bold Gold covering reasonable third-party renewal costs.
Creswick sits roughly 20 kilometres north of Ballarat and hosts part of the Dimocks Main Shale, a gold-bearing structure running some 15 kilometres between historic goldfields estimated to have produced roughly 15 million ounces collectively.
Previous ECR drilling there intersected grades exceeding 20 grams per tonne gold.
Chairman Nick Tulloch said the arrangement "provides a pathway for substantial exploration activity at Creswick without placing additional funding pressure on ECR itself," freeing management to focus on its Queensland assets, including Maddens and Blue Mountain.
ECR retains a project interest and potential royalty pathway at Creswick.
News Intelligence what this means for the company
ECR Minerals has formalized a farm-in agreement with Bold Gold Resources, allowing Bold Gold to earn up to 80% of the Creswick Gold Project by funding up to A$3 million in staged exploration over roughly four years. The deal, flagged in September 2025, is now binding but remains conditional on renewal of two Victorian exploration licences expiring this year. ECR retains a project interest and royalty pathway while freeing management to focus on its Queensland assets—Maddens and Blue Mountain—where the company has recently raised capital and is advancing underground development.
The farm-in transfers exploration risk and funding burden to Bold Gold without diluting ECR's equity, preserving cash for higher-priority Queensland projects. However, the deal's effectiveness depends on licence renewal, which remains outstanding; no interest transfers until Bold Gold has spent A$1.25 million, so near-term value to ECR is contingent on Bold Gold's execution and the regulatory outcome.
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