ECR Minerals PLC on Monday said its subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia Pty Ltd agreed to sell two ‘under-utilised’ non-core assets, while it plans another sale.

The Australia-focused gold exploration company said Mercator agreed to dispose of its Coretech drilling rig with a mining operations company under a hire purchase arrangement.

The total consideration is A$350,000, or £185,390, of which Mercator will receive A$53,000 at the start of the new year, with a further A$33,000 due every month thereafter for nine months until title in the asset transfers.

ECR Minerals said Mercator also sold an excavator at auction for a price of A$70,000.

It plans to sell its 20 acres of land in Victoria, Australia, saying the board has decided apply for planning permission for a residential house to be built on the land.

If planning permission is granted, ECR Minerals expects the appeal of the land to increase to prospective buyers.

It said the cost of planning permission is modest with timing likely to be in the first half of 2024, with further updates to be provided ‘as appropriate’.

The funds raised from these sales will be utilised to progress work on the company’s portfolio, ECR Minerals said.

‘We have had a stated plan to realise value from assets within ECR that we are not using or do not require. Finalising these two agreements before the end of 2023 exceeds our expectations on timing but the fact that the expected proceeds from these sales should exceed our [general and administrative] expenses for the coming year is particularly pleasing,’ said Managing Director Nick Tulloch.

‘We have recapitalised the company, re-positioned our portfolio to be more cost-effective, commenced a drilling campaign and now realised funds from non-core assets. We believe 2024 holds a great deal of promise for ECR and we look forward to updating shareholders on our ongoing progress.’

Shares in ECR Minerals were up 2.0% to 0.26 pence each in London on Monday afternoon.

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