REG - Empire Metals Ltd - Giant Cu & Ti Mineral System Confirmed at Pitfield

Empire MetalsAnnouncement

30/05/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 8755A  Empire Metals Limited  30 May 2023

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

 

30 May 2023

Empire Metals Limited

("Empire" or "the Company")

 

"Giant" Copper and Titanium Mineral System Confirmed at Pitfield Project

 Including New, High-Grade Titanium Discovery

 

 

Empire Metals Limited (LON: EEE), the AIM-quoted resource exploration and
development company, is pleased to announce that results from the Company's
maiden Reverse Circulation ('RC') drill programme at the Pitfield Project
('Pitfield'), located in Western Australia, have confirmed the presence of a
giant-scale hydrothermal mineral system enriched in titanium and copper. A new
corporate presentation has also been uploaded to the Company's website and can
be found at www.empiremetals.co.uk/investors/reports-presentations
(http://www.empiremetals.co.uk/investors/reports-presentations) .

 

Highlights

 

·    Confirmed the presence of a giant (~40km by 8km) metal-rich mineral
system, hosted by sedimentary rocks displaying extensive evidence of intense
alteration by hydrothermal fluids. These fluids are thought to be responsible
for the significant enrichment of both copper (Cu) and titanium (Ti) in these
sedimentary host rocks.

·    Drilling has identified a new high-grade, titanium discovery with
consistently high titanium grades returned in thick intersections over a wide
area identified throughout the mineral system.

·    Titanium rich mineralisation (between 4% and 10% TiO(2)) was
identified in all but one of 21 holes drilled, starting at or very near
surface and with nearly a quarter of the holes still ending in high TiO(2)
values of up to 154 metres depth.

·    Highly anomalous copper values (+100ppm) were reported for 60% of the
drill sample intervals, averaging 131ppm Cu and peaking at 605ppm Cu; over 25
times higher than the background copper-in-soil, indicating that this giant
mineral system contains significant amounts of copper and potential for
multiple copper deposits in other parts of the system.

·    Chalcopyrite, a copper-iron sulphide mineral, has been identified
petrographically as well as in RC chip logging within samples that returned
elevated Cu assay values.

·    Only 2% of this highly prospective, giant mineral system has been
drilled to date demonstrating enormous potential for additional discoveries
through future drilling currently being planned.

·    It is evident from these results that this giant mineral system is
regionally zoned for a variety of valuable metals and that our maiden drill
programme has discovered a particularly titanium-rich zone but has also
provided critically important information as to where other metals, such as
copper, have been concentrated.

 

Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "We are absolutely thrilled with the
results of our maiden drilling campaign.  Our research over the past year
pointed to the presence of a newly recognized giant copper mineral system at
Pitfield, in itself no minor feat, however the results announced today add a
whole new dimension to this globally important asset - the discovery of
titanium rich minerals in my view tells us we have a "Land of Giants" to
explore. The scale, strength and consistency of the mineralised system cannot
be overemphasised given that the drill holes were spaced several hundreds of
metres to tens of kilometres apart, and that 53% of all samples collected
contain an average 5.12% TiO(2), and 60% were anomalous in copper.

 

"Clearly more work is required, not least because 98% of the mineralised
system is still to be drilled and evidently we tagged an enormous, titanium
rich part of the system. Based on the scale of this find, Pitfield has the
potential to be one of the largest primary titanium sources discovered
globally. Additional analysis is underway as we work to understand the
magnitude and potential commercial value of this titanium mineral discovery
within such a unique geological setting. However, it is also evident that this
giant mineral system contains significant copper and these first-round results
have also indicated to us where the more copper rich parts of this regionally
zoned system may be."

 

The Pitfield Copper Project

Empire holds a 70% interest in Pitfield which is comprised of four granted
Exploration Licences (E70/5465, E70/5876, E70/6320 and E70/6323) covering
1,042km(2). Pitfield is located near Three Springs, a town 313km north of
Perth, Western Australia on the Midlands Road, which until the opening of the
Brand Highway in 1975 was the main road route from Perth to the state's north
(refer Figure 1).

Figure 1.              Pitfield Project Location

 

Discussion of Results

The key outcomes from the maiden, reconnaissance RC drilling campaign are
summarised below:

•             Drilling has confirmed that highly oxidising
fluids have intensely and extensively altered the Mt Scratch
sandstone-siltstone and Beaconsfield Conglomerate, along almost the entire
strike length of the Yandanooka Basin;

•             The resulting giant-scale (~40km by 8km)
hydrothermal mineral system is especially endowed with metals typically
associated with a mafic rock source, such as copper, titanium and vanadium,
but also notable for zinc and nickel locally;

•             The drill campaign consisted of 21 RC drill holes
totalling 3,206 metres, with the first 18 holes focused near the old Mt
Scratch workings to the north (representing only 2% of the overall, highly
prospective mineral system) and the final three holes spread evenly across a
30km distance to the south;

•             Drilling was focused primarily on areas where the
Company had previously identified extensive, highly chargeable-highly
resistive anomalies, which have now been shown to be associated with very high
levels of titanium oxide (generally between 4% and 10%) and significant
hematite alteration of the sandstone-siltstone beds;

•             Preliminary mineralogical analysis of a small
suite of selected RC chip samples has identified the common presence of
several iron and titanium minerals including magnetite, hematite, and ilmenite
as well as lesser rutile and chalcopyrite. Additional petrographic and
mineralogic analysis from a larger sample suite collected from across all
drill holes is required to better understand the identity, nature and relative
abundance of the various titanium-bearing minerals.

 

Andrew Faragher, Exploration Manager for Empire, said: "One of our key
objectives from the drilling was to better understand the geology and
significance of several highly chargeable-highly resistive zones identified
from Induced Polarisation ('IP') surveys. These zones have now been shown to
be coincident with high concentrations of titanium-rich minerals and
significant hematite alteration of early magnetite, possibly due to
martitization of magnetite caused by a later injection of copper-bearing
hydrothermal fluids.

 

"Higher grade copper anomalism appears to be associated with discrete
structures, which may have acted as migration pathways for the copper rich
mineralizing fluids that were superimposed upon the primary iron-titanium
mineralization. Further gravity analysis, geochemical sampling (soils and
auger) and geological mapping is planned to help vector future reconnaissance
drilling towards the copper-rich parts of this giant mineral system.

 

The results of this maiden drilling programme have clearly indicated that this
giant mineral system is not only capable of forming significant copper
mineralisation but also potentially economic concentrations of titanium
oxides. For example, of the 1,589 drill samples (2m intervals) collected, 53%
returned significant TiO(2) values exceeding 4.17% TiO(2), peaking at 10.18%
TiO(2) and averaging 5.12% TiO(2) (refer Table 1). Highly anomalous copper
values were also reported for the same sample intervals, with 60% returning
greater than 100ppm Cu, averaging 131ppm and peaking at 605ppm (which is over
25 times higher than the background Cu-in-soils measured immediately adjacent
to the massively altered and mineralized host sandstone-siltstone beds).

 

Chalcopyrite, a copper-iron sulphide mineral, has been identified
petrographically as well as in RC chip logging, within samples that returned
elevated Cu assay values. The pervasive copper anomalism and presence of
chalcopyrite in association with these extensively altered host rocks This
highlights the potential for Pitfield to host significant Cu mineralisation in
other parts of this regionally zoned mineral system.

 

Details of the Pitfield Exploration Programme

Empire commenced its maiden drilling campaign at Pitfield on 27 March 2023
with the main objective of testing the highly chargeable-highly resistive
zones identified by DD-IP survey. This reconnaissance RC drilling was
performed by Perth based Strike Drilling Pty Ltd, under the supervision of
Empire's Exploration Manager, Mr Andrew Faragher.

 

The drilling campaign was successfully completed, on time and within budget,
with the final hole being drilled by 15 April. In total 21 RC holes were
drilled covering a total of 3,206 metres, with the average downhole depth of
each hole being approximately 150 metres. Samples were taken at 2m intervals
from surface for assaying purposes and at the conclusion of the campaign these
samples were shipped to Intertek Minerals, in Perth, for multi-element
analysis with a subset of samples sent for mineralogical analysis.

 

The majority of the drilling was performed near Mt Scratch, with the first 11
holes focusing on the 800m wide highly chargeable anomaly, adjacent to where
the Company previously found high-grade copper-silver rock specimens
(announced 30 January 2023). A further seven holes were drilled across two
other highly chargeable targets lines within a few kilometres south of Mt
Scratch. The final three holes were spaced separately and located much further
to the south of Mt Scratch, again targeting highly chargeable anomalies. The
drill hole collar locations are presented in Figure 2.

 

Figure 2.              Drill Hole Locations within E70/5465
(background magnetic intensity image)

 

Significant Drill Results

 Hole ID     Depth From (m)  Depth To (m)  EOH (m)  Interval (m)  Grade (Ti %)  Grade (TiO(2) %)  Target
 RC23MTS001  2               154           196      152           2.64          4.40              Mt Scratch
 inc.        2               46                     44            2.71          4.52
 inc.        84              154                    70            2.71          4.52
 RC23MTS002  30              150           178      120           2.83          4.72              Mt Scratch
 RC23MTS003  92              170           178      78            2.85          4.75              Mt Scratch
 inc.        92              138                    46            2.90          4.84
 RC23MTS004  0               72            178      72            2.89          4.82              Mt Scratch
 RC23MTS004  136             169                    33            3.00          5.00
 RC23MTS005  0               128           156      128           2.68          4.47              Mt Scratch
 inc.        58              100                    42            2.75          4.59
 inc.        88              128                    40            2.84          4.74
 RC23MTS006  0               50            160      50            2.55          4.25              Mt Scratch
 RC23MTS006  60              114                    54            2.67          4.45
 RC23MTS007  0               88            154      88            2.73          4.55              Mt Scratch
 inc.        34              62                     28            2.96          4.94
 RC23MTS008  10              148           148      138           2.90          4.84              Mt Scratch
 inc.        10              62                     52            2.95          4.92
 inc.        86              126                    40            3.00          5.00
 inc.        136             148                    12            3.34          5.57
 RC23MTS009  0               34            154      34            2.81          4.69              Mt Scratch
 RC23MTS010  0               36            154      36            2.72          4.54              Mt Scratch
             96              148                    52            2.64          4.40
 RC23MTS011  4               20            154      16            2.82          4.70              Mt Scratch
 RC23MTS011  90              148                    58            2.58          4.30
 RC23MTS012  0               44            154      44            2.66          4.44              Mt Scratch
 RC23MTS012  110             136                    26            2.78          4.64
 RC23MTS013  0               38            154      38            2.75          4.59              Mt Scratch
 RC23MTS014  2               30            154      28            2.77          4.62              Mt Scratch
 RC23MTS014  132             152                    20            2.80          4.67
 RC23MTS015  30              154           154      124           2.88          4.80              Mt Scratch
 inc.        84              152                    68            3.04          5.07
 RC23MTS016  0               154           154      154           2.84          4.74              Mt Scratch
 inc.        2               32                     30            3.31          5.52
 inc.        48              100                    52            3.00          5.00
 RC23MTS017  0               154           154      154           2.64          4.40              Mt Scratch
 inc.        0               46                     46            2.74          4.57
 inc.        98              132                    34            2.74          4.57
 RC23MTS018  70              150           154      80            2.86          4.77              Mt Scratch
 inc.        98              150                    52            3.02          5.04
 RC23TOM001  10              148           148      138           2.80          4.67              Thomas
 inc.        10              46                     36            3.32          5.54
 inc.        112             148                    36            3.24          5.40

Table 1.                Significant Intercepts from RC Drilling
with and incremental cut-off grade of >2.5% Ti (>4.17% TiO2 equivalent).

 

 

Further Work

The regional gravity and airborne magnetic surveys show locally important
structures (refer Figure 3.) that may have once played a role in the migration
of the metal-bearing hydrothermal fluids into the host sedimentary beds.
Detailed surface mapping supported this preliminary interpretation and further
suggested that specific stratigraphic zones lower down in the Mt Scratch
Formation towards the underlying Beaconsfield Conglomerate, and indeed the
Beaconsfield Conglomerate formation itself, are potentially more favourable
host units for copper mineralisation, especially where these stratigraphic
units are near surfacing thrust faults which may have acted as migration
pathways for the mineralising fluids.

 

High-grade copper in surface rock samples has an observed association with
discrete structures that cross the pervasively altered and Ti-mineralized
sandstone-siltstone beds suggesting that a copper-bearing hydrothermal fluid
event was superimposed onto the primary iron-titanium mineralization and may
have precipitated significant concentrations of copper in another part of this
regionally zoned mineral system, the scale of which is evident in Figure 3.

 

Figure 3.              Geological mapping with locally important
structures - note the outline of the magnetic anomaly signifying the extent of
this massive and intense alteration of the sedimentary beds.

 

 Future mapping, geophysics and geochemical sampling will focus on defining
the key internal thrust faults, and other important structures within the
Yandanooka basin, which have the potential to focus a later stage copper
mineralisation event, possibly within the western and southern parts of the
Pitfield property where there are indications of widespread copper anomalism
including historical copper prospects. The geochemical sampling - soils, auger
and aircore drilling as appropriate will be undertaken to define new bedrock
drilling targets, both during and following the current cropping cycle.

 

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
(http://www.empiremetals.co.uk)   or contact:

 Empire Metals Ltd

 Shaun Bunn / Greg Kuenzel                                                               Tel: 020 4583 1440
 S. P. Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nomad & Broker)                                      Tel: 020 3470 0470

 Ewan Leggat / Adam Cowl
 Shard Capital Partners LLP (Joint Broker)                                               Tel: 020 7186 9950

 Damon Heath
 St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial                                                       Tel: 020 7236 1177
 PR)

 Susie Geliher / Ana Ribeiro

 

About Empire Metals Limited

Empire Metals is an AIM-listed (LON: EEE) exploration and resource development
company with a project portfolio comprising copper 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 strong potential to be a new
"Giant" copper mineral system.  The Company is also advancing the
Eclipse-Gindalbie Project in Western Australia, which is prospective for
high-grade gold and also kaolin, which is used extensively in a number of
industries and is considered to be a desirable feedstock for the production of
high-purity alumina - an essential component in lithium-ion batteries.

 

The Company also has two further exploration projects in Australia; 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 production region in central-southern Austria.

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