Empire Metals Ltd (AIM:EEE, OTCQX:EPMLF) this week outlined further progress at its Pitfield titanium project in Western Australia after completing its largest-ever drilling campaign, with managing director Shaun Bunn saying the latest results continue to reinforce the scale of the mineral system.
Speaking with Proactive, Bunn said the 35,000m drilling program had extended the high-grade zone at the Thomas target to more than five kilometres, while additional drilling at Cosgrove was expected to materially expand the company’s existing mineral resource estimate.
Bunn described Pitfield as a “giant mineral system, 30km long, 10km wide” and said the company remained focused on identifying high-grade near-surface zones close to infrastructure that could support future mine development.
The company is preparing to release an upgraded mineral resource estimate in July, which is expected to incorporate extensive new drilling completed during the campaign. Bunn said infill drilling at Thomas had been designed to improve resource confidence and better define the high-grade core, while the Cosgrove program targeted expansion opportunities across a larger footprint. According to Bunn, investors should be encouraged by the scale of growth anticipated from the Cosgrove area. He stated that “people are going to be really pleased with the outcome” because the updated estimate was expected to “greatly add” to the company’s already substantial resource base.
Attention is also turning toward metallurgy and downstream processing, with Empire Metals nearing completion of metallurgical batch testing and preparing to publish a detailed process flow sheet. Bunn acknowledged that demonstrating a viable processing route had become one of the project’s most important milestones.
Here, we take a closer look at what was said when Bunn spoke to the studio.
Proactive: Shaun good to speak with you. You've just completed your most extensive drilling program ever, 35,000m. The high grade zone at Thomas now extends over five kilometers. What does that tell you about the true scale of what you have at Pitfield?
Shaun Bunn: Yeah it confirms what we set out to now, saying for some time now. This is a giant mineral system, 30km long, 10km wide. And we've been constantly trying to frame, if you like, our exploration and resource development, bring that into what will become ultimately where we most likely will start mining.
So another way of describing that, what we're saying here is that we want to find options around mine development, high grade near-surface targets close to infrastructure within the tenement boundaries.
And the drilling results that we announced recently have confirmed that really super grades at Thomas Target. And now we're going back to look at what we found at Cosgrove. So really important drilling program, the one we just completed.
Proactive: Shaun, an upgraded mineral resource estimate that's coming in July. What should investors be watching for in that announcement and why does it matter?
Shaun Bunn: Well, what we said at the start of the year was we were drilling for various reasons. So this is the biggest drilling program we've ever undertaken, with more than doubled the total amount of meters that we've drilled.
The focus around the Thomas prospect was more infill drilling to bring the resource up into a higher category and to look at this high-grade core. So that's obviously been quite a success for us already.
The Cosgrove drilling was an expansion program. So the Cosgrove resource estimate was much smaller than the Thomas target. And that was simply a function of the number of holes that we had drilled in that particular area.
So we went out and did a lot more drilling at Cosgrove on a bigger area. And I think people are going to be really pleased with the outcome, because it will greatly add to our already very significant mineral resource.
Proactive: Metallurgical batch testing nearly done and a process flow sheet announcement also coming, Shaun. Can you explain in plain terms what that means and why it's such a critical step?
Shaun Bunn: Well, arguably this is now our biggest risk. We talk about high grade in the ground. We talk about the size and scale of the ore body. But a lot of people are now coming back to how do you monetize this? How do you get the titanium out of this incredible ore body into a final product?
And that's what our metallurgical team, our technical team have been working on now for about 18 months.
So I'm really pleased to say that we're going to be bringing out a very comprehensive flow sheet in the coming weeks. I think people are going to be really excited by the fact that we can lay out conventional process steps, things that are commonly found in industry, albeit not necessarily in a titanium project.
I think people are going to be really happy with the outcome. And we'll be able to show a pathway to a final product.
Proactive: Shaun, existing institutional shareholders just backed you with £8 million. What does that tell us about how investors view Pitfield and where is that money getting spent?
Shaun Bunn: Well I think these are really highly sophisticated investors. These are people that get the value proposition.
We haven't gone out with a technical flow sheet yet. We haven't completed economic studies. But I think these are people that understand now that the value proposition is there.
And so we will come back to the market with a final scoping and economic study towards the end of the year.
Proactive: Shaun, I hope you'll continue to keep us updated with your progress. Thank you very much for your time today.