ECR Minerals (AIM:ECR), the AIM-listed, Australia-focused gold exploration and development company, said underground development at its Maddens Flat Group of Mines in North Queensland is advancing through a planned turn in the decline.
ECR holds a 50% interest in the project, where it has also commissioned and optimised its processing plant, including the feed configuration into the Knelson concentrator used for gold recovery.
The company is targeting completion of processing for stockpiled development material by the end of October, with processing of main production ore due to begin in November.
Preparations at the nearby Brothers area are also progressing, with initial alluvial operations planned to start once the Maddens stockpile has been processed.
ECR has been advancing underground development at Maddens through 2026, including upgrades to mine ventilation, escapeways and underground surveying alongside refurbishment of the processing plant.
The decline is progressing from the 355-metre level and is planned to extend roughly 72.5 metres, targeting an ore drive with about 12.5 metres of stoping height and an estimated potential of roughly 1,500 ounces of gold.
"The decline is now advancing through the planned turn and the underground team continues to make good progress towards the targeted production areas," said non-executive director Mike Parker, adding that the company has "a clear sequence of operational activity across the wider Maddens Flat Group of Mines."
Chairman Nick Tulloch said the company is "entering an increasingly active period for Maddens" with the plant commissioned and material already stockpiled at surface.
Brothers forms part of the same Maddens Flat Group of Mines, where ECR has previously reported metal-detector prospecting recovering gold nuggets at 26 sites across a roughly 2,100-metre north-south zone, with the strongest results at Brothers Creek.
The company is targeting processing of the Maddens stockpile by the end of October, ahead of main production ore processing in November.
