REG - Empire Metals Ltd - Completion of Drill Campaign

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RNS Number : 9111C  Empire Metals Limited  05 May 2026

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

 

05 May 2026

Empire Metals Limited

("Empire" or "the Company")

 

Drilling Campaign Completed - Expansion of High-Grade Core at Thomas

 

Empire Metals Limited, the AIM-quoted and OTCQX-traded exploration and
development company, is pleased to announce the completion of the major
drilling campaign undertaken at the Pitfield Titanium Project in Western
Australia ('Pitfield' or the 'Project'), with initial assays confirming and
expanding the high-grade core at the Thomas prospect. Results from the first
88 holes, out of a 712- hole program, continue to substantiate and delineate
multiple thick, near-surface intercepts above 7% TiO₂, individual intervals
exceeding 10% TiO₂, and a peak grade of 17.83% TiO₂. These results
underscore Pitfield's position as one of the largest and highest-grade
titanium systems globally.

 

Highlights

·  Initial results from the first 88 holes at Thomas confirm and extend the
high-grade core, with mineralisation starting at surface across systematic
100m × 100m spacing

·    Multiple standout intercepts, including:

o  54m @ 7.08% TiO2 from surface (including 8m @9.10%) (AC26TOM249)

o  48m @ 7.90% TiO2 from surface (including 8m @10.78%) (AC26TOM246)

o  47m @ 7.77% TiO2 from surface (AC26TOM245)

o  50m @ 6.78% TiO₂ from 10m (incl. 2m @ 17.83% TiO₂)

·    36 of the first 88 holes returned average grades above 6% TiO₂; 8
holes intersected 38-54m at >7% TiO₂

·    Largest drill campaign to date: 712 drill holes completed for 34,844m
at Pitfield, more than doubling cumulative metres drilled to 67,846m across
1,104 holes.

·    Over 17,000 samples have been delivered to Intertek Perth for full 35
element geochemical analysis with follow-up assay; the additional sample data
is anticipated to significantly enhance the Cosgrove and Thomas Mineral
Resource Estimate ('MRE').

 

Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "This campaign is a defining moment for
Pitfield. The initial results from Thomas confirm what we have long believed:
a continuous, near-surface, high-grade core within a titanium system of
genuine district scale, globally unprecedented and of potential strategic
significance. With over 67,000 metres now drilled across the Project, we have
the geological foundation to advance both resource definition at Thomas and a
substantial resource expansion at Cosgrove, while the assay results to come
will increasingly underpin the economic case for Pitfield's development."

 

February to April 2026 Campaign

The campaign delivered 712 holes for 34,844m against an original plan of 754
holes for 41,250m. The variance reflects holes deemed unnecessary on the
western margin where unmineralised basement was intercepted closer to surface
than expected, alongside seasonal access restrictions during crop seeding.

During the campaign, all drill holes were subsampled on a 2m interval,
resulting in over 17,000 drill samples being collected, logged by the
Company's on-site team of geologists and then prepared for shipment to
Intertek's Perth based analytical laboratory. As of the end of April all drill
hole and QA/QC samples have been delivered to Intertek for geochemical
analysis and assaying.

With the completion of the current drill campaign, the largest undertaken by
the Company to date, total drilling at Pitfield has now surpassed 67,846m
across 1,104 holes, providing a robust foundation for geological modelling,
resource definition and initial economic evaluation work.

Since commencing the maiden drilling campaign at Pitfield on 27 March 2023
Empire has completed:

·    25 Diamond drill holes for 3,449 m

·    211 RC drill holes for 25,852 m

·    868 AC drill holes for 38,545 m.

 

Figure 1. Grey-scale magnetics overlain by airborne gravity data showing RC,
AC and diamond drillhole collar locations in relation to current MRE areas.

 

Thomas Prospect

The drill programme was designed to increase the resource confidence level at
the Thomas prospect, increase the size of the Cosgrove resource and to drill
exploration holes to delineate the edge of the giant mineralisation footprint
at Pitfield.

The completed drill campaign at Thomas consisted of 148 AC drillholes, on a
100 x 100m drillhole-spaced grid with an average depth of 46m, for a total of
6,848 metres. A further 30 RC holes were drilled for a total of 2,988 metres.
This drilling was concentrated on the high-grade central core zone, with the
objective of enhancing resource confidence for the forthcoming MRE update that
is targeted for Q3 2026.

Geochemical lab results for the first 88 holes have been returned from Thomas
(refer Appendix 1.) and confirmed the location and extent of the high-grade
core (announced in RNS on 17 March 2026). Drilling has returned outstanding
results within the in-situ near surface high grade core. Up to 8 drill holes
intersected between 38m and 54m of >7% TiO(2) with several holes containing
between 6 -10m of >10% TiO(2). The highest grade assay is 2m @ 17.83%
TiO(2). There are 36 holes out of 88 that grade above 6% TiO(2).

These results will materially de-risk the high-grade central core zone that
will be included in the MRE update and economic evaluations.

Figure 2. RC and AC drill hole collar locations (MRE drilling) within the
Thomas Prospect priority area, showing existing MRE outline and Large High
Grade Central Core.

 

Cosgrove Prospect

Drilling at Cosgrove consisted of 269 AC holes on a 400m x 200m drillhole
spaced grid with an average depth of 45m, for a total of 12,140 metres. In
conjunction with the AC drilling 41 x 100m RC holes were drilled within the
grid for a total of 4,100m. The AC and RC drilling was focussed on increasing
the size of the known mineral resource estimate at Cosgrove which was
previously based on significantly less drillholes than at Thomas.

The drill coverage at Cosgrove now extends over 10km x 5km, intersecting the
same rock types as seen previously with laterite, saprolite, weathered
sandstones, weathered conglomerates and weathered interbedded sandstones and
siltstones. The core logging suggests there may be more conglomerates at
Cosgrove than at Thomas which is important given that the conglomerate clasts
do not contain TiO(2) and therefore dilute the overall grade of the rock as
compared in general to the host sandstones.

 

Figure 3. RC and AC drill hole collar locations (MRE drilling) within the
Cosgrove Prospect

 

Exploration/Sterilisation Drilling

A total of 226 exploration holes for a total of 8,788 metres were drilled
across the whole of the Pitfield Project property. This encompassed an area
36km long and 10km wide. The purpose of the drilling was twofold: one to
define the extents of the mineralisation at Pitfield and the other to identify
areas for potential infrastructure where there was no mineralisation.

The drilling to the north, in close proximity to the Mt Scratch area where the
initial discovery holes were drilled, has shown very similar mineralised
geology to that observed in the earlier drilling. Holes drilled outside an
approximate 1km envelope to the west and east have intersected what appears to
be unmineralised sandstones and siltstones.

The geological and geochemical data derived from the exploration drilling will
allow for a detailed interpretation of the mineralisation footprint at
Pitfield. It will also provide valuable input into future work on
infrastructure optionality.

 

Figure 4. Exploration RC and AC drill hole collar locations across Pitfield

 

 

 

Appendix 1.  Drill Hole Assays for Thomas

 Hole ID     Total Depth (m)  Depth From (m)  Depth To (m)  Interval (m)  Grade TiO(2) (%)
 AC26TOM184  38               0               38            38            6.17
 AC26TOM185  33               0               33            33            4.97
 AC26TOM186  44               0               44            44            6.19
 AC26TOM187  36               0               36            36            6.69
 AC26TOM188  38               0               38            38            5.66
 AC26TOM189  25               0               25            25            5.41
 AC26TOM190  40               0               40            40            6.31
 AC26TOM191  40               0               40            40            6.91
 AC26TOM192  39               0               39            39            4.79
 AC26TOM193  39               0               39            39            3.69
 AC26TOM194  49               0               49            49            7.07
 inc.                         2               16            14            9.12
 AC26TOM195  38               0               38            38            6.18
 AC26TOM196  36               0               36            36            4.07
 AC26TOM207  40               0               40            40            5.03
 AC26TOM208  44               0               44            44            5.09
 AC26TOM209  39               0               39            39            4.57
 inc.                         28              32            4             11.3
 AC26TOM210  44               0               44            44            5
 AC26TOM211  44               0               44            44            5.5
 AC26TOM212  44               0               44            44            3.77
 AC26TOM213  39               2               39            37            4.75
 AC26TOM214  44               2               44            42            5.22
 AC26TOM215  43               0               43            43            7.15
 inc.                         10              18            8             10.96
 AC26TOM216  44               6               44            38            7.4
 AC26TOM217  46               4               46            42            5.34
 AC26TOM218  48               4               48            44            6.07
 AC26TOM219  44               0               44            44            3.22
 AC26TOM220  42               0               42            42            3.64
 AC26TOM221  42               0               42            42            3.87
 AC26TOM222  48               0               48            48            4.16
 AC26TOM223  42               0               42            42            4.8
 AC26TOM224  39               0               39            39            4.21
 AC26TOM225  40               0               40            40            5.3
 AC26TOM226  40               0               40            40            4.9
 AC26TOM227  44               0               44            44            4.48
 AC26TOM228  46               0               46            46            4.34
 AC26TOM229  44               0               44            44            5.07
 AC26TOM230  42               0               42            42            4.23
 AC26TOM231  40               0               40            40            4.82
 AC26TOM232  42               6               42            36            4.87
 AC26TOM233  45               6               45            39            5.33
 AC26TOM234  49               2               49            47            5.13
 AC26TOM235  45               0               45            45            5.78
 AC26TOM236  46               4               46            42            4.43
 AC26TOM237  49               6               49            43            6.96
 AC26TOM238  46               4               46            42            7.41
 AC26TOM239  46               4               46            42            6.74
 inc.                         16              22            6             10.29
 AC26TOM240  50               0               50            50            6.41
 AC26TOM241  50               0               50            50            6.51
 AC26TOM242  44               0               44            44            6.99
 AC26TOM243  52               0               52            52            4.15
 AC26TOM244  46               0               46            46            4.77
 inc.                         12              22            10            10.31
 AC26TOM245  47               0               47            47            7.77
 AC26TOM246  48               0               48            48            7.9
 inc.                         12              20            8             10.78
 AC26TOM247  45               0               45            45            7.13
 AC26TOM248  51               0               51            51            6.97
 inc.                         24              28            4             10.43
 AC26TOM249  54               0               54            54            7.08
 inc.                         8               16            8             9.1
 AC26TOM255  48               0               48            48            4.59
 AC26TOM256  43               0               43            43            5.41
 AC26TOM257  42               0               42            42            5.9
 AC26TOM258  47               0               47            47            6.02
 AC26TOM259  49               0               49            49            6.1
 AC26TOM260  50               4               50            46            5.75
 AC26TOM261  53               2               53            51            5.58
 AC26TOM262  41               0               41            41            5.47
 AC26TOM263  41               0               41            41            5.85
 AC26TOM264  44               0               44            44            5.53
 AC26TOM265  50               0               50            50            5.6
 AC26TOM272  42               0               42            42            6.9
 AC26TOM273  38               0               38            38            6.26
 AC26TOM274  32               0               32            32            5.63
 AC26TOM275  33               0               33            33            6.33
 AC26TOM276  38               0               38            38            6.22
 AC26TOM277  49               0               49            49            4.91
 AC26TOM284  36               0               36            36            4.33
 AC26TOM285  43               0               43            43            5.55
 AC26TOM286  48               0               48            48            6.02
 AC26TOM287  56               0               56            56            5.28
 AC26TOM288  60               0               60            60            6.13
 AC26TOM289  56               2               56            54            6.08
 AC26TOM290  39               0               39            39            6.58
 AC26TOM291  46               0               46            46            6.84
 AC26TOM292  45               0               45            45            6.03
 AC26TOM293  44               0               44            44            5.48
 AC26TOM300  53               0               53            53            6.95
 inc.                         8               18            10            10.58
 AC26TOM301  48               0               48            48            6.08
 inc.                         8               14            6             12.66
 AC26TOM302  53               2               53            51            5.24
 AC26TOM303  50               4               50            46            5.5
 AC26TOM304  50               10              50            40            6.78
 inc.                         36              38            2             17.83

 

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 / Rory Blundell / 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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