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Completion of Major Drilling Campaign Targeting Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate
Empire Metals Limited, the AIM-quoted and OTCQB-traded exploration and development company, is pleased to announce the successful completion of its largest drilling campaign to date at the Pitfield Project in Western Australia ('Pitfield' or the 'Project'). This programme focussed on high-grade titanium mineralisation within the in-situ weathered cap at the Thomas Prospect and is designed to underpin the Company's maiden JORC compliant Mineral Resource Estimate ('MRE').Highlights
- 180 drill holes completed at the Thomas prospect, comprising:
- 140 Air Core ('AC') drill holes for a total of 6,360 metres;
- 40 Reverse Circulation ('RC') drill holes for a total of 3,776 metres;
- Total metres drilled: 10,136
- Drilling was conducted on a systematic 400m by 200m grid covering over 1,352 hectares and was designed to support the initial MRE as well as providing key data for economic evaluation studies.
- The Thomas Prospect was selected as the basis for the maiden MRE due to the extensive, thick and high-grade titanium mineralisation hosted within the broad, in-situ weathered zone.
- This campaign marks a major milestone in the development of Pitfield, laying the foundation for a globally significant MRE and enabling the identification of near-surface, high grade zones to support the development of mine planning and ore scheduling as part of upcoming economic evaluation studies.
Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "We are very pleased to have completed this important drilling campaign on time, on budget and without safety incident. With drilling now complete, our focus turns to resource modelling and progressing Pitfield towards its maiden Mineral Resource Estimate, which is a key milestone as we look to bring this globally significant titanium project to commercialisation, maintaining the ambitious development schedule we have delivered over the past two years."
MRE Drilling Programme
With the completion of the current drill campaign, the largest undertaken by the Company to date, total drilling at Pitfield has now surpassed 32,000m across 382 holes, providing a robust foundation for geological modelling, resource definition (refer Figure 1) and initial economic evaluation work.
Since commencing the maiden drilling campaign at Pitfield on 27 March 2023 Empire has completed 382 drill holes for a total 32,265 metres comprising:
- 17 Diamond drill holes for 2,704 m
- 140 RC drill holes for 18,764 m
- 225 AC drill holes for 10,797 m.
Figure 1. Grey-scale magnetics overlain by airborne gravity data showing RC, AC and diamond drillhole collar locations and JORC Exploration Target areas.
May-June 2025 Campaign
The location and spacing of the current RC and AC drillholes were designed, with the input of mineral resource consultants Snowden-Optiro, to provide the necessary drill assay data density to allow the preparation of an MRE at the Thomas Prospect.
The completed drill campaign consisted of 140 AC drillholes, on a 400 x 200m drillhole-spaced grid with an average forecast depth of 45.4m, for a total of 6,360 metres, and 40 RC drillholes within the AC drilling grid, to an average depth of 94.4m, for a total of 3,776 metres. The overall drillhole grid extends 5.2km by 2.6km and totals an area of 1,352 hectares (refer Figure 2).
Figure 2. RC and AC drill hole collar locations within the Thomas Prospect priority area.
During the campaign all drill holes were subsampled on a 2m interval, resulting in over 5,000 drill samples being collected, logged by our on-site team of geologists and then prepared for shipment to Intertek's Perth based analytical laboratory. As of the end of June all drill hole and QA/QC samples have been delivered to Intertek for geochemical analysis and assaying.
The Pitfield Titanium Project
Located within the Mid-West region of Western Australia, near the northern wheatbelt town of Three Springs, the Pitfield titanium project lies 313km north of Perth and 156km southeast of Geraldton, the Mid West region's capital and major port. Western Australia is ranked as one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world according to the Fraser Institute's Investment Attractiveness Index published in 2023, and has mining-friendly policies, stable government, transparency, and advanced technology expertise. Pitfield has existing connections to port (both road & rail), HV power substations, and is nearby to natural gas pipelines as well as a green energy hydrogen fuel hub, which is under planning and development (refer Figure 2).
Figure 2. Pitfield Project Location showing theMid-West Region Infrastructure and Services
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. 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 (MAR) 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:
About Empire Metals Limited
Empire Metals is an AIM-listed and OTCQB-traded exploration and resource development company (LON:EEE) with a primary focus on developing Pitfield, an emerging giant titanium project in Western Australia.
The high-grade titanium discovery at Pitfield is of unprecedented scale, with airborne surveys identifying a massive, coincident gravity and magnetics anomaly extending over 40km by 8km by 5km deep. Drill results have indicated excellent continuity in grades and consistency of the mineralised beds and confirm that the sandstone beds hold the higher-grade titanium dioxide (TiO₂) values within the interbedded succession of sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates. The Company is focused on two key prospects (Cosgrove and Thomas), which have been identified as having thick, high-grade, near-surface, bedded TiO₂ mineralisation, each being over 7km in strike length.
An Exploration Target* for Pitfield was declared in 2024, covering the Thomas and Cosgrove mineral prospects, and was estimated to contain between 26.4 to 32.2 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.5 to 5.5% TiO2. Included within the total Exploration Target* is a subset that covers the weathered sandstone zone, which extends from surface to an average vertical depth of 30m to 40m and is estimated to contain between 4.0 to 4.9 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.8 to 5.9% TiO2.
The Exploration Target* covers an area less than 20% of the overall mineral system at Pitfield which demonstrates the potential for significant further upside.
Empire is now accelerating the economic development of Pitfield, with a vision to produce a high-value titanium metal or pigment quality product at Pitfield, to realise the full value potential of this exceptional deposit.
The Company also has two further exploration projects in Australia; the Eclipse Project and the Walton Project in Western Australia, in addition to three precious metals projects located in a historically high-grade gold producing region of Austria.
*The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com
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Empire Metals
Investor Insight
Empire Metals (OTCQB:EPMLF, AIM:EEE) is unlocking one of the world’s largest and purest titanium deposits at its flagship Pitfield project in Western Australia. With growing global demand, a looming supply deficit, and near-term development milestones, Empire offers a compelling investment opportunity in the critical minerals space.
Overview
Empire Metals (OTCQB:EPMLF, AIM:EEE) is an Australian focused exploration and resource development company rapidly gaining international attention for its discovery and rapid development of what is believed to be the world’s largest titanium deposit.
The company is focused on advancing its flagship asset, the Pitfield project, located in Western Australia, a tier 1 mining jurisdiction. With a dominant landholding of more than 1,000 sq km, and a titanium mineral system that spans 40 km in strike length, Pitfield is emerging as a district-scale “giant” discovery with the potential to reshape the global titanium supply landscape.
Empire’s strategic focus on titanium comes at a pivotal time. Titanium is officially recognized as a critical mineral by both the European Union and the United States, owing to its essential role in aerospace, defense, medical technologies, clean energy and high-performance industrial applications. Global demand for titanium dioxide — the most widely used form of titanium — is surging due to its unmatched properties as a pigment and as a feedstock for titanium metal. Titanium supply chains are also increasingly being constrained by geopolitical risks, mine depletion and environmental challenges associated with traditional production. More than 60 percent of the global supply chain is currently concentrated in a handful of countries, notably China and Russia, creating significant vulnerabilities for Western markets.
Titanium has been designated as a critical mineral in both the EU and the US.
Against this backdrop, Empire Metals offers investors a compelling opportunity to gain exposure to a strategically vital metal through a large-scale, high-grade and clean titanium discovery. Unlike many traditional titanium sources, Pitfield's mineralization is exceptionally pure — free from detrimental amounts of uranium, thorium, chromium and other contaminants — making it ideally suited for premium, high-purity end markets. Furthermore, the mineralized zone is near-surface and laterally extensive, allowing for low-strip and scalable bulk mining with conventional processing technologies.
With more than 22,000 meters of drilling already completed and only a fraction of the mineral system tested, Empire is aggressively advancing Pitfield towards a maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate, targeted for H2-2025. Alongside this work, the company is also undertaking bulk sampling and metallurgical processing to advance flowsheet design and optimize product specifications. It is also engaging with industry players to assess product suitability for premium pigment and titanium sponge markets. Empire is planning to finalize, during the current calendar year, a mining study to evaluate the potential for a low-cost strip mining approach, utilizing continuous mining techniques.
The company is supported by a seasoned leadership team with deep expertise in exploration, resource development, mining, metallurgy and capital markets — ensuring that strategic decisions are guided by both technical excellence and a strong track record of value creation.
Company Highlights
- The flagship Pitfield project is the world’s largest known titanium discovery. It’s a district-scale “giant” titanium mineral system, characterised by high-grade, high-purity titanium mineralisation exhibiting exceptional continuity.
- Titanium is in a global supply deficit and recognized as a critical mineral by the EU and US.
- Drill intercepts at Pitfield include up to 202 meters at 6.32 percent titanium dioxide (TiO2) from surface, confirming vast scale and grade.
- Empire Metals operates in one of the world’s most secure, mining-friendly jurisdictions: Western Australia.
- The company is led by an experienced, agile team, with proven expertise in exploration, mine development, and value creation across multiple commodities.
- With a number of key development catalysts planned for 2025, including a maiden resource estimate, bulk sampling for scale-up of metallurgical testwork, and product optimisation, Empire remains significantly undervalued relative to its peers.
Key Projects
Pitfield Project – A World-Class Titanium Discovery
Located in Western Australia, the Pitfield project is Empire Metals’ flagship asset and represents one of the most exciting titanium discoveries globally. Spanning an area of approximately 1,042 sq km, the project has revealed a colossal mineral system measuring 40 km in length and up to 8 km in width, with geophysical indications of mineralization extending to at least a depth of 5 km.
Pitfield’s prime location in Western Australia
Extensive drilling across the project has intercepted thick, laterally continuous zones of high-grade titanium dioxide mineralization, highlighting the system’s enormous scale and consistency.
The titanium at Pitfield occurs predominantly in the minerals anatase and rutile within a weathered, in-situ cap that begins at surface. These minerals are exceptionally pure, often exceeding 90 percent titanium dioxide. They are free from harmful amounts of contaminants like uranium, thorium, chromium and phosphorus — qualities that are likely to make the deposit uniquely suitable for premium, high-purity titanium applications in aerospace, defense and clean technologies.
Pitfield is strategically located near the town of Three Springs, approximately 150 km southeast of the port city of Geraldton. The project benefits from direct access to essential infrastructure, including sealed highways, rail lines and an available water supply. This connectivity significantly enhances development potential by reducing logistics costs and simplifying future project build-out. Moreover, the Western Australian government actively supports critical mineral development, and Empire is operating within a stable, mining-friendly jurisdiction known for streamlined permitting and investment security.
Empire has completed more than 22,000 meters of drilling, confirming standout titanium dioxide (TiO2) results such as 154 meters at 6.76 percent TiO2, 148 meters at 6.49 percent TiO2, and 150 meters at 6.44 percent TiO2. Notably, mineralization remains open at depth in all tested zones, and to date, only around 5 percent of the interpreted system has been drilled. This underscores the immense upside potential for resource expansion.
The project’s development advantages are equally compelling: the mineralization is near-surface and amenable to simple, bulk mining methods with conventional processing. Its location in a tier-one mining jurisdiction offers access to infrastructure, a skilled workforce and strong regulatory support.
The Pitfield project presents a scalable processing pathway. Photo shows a gravity flotation test in process (left) and a close-up of a flotation test (right)
Pitfield is advancing toward a maiden JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate, expected by H2-2025. The project is already being recognized as a potential cornerstone asset in the global titanium supply chain.
Other Projects
In addition to Pitfield, Empire Metals maintains a portfolio of early-stage exploration assets offering optionality and exposure to other strategic and precious metals. Empire holds interests in two Western Australian projects — the Walton and Eclipse gold projects — both situated in historically productive mineral belts. While these assets are not the current focus, they contribute exploration upside and optionality within the company’s broader strategy.
Management Team
Neil O’Brien - Non-executive Chairman
Neil O’Brien is the former SVP exploration and new business development at Lundin
Mining, until he retired in 2018. He has an extensive global mining career as a PhD economic geologist, exploration leader and board executive.
Shaun Bunn - Managing Director
Shaun Bunn is a metallurgist based in Perth, Western Australia, with expertise in international exploration, mining, processing and development. He has a successful track record managing mining projects through all stages of development.
Greg Kuenzel - Finance Director
Based in London, Greg Kuenzel is a chartered accountant, and corporate finance and financial management expert. He has extensive experience working with resources-focused AIM listed companies.
Peter Damouni - Non-executive Director
With more than 20 years of corporate and finance experience focused in the natural resources sector, Peter Damouni holds executive and director roles in TSXV and LSE listed companies where he has played key roles in significantly enhancing shareholder value.
Phil Brumit - Non-executive Director
Phil Brumit is a veteran mining engineer and operations expert, delivering major global operations. His previous roles include international leadership positions at Freeport-McMoRan, Lundin Mining and Newmont Corporation.
Narelle Marriott - Process Development Manager
Narelle Marriott is a former BHP senior process engineer. Most recently, she was the general manager for process development for Hastings Technology Metals.
Andrew Faragher - Exploration Manager
Andrew Faragher is a former Rio Tinto exploration manager with more than 25 years of experience working across multiple commodities.
Arabella Burwell - Corporate Development
Arabella Burwell is a former Senior Director Corporate Development at NASDAQ-listed GoDaddy and a Partner, Capital Raising and Strategic Partnerships, at Hannam & Partners in London and South Africa.
Carrie Pritchard – Environmental Manager
Carrie brings over 20 years of international experience in environmental management, project development, regulatory approvals, and impact assessment. Her expertise spans mine closure and reclamation, stakeholder engagement, and the remediation of contaminated sites. She has led projects across Australia (Western Australia and Victoria) and New Zealand and has also contributed to initiatives in Malawi and Greenland.
David Parker – Commercial Manager
David Parker brings over 20 years of experience in equity capital markets, with a strong focus on the mining, industrial, and technology sectors. He has held senior roles as director and company secretary for several ASX-listed companies, providing strategic leadership and commercial oversight across diverse corporate environments.
Advancing a game-changing, globally significant titanium project in Western Australia.
Empire Metals Limited Announces Drilling Outlines Large, High-Grade Zone
- Selected exceptional intercepts (>6% TiO2), include:
- 44m @ 7.87% TiO2 from surface (AC25TOM159)
- 50m @ 7.84% TiO2 from 4m (AC25TOM130)
- 54m @ 7.41% TiO2 from surface (AC25TOM118)
- 98m @ 7.05% TiO2 from 2m (RC25TOM062)
- 98m @ 7.05% TiO2 from 2m (RC25TOM068)
- Large, high-grade central core identified averaging circa 6% TiO2 across a continuous 3.6km strike length
- Nearly two thirds of all drillholes averaged > 4% TiO2, with over 90% exceeding a 2% cut-off.
Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said:"These results confirm the exceptional scale and grade of titanium mineralisation at Thomas. The continuity of high-grade mineralisation near surface is particularly exciting for future mine development. With assays received ahead of schedule, we can now accelerate resource modelling and move rapidly towards announcing our maiden MRE."
MRE Drilling Programme - Key Results
Since commencing the maiden drilling campaign at Pitfield on 27 March 2023 Empire has completed 382 drill holes for a total 32,265 metres (refer Figure 1) comprising:
- 17 Diamond drill holes for 2,704 m
- 140 Reverse Circulation (RC) drill holes for 18,764 m
- 225 Air Core (AC) drill holes for 10,797 m.
The latest May-June campaign comprised:
- 140 AC drillholes (6,360m) on a 400 x 200m grid, average depth 45.4m
- 40 RC drillholes (3,776m) within the AC grid, average depth 94.4m
Figure 1. Grey-scale magnetics overlain by airborne gravity data showing RC, AC and diamond drillhole collar locations and JORC Exploration Target areas.
During the campaign all drill holes were subsampled on a 2m interval, resulting in over 5,000 drill samples being collected, logged by our on-site team of geologists and then prepared for shipment to Intertek's Perth based analytical laboratory. The analytical assay results have now been received, showing continuous TiO2-rich mineralisation across the overall drillhole grid, which extends 5.2km by 2.6km and totals an area of 1,352 hectares (refer Figure 2).
The drilling has confirmed the presence of a large, high-grade central core at the Thomas prospect, this target being selected as the basis for the maiden MRE due to the extensive, thick and high-grade titanium mineralisation known to be hosted within the broad, in-situ weathered zone. Whilst over 90% of all drillhole sample assays show mineralisation well above a 2% TiO2 cut-off grade this central high-grade core, extends over 3.6km north-south, averages around 6% TiO2 (refer Table 1).
Table 1. Breakdown of drillhole assay results by average grade of drillhole and percentage of total drilling.
Significant analytical assay results for each drillhole above 6% TiO2 are reported in Table 2 further below.
Figure 2. RC and AC drill hole collar locations within the Thomas Prospect priority area.
Strategic Significance
The May-June campaign marked a major milestone in the development of Pitfield, laying the foundation for a globally significant MRE and enabling the identification of near-surface, high grade zones to support the development of mine planning and ore scheduling as part of upcoming economic evaluation studies.
Table 2. Significant Intercepts above 6% TiO2.
The Pitfield Titanium Project
Located within the Mid-West region of Western Australia, near the northern wheatbelt town of Three Springs, the Pitfield titanium project lies 313km north of Perth and 156km southeast of Geraldton, the Mid West region's capital and major port. Western Australia is a Tier 1 mining jurisdiction, with mining-friendly policies, stable government, transparency, and advanced technology expertise. Pitfield has existing connections to port (both road & rail), HV power substations, and is nearby to natural gas pipelines as well as a green energy hydrogen fuel hub, which is under planning and development (refer Figure 3).
Figure 3. Pitfield Project Location showing theMid-West Region Infrastructure and Services
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. 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 (MAR) 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:
About Empire Metals Limited
Empire Metals is an AIM-listed and OTCQB-traded exploration and resource development company (LON: EEE) with a primary focus on developing Pitfield, an emerging giant titanium project in Western Australia.
The high-grade titanium discovery at Pitfield is of unprecedented scale, with airborne surveys identifying a massive, coincident gravity and magnetics anomaly extending over 40km by 8km by 5km deep. Drill results have indicated excellent continuity in grades and consistency of the mineralised beds and confirm that the sandstone beds hold the higher-grade titanium dioxide (TiO₂) values within the interbedded succession of sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates. The Company is focused on two key prospects (Cosgrove and Thomas), which have been identified as having thick, high-grade, near-surface, bedded TiO₂ mineralisation, each being over 7km in strike length.
An Exploration Target* for Pitfield was declared in 2024, covering the Thomas and Cosgrove mineral prospects, and was estimated to contain between 26.4 to 32.2 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.5 to 5.5% TiO2. Included within the total Exploration Target* is a subset that covers the weathered sandstone zone, which extends from surface to an average vertical depth of 30m to 40m and is estimated to contain between 4.0 to 4.9 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.8 to 5.9% TiO2.
The Exploration Target* covers an area less than 20% of the overall mineral system at Pitfield which demonstrates the potential for significant further upside.
Empire is now accelerating the economic development of Pitfield, with a vision to produce a high-value titanium metal or pigment quality product at Pitfield, to realise the full value potential of this exceptional deposit.
The Company also has two further exploration projects in Australia; the Eclipse Project and the Walton Project in Western Australia, in addition to three precious metals projects located in a historically high-grade gold producing region of Austria.
*The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
Click here to connect with Empire Metals (OTCQB:EPMLF, AIM:EEE) to receive an Investor Presentation
Empire Metals Limited Announces Team Expansion & Bulk Met Testing Commences
Highlights
- Strategic Appointments to Accelerate Development
Empire has appointed Mr. Alan Rubio as Study Manager and Mr. Pocholo Aviso as Hydro-metallurgist. These appointments are aligned with the Company's objective to evaluate mining scenarios, optimise product development, assess commercial process flowsheet options and progress the Project toward a feasibility study. - Mr. Alan Rubio, an engineer and seasoned Study and Project Manager with over 28 years' experience working within the resources sector developing and evaluating mining projects, will lead the assessment of mining, infrastructure and oversee key economic studies to deliver a robust project development plan.
- Mr. Pocholo Aviso, an experienced hydro-metallurgist with a background in the TiO₂ pigment industry (including roles at Tronox and BHP's Kwinana Nickel Refinery), will manage the titanium product development programme, focusing on product optimisation, process flowsheet designs and evaluating market pathways.
- Partnership with Strategic Metallurgy Pty Ltd:
Empire has also partnered with Strategic Metallurgy, a highly respected, Perth-based metallurgical consultancy. The firm will provide oversight of the metallurgical testwork programme and technical guidance to the Company's internal metallurgists and process design engineers, helping transition from bench-scale process development to pilot-scale testing.
- Bulk-Scale Testwork:
The Company has commenced bulk metallurgical testwork that will produce significant quantities of mineral concentrate to support large-scale beneficiation testing and, for the first time, enable the supply of bulk product samples to prospective end users. In addition, this testwork will provide critical technical information for the development of a commercial process flowsheet.
These key appointments advance the Company toward confirming project economics and assessing mine design, process flowsheets and product options-critical steps in the development pathway to commercial mine production.
Commenting on the announcement, Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said:
"I am delighted to welcome Alan and Pocholo to our team. Their technical expertise will be invaluable as we move toward defining the economic potential and product strategy for Pitfield. Building a strong in-house team has been key to our progress so far, and these appointments mark an important next step.
"We are also very pleased to be working with Strategic Metallurgy, whose reputation and experience in process development will significantly strengthen our metallurgical programme. The timing is ideal, with large-scale metallurgical testing now underway, including ore scrubbing and spiral gravity separation, using bulk samples collected earlier this year."
Process Development Update
A large-scale metallurgical testwork programme, involving mineral separation techniques that require bulk feed samples, between approximately 0.5 to 1.5 tonnes each, has commenced using the material collected from the February 2025 Air Core drilling. The programme includes ore scrubbing, desliming and gravity spiral testwork. Alternative gravity separation unit processes, such as jigs and up-current classifiers, are also being evaluated.
Flotation testwork is also being carried out on the fines fraction, separated in the desliming step. As part of this programme, bulk mineral concentrates will be produced for downstream processing, testing both hydrometallurgical and product finishing flowsheet concepts. This will allow a consistent, common mineral concentrate stream to be assessed across the range of flowsheet options that are being considered downstream of the mineral separation step.
Figure 1. Photos of bulk testwork programme showing clockwise from bottom left: deslimed feed sample, wet scrubber unit, and gravity spirals .
This bulk testwork programme will produce significant volumes of concentrates which will feed into beneficiation testwork and result in larger product samples which can be delivered to potential end users for assessment for the first time.
In addition, this programme is designed to assess different types of process equipment and analyse a variety of flowsheet options, resulting in technical information necessary for developing a commercial process flowsheet.
About Strategic Metallurgy
Strategic Metallurgy Pty Ltd, established in 2010, is a metallurgical consulting company whose business model is to work with mining companies to develop their metallurgical strategy and ensure that it fits into their overall business plan. With a proven track record of providing expert consulting, process development, testwork management, feasibilities and strategic reviews Strategic Metallurgy has the extensive hands-on experience that Empire requires to progress the Pitfield Project through the metallurgical testing, process modelling, flowsheet design stages to pilot plant design and operation.
The Pitfield Titanium Project
Located within the Mid-West region of Western Australia, near the northern wheatbelt town of Three Springs, the Pitfield titanium project lies 313km north of Perth and 156km southeast of Geraldton, the Mid West region's capital and major port. Western Australia is ranked as one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world according to the Fraser Institute's Investment Attractiveness Index published in 2023, and has mining-friendly policies, stable government, transparency, and advanced technology expertise. Pitfield has existing connections to port (both road & rail), HV power substations, and is nearby to natural gas pipelines (refer Figure 2).
Figure 2. Pitfield Project Location showing the Mid-West Region Infrastructure and Services.
Competent Person Statement
The scientific and technical information in this report that relates to process metallurgy is based on information reviewed by Ms Narelle Marriott, an employee of Empire Metals Australia Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Empire. Ms Marriott is a member of the AusIMM and has sufficient experience 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 JORC Code 2012. Ms. Marriott consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.
The technical information in this report that relates to the geology and exploration of 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 AusIMM and 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 JORC Code 2012. 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 (MAR) 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:
About Empire Metals Limited
Empire Metals is an AIM-listed and OTCQB-traded exploration and resource development company (LON:EEE)(OTCQB:EPMLF) with a primary focus on developing Pitfield, an emerging giant titanium project in Western Australia.
The high-grade titanium discovery at Pitfield is of unprecedented scale, with airborne surveys identifying a massive, coincident gravity and magnetics anomaly extending over 40km by 8km by 5km deep. Drill results have indicated excellent continuity in grades and consistency of the in-situ mineralised beds and confirm that the sandstone beds hold the higher-grade titanium dioxide (TiO₂) values within the interbedded succession of sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates. The Company is focused on two key prospects (Cosgrove and Thomas), which have been identified as having thick, high-grade, near-surface, in-situ bedded TiO₂ mineralisation, each being over 7km in strike length.
An Exploration Target* for Pitfield was declared in 2024, covering the Thomas and Cosgrove mineral prospects, and was estimated to contain between 26.4 to 32.2 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.5 to 5.5% TiO2. Included within the total Exploration Target* is a subset that covers the in-situ weathered sandstone zone, which extends from surface to an average vertical depth of 30m to 40m and is estimated to contain between 4.0 to 4.9 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.8 to 5.9% TiO2.
The Exploration Target* covers an area less than 20% of the overall mineral system at Pitfield which demonstrates the potential for significant further upside.
Empire is now accelerating the economic development of Pitfield, with a vision to produce a high-value titanium metal or pigment quality product at Pitfield, to realise the full value potential of this exceptional deposit.
The Company also has two further exploration projects in Australia; the Eclipse Project and the Walton Project in Western Australia, in addition to three precious metals projects located in a historically high-grade gold producing region of Austria.
*The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource. See RNS dated 12 June 2024 for full details.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
Click here to connect with Empire Metals (OTCQB:EPMLF, AIM:EEE) to receive an Investor Presentation
Empire Metals Limited Announces Warrant Exercise
Application for Admission
Application will be made to the London Stock Exchange for the new shares to be admitted to trading on AIM ('Admission'). It is expected that Admission will become effective on or around 18 June 2025.
Following Admission of the new shares as described above, the issued share capital of the Company will consist of 690,393,221 ordinary shares of no-par value. 690,393,221 represents the total number of voting rights in the Company and may be used by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which they can determine if they are required to notify their interest in, or a change to their interest in the Company under the Financial Conduct Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.empiremetals.co.uk or contact:
About Empire Metals Limited
Empire Metals is an AIM-listed exploration and resource development company (LON: EEE) with a primary focus on developing Pitfield, an emerging giant titanium project in Western Australia.
The high-grade titanium discovery at Pitfield is of unprecedented scale, with airborne surveys identifying a massive, coincident gravity and magnetics anomaly extending over 40km by 8km by 5km deep. Drill results have indicated excellent continuity in grades and consistency of the mineralised beds and confirm that the sandstone beds hold the higher-grade titanium dioxide (TiO₂) values within the interbedded succession of sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates. The Company is focused on two key prospects (Cosgrove and Thomas), which have been identified as having thick, high-grade, near-surface, bedded TiO₂ mineralisation, each being over 7km in strike length.
An Exploration Target* for Pitfield was declared in 2024, covering the Thomas and Cosgrove mineral prospects, and was estimated to contain between 26.4 to 32.2 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.5 to 5.5% TiO2. Included within the total Exploration Target* is a subset that covers the weathered sandstone zone, which extends from surface to an average vertical depth of 30m to 40m and is estimated to contain between 4.0 to 4.9 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.8 to 5.9% TiO2.
The Exploration Target* covers an area less than 20% of the overall mineral system at Pitfield which demonstrates the potential for significant further upside.
Empire is now accelerating the economic development of Pitfield, with a vision to produce a high-value titanium metal or pigment quality product at Pitfield, to realise the full value potential of this exceptional deposit.
The Company also has two further exploration projects in Australia; the Eclipse Project and the Walton Project in Western Australia, in addition to three precious metals projects located in a historically high-grade gold producing region of Austria.
*The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
Empire Metals Limited Announces Exceptional High-Purity TiO2 Product Achieved
Empire Metals Limited, the AIM-quoted and OTCQB-traded resource exploration and development company, is pleased to announce the results from its most recent titanium dioxide ("TiO2") product development testwork programme, carried out on mineral flotation concentrates produced from the in-situ mineralised weathered cap that extends across the giant Pitfield Project ('Pitfield'), located in Western Australia.
Highlights
- A very high-purity TiO2 product, assaying at 99.25% TiO2 has been achieved through conventional beneficiation, leaching and refining processes.
- The TiO2 product contains non-detectable, or extremely low levels of deleterious impurities and is expected to be suitable for high-quality titanium sponge metal or high-grade titanium dioxide pigment production.
- Bulk samples collected from the weathered cap (announced 17 February 2025) have been delivered to the metallurgical laboratory and these will be utilised to produce multiple, finished product samples for marketing purposes.
Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "We have achieved an extraordinary outcome from our most recent product development testwork, which has delivered an exceptional high-grade, high-purity TiO2 product that should be ideal for either titanium sponge metal or high-quality TiO2 pigment production.
"It is remarkable that our technical team has so rapidly produced a high-purity TiO₂ product. We believe this not only highlights the effectiveness of our processing approach but also underscores the potential value of our product. Metallurgical testing and process optimisation continues, and with the availability of the 70 tonnes of bulk sample collected in February we will now be able to significantly scale up the testwork and produce a variety of final product samples to share with prospective downstream end-users."
Product Development Testwork
An acid bake-water leach process using sulphuric acid was applied, with parameters similar to that tested during the initial product development test programme (announced 10 March 2025). The TiO2 product purification and product finishing stages were tested at ALS Metallurgy laboratories, located in Perth, Western Australia. All assays were conducted at ALS Metallurgy by their in-house metallurgy-specific assay lab.
The most recent product development metallurgical test work was undertaken on flotation concentrates recovered from the near surface, highly weathered in-situ saprolitic zone. Diamond drill core collected from two holes, DD24TOM004 and DD24TOM005, formed the feed composite (refer Figure 1). The composite sample was passed through a wet scrubber to break up the clays and attrition the ore prior to desliming the resulting slurry over a 38µm screen. The coarse material was fed to a gravity test circuit and the finer fraction (-38µm) was processed via froth flotation. The rougher (first stage) flotation concentrate generated from multiple, repetitive flotation tests were then blended to form the feedstock for a subsequent acid leach stage (refer Figure 2).
Two subsamples of flotation concentrate were leached under the following different conditions:
1. Direct acid bake followed by hot water leach
2. Dilute acid pre-leach followed by direct acid bake and hot water leach.
For both tests iron filings were added to the hot water wash phase to reduce the iron in the ferric (Fe3+) state to the ferrous (Fe2+) state, thus removing the iron from the solution. In this acid leach stage the titanium is recovered from the mineral concentrates into the liquor as titanyl sulphate (TiSO4) and the residue solids and liquor are then separated after the water leach step, using filtration, with the liquor moving forward for purification and product finishing testwork.
The next step in the purification process is the hydrolysis stage, which involves the heating of the liquor, thus breaking down the titanyl sulphate and resulting in the production of hydrated TiO2 and the recovery of H2SO4. This step was carried out in two stages without seed TiO2 material, an improvement from previous work. The solution was heated to 106 degrees C and held at temperature whilst being stirred for 2 hours. The resulting slurry was then centrifuged to separate the liquor from the precipitated solids. Finally, as part of the product finishing stage, the hydrated TiO2 was separated from the liquor using a centrifuge, and the solids were then calcined to remove water and produce a high-purity TiO2 compound (see figure 3).
The final chemical analysis of the TiO2 product indicates a very high purity of 99.25% TiO2 by mass with non-detectable or extremely low amounts of deleterious impurities (see table 1).
Figure 1. Saprolite composite sample before scrubbing/attritioning
.
Figure 2. Flotation test on the saprolite composite slimes fraction
Table 1. Finished Product Analysis
Product Analysis (XRF) | % by mass |
TiO2 | 99.25 |
Al | 0.16 |
Ca | 0.01 |
Fe | 0.09 |
La | <0.01 |
Nd | 0.01 |
Pb | 0.004 |
P | 0.23 |
Si | 0.03 |
Th | <0.001 |
U | <0.001 |
V | 0.01 |
Figure 3. Purification and product finishing testwork, photos from left to right: titanyl sulphate solution from leaching stage, hydrated TiO2 produced from hydrolysis, and the calcined TiO2 product.The Pitfield Titanium Project
Located within the Mid-West region of Western Australia, near the northern wheatbelt town of Three Springs, the Pitfield titanium project lies 313km north of Perth and 156km southeast of Geraldton, the Mid West region's capital and major port. Western Australia is ranked as one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world according to the Fraser Institute's Investment Attractiveness Index published in 2023, and has mining-friendly policies, stable government, transparency, and advanced technology expertise. Pitfield has existing connections to port (both road & rail), HV power substations, and is nearby to natural gas pipelines as well as a green energy hydrogen fuel hub, which is under planning and development (refer Figure 4).
Figure 4. Pitfield Project Location showing theMid-West Region Infrastructure and Services.
Competent Person Statement
The scientific and technical information in this report that relates to process metallurgy is based on information reviewed by Ms Narelle Marriott, an employee of Empire Metals Australia Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Empire. Ms Marriott is a member of the AusIMM and has sufficient experience 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 JORC Code 2012. Ms. Marriott consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.
The technical information in this report that relates to the geology and exploration of 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 AusIMM and 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 JORC Code 2012. 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 (MAR) 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 & Broker) Ewan Leggat / Adam Cowl | Tel: 020 3470 0470 |
Shard Capital Partners LLP (Joint Broker) Damon Heath | Tel: 020 7186 9950 |
St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR) Susie Geliher / Charlotte Page | Tel: 020 7236 1177 |
About Empire Metals Limited
Empire Metals is an AIM-listed and OTCQB-traded exploration and resource development company (LON:EEE)(OTCQB:EPMLF) with a primary focus on developing Pitfield, an emerging giant titanium project in Western Australia.
The high-grade titanium discovery at Pitfield is of unprecedented scale, with airborne surveys identifying a massive, coincident gravity and magnetics anomaly extending over 40km by 8km by 5km deep. Drill results have indicated excellent continuity in grades and consistency of the in-situ mineralised beds and confirm that the sandstone beds hold the higher-grade titanium dioxide (TiO₂) values within the interbedded succession of sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates. The Company is focused on two key prospects (Cosgrove and Thomas), which have been identified as having thick, high-grade, near-surface, in-situ bedded TiO₂ mineralisation, each being over 7km in strike length.
An Exploration Target* for Pitfield was declared in 2024, covering the Thomas and Cosgrove mineral prospects, and was estimated to contain between 26.4 to 32.2 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.5 to 5.5% TiO2. Included within the total Exploration Target* is a subset that covers the in-situ weathered sandstone zone, which extends from surface to an average vertical depth of 30m to 40m and is estimated to contain between 4.0 to 4.9 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.8 to 5.9% TiO2.
The Exploration Target* covers an area less than 20% of the overall mineral system at Pitfield which demonstrates the potential for significant further upside.
Empire is now accelerating the economic development of Pitfield, with a vision to produce a high-value titanium metal or pigment quality product at Pitfield, to realise the full value potential of this exceptional deposit.
The Company also has two further exploration projects in Australia; the Eclipse Project and the Walton Project in Western Australia, in addition to three precious metals projects located in a historically high-grade gold producing region of Austria.
*The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource. See RNS dated 12 June 2024 for full details.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
Click here to connect with Empire Metals (OTCQB:EPMLF, AIM:EEE) to receive an Investor Presentation
Empire Metals Limited Announces Major Drilling Campaign Targeting Maiden MRE
Empire Metals Limited (LON:EEE), the AIM-quoted and OTCQB-traded exploration and development company,is pleased to announce the commencement of a major drilling campaign at the Pitfield Project in Western Australia ('Pitfield' or the 'Project'). This programme will target high-grade titanium mineralisation within the in-situ weathered cap at the Thomas Prospect, with the objective of delivering a maiden JORC Compliant Mineral Resource Estimate ('MRE').
Highlights
- A total of 164 drill holes planned:
- 124 Air Core ('AC') drillholes for approximately 6,700 metres, and
- 40 Reverse Circulation ('RC') drillholes for approximately 4,000 metres,
- totalling 10,700 metres of drilling.
- The Thomas Prospect was selected for the maiden MRE due to the extensive, thick and high-grade titanium mineralisation hosted within the broad, in-situ weathered zone.
- This programme, the largest at Pitfield to date, will cover over 11 square kilometres and aims to deliver a globally significant MRE.
- Notable intercepts within the in-situ weathered cap from previous drilling at Thomas include:
- 51m @ 7.88% TiO₂ from surface (AC25TOM039)
- 57m @ 7.48% TiO₂ from surface (AC25TOM040)
- 52m @ 7.43% TiO₂ from surface (AC25TOM042)
Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said:"We are pleased to commence this important drilling campaign at Pitfield, focused on delivering our maiden MRE from the Thomas Prospect.The Thomas Prospect contains broad, continuous, high-grade zones of high-purity titanium dioxide mineralisation within the in-situ weathered cap: confirmed by assay results from the February 2025 AC drill campaign, averaging 6.20% TiO₂ over an average depth of 54m (announced 28 April 2025).
"This fully funded campaign, scheduled to run over the next four to five weeks, is the largest undertaken to date at Pitfield. With 164 holes planned over an 11 square kilometre area and to an average depth of 65 metres, this work is designed to deliver a globally significant Mineral Resource Estimate."
MRE Drilling Programme
The location and spacing of the planned AC drillholes have been designed, with the input of mineral resource consultants Snowden-Optiro, to provide the necessary drill assay data density to allow the preparation of an MRE at the Thomas Prospect. The programme consists of 124 AC drillholes, on a 400 x 200m drillhole-spaced grid with an average forecast depth of 54.1m, for a total of 6,700 metres, and 40 RC drillholes within the AC drilling grid, to a depth of 100m, for a total of 4,000 metres. The overall drillhole grid extends 5.2km by 2.2km and totals an area of 11.4 sq km (refer Figure 1).
The drilling is targeting the near surface, highly weathered zones within the Thomas Prospect; drilling has now commenced and will run over several weeks, with laboratory analysis scheduled for completion in August.
Figure 1. Planned Air Core drill hole collar locations within the Thomas Prospect priority area.
The near-surface, in-situ weathered cap at the Thomas Prospect contains a high percentage of the key titanium bearing minerals, primarily anatase and rutile. The drilling targets areas were selected on the basis of three key parameters: high-purity TiO2 mineral assemblage, high average TiO2 grades and significant depth of weathering (refer Table 1).
The AC and RC drillholes will be geologically logged and sub-sampled on 2m intervals and geochemically analysed; this data will provide the basis for geological modelling and for the development of the MRE at the Thomas Prospect.
Air core drilling has previously been utilised at Pitfield to drill-test the weathered cap and collect bulk metallurgical samples (announced 28 April 2025). It is a cost-effective and efficient drilling method that is commonly used for shallow exploration projects and the success of the previous campaign confirmed its suitability for the preparation of the MRE.
Table 1: Weathered Zone drill intercepts from the Thomas Prospect (previously released results) including high-grade intervals to be followed up by MRE drilling
Hole ID | Easting | Northing | Depth From (m) | Depth To (m) | EOH (m) | Weathered Interval (m) | Grade TiO2 (%) |
RC24TOM021 | 373699 | 6724326 | 4 | 76 | 154 | 72 | 6.75 |
including | 4 | 58 | 54 | 6.90 | |||
including | 4 | 12 | 8 | 9.03 | |||
including | 8 | 10 | 2 | 9.98 | |||
RC24TOM022 | 373329 | 6724796 | 0 | 54 | 154 | 54 | 7.02 |
including | 4 | 12 | 8 | 8.54 | |||
RC24TOM023 | 373639 | 6724978 | 0 | 58 | 154 | 58 | 5.68 |
including | 6 | 20 | 14 | 6.09 | |||
DD24TOM006 | 373947 | 6724741 | 0 | 46.5 | 70.5 | 46.5 | 5.94 |
including | 4.5 | 45 | 40.5 | 6.10 | |||
including | 10.5 | 22.5 | 12 | 6.95 | |||
AC25TOM021 | 373250 | 6724746 | 0 | 49 | 49 | 49 | 7.49 |
including | 20 | 26 | 6 | 10.71 | |||
AC25TOM036 | 373358 | 6725089 | 2 | 54 | 54 | 52 | 7.21 |
AC25TOM039 | 373506 | 6724612 | 0 | 51 | 51 | 51 | 7.88 |
AC25TOM040 | 373599 | 6724639 | 0 | 57 | 57 | 57 | 7.48 |
including | 6 | 22 | 16 | 10.00 | |||
AC25TOM041 | 373572 | 6724737 | 0 | 54 | 54 | 54 | 7.19 |
including | 4 | 18 | 14 | 10.06 | |||
including | 4 | 12 | 8 | 11.67 | |||
AC25TOM042 | 373546 | 6724823 | 0 | 52 | 52 | 52 | 7.43 |
including | 4 | 16 | 12 | 10.17 | |||
including | 4 | 12 | 8 | 11.32 |
The Pitfield Titanium Project
Located within the Mid-West region of Western Australia, near the northern wheat belt town of Three Springs, the Pitfield titanium project lies 313km north of Perth and 156km southeast of Geraldton, the Mid West region's capital and major port. Western Australia is ranked as one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world according to the Fraser Institute's Investment Attractiveness Index published in 2023, and has mining-friendly policies, stable government, transparency, and advanced technology expertise. Pitfield has existing connections to port (both road & rail), HV power substations, and is nearby to natural gas pipelines as well as a green energy hydrogen fuel hub, which is under planning and development (refer Figure 2).
Figure 2. Pitfield Project Location showing the Mid-West Region Infrastructure and Services
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. 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 (MAR) 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 & Broker) Ewan Leggat / Adam Cowl | Tel: 020 3470 0470 |
Shard Capital Partners LLP (Joint Broker) Damon Heath | Tel: 020 7186 9950 |
St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR) Susie Geliher / Charlotte Page | Tel: 020 7236 1177 |
About Empire Metals Limited
Empire Metals is an AIM-listed and OTCQB-traded exploration and resource development company (LON: EEE) with a primary focus on developing Pitfield, an emerging giant titanium project in Western Australia.
The high-grade titanium discovery at Pitfield is of unprecedented scale, with airborne surveys identifying a massive, coincident gravity and magnetics anomaly extending over 40km by 8km by 5km deep. Drill results have indicated excellent continuity in grades and consistency of the mineralised beds and confirm that the sandstone beds hold the higher-grade titanium dioxide (TiO₂) values within the interbedded succession of sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates. The Company is focused on two key prospects (Cosgrove and Thomas), which have been identified as having thick, high-grade, near-surface, bedded TiO₂ mineralisation, each being over 7km in strike length.
An Exploration Target* for Pitfield was declared in 2024, covering the Thomas and Cosgrove mineral prospects, and was estimated to contain between 26.4 to 32.2 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.5 to 5.5% TiO2. Included within the total Exploration Target* is a subset that covers the weathered sandstone zone, which extends from surface to an average vertical depth of 30m to 40m and is estimated to contain between 4.0 to 4.9 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.8 to 5.9% TiO2.
The Exploration Target* covers an area less than 20% of the overall mineral system at Pitfield which demonstrates the potential for significant further upside.
Empire is now accelerating the economic development of Pitfield, with a vision to produce a high-value titanium metal or pigment quality product at Pitfield, to realise the full value potential of this exceptional deposit.
The Company also has two further exploration projects in Australia; the Eclipse Project and the Walton Project in Western Australia, in addition to three precious metals projects located in a historically high-grade gold producing region of Austria.
*The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
Click here to connect with Empire Metals (OTCQB:EPMLF, AIM:EEE) to receive an Investor Presentation
What Was the Highest Price for Copper?
Why is copper so expensive in 2025? Higher copper prices over the past few years have largely been attributed to a widening supply/demand gap. The already tenuous copper supply picture was made worse by COVID-19 lockdowns, and as the world's largest economies seemingly began to emerge from the pandemic, demand for the metal picked up once again. Copper mining and refining activities simply haven’t kept up with the rebound in economic activity.
Now, global copper mine supply is tightening at a time when US President Donald Trump's tariffs are placing further strains on copper supply. In response, a new copper all time high was reached in July 2025. But what was the highest price for copper? The Investing News Network (INN) will answer that question, but first let’s take a deeper look at what factors drove the price of copper higher, as well as historical movements in the price of copper.
In this article
What key factors drive the price of copper?
Robust demand has long been one of the strongest factors driving copper prices. The ever-growing number of copper uses in everyday life — from building construction and electrical grids to electronic products and home appliances — make it the world’s third most-consumed metal.
Copper’s anti-corrosive and highly conductive properties are why it’s the go-to metal for the construction industry, and it's used in products such as copper pipes and copper wiring. In fact, construction is responsible for nearly half of global copper consumption. Rising demand for new homes and home renovations in both Asian and Western economies is expected to support copper prices in the long term.
In recent decades, copper price spikes have been strongly tied to rising demand from China as the economic powerhouse injects government-backed funding into new housing and infrastructure. Industrial production and construction activity in the Asian nation have been like rocket fuel for copper prices.
Additionally, copper’s conductive properties are increasingly being sought after for use in renewable energy applications, including thermal, hydro, wind and solar energy.
However, the biggest driver of copper consumption in the renewable energy sector is rising global demand for electric vehicles (EVs), EV charging infrastructure and energy storage applications. As governments push forward with transportation network electrification and energy storage initiatives as a means to combat climate change, copper demand from this segment is expected to surge.
New energy vehicles use significantly more copper than internal combustion engine vehicles, which only contain about 22 kilograms of copper. In comparison, hybrid EVs use an average of 40 kilograms, plug-in hybrid EVs use 55 kilograms, battery EVs use 80 kilograms and battery electric buses use 253 kilograms.
In 2024, EV sales worldwide increased by 25 percent over 2023 to come in at about 17.1 million units, and analysts at Rho Motion expect that trend to continue in the coming years despite some headwinds in the near-term. Already in the first five months of 2025, EV sales were up 28 percent over the same period in the previous year.
On the supply side of the copper market, the world’s largest copper mines are facing depleting high-grade copper resources, while over the last decade or more new copper discoveries have become few and far between.
The pandemic made the situation worse as mining activities in several top copper-producing countries faced work stoppages and copper companies delayed investments in further exploration and development — a challenging problem considering it can take as many as 10 to 20 years to move a project from discovery to production. In addition, delayed investments amid the pandemic will also have long-term repercussions for copper supply.
There have also been ongoing production issues at major copper mines, most notably the shutdown in late 2023 of First Quantum Minerals' (TSX:FM,OTC Pink:FQVLF) Cobre Panama mine, which accounted for about 350,000 MT of the world's annual copper production.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is forecasting a 30 percent shortfall in the amount of copper needed to meet demand by 2035. “This will be a major challenge. It’s time to sound the alarm,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said.
The supply shortage has increased the need for end users to turn to the copper scrap market to make up for the supply shortage. Sometimes referred to as “the world’s largest copper mine,” recycled copper scrap contributes significantly to supplying and balancing the copper market.
Eleni Joannides, Wood Mackenzie's research director for copper, told INN by email at the end of Q4 2024 that there is recognition of the underinvestment in copper exploration, but she sees a new dawn emerging for the sector.
“We are seeing signs this could change. Much of the growth over the last five years has come from brownfield expansions rather than greenfield/new discoveries," she said. "Technology will likely help increase the chance of discovery, and broadly I would say that policymakers are now more supportive of mineral exploration as the push to secure critical raw materials supply has moved up the agenda."
Joannides offered some examples of greenfield projects in the pipeline: Capstone Copper’s (TSX:CS,OTC Pink:CSCCF) Santo Domingo in Chile, Southern Copper’s (NYSE:SCCO) Tia Maria in Peru and Teck Resources' (TSX:TECK.A,TECK.B,NYSE:TECK) Zafranal in Peru.
How has the copper price moved historically?
Taking a look back at historical price action, the copper price has had a wild ride for more than two decades.
Sitting at US$1.38 per pound in late January 2005, the copper price followed global economic growth up to a high of US$3.91 in April 2008. Of course, the global economic crisis of 2008 soon led to a copper crash that left the metal at only US$1.29 by the end of year.
Once the global economy began to recover in 2011, copper prices posted a new record high of US$4.58 per pound at the start of the year. However, this high was short-lived as the copper price began a five year downward trend, bottoming out at around US$1.95 in early 2016.
Copper prices stayed fairly flat over the next four years, moving in a range of US$2.50 to US$3 per pound.
20 year copper price performance.
Chart via Macrotrends.
The pandemic’s impact on mine supply and refined copper in 2020 pushed prices higher despite the economic slowdown. The copper price climbed from a low of US$2.17 in March to close out the year at US$3.52.
In 2021, signs of economic recovery and supercharged interest in EVs and renewable energy pushed the price of copper to rally higher and higher. Copper topped US$4.90 per pound for the first time ever on May 10, 2021, before falling back to close at US$4.76.
Also affecting the copper price at that time was expectations for higher copper demand amid supply concerns out of two of the world’s major copper producers: Chile and Peru. In late April 2021, port workers in Chile called for a strike, while in Peru presidential candidate Pedro Castillo proposed nationalizing mining and redrafting the country’s constitution.
In early May 2021, news broke that copper inventories were at their lowest point in 15 years. Expert market watchers such as Bank of America commodity strategist Michael Widmer warned that further inventory declines into 2022 could lead to a copper market deficit.
After climbing to start 2022 at US$4.52, the copper price continued to spike on economic recovery expectations and supply shortages to reach US$5.02 per pound on March 6. Throughout the first quarter, fears of supply chain disruptions and historically low stockpiles amid rising copper demand drove prices higher.
However, copper prices pulled back in mid-2022 on worries that further COVID-19 lockdowns in China, as well as a growing mortgage crisis, would slow down construction and infrastructure activity in the Asian nation. Rising inflation and interest hikes by the Fed also placed downward pressure on a wide basket of commodities, including copper. By late July 2022, copper prices were trading down at nearly a two year low of around US$3.30.
In the early months of 2023 the copper price was trading over the US$4 per pound level after receiving a helpful boost from continuing concerns about low copper inventories, signs of rebounding demand from China, and news about the closure of Peru's Las Bambas mine, which accounts for 2 percent of global copper production.
However, that boost turned to a bust in the second half of 2023 as China continued to experience real estate sector issues, alongside the economic woes of the rest of the world. The price of copper dropped to a low for the year of US$3.56 per pound in mid October.
Elevated supply levels kept copper trading in the US$3.50 to US$3.80 range for much of Q1 2024 before experiencing strong gains that pushed the price of the red metal to US$4.12 on March 18.
Those gains were attributed to in part to tighter copper concentrate supply following the closure of First Quantum Minerals' Cobre Panama mine, guidance cuts from Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:AAUKF) and declining production at Chile’s Chuquicamata mine. In addition, China’s top copper smelters announced production cuts after limited supply led to lower profits from treatment and refining charges.
BHP's (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP) attempted takeover of Anglo American also stoked fears of even tighter global copper mine supply. These supply-side challenges continued to juice copper prices in Q2 2024, causing a jump of nearly 29 percent from US$4.04 per pound on April 1 to a then all-time high of US$5.20 by May 20, 2024.
What was the highest price for copper ever?
The price of copper reached its highest recorded price of US$5.959 per pound, or US$13,137.75 per metric ton, on July 24, 2025. It hit this peak during intra-day trading before closing the day at US$5.88. The red metal’s price surged more than 17 percent since the start of July to its new all time high. Read on to found out how the copper price reached those heights.
Why did the copper price hit an all-time high in 2025?
After starting 2025 at US$3.99 per pound, copper prices were lifted in Q1 by increasing demand from China’s economic stimulus measures, renewable energy and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies and stockpiling brought on by fear of US President Trump’s tariff threats.
At the time, Trump had said the US was considering placing tariffs of up to 25 percent on all copper imports in a bid to spark increased domestic production of the base metal.
In late February, he signed an executive order instructing the US Commerce Department to investigate whether imported copper poses a national security risk under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. The price of copper reached a new high price of US$5.24 per pound on March 26 as tariff tensions escalated.
Trump's tariff talk sparked yet another copper price rally to set its new record high price in early July when he announced he plans to impose a 50 percent tariff on all imports of the red metal, and it moved higher towards the end of the month in anticipation of them entering effect.
However, copper's price plummeted from its heights on July 31 following the reveal that tariffs would not be imposed on imports of raw or refined copper, instead targeting semi-finished copper products.
Looking at the bigger picture, copper’s rally in recent years has encouraged bullish sentiment on prices looking ahead. In the longer term, the fundamentals for copper are expected to get tighter as demand increases from sectors such as EVs and energy storage. A May 2024 report from the International Energy Forum (IEF) projects that as many as 194 new copper mines may need to come online by 2050 to support massive demand from the global energy transition.
Looking over to renewable energy, according to the Copper Development Association, solar installations require about 5.5 MT of copper for every megawatt, while onshore wind turbines require 3.52 MT of copper and offshore wind turbines require 9.56 MT of copper.
The rise of AI technology is also bolstering the demand outlook for copper. Commodities trader Trafigura has said AI-driven data centers could add one million MT to copper demand by 2030, reports Reuters.
Where can investors look for copper opportunities?
Copper market fundamentals suggest a return to a bull market cycle for the red metal in the medium-term. The copper supply/demand imbalance also presents an investment opportunity for those interested in copper-mining stocks.
Are there any copper companies on your radar? If you’re looking for some inspiration, head on over to INN's articles on the top copper stocks on the TSX and TSXV, the biggest copper stocks on the ASX, and our list of 27 advanced US copper projects to watch.
If you're looking to diversify your portfolio with other investment options, check out copper ETFS and ETNs or copper futures contracts. Investor and author Gianni Kovacevic told INN in a December 2024 interview that one of the ways he is playing copper under Trump's second term is with copper stocks such as Coppernico Metals (TSX:COPR), Entree Resources (TSX:ETG,OTCQB:ERLFF) and Horizon Copper (TSXV:HCU,OTCQX:HNCUF).
This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in 2021.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.
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