Empire Metals raises £8m to fund Pitfield workstreams

(Sharecast News) - Empire Metals said on Monday that it had raised £8m through a subscription by existing institutional shareholders to accelerate development work at its Pitfield titanium project in Western Australia.

The AIM-traded exploration and development company said it had issued 26,666,667 new ordinary shares at 30p each.

On completion, Empire said its pro-forma cash position would be around £14.5m.

It said the proceeds would fund key value-accretive workstreams at Pitfield, including mineral resource estimate updates and mine planning, metallurgical batch and continuous pilot-scale testwork, engineering and economic studies, and product development work.

Empire said product development testwork and marketing studies were advancing, with a focus on the titanium dioxide rutile pigment and titanium sponge metal markets.

The company said the funds would also support resource growth through MRE expansion drilling and classification upgrades, pilot-scale production and offtake engagement with end-users, ASX listing costs and general working capital.

Its planned dual listing on the Australian Securities Exchange remained on track for the second half of 2026, with Canaccord Genuity in Australia appointed as lead adviser.

Managing director Shaun Bunn said existing institutional investors increasing their positions reflected "strong support" for Empire's strategy and progress at Pitfield.

"With momentum across all workstreams and our ASX dual listing on track for H2 2026, this investment underpins the strategic value of a high-grade titanium project of Pitfield's quality and scale in a Tier-1 jurisdiction," he said.

The new shares were expected to be admitted to trading on AIM on 15 May.

Following the issue, Empire's share capital would consist of 757,559,888 ordinary shares.

At 1301 BST, shares in Empire Metals were up 4.08% at 33.83p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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