Empire Metals announces Pitfield exploration target

The AIM-traded firm said the exploration target, focussed on the Cosgrove and Thomas mineral prospects, was estimated to contain between 26.4 billion and 32.2 billion tonnes with a titanium dioxide grade range of 4.5% to 5.5%.

Within that total, the weathered sandstone zone, extending from the surface to an average vertical depth of 30 to 40 metres, was estimated to contain between four billion and 4.9 billion tonnes, with a TiO2 grade range of 4.8% to 5.9%.

Snowden Optiro, an Australian-based mineral resources consulting and advisory group, conducted the quality assurance, quality control, and geological modelling necessary to develop the JORC exploration target for the Cosgrove and Thomas prospects.

The total exploration target covered around 59 square kilometres, extending down to a vertical depth of 150 metres, and had been constrained at a 2% TiO2 cut-off grade.

Empire said the target encompassed less than 20% of the overall mineral system at Pitfield, which was indicated by a 40 kilometre-by-eight kilometre-by-five kilometre-deep magnetics anomaly, supported by additional data.

It excluded numerous other high-potential prospects along the 40 kilometre strike length due to insufficient drill hole data.

Further drilling across the exploration target was planned to advance it to a mineral resource estimate, to help define the potential and support the development of the Pitfield Titanium Project.

“I am delighted to announce this very impressive exploration target result, which truly represents an extraordinary achievement for the company given it was only just over 12 months ago that we announced that our maiden drilling had discovered a giant, high-grade, titanium-rich mineral system,” said managing director Shaun Bunn.

“The exploration target is an important milestone and significant first step towards the development of a mineral resource estimate.

“Furthermore, it provides the opportunity for comparison with other existing or emerging projects, not just within the titanium industry but also on a global mining scale.”

Bunn said it was “no surprise” that the firm was on track to demonstrate that the giant titanium rich mineral system lay within a class of its own.

“Importantly, the exploration target does not include all the zones of high-grade titanium mineralisation currently identified by the company outside of these two key prospects, both along strike and at depth, below the 150 metre mark, and which have the potential to significantly increase the overall titanium endowment of the project.”

At 1237 BST, shares in Empire Metals were up 2.21% at 11.55p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.