Empire Metals granted exploration licence for Walton

Resource explorer and developer Empire Metals announced the granting of the exploration licence for the Walton copper-gold-lithium project in Western Australia on Tuesday, in which it holds a 70% interest.

The AIM-traded firm said Walton was highly prospective for copper, gold, and lithium, adding that it was located in the underexplored Yerilgee greenstone belt within the Southern Cross domain.

It said the Yerilgee greenstone belt is part of the 2.9 Ga Western Yilgarn greenstone succession, which is known for hosting world-class volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) systems such as Golden Grove and Cobre’s emerging Perrinvale Project.

Limited previous shallow surface exploration had been undertaken on the project area, with Empire expecting to mobilise its exploration team in June and July to start surface soils/auger sampling and geological mapping.

Exploration at Walton would be conducted in parallel with work at the company's priority Pitfield copper project, following completion of a maiden reverse circulation drilling programme, as it announced on 24 April.

“I am pleased to announce that the exploration licence for Walton has been granted, and that we can commence reconnaissance work on the ground to help confirm the prospectivity of this region for gold, base metal and lithium discoveries,” said managing director Shaun Bunn.

“The April 2022 acquisition of a 70% interest in Walton, along with the Pitfield and Stavely Projects, has transformed Empire into a significant copper-gold-lithium explorer in Australia, and along with the existing Eclipse and Gindalbie projects has created four highly prospective, geologically diverse exploration camps covering 2,155 square kilometres.

“We are now planning a field geological mapping and soil sampling programme at Walton which we expect to commence over the coming months, with the aim of identifying potential drill targets.”

At 1232 BST, shares in Empire Metals were down 1.12% at 2.2p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.