iner ECR Minerals (LON:ECR) said that partner THEMAC Resources Group has become the 100 percent owner of the Copper Flat project in New Mexico, USA. THEMAC, which is quoted on the TSX Venture Exchange, and in which ECR has a 19.5 percent holding, announced it has made its final US$7 million payment to the vendors of Copper Flat. The business will now embark on the 18 to 24-month construction phase of the copper-molybdenum-gold-silver project. The resource estimate, upgraded last year, of the Copper Flat was for 107 million tons that graded at an average of 0.3 percent copper classified as indicated resources, with an additional 46 million tons graded at an average of 0.24 percent copper classified as inferred resources. In August 2009, ECR purchased an option over the Copper Flat project for US$150,000 and spent around £880,000 on the partial exercise of the option, as well as on technical, legal and permitting costs. ECR then agreed a transaction to place the project with THEMAC, with ECR contributing funding to the project in May 2010 of C$600,000 in return for shares and warrants in THEMAC as well as incurring further costs of £250,000. "Transactions such as this are at the heart of ECR’s business model, and are intended to create value for ECR shareholders through exposure to upside potential from a range of mineral projects,” said Patrick Harford, ECR’s managing director. “As well as its current 19.5 per cent shareholding, ECR’s holding of warrants gives the company the option to maintain or increase its shareholding at a relatively modest cost.” Shares in ECR surged earlier this month after it unearthed high-grade gold samples in Argentina. In the morning on 16 May they doubled to two pence each after the firm reported it had identified a total of 900 metres of outcropping gold-bearing quartz at its El Abra prospect in the country. At 11:16am today ECR’s share price was up 6.2 per cent at 1.6 pence.

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