Diamond Drilling Results

Empire Metals

17/03/2026 07:00

RNS Number : 8545W

Empire Metals Limited

17 March 2026

 

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

 

17 March 2026

Empire Metals Limited

("Empire" or "the Company")

 

Diamond Drilling Confirms Near-Surface High Grade Central Zone at Thomas Prospect

 

Empire Metals Limited, the AIM-quoted and OTCQX-traded exploration and development company, is pleased to report the analytical assay results from its latest diamond drilling programme at the Pitfield Project ("Pitfield" or the "Project") in Western Australia. This programme was carried out, on schedule, during November and December 2025. It provides geological, geochemical, metallurgical and geotechnical data for ongoing development studies and improve Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") material confidence, with a particular focus on the high-grade central zone within the in-situ weathered cap at the Thomas Prospect.

Highlights

·    Diamond core drill programme completed, with eight holes drilled at the Thomas Prospect for a total of 745 metres, confirming the presence of a high-grade central zone at the Thomas Prospect.

 

·  Very high-grade TiO2 intervals identified near surface within the weathered zone, in particular DD25TOM009 which intersected 9.25m @ 10.13% TiO2 from 26.2m and DD25TOM012 which intersected 7.7m @ 9.88% TiO2 from 3.0m.

 

·    Selected high grade intercepts from the diamond drilling within the in-situ weathered cap include:

o  53.5m @ 6.83% TiO2 from 0m (DD25TOM013)

o  61.3m @ 6.64% TiO2 from 2.2m (DD25TOM010)

o  56.2m @ 6.55% TiO2 from 2.1m (DD25TOM009)

o  51.4m @ 6.05% TiO2 from 0m (DD25TOM012)

 

·    Results support targeting of the high-grade central zone for ongoing infill drilling, metallurgical test work and mine planning studies.

 

·    The fully funded drilling campaign that commenced in February 2026 is progressing well, consisting of 754 drill holes for 41,250m at an average unit cost of A$90 per metre. The campaign is designed to upgrade the resource classification at the Thomas Prospect and significantly expand the Cosgrove resource, supporting an updated MRE, targeted for Q3 2026.

 

Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "These results confirm the presence of a high-grade central zone at the Thomas Prospect and demonstrate the significant depth of the weathered profile, extending over 60 metres from surface. Importantly, drilling has intersected thick intervals of very high-grade mineralisation, approaching 10% TiO₂, within the near-surface weathered profile, which will be the focus of our ongoing drilling and metallurgical assessment.

"Excellent drill core recovery, averaging over 97% across the programme, together with the extensive weathered profile encountered, has provided a substantial and representative sample set for the in-situ weathered zone. This will underpin the next phase of bulk metallurgical test work, while the geological and geotechnical data generated from the campaign will feed directly into mine design and process engineering workstreams as we advance towards the Scoping Study."

 

Diamond Drill Programme

The November-December 2025 diamond drilling campaign was designed to generate:

·    Detailed geological and structural data through the high grade in-situ weathered zone and into the fresh bedrock, improving the understanding of the deposit and supporting ongoing geological and resource modelling;

·    Geochemical assay data to expand the geological database and support future upgrades to the MRE;

·    PQ-diameter drill core for metallurgical testing, providing representative material for the ongoing bulk metallurgical test work programme; and

·    Geotechnical data to support mine design and engineering studies as the Project advances towards development.

This diamond drilling programme consisted of eight holes for 745.1m, carried out across the Thomas Prospect over an area 2km x 1km (refer Figure 1). All holes were geotechnically logged to a depth of 50m by Geotechnical and Geological Consultants ("GGC"), a Perth based consultancy. Results from the geotechnical logging are still pending. Drill core from all eight holes was subsequently cut and subsampled, with a quarter of the core removed for geochemical assaying and the remainder being saved for bulk metallurgical test work.

 

Figure 1: Location of Diamond holes with previous drilling.

The geochemical assay results, as well as previously drilled intercepts, clearly show that the high grade TiO2 central zone is extensive at the Thomas Prospect, covering an area of at least 5km long and 1.25km wide.

All but one diamond drillhole generated average grades well above 5% TiO2 (refer Table 1), being the average grade of the Thomas MRE (1.77Bt at 5.0% TiO2). The highest grade drillhole (DD25TOM010) intersected 66m of sandstone and minor interbedded siltstone and has an average grade 6.5% TiO2. The lowest grade drillhole (DD25TOM014) predominantly intersected sandstones with some thick interbeds of conglomerate, up to 10m downhole, which has reduced the grade as the clasts within the conglomerate do not contain TiO2 mineralisation and consequently act to dilute the grade of the rock.

Importantly, the extensive ongoing Air Core ("AC") and Reverse Circulation ("RC") drilling at Thomas (announced 17 February 2026) will further consolidate the dimensions and grade of the high-grade central zone, as well as identify the location of thick interbeds of conglomerate which are lower average grade. This infill drill programme was designed to improve material confidence and advance the Thomas MRE into Measured and Indicated Resources, forming the basis of the mine, ore scheduling and economic evaluations.

High-grade sub-intervals reported from within the in-situ weathered zone (refer Table 1) show that there is not only variability in grade across the weathered zone but also in thickness, with the holes in the central zone reporting much higher grades and having a thicker weathered profile than the holes to the east of the central zone.

A key finding from the drill assay data analysis is the identification of very high-grade TiO2 intervals near surface within the weathered zone, in particular DD25TOM009 which intersected 9.25m @ 10.13% TiO2 from 26.25m and DD25TOM012 which intersected 7.7m @ 9.88% TiO2 from 3.0m.

 

Table 1: Total drill hole and weathered zone intercepts from the drill programme

Hole ID
Total Depth (m)
Depth From (m)
Depth To (m)
Interval (m)
Grade TiO2 (%)
DD25TOM009
101.2
2.1
101.2
99.1
5.38
weathered zone
2.1
58.3
56.2
6.55
inc.
26.2
35.5
9.3
10.13
DD25TOM010
68.2
2.2
68.2
66.0
6.50
weathered zone
2.2
63.5
61.3
6.64
DD25TOM011
101.3
0.2
101.3
101.1
5.77
weathered zone
0.2
54.4
54.2
5.74
inc.
0.2
6.2
6.0
8.52
DD25TOM012
101.2
0.0
101.2
101.2
5.39
weathered zone
0.0
51.4
51.4
6.05
inc.
1.5
9.2
7.7
9.88
DD25TOM013
101.2
0.0
101.2
101.2
6.03
weathered zone
0.0
53.5
53.5
6.83
DD25TOM014
101.2
6.6
101.2
94.6
4.42
weathered zone
6.6
35.1
28.5
4.75
DD25TOM015
101.2
2.6
101.2
98.6
5.72
weathered zone
2.6
36.1
33.5
5.43
inc.
15.8
20.8
5.0
8.11
DD25TOM016
69.6
0.0
69.6
69.6
5.58
weathered zone
0.0
35.7
35.7
5.48

 

 

Ongoing Exploration Activities H1 2026

In February 2026, Empire commenced a major drilling programme, the largest by far to date, primarily focused on delivering an updated MRE at Thomas, with increased resource classification into the Measured and Indicated categories, and a significantly larger updated MRE at Cosgrove (announced 17 February 2026).

Overall, 754 drill holes were planned, totalling 41,250 metres of drilling and consisting of:

·    683 AC drill holes for approximately 34,150 metres, and

·    71 RC drill holes for approximately 7,100 metres,

As of 15 March 2026 the Company had completed a total of 157 holes for 8,899m: 106 AC drill holes for 6,554m at the Thomas Prospect and 61 AC drill holes for 2,345m at Cosgrove. The drilling was scheduled to commence with two AC drill rigs, with a further AC drill rig and two RC drill rigs mobilising by mid-March. All five drill rigs have now mobilised to site and are fully operational. Drilling is expected to be completed by mid-April and will lead to the release of an updated MRE, which is anticipated in Q3 2026, as previously announced, to support ongoing engineering and study work.

The drilling campaign, which is expected to cost A$3.7M in total, is fully funded.  Drilling costs, inclusive of sampling and assays, average less than A$90 per metre which demonstrates disciplined and effective management by our exploration team.  

 

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.

Market Abuse Regulation 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:

Empire Metals Ltd
Shaun Bunn / Greg Kuenzel / Arabella Burwell
Tel: 020 4583 1440
S. P. Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nomad & Joint Broker)
Ewan Leggat / Adam Cowl
Tel: 020 3470 0470
Canaccord Genuity Limited (Joint Broker)
James Asensio / Christian Calabrese / Charlie Hammond
Tel: 020 7523 8000
Shard Capital Partners LLP (Joint Broker)
Damon Heath
Tel: 020 7186 9950
Tavistock (Financial PR)
Emily Moss / Josephine Clerkin
empiremetals@tavistock.co.uk
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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