Empire Metals Limited / LON: EEE / Sector: Natural Resources

25 April 2024

Empire Metals Limited

('Empire' or the 'Company')

2024 Drill Results Confirm Widespread High-Grade Titanium Mineralisation from Surface

Empire Metals Limited (LON: EEE), the AIM-quoted resource exploration and development company, is pleased to announce the analytical lab results from an initial 18 Reverse Circulation ('RC') drillholes at the Pitfield Project in Western Australia ('Pitfield' or the 'Project'), which further extends and increases the understanding of the known areas of high-grade TiO₂ mineralisation and will form the basis for a JORC code Exploration Target. 

Highlights

·    The exceptional drill hole results from this programme, along with prior and pending results, will be used to delineate an Exploration Target for each priority area, now referred to as the Cosgrove and Thomas sites (shown in Figures 3 & 4), as a key step in the mineral resource development programme.

·    Analytical lab results received for the first 18 RC drillholes of the recently completed 40 RC drillholes, with further assays pending.

·    Drilling continues to successfully define the scale of this giant, titanium-enriched mineral system, with all 18 drillholes analysed to date identifying high-grade TiO₂ mineralisation, from near surface to end of hole.

·    Significant RC drillhole intercepts include:

§ RC24COS019 intersected 148m @ 6.49% TiO₂ from 0m;

§ RC24COS018 intersected 148m @ 6.30% TiO₂ from 0m;

§ RC24COS016 intersected 136m @ 6.08% TiO₂ from 12m; and

§ RC24TOM015 intersected 154m @ 5.30% TiO₂ from 0m;

·    Successfully completed four diamond drillholes with excellent core recovery from surface, analytical results pending.

·    Logging of the diamond drill core has confirmed that the geology remains consistent with that previously encountered within the high-grade prospect areas, with sandstone dominating the geology with small interbeds of conglomerate and siltstone.

·    Results continue to confirm that the sandstone beds hold the higher grade TiO₂ values within the interbedded succession of sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates.

Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "As expected, our recent drilling continues to produce exceptional results and provides further evidence of extensive high-grade titanium mineralisation within our two key target areas. The continuous nature of mineralisation within the sandstone beds, which remains open in all directions and starts at, or near, surface and continues beyond the end of each drillhole,  provides an excellent basis for delineating a resource development  Exploration Target which will be the focus of our efforts once we have received all of the remaining RC and diamond drill core analytical results.

"What is truly remarkable about this giant mineral system, is that having now drilled a total of 108 holes for 17,035m (including seven diamond core holes for 2,025m) over a 30km strike length, we are yet to encounter any igneous intrusions or significant cross faults that could disrupt and complicate the ore geology. Consequently the remarkable continuity of titanium mineralisation and the consistent grades demonstrates just how simple the giant mineral system really is from a geological modelling perspective and it is for this reason we have been able to rapidly progress the project from maiden discovery to establishing Exploration Targets and commencing process development within the space of 12 months."

The Pitfield Project

Located within the Mid-West region of Western Australia, near the northern wheatbelt town of Three Springs, Pitfield lies 313km north of Perth and 156km south of Geraldton, the Mid West region's capital and major port. Western Australia is ranked as one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world according to the Fraser Institute's Investment Attractiveness Index published in 2023, and has mining-friendly policies, stable government, transparency, and advanced technology expertise. Pitifled has existing connections to port (both road & rail), HV power substations, and is nearby to natural gas pipelines as well as a green energy hydrogen fuel hub, which is under planning and development (refer Figure 1).

Figure 1. Pitfield Project Location showing the Mid-West Region Infrastructure and Services.

RC Drilling & Diamond Drilling Programme - February - March 2024.

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The planned drill programme at Pitfield (announced 5  February 2024) was completed in late March, and consisted of 40 RC drillholes totalling 6,086m, and four diamond core drillholes totalling 807m (refer Figure 2). The RC drillholes ranged between a down hole depth of 148m to 154m, whilst the diamond holes were all drilled to a downhole depth of 202m. The drilling was completed on time and on budget with no significant incidents. Excellent core recovery was achieved from the diamond drilling, commencing from surface to the end of the hole. 

Figure 2. Grey-scale magnetics map overlain by airborne gravity survey results with the location of the 2024 RC and diamond drill holes, and the 2023 RC and diamond drillholes.

The results received so far to date continue to prove up the extent and grade of the mineralisation at two of the key prospects (Cosgrove and Thomas), which have been identified as having thick, high-grade, near-surface, bedded TiO₂ mineralisation, each being over 7km in strike length (refer Figures 3 and 4).

Logging of the diamond drill core has confirmed that the geology within the key prospects remains the same as previously reported within the area, with sandstone dominating the geology with small interbeds of conglomerate and siltstone. There is evidence of strong alteration, consisting of hematite, epidote and carbonate, which overprints the sandstones and conglomerates.  The diamond drilling, particularly the near surface core, will provide important samples for further metallurgical and mineralogical studies.

Analytical laboratory results from the first 18 holes show continuous TiO₂ mineralisation throughout each drillhole, with all drillholes still in TiO₂ mineralisation at the end of the hole (refer Table 1). This was expected and is consistent with previous RC and diamond drilling results, whereby diamond drilling for instance has confirmed mineralisation to 350m below the surface (announced 29 November 2023).

The Company is currently awaiting the results from the remaining 22 RC drillholes and the four diamond drill holes. All remaining RC drillhole samples and diamond core samples have now been prepared and submitted to the analytical laboratory for analysis.

Significant Drill Results

Table 1.                Significant Intercepts from RC Drilling

Figure 3.  Cosgrove Prospect Drill Collar Location: including colour coding for drill holes based on TiO₂ assay grade.

Figure 4.  Thomas Prospect Drill Collar Location: including colour coding for drill holes based on TiO₂ assay grade.

Future Work

Metallurgical Test Work

Mineralogical studies have now been initiated on recently recovered diamond core sections, aimed to define better the mineral assemblage of near surface weathered bedding portions as well as deeper bedded mineralisation. Results are expected to provide important information in relation to the differing zones of oxidation encountered from surface to depth, and the effect that weathering may have on the main economic minerals and gangue minerals present. This in turn will inform the metallurgical team and allow them to tailor the processing testwork to better suit the varying ore characteristics.

Exploration Target

Geological modelling work has been initiated in relation to the delineation of an Exploration Target over the Cosgrove and Thomas prospects, utilising the drilling and surface sampling results from the 2023 exploration campaigns. Completion of this work is dependent on the receipt of the remaining drillhole analytical results from the 2024 programme and further geological and mineralogical assessment.  As announced as part of the Company's Development Plan (27 March 2024) it is intended to provide an Exploration Target for both the Cosgrove and Thomas prospects, in accordance with the requirements of the Joint Ore Reserves Committee of The Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy, Australian Institute of Geoscientists and Minerals Council of Australia (JORC) code, post the current drill programme. The Exploration Target is the precursor to the development of a  Mineral Resource Estimate, which the Company is rapidly advancing towards.

Competent Person Statement

The technical information in this report that relates to the Pitfield Project has been compiled by Mr Andrew Faragher, an employee of Eclipse Exploration Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Empire. Mr Faragher is a Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. Mr Faragher has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Mr Faragher consents to the inclusion in this release of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.

Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure

Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, as incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, until the release of this announcement.

**ENDS**

For further information please visit www.empiremetals.co.uk  or contact:

About Empire Metals Limited

Empire Metals is an AIM-listed (LON: EEE) exploration and resource development company with a project portfolio comprising copper, titanium and gold interests in Australia and Austria.

The Company's strategy is to develop a pipeline of projects at different stages in the development curve. Its current focus is on the Pitfield Project in Western Australia, which has demonstrated to contain a newly recognised giant titanium-rich mineral system that hosts a globally significant titanium discovery.

The Company also has three further exploration projects in Australia; the Eclipse Project and the Walton Project in Western Australia, and the Stavely Project in the Stavely Arc region of Victoria, in addition to three precious metals projects located in a historically high-grade gold producing region of Austria.