Erris seeks new core asset as it makes good progress on existing projects

Mineral exploration company Erris Resources updated the market on its activities for the first half of 2019 on Thursday, as its investors gathered for the annual general meeting.

The AIM-traded firm said it had started fieldwork in Finland as part of its strategic alliance with Centerra Gold, with Centerra-funded mapping and prospecting carried out on new targets in North Sweden.

Soil sampling at Skreen in Ireland had resulted in high priority targets, which confirmed the importance of the Ox Mountains Fault on controlling mineralisation.

It said it had submitted renewal reports for the wholly-owned Abbeytown Zn-Pb-Ag project, and reported that the data review and first pass soil sampling was complete at the 100% owned Irish Galway zinc-lead-silver project.

It said it had maintained “tight control” on expenditure, with cash of approximately €2m at the end of May.

The company also said it had evaluated several new project opportunities, adding that it remained focused on identifying and securing a new core asset to build shareholder value.

“Erris has been active over the first half of the year and as part of its alliance with Centerra Gold, new targets have been identified in both Finland and Sweden with field work now underway,” said chief executive officer Anton du Plessis.

“The market for junior explorers has been challenging so far this year, resulting in the company maintaining disciplined expenditure on its own projects whilst also considering options to advance the Abbeytown Project in Ireland, and actively seeking to identify further assets, with an aim to enhance shareholder value.

“Erris is fortunate to have in place a valued partner in Centerra Gold, which gives us increased exposure to discovery at no cost whilst also earning a management fee and maintaining an active team and exploration portfolio.”