Last checked at 
(Sharecast News) - Empire Metals initiated a significant exploration campaign at its Pitfield Project in Western Australia on Thursday, marking a pivotal step forward in its resource development endeavours.
The AIM-traded firm said the project, aimed at evaluating high-grade titanium-mineralised zones conducive to shallow open-pit mining, would see the completion of 800 metres of diamond core drilling by the end of March, followed by a 40-hole reverse circulation drilling campaign spanning 6,000 metres, expected to conclude in about 10 weeks.
It said the comprehensive drilling effort aimed to quantify the extent of two identified high-grade titanium-mineralised zones, strategically chosen for resource evaluation work.
Secondly, the diamond core drilling component was poised to furnish essential core samples for further mineralogical analysis and metallurgical testing, expediting the economic assessment and subsequent development phases of the project.
The company said the diamond core drilling programme was designed to comprise four angled boreholes, each to a depth of 200 metres.
Those holes would specifically target the confirmation of near-surface, high-grade titanium mineralization previously identified through initial drilling campaigns and surface sampling efforts.
At the same time, the upcoming reverse circulation drilling phase, constituting the project's third campaign to date, would serve to both expand on and delineate the known high-grade, bedded mineralisation zones.
Additionally, it would explore newly-identified targets along the length of the magnetics-gravity anomaly, further enhancing the project's understanding of its geological potential.
"I am delighted to announce that we have commenced drilling the first of the next four diamond core holes we have planned for Pitfield," said managing director Shaun Bunn.
"The diamond core drilling, the second campaign of diamond drilling at Pitfield, represents the start of a major project development push, aimed at providing key samples for mineralogical and metallurgical characterisation, with a view to establishing an economic processing route to produce high-value products.
"The diamond core holes are focussed in areas of known titanium-enriched mineralisation, based on the results of our previous drilling campaigns, and the information we will gain from these four, 200 metres deep, drill cores will be invaluable in terms of increasing our understanding of the nature of the titanium minerals and their metallurgical characteristics."
At 1330 GMT, shares in Empire Metals were down 4.26% at 9p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
