REG - Empire Metals Ltd - Major Drilling Campaign to Commence at Pitfield

Empire MetalsAnnouncement

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RNS Number : 2387T  Empire Metals Limited  17 February 2026

Empire Metals Limited / LON: EEE, OTCQX: EPMLF / Sector: Natural Resources

 

17 February 2026

Empire Metals Limited

("Empire" or "the Company")

 

Commencement of Major Drilling Campaign

 

Empire Metals Limited, the AIM-quoted and OTCQX-traded exploration and
development company, is pleased to announce the commencement of a major
drilling campaign at the Pitfield Project in Western Australia ('Pitfield' or
the 'Project'). This programme is designed to evaluate the extent of the giant
TiO(2) mineral system at Pitfield, expand the Cosgrove Mineral Resource
Estimate (MRE), and enhance the confidence levels associated with the MRE at
Thomas.

 

Highlights

·    A total of 754 drill holes are planned:

o  683 Air Core ('AC') drillholes for approximately 34,150 metres, and

o  71 Reverse Circulation ('RC') drillholes for approximately 7,100 metres,

o  totalling 41,250 metres of drilling.

 

·    The fully funded campaign will utilise 3 AC drill rigs and 2 RC rigs
and drilling is expected to be completed by mid-April.

 

·    The key outcome of the drilling will be an updated MRE at Thomas,
with increased resource classification into the Measured and Indicated
categories, and a significantly larger updated MRE at Cosgrove.

 

·    Updated MRE anticipated in Q3 2026 to support ongoing engineering and
study work.

 

Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "We are pleased to commence this
important drilling campaign at Pitfield, focused on upgrading our maiden MRE
from the Thomas and Cosgrove Prospects (announced 14 October 2025) and
extending the exploration target area.  This fully-funded campaign is the
largest undertaken to date at Pitfield and will significantly improve our
understanding of the scale and grade of the Pitfield MRE, and also increase
the confidence levels of Measured and Indicated Resources in readiness for
developing mine design and Ore Reserves."

 

Drilling Programmes

The titanium discovery at Pitfield is of unprecedented scale and hosts one of
the largest and highest-grade titanium resources reported globally, with a
current MRE totalling 2.2 billion tonnes grading 5.1% TiO₂ for 113 million
tonnes of contained TiO₂.

 

The MRE, which covers only the Thomas and Cosgrove deposits, includes a
weathered zone resource of 1.26 billion tonnes at 5.2% TiO₂ and a
significant Indicated Resource of 697 million tonnes at 5.3% TiO₂,
predominantly from the Thomas deposit.  Titanium mineralisation at Pitfield
occurs from surface and displays exceptional grade continuity along strike and
down dip. The MRE extends across just 20% of the known mineralised footprint,
providing substantial potential for further resource expansion.

 

Since commencing the maiden drilling campaign at Pitfield on 27 March 2023,
Empire has completed 390 drill holes for a total 33,001 metres comprising:

 

•             25 DD drill holes for 3,449 m

•             140 RC drill holes for 18,764 m

•             225 AC drill holes for 10,797 m.

 

Diamond drilling was recently conducted at the Thomas prospect, from
mid-November to mid-December 2025 (announced 12 November 2025). A total of 8
holes were drilled for 745.1m.

The diamond drilling targeted the high-grade central core identified within
the Thomas MRE with the primary purpose of generating ore samples for
metallurgical and geotechnical testwork. The whole drill core underwent
extensive geotechnical evaluation prior to cutting core samples. A quarter
core sample was collected for assay analysis. These samples have been
submitted to the analytical laboratory for analysis, with final results
expected in Q1 2026.

Largest drilling campaign to date to commence at Pitfield

An extensive AC and RC drill programme has been planned at Pitfield consisting
of exploration drilling, initial mineral resource drilling and infill mineral
resource drilling. AC drilling has previously been used at Pitfield to
drill-test the weathered cap and collect bulk metallurgical samples (announced
28 April 2025). It is a cost-effective, efficient and proven drilling method
at Pitfield that is commonly used for shallow exploration projects, and the
success of the previous drilling campaigns has confirmed its suitability for
use in the Pitfield MREs.

The drill programme, the largest at Pitfield to date, will cover an area 37km
long and up to 12km wide. There are 754 holes planned for a total of
41,250m.  All programmes will take place in parallel ensuring the drilling is
more efficient and cost effective. It is expected that the drilling will begin
in late February and finish in mid-April.  There will be up to 5 drill rigs
at the project. Once completed, Empire will have drilled close to 75,000
meters at Pitfield.

The exploration drilling will be focused on delineating the extents of the
giant Pitfield Ti-rich mineral system. Recent drilling has focussed on the
Thomas and Cosgrove prospects to delineate MREs, however this has focussed on
less than 20% of the currently known surface area of the mineral system. This
exploration drilling campaign will generate data that will provide a much
better understanding of the size of the system, the mineralisation and
associated alteration and extend the area explored by drilling to 60-70% of
the currently identified area of mineralization.  Furthermore, the drilling
will also provide essential information to support the study phase regarding
the location of high-grade titanium mineralisation and the potential sites for
process and infrastructure facilities.

At Thomas, AC and RC drilling will take place on a smaller spaced grid (100m x
100m) over the higher grade TiO(2) rich core of the deposit to increase the
confidence level of the current MRE. The drilling will focus on the weathered
zone where the anatase is most prevalent.

At Cosgrove, an extensive AC and RC programme will occur to extend the current
MRE to the north and the south.  This drilling, as at Thomas, will be
focussed on the weathered zones with the aim of significantly increasing the
current MRE of 430Mt @ 5.8% TiO(2). The location and spacing of the planned
AC/RC drillholes have been designed to complement the existing MRE and allow
the data generated from this drill programme to be incorporated with the
existing MRE data which will potentially mean efficiencies in generating the
updated MRE for Cosgrove.

The AC and RC drillholes will be geologically logged and sub-sampled on 2m
intervals and geochemically analysed; this data will provide the basis for the
updated MREs at Thomas and Cosgrove Prospects.

The drilling is expected to finish mid-April with all samples to be at
Intertek Analytical Laboratory in Perth by the end of April.

 

Figure 1. Satellite image of Pitfield showing planned drill collars in
relation to current MRE outlines.

 

 

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 Empire Metals
Australia Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Empire. Mr Faragher is a
Member of the Australian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM). 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.

 

**ENDS**

 

For further information please visit www.empiremetals.co.uk
(http://www.empiremetals.co.uk) or contact:

 Empire Metals Ltd                                              Tel: 020 4583 1440

 Shaun Bunn / Greg Kuenzel / Arabella Burwell

 S. P. Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nomad & Joint Broker)      Tel: 020 3470 0470

 Ewan Leggat / Adam Cowl

 Canaccord Genuity Limited (Joint Broker)                      Tel: 020 7523 8000

 James Asensio / Christian Calabrese / Charlie Hammond

 Shard Capital Partners LLP (Joint Broker)                     Tel: 020 7186 9950

 Damon Heath

 Tavistock (Financial PR)                                      empiremetals@tavistock.co.uk (mailto:empiremetals@tavistock.co.uk)

 Emily Moss / Josephine Clerkin                                Tel: 020 7920 3150

 

About Empire Metals Limited

Empire Metals Ltd (AIM: EEE and OTCQX: EPMLF) is an exploration and resource
development company focused on the commercialisation of the Pitfield Titanium
Project, located in Western Australia. The titanium discovery at Pitfield is
of unprecedented scale and hosts one of the largest and highest-grade titanium
resources reported globally, with a Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) totalling
2.2 billion tonnes grading 5.1% TiO₂ for 113 million tonnes of contained
TiO₂.

Titanium mineralisation at Pitfield occurs from surface and displays
exceptional grade continuity along strike and down dip. The MRE extends across
just 20% of the known mineralised footprint, providing substantial potential
for further resource expansion.

Conventional processing has already produced a high-purity product grading
99.25% TiO₂, suitable for titanium sponge metal or pigment feedstock. With
excellent logistics and established infrastructure, Pitfield is strategically
positioned to supply the growing global demand for titanium and other critical
minerals.

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