Empire Metals completes largest drilling campaign so far at Pitfield

(Sharecast News) - Empire Metals said on Tuesday that it had completed its largest drilling campaign to date at the Pitfield titanium project in Western Australia, with initial assays confirming and expanding the high-grade core at the Thomas prospect.

The AIM-traded exploration and development company said results from the first 88 holes of a 712-hole programme continued to delineate multiple thick, near-surface intercepts above 7% titanium dioxide, with individual intervals above 10% and a peak grade of 17.83%.

It said the completed campaign comprised 34,844 metres of drilling, more than doubling cumulative drilling at Pitfield to 67,846 metres across 1,104 holes.

More than 17,000 samples were delivered to Intertek in Perth for full 35-element geochemical analysis and follow-up assay work, which Empire said was expected to significantly enhance the Cosgrove and Thomas mineral resource estimate.

Managing director Shaun Bunn described the campaign as "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," he said.

"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."

The February-to-April campaign delivered 712 holes against an original plan of 754 holes for 41,250 metres.

Empire said the difference reflected holes deemed unnecessary on the western margin after unmineralised basement was intercepted closer to surface than expected, as well as seasonal access restrictions during crop seeding.

At Thomas, the programme comprised 148 air-core holes on a 100-metre by 100-metre grid, averaging 46 metres deep, for 6,848 metres.

A further 30 reverse circulation holes were drilled for 2,988 metres.

The work focused on the high-grade central core zone to improve resource confidence ahead of a mineral resource estimate update targeted for the third quarter of 2026.

Initial results from Thomas included 54 metres at 7.08% titanium dioxide from surface, including eight metres at 9.10%; 48 metres at 7.90% from surface, including eight metres at 10.78%; 47 metres at 7.77% from surface; and 50 metres at 6.78% from 10 metres, including two metres at 17.83%.

Empire said 36 of the first 88 holes returned average grades above 6% titanium dioxide, while eight holes intersected between 38 metres and 54 metres at more than 7%.

Several holes contained intervals of six to 10 metres above 10% titanium dioxide.

The company said the results would materially de-risk the high-grade central core zone to be included in the resource update and economic evaluations.

At Cosgrove, drilling comprised 269 air-core holes on a 400-metre by 200-metre grid, averaging 45 metres deep, for 12,140 metres.

A further 41 reverse circulation holes of 100 metres each were drilled within the grid for 4,100 metres.

The work was focused on increasing the size of the existing Cosgrove mineral resource estimate, which had previously been based on significantly fewer drill holes than Thomas.

Empire said drill coverage at Cosgrove now extended over 10 kilometres by five kilometres, intersecting the same rock types previously seen, including laterite, saprolite, weathered sandstones, weathered conglomerates and weathered interbedded sandstones and siltstones.

Core logging suggested there could be more conglomerates at Cosgrove than at Thomas, which the company said was important because conglomerate clasts do not contain titanium dioxide and therefore dilute overall grade compared with the host sandstones.

A further 226 exploration and sterilisation holes, totalling 8,788 metres, were drilled across the broader Pitfield project area, covering 36 kilometres by 10 kilometres.

The drilling was designed to define the extent of mineralisation and identify unmineralised areas that could be used for potential infrastructure.

Empire said drilling to the north, near the Mt Scratch area where the initial discovery holes were drilled, showed geology similar to earlier mineralised drilling.

Holes drilled outside an approximate one-kilometre envelope to the west and east intersected what appeared to be unmineralised sandstones and siltstones.

The company said the geological and geochemical data from the exploration drilling would support a detailed interpretation of the mineralisation footprint at Pitfield and provide input into future infrastructure planning.

At 1138 BST, shares in Empire Metals were up 10.2% at 34.27p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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