(Sharecast News) - Empire Metals revealed promising results from the geochemical analysis of samples obtained from the first of three diamond core drill holes at the Pitfield Project in Western Australia on Monday.
The AIM-traded firm said the analysis confirmed substantial titanium dioxide mineralisation throughout the entire drill hole, extending to a vertical depth of about 350 metres.
It said the outcome underscored a potentially significant district-scale, metal-rich, hydrothermal mineral system within the broader mineral system.
Specifically, drill hole one encountered substantial intervals of higher-grade titanium mineralisation, including 276.5 metres at 4.57% titanium dioxide starting from a depth of 80.5 metres.
Within that interval, there were notable segments of even higher-grade titanium mineralisation, with 118.5 metres at 5.13% titanium dioxide from the same starting depth and 144.8 metres at 4.24% titanium dioxide from 207.2 metres.
Empire Metals said it had initiated an extensive reverse circulation drilling programme to target higher-grade mineralisation.
The programme would include around 40 RC holes totalling 6,000 metres, designed to investigate the length of the coincident 30-kilometre-long magnetics-gravity anomaly.
In addition to the core drilling results, recent rock chip sampling identified substantial higher-grade titanium dioxide drill targets spanning three and six square kilometres, respectively.
The targets were slated for evaluation during the ongoing drilling campaign.
Empire Metals said it would release lab results for the remaining two diamond drill holes shortly.
It also planned to provide more comprehensive information on critical parameters such as mineralogy, grades, and geological controls following a thorough assessment of the drill core.
"I am delighted to report the lab results from our first diamond drill hole, which was positioned towards the northern end of the massive 40-by-eight-by-five kilometre deep hydrothermal mineral system," said managing director Shaun Bunn.
"These results have confirmed that extensive and higher-grade titanium mineralisation extends well below the 150 metres depth first discovered during our maiden RC drill campaign, with this particular diamond drill hole ending with higher grade titanium dioxide values at 350 metres below surface, indicating that the mineralisation continues to remain open at depth.
"We expect to see similar lab results for diamond drill holes two and three, which are due out over the next few weeks."
Bunn said the next drilling phase had started, consisting of 40 reverse circulation drill holes, doubling that drilled in the firm's maiden RC drill campaign.
"This drilling will target areas within known strong magnetics or gravity anomalies and areas of known high-grade titanium dioxide, 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."
At 1429 GMT, shares in Empire Metals were up 8.21% at 6.04p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Empire Metals (EEE)