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

20 November 2023

Empire Metals Limited

('Empire' or the 'Company')

Thick, Higher Grade Titanium Mineralisation Throughout First Diamond Drillhole at Pitfield

Reverse Circulation Drilling New Highly Prospective Zones

Empire Metals Limited (LON: EEE), the AIM-quoted resource exploration and development company, is pleased to announce the lab results from geochemical analysis of samples from the first of three diamond core drillholes completed at the Pitfield Project in Western Australia ('Pitfield' or the 'Project') which confirm strong TiO₂ mineralisation throughout the hole to a vertical depth of circa 350m.

The next phase of drilling, an extensive Reverse Circulation ('RC') programme targeting higher grade mineralisation, has now commenced.

Highlights

·    Strong titanium mineralisation confirmed throughout entire first Diamond Core drillhole, from surface to end of hole at 408m, providing further support for the presence of a district-scale, metal-rich, hydrothermal mineral system containing multiple, thick higher grade titanium zones within the larger mineral system.

·    Diamond drillhole #1 (DD23MTS001) intersected wide intervals of higher-grade titanium mineralisation:

·    276.5m @ 4.57% TiO₂ from 80.5m; including

o  118.5m @ 5.13% TiO₂ from 80.5m; and

o  144.8m @ 4.24% TiO₂ from 207.2m

·    RC drilling of higher-grade target areas has commenced, with approximately 40 RC holes totalling 6,000 metres currently planned to test the length of the coincident ~30 km long magnetics-gravity anomaly.

·    Recent rock chip sampling identified broad higher grade TiO₂ drill targets, covering 3km² and 6km² respectively, and these will be drill tested during the current programme.

·    The Company expects to have lab results for the remaining two diamond drillholes available shortly and expects to be able to release more information about key parameters such as mineralogy, grades, and geological controls once the drill core assessment is completed.

Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "I am delighted to report the lab results from our first diamond drillhole, which was positioned towards the northern end of the massive 40km by 8km by 5km deep hydrothermal mineral system.  These results have confirmed that extensive and higher-grade titanium mineralisation extends well below the 150m depth first discovered during our maiden RC drill campaign, with this particular diamond drillhole ending with higher grade TiO₂ values at 350m below surface, indicating that the mineralisation continues to remain open at depth. We expect to see similar lab results for diamond drillholes #2 and #3, which are due out over the next few weeks.

"The next phase of drilling has now commenced, consisting of 40 RC drillholes which doubles that drilled in our maiden RC drill campaign. This drilling will target areas within known strong magnetics and/or gravity anomalies and areas of known high-grade TiO₂ (as identified in our surface sampling).  We expect this to be another highly successful campaign, one which will establish not only the district scale of this giant mineral system but also the potential for extensive, higher-grade zones of titanium mineralisation."

The Pitfield Project

Empire holds a 70% interest in Pitfield which is comprised of four granted Exploration Licences (E70/5465, E70/5876, E70/6320 and E70/6323) covering 1,042km². Pitfield is located near Three Springs, a town 313km north of Perth, Western Australia on the Midlands Road, which until the opening of the Brand Highway in 1975 was the main road route from Perth to the state's north (refer Figure 1).

Figure 1.  Pitfield Project Location showing the scale of the magnetics anomaly and coincident alteration footprint.

Summary of Drill Intercepts - Diamond Drillhole #1 (DD23MTS001)

Geochemical analysis lab results have now been received for this northern most drillhole, located near Mt Scratch where the majority of the maiden RC drillholes were completed. The final length of the angled hole was 408.4m, ending approximately 350m vertically below surface. The drillhole intersected a thick sedimentary succession of interbedded sandstones and siltstones, referred to as the Mt Scratch Siltstone formation. These sedimentary host rocks display extensive and strong iron-rich alteration, including a steel-grey hematitic alteration and a ferruginous brown alteration which alternate throughout the hole. Chlorite and epidote alteration of the host sedimentary rocks is also observed and varies in intensities.

Commencing in titanium mineralisation from near surface, DD23MTS001 intersected thick intervals of strong, higher grade titanium mineralisation, including the following:

·    276.5m @ 4.57% TiO2 from 80.5m; including

o  118.5m @ 5.13% TiO2 from 80.5m

o  144.8m @ 4.24% TiO2 from 207.2m.

See Table 1 for the lab results for each interval from Diamond Hole #1 (DD23MTS001).  The lab test procedures involve multi-acid digest including Hydrofluoric, Nitric, Perchloric and Hydrochloric acids in Teflon Tubes, with analysis by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry. The lab reports Ti values whilst industry standard is to report equivalent TiO2 values. The conversion factor for Ti to TiO2 is 1.668.

It is important to note that the mineralized interval noted above is contained within mineralized sedimentary beds which continue upwards to surface to the west and are open below the hole to the east (see Figure 3).

The results continue to confirm that Pitfield hosts a district-scale titanium mineral system with multiple, broad, higher grade titanium zones identified within the larger system. The diamond drilling results clearly demonstrate the continuity of thick bedded zones of higher-grade titanium mineralisation to a vertical depth of 350m, still with elevated TiO₂ at the bottom of the hole indicating that the bedded mineralisation extends deeper.  There is good correlation between zones of higher and lower TiO₂ values observed in drillhole DD23MTS001 and the previously drilled RC hole (RC23MTS003), collared 50m further east (refer Figure 3) with the Induced Polarisation ('IP') chargeability response that the maiden RC drilling programme was targeting.  For example, the intensity of the IP chargeability increases significantly from 80m downhole in drillhole DD23MTS001, corresponding with the higher TiO₂ values. The close association between higher grade TiO₂ mineralisation and high IP chargeability response provides the Company with an efficient, low-cost exploration tool for targeting larger scale, higher grade zones within the district-scale mineral system.

Figure 2.  Grey-scale magnetics map overlain by airborne gravity survey results with locations of diamond core drill holes and maiden RC drill holes/IP survey lines.

Figure 3.  Cross Section - First Priority Drillhole (DD23MTS001) with higher grade TiO2 Intervals and the adjacent RC drillholes from maiden drilling programme.

RC Drill Programme

The next phase of drilling, an extensive RC drill programme, targeting higher grade mineralisation, has now commenced and is expected to run for several weeks. The programme is planned for 40 drillholes totalling 6,000 metres along the length of the high-density gravity core within the regional magnetics anomaly (see Figure 2), with particular focus on the high-grade areas identified through the recent rock chip sampling and geological mapping. The objective of this drill programme is to further define the scale of this district-wide, titanium-enriched mineral system, to carry out initial drill-tests of higher-grade targets and to understand the distribution of key factors better, such as grade, mineralogy, thickness and extent of mineralised beds and controls on high-grade titanium mineralisation.

Figure 4. Photo of RC Rig at Pitfield Project, November 2023.

Table 1.  Diamond drillhole #1 (DD23MTS001) geochemical analysis lab results for TiO2*

(*Conversion factor for Ti to TiO2 is 1.668.)

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​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  or contact:

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 mineral system that hosts a globally significant titanium discovery.  The Company is also advancing the Eclipse-Gindalbie Project in Western Australia, which is prospective for high-grade gold and also kaolin used to produce high-purity alumina, an essential component in lithium-ion batteries.

The Company also has two further exploration projects in Australia; the Walton Project in Western Australia, and the Stavely Project in the Stavely Arc region of Victoria, in addition to three precious metals projects located in a historically high-grade gold producing region of Austria.