REG - Empire Metals Ltd - Major New Titanium Dioxide Mineral Discovery

Empire MetalsAnnouncement

05/06/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 1280R  Empire Metals Limited  05 June 2024

Empire Metals Limited / LON: EEE / Sector: Natural Resources

 

5 June 2024

Empire Metals Limited

('Empire' or the 'Company')

 

Major New Titanium Dioxide Mineral Discovery at Pitfield

 

Empire Metals Limited (LON: EEE), the AIM-quoted resource exploration and
development company, is pleased to announce the discovery of a highly
significant, titanium dioxide mineral deposit, comprised of rutile and
anatase, at the Pitfield Project in Western Australia ('Pitfield' or the
'Project') This newly identified, potentially high-value deposit is located
within the near-surface, strongly weathered "saprolite" zone of bedrock which
covers the extent of this giant, 40km long, titanium-rich mineral system.

 

Highlights

·    The discovery of naturally occurring rutile and anatase within the
extensive weathering cap that covers the deeper bedrock titanium deposit, will
have a material and immediate positive impact on the overall project
economics.

 

·    Rutile and anatase are both highly valuable titanium dioxide minerals
that contain >95% TiO(2) and are both important feedstocks for the titanium
pigment and titanium metal markets.

 

·    Recent diamond core and RC drill chip logging has confirmed extensive
weathering of the uppermost 40m of mineralised bedded sandstones, coincident
with high TiO(2)% grades, covering both the Cosgrove and Thomas mineral
prospect areas.

 

·    The strongest weathering, found within the top 10m from surface, has
resulted in the disintegration of the parent bedrock and has completely
altered the titanite (the principal titanium ore mineral in the unweathered
bedrock) to titanium dioxide minerals, rutile and/or anatase.

 

·    Preliminary mineralogical assessment of the strongly weathered
mineralised sandstones indicates an abundance of these natural titanium
dioxide minerals, comprising around half of all titanium minerals present by
mass, and ongoing studies will provide a more comprehensive understanding of
the mineral assemblage, including the relative proportions of rutile and
anatase.

 

·    This discovery reinforces the potential for Empire to develop a fully
integrated, single site, mine to high quality TiO(2) product project and it
opens up the possibility of a new, staged development plan whereby the Company
can look to develop the much higher-grade, high-value, more easily accessible
titanium dioxide mineral-rich surface deposits whilst it continues to develop
a processing route for the titanite-rich bedrock deposits.

 

 

Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "This is a game changing development for
Empire and one which is expected to accelerate timescales and further enhance
the economics of Pitfield. This new discovery has been formed by the
originally titanite-rich, near-surface bedded sandstones being strongly
weathered over time by "Mother Nature" to form rutile and anatase, creating a
completely new, discreet high-grade saprolite-hosted deposit, sitting above
the giant, titanite-dominant, fresh bedrock deposit. Significantly, this
highly weathered zone has virtually no waste overburden, sitting right at
surface, and is extremely soft and friable which bodes well for low-cost
mining and mineral processing techniques. The fact that it represents the
higher-grade portions of the giant mineral system makes the discovery even the
more exciting.

 

"The Pitfield Project is a unique giant-scale, high-grade, soft-rock deposit,
comprising a suite of non- refractory titanium-bearing minerals that
potentially can be processed to produce high value TiO(2) pigments and/or
titanium metal. Our vision remains to develop the project as a fully
integrated, single site based, mining, processing and refining operation. This
most recent discovery takes us one step closer to this goal, as not only do we
already have high-value, titanium dioxide minerals in the near-surface ores,
these minerals have been formed from the simple weathering of the titanite,
providing further evidence that TiO(2) products can be derived from this
titanite ore source."

 

Impact of Discovery on Project

The discovery of an extensive weathering cap that is enriched with titanium
dioxide minerals, rutile and anatase, has material and immediate positive
impacts on the project such as:

o  A possible new, staged development plan whereby the Company looks to
develop the much higher-grade, titanium dioxide mineral-rich saprolite
deposits whilst it continues to develop a processing route for the
titanite-rich bedrock deposits.

o  The strongly weathered cap represents a distinct titanium deposit in its
own right, one that could be mined first and be amenable to very low cost
strip mining methods due to its surficial position, broad extent and soft,
friable nature due to weathering.

o  More of the titanium in the rock is contained within extractable titanium
dioxide ore minerals that require little further beneficiation to produce a
high-quality TiO(2) product.

o  The km-scale extent of this TiO(2)-rich weathering cap allows the
possibility for large tonnages of titanium dioxide ore to be developed and
mined over several years of initial mining operations before any primary
titanite ore needs to be mined and processed.

o  The potentially simpler beneficiation and processing characteristics of a
titanium dioxide ore may provide for an expedited path to the successful
completion of a demonstration plant.

 

Mineralogical Study Results

The diamond core drill campaign carried out through February and March this
year has provided a new perspective on the potential value of the giant
titanium-rich mineral system at Pitfield. As announced 28 May 2024, the core
logging confirmed extensive weathering of the uppermost 40m of mineralised
bedded sandstones, coincident with high TiO(2)% grades, covering the Cosgrove
and Thomas mineral prospect areas. This was the first opportunity for the
Company to view the substantial alteration in the near-surface weathered
sandstones as no near-surface samples were collected from the original diamond
core holes drilled in Q4 2023 (announced 29 November 2023) due to the drilling
technique.

 

A total of 67 RC drillholes and six diamond core drillholes have now been
completed within the Cosgrove and Thomas mineral prospects. The plan view of
the drilling shows a high-grade (>5% TiO(2)), more than 1km wide central
core running on a north-south trend through both mineral prospects (Figures 1
and 2). The entire area is capped by a zone of strongly weathered sandstone,
known as saprolite, typically found in the top 10m following any soil or sand
cover. A zone of less strongly weathered 'transitional" sandstones continues
for a further 30-40m depth, under which lies the fresh bedrock (Figure 3).

 

The diamond drilling, particularly the near-surface core, provided important
samples for ongoing metallurgical and mineralogical studies, and sections of
core was submitted for Tescan Integrated Mineral Analyzer ('TIMA') analysis
and Scanning Electron Microscope ('SEM') microprobe work to determine the
mineral assemblage within the strongly weathered zone.

 

The results of the TIMA analysis on the diamond core and selected RC samples
are presented in Table 1 and show a dominance of titanium dioxide minerals,
rutile and anatase, within the upper levels of the weathered cap, with little
to no titanite (CaTiSiO(5)) and only minor ilmenite (FeTiO(3)) observed.
Rutile and anatase are two of the three natural minerals composed of just
TiO(2), the other being brookite, which is quite rare. Anatase is regularly
formed by weathering of titanite, and it is itself  altered to rutile. The
ongoing metallurgical and mineralogical studies will provide a more
comprehensive understanding of the mineral assemblage, including the presence
and relative proportions of the specific titanium dioxide minerals (rutile and
anatase).

 

The levels of titanite increase at depth with a corresponding decrease in the
levels of titanium dioxide minerals suggesting that the titanium dioxide
minerals have formed at the expense of titanite during the weathering process,
which has been further supported by the SEM microprobe analyses. A typical
cross section showing the progression of strongly weathered saprolite to
transitional sandstones to fresh bedrock from surface, and their respective
titanium mineral assemblages, is shown in Figure 3.

 

 

Figure 1.  Cosgrove Prospect Drill Collar Location: including colour coding
for drill holes based on TiO(2) assay grade.

 

Figure 2.  Thomas Prospect Drill Collar Location: including colour coding for
drill holes based on TiO(2) assay grade.

 

 

Figure 3.  Cross Section from DD24COS002 showing strongly weathered
saprolite, transitional and fresh bedrock zones with respective titanium
mineral assemblages.

 

Table 1 highlights the increase of titanium dioxide minerals at the expense of
titanite within the upper, strongly weathered zone. Previous mineralogical
results showed abundant titanite in the fresh mineralised sandstone bedrock at
depth and only minor titanium dioxide minerals.

TIMA Results - Strongly Weathered and Transitional Sandstone Intervals

 Hole ID     Sample Interval         Logging                       Titanium Mineral Assemblage
             Depth From Surface (m)  Geological Description*       Titanium Dioxides % mass  Ilmenite% mass  Titanite  Titanium Dioxides as % of Total Ti Minerals

                                                                                                             % mass
 DD24COS002  0.8                     Soil Cover                    0.3                       0.2             0.0       60
 DD24COS002  3.2                     Strongly weathered sandstone  2.3                       3.8             0.0       38
 DD24COS002  6.3                     Strongly weathered sandstone  2.7                       1.4             0.0       66
 DD24COS002  9.3                     Transitional Sandstone        1.1                       0.9             1.4       32
 DD24COS002  12.5                    Transitional Sandstone        0.3                       0.4             1.8       12
 DD24COS002  16.9                    Transitional Sandstone        0.2                       0.4             11.9      2
 RC23COS009  6-10 (A)                Strongly weathered sandstone  7.9                       9.4             0.1       45
 RC23COS009  6-10 (B)                Strongly weathered sandstone  2.2                       3.5             0.0       39
 RC23COS009  6-10 (C)                Strongly weathered sandstone  1.3                       1.5             0.0       46
 RC23TOM002  36-38                   Strongly weathered sandstone  2.5                       5.0             0.0       33
 RC23TOM003  4-6 (A)                 Strongly weathered sandstone  3.2                       1.6             4.5       34
 RC23TOM003  4-6 (B)                 Strongly weathered sandstone  2.7                       0.7             0.0       79
 RC23TOM003  10-12                   Strongly weathered sandstone  12.4                      5.0             0.3       70

Table 1.  TIMA results for diamond core and RC drill chip samples taken from
various depths within the strongly weathered and transitional sandstone zones.

*Geological Description of the various zones:

-       Cover: cover in the area is generally soil, ranging from yellow,
wind-blown sand to loams suitable for pasture, typically top one to twenty
metres

-       Strongly Weathered Sandstone: highly oxidized, saprolitic zone,
typically in the top 10 metres following the cover.

-       Transitional Sandstone: a zone of weathered, oxidised sandstone
between the strongly weathered sandstone section and the bedded sandstone
section, typically in the top 30-40 metres following the strongly weathered
sandstone.

-       Bedded Sandstone: a section of bedded sandstone that is fresh
bedrock, which sometimes includes conglomerate and siltstones, that has been
tracked as deep as 300m+.

 

Various studies into the weathering of titanite have confirmed that titanite
is not stable in the highly weathered soil horizons and completely disappears
after disintegration of the parent bedrock to form natural titanium dioxide
minerals such as rutile and anatase, according to the chemical reaction below:

2CaTiSiO(5)(titanite) + 2H(+) + CO(2)(g) ↔ Ca(2+) + CaCO(3)(calcite) +
2TiO(2)(rutile) + SiO(2)(aq) + SiO(2)(quartz) + H(2)O (*)

(*Reference: Geoscience Frontiers 11 (2020) "Authigenic titanite in weathered
basalt: Implications for paleoatmospheric reconstructions" by Alexey A.
Novoselov, Dailto Silva and Carlos Roberto de Souza Filho.)

 

The formation of calcite is a by-product of the disintegration of the titanite
and calcite is clearly visible in the strongly weathered core samples
recovered from the recent diamond drill programme at Pitfield (Figure 4).

 

 

Figure 4.  Photo of DD24COS002 from core tray #3 showing calcite veining
(white) in strongly weathered zone around 5m-6m depth.  Note the weathered
reddish sandstone contains the titanium dioxide minerals.

It is important to note that the Company's preliminary mineralogical and
metallurgical studies, carried out on unweathered, fresh bedrock confirmed
titanite as the most abundant Ti-bearing mineral, accounting for approximately
67% of the total contained TiO(2) and making up around 20% of the potential
Pitfield ore by mass (announced 5 March 2024). Core evidence and analytical
results indicate nearly all of this titanite has converted to titanium dioxide
minerals (rutile/anatase) in the strongly weathered zone, which explains the
very high concentration of these titanium dioxide minerals present in the
strongly weathered samples tested.

The Pitfield Project

 

Located within the Mid-West region of Western Australia, near the northern
wheatbelt town of Three Springs, Pitfield lies 313km north of Perth and 156km
south 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 5).

 

Figure 5. Pitfield Project Location showing the Mid-West Region Infrastructure
and Services.

Since commencing its maiden drill campaign in March 2023, the Company has
completed a total of 107 drillholes for 17,003m (including seven diamond core
holes for 2,025m), of which 67 RC drillholes and six diamond core drillholes
were drilled within the Cosgrove and Thomas prospects (Figure 6). The drilling
shows a high-grade (>5% TiO(2)), more than 1km wide central core running on
a north-south trend through both mineral prospects, which could join between
the two prospects thereby representing a potential total strike length of more
than 20km. Significantly, the RC drillhole results clearly indicate elevated
TiO(2) grades are present within the top 40m (announced 15 May 2024). No
near-surface samples were collected from the original diamond core holes
drilled in Q4 2023 (announced 29 November 2023) due to the drilling technique,
however the four recent diamond core drillholes were far more successful in
recovering core from the weathered zone.

 

Figure 6.  Grey-scale magnetics map overlain by airborne gravity survey
results with the location of the 2023 and 2024 RC and Diamond Core drillholes,
with Cosgrove and Thomas target areas shown.

 

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 Eclipse Exploration
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
(http://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)                                      Tel: 020 3470 0470

 Ewan Leggat / Adam Cowl / Kasia Brzozowska
 Shard Capital Partners LLP (Joint Broker)                                               Tel: 020 7186 9950

 Damon Heath
 St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial                                                       Tel: 020 7236 1177
 PR)

 Susie Geliher / Charlotte Page

 

About Empire Metals Limited

Empire Metals is an AIM-listed (LON: EEE) exploration and resource development
company with a project portfolio comprising copper, titanium and gold
interests in Australia and Austria.

The Company's strategy is to develop a pipeline of projects at different
stages in the development curve. Its current focus is on the Pitfield Project
in Western Australia, which has demonstrated to contain a newly recognised
giant titanium-rich mineral system that hosts a globally significant titanium
discovery.

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.

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