REG - Empire Metals Ltd - Resource and Metallurgical Drilling to Commence

Empire MetalsAnnouncement

05/02/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 9205B  Empire Metals Limited  05 February 2024

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

 

5 February 2024

Empire Metals Limited

('Empire' or the 'Company')

 

Resource and Metallurgical Drilling to Commence at Pitfield to Accelerate
Project Development

& Funding Grant from Western Australian Government

 

Empire Metals Limited (LON: EEE), the AIM-quoted resource exploration and
development company, is pleased to announce that the next phase of exploration
activities at the Pitfield Project in Western Australia ('Pitfield' or the
'Project') is scheduled to commence in February, with 40 Reverse Circulation
('RC') drillholes and four Diamond Core drillholes scheduled over a ten-week
campaign. This programme aims to quantify two high-grade titanium-mineralised
zones, selected for resource evaluation work in areas that show potential to
support shallow open pit mining, as well as providing critical mineralogical
and metallurgical data that will allow the Company to accelerate the economic
assessment and development of the Project.

 

Highlights

 

·    Commencing in February, 800 metres of Diamond Drilling (4 drillholes)
will test two known zones of extensive, thick, shallow sandstone-rich beds
that host higher grade TiO(2) mineralisation and to collect core samples for
further study test work.

 

·    The diamond drillhole core will provide invaluable mineralogical and
metallurgical samples to advance process-product flowsheet design test work
with the aim of constructing  a pilot plant in 2025 to accelerate the
economic development of the Project.

 

·    Empire has secured an initial funding grant of $110,000 from the
Western Australian State Government's Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) for
Diamond Core drilling at Pitfield.

 

·    Commencing in March and continuing through April, 6,000 metres of RC
Drilling (40 drillholes) will  further test and delineate these two known
zones of high-grade, bedded mineralisation as well as test new targets
identified along the length of the coincident magnetics-gravity anomaly.

 

·    One of the key objectives of this drill programme is to increase the
drill hole density at the two known areas of interest to support further
resource evaluation work. Both of these targets have confirmed thick,
high-grade, near-surface, bedded TiO(2) mineralisation, each with an
approximate 7km strike extent.

 

 

 

Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "Having clearly demonstrated through our
successful exploration campaigns the global significance of that this giant,
titanium-rich mineral system, we are now focused on the economic development
of the Pitfield Project. This next phase of drilling will include both
exploration and resource drilling to delineate high-grade, shallow zones of
titanium mineralisation, providing key samples for mineralogical and
metallurgical characterisation, with a view to establishing an economic
processing route to produce high-value products.

 

"We are also extremely pleased that we have received a Western Australian
Government grant for financial assistance for our Diamond Core drillhole
programme, via the EIS. The Western Australian Government has several
programmes to support development of new mines in the State, with a focus on
critical minerals projects, noting that titanium is listed as a critical
mineral by the Australian Government."

 

The Pitfield Project

Located within the Mid West region of Western Australia, near the northern
wheatbelt town of Three Springs, Pitfield lies just 313km north of Perth and
156km south of Geraldton, the Mid West region's capital (refer Figure 1).

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

 

Western Australia, ranked as one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world
according to the Fraser Institute's Investment Attractiveness Index, has
mining-friendly policies, stable government, transparency, and advanced
technology expertise. The region has existing connections to port (both road
& rail), HV power substations, and natural gas pipelines, and is nearby to
a green energy hydrogen fuel hub which is under planning and development.

 

Empire owns a 70% interest in the tenements, which cover a combined area of
~1,042 km(2), and operates as manager in a Joint Venture with Century Minerals
Pty Ltd..

 

Focus now on Two Large High-Grade Zones as Areas for Development

The focus of the drilling at Pitfield has shifted from the original discovery
area at Mt Scratch to two large, shallow, high-grade zones which were
identified by surface sampling and subsequently confirmed by recent RC and
Diamond Core drilling programmes. With the addition of the latest RC drill
results there is good evidence that the high-grade, sandstone-rich beds found
within each zone are continuous across several km of strike length and come to
surface. There is also evidence that additional strike-extensive, thick,
high-grade sandstone-rich beds are present and parallel to these high-grade
sandstone-rich beds. The current drilling programme aims to accelerate the
economic development of Pitfield, with additional drilling data that will
support further delineation, sampling, mineralogical studies and metallurgical
testing of these two thick, high-grade mineralised bedded zones, each of which
has an approximate 7km continuous strike extent.

Giant metal-rich mineral systems like Pitfield are inherently target-rich.
Whilst exploration results to date indicate there are many high-grade bedded
zones of mineralisation across the property, including at the Mt Scratch
discovery area, the Company views that the best route to create shareholder
value at Pitfield is to now focus on two of these higher-grade zones to
accelerate the project work towards initial mine development. Exploration of
other target areas will continue but the focus now is clearly on the necessary
studies and test work that can demonstrate the economic process-product route
and consequently the value of this globally significant project.

 

Figure 2. Grey-scale magnetics map overlain by airborne gravity data showing
location of newly planned RC drill holes, highlighting the shallow, high-grade
bedded sandstone zones being targeted for advanced project work.

EIS: Exploration Incentive Scheme of Western Australia Government Grant

 

Empire has received approval for exploration funding from the Westen
Australian Government's Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS), initially up to a
value of A$110,000. This grant relates to the upcoming drillhole programme and
is seen as extremely positive recognition from the Western Australian
Government and the Department of Mines, Industrial Regulation and Safety
(DMIRS) which administers the grants. The grant will partially cover the cost
of drilling the four Diamond Core drillholes, currently planned as part of
this programme, and the Company intends to reapply for additional funding
under the EIS which is awarded on a six monthly cycle.

 

The EIS is a Western Australian State Government initiative that aims to
encourage exploration in Western Australia, for the long-term sustainability
of the State's resource sector and the demand for critical minerals on the
transition to net-zero. Funding for Empire came through the EIS Co-funded
Drilling Programme. This part of the EIS programme directly supports explorers
in Western Australia though a competitive programme which offers co-funding to
innovative exploration drilling projects.

 

As part of the economic assessment of the Project, the Company has started
engaging with various level of government. There are several government grants
and financial assistance packages available from various government
departments and agencies in Australia and the EIS recognition as well as
ongoing exploration and development activities will assist with efforts to
gain access to further funding at both the exploration and project development
stages.

 

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 / Kasia Brzozowska
 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, 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 mineral system that hosts a globally significant titanium discovery. The
Company is also advancing the Eclipse-Gindalbie Project in Western Australia,
which is prospective for high-grade gold and also kaolin used to produce
high-purity alumina, an essential component in lithium-ion batteries.

 

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 producing region of Austria.

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