(Sharecast News) - Empire Metals announced the upcoming start of the next phase of exploration activities at the Pitfield Project in Western Australia on Monday.
The AIM-traded firm said the project, set to kick off in February, would feature 40 reverse circulation (RC) drill holes and four diamond core drill holes scheduled over a ten-week campaign.
It said the primary objectives of the programme were to quantify two high-grade titanium-mineralised zones and gather essential mineralogical and metallurgical data to expedite the economic assessment and development of the project.
Beginning in February, the campaign would entail the drilling of 800 metres of diamond drilling, distributed across four drill holes.
The drills aimed to test two well-known zones characterised by extensive, thick, shallow sandstone-rich beds hosting higher-grade titanium dioxide mineralisation.
Additionally, core samples collected during the diamond drilling would provide valuable material for further study and test work to advance process-product flowsheet design.
That step would be crucial for the construction of a pilot plant in 2025, the board explained, aimed at accelerating the economic development of the project.
Empire Metals said it had secured an initial funding grant of $0.11m from the Western Australian state government's Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) for the diamond core drilling activities at Pitfield.
Subsequently, starting in March and extending through April, the project would see the execution of 6,000 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling distributed across 40 drill holes.
The drills would serve to further test and delineate the two known zones of high-grade, bedded mineralisation.
Additionally, new targets identified along the length of the coincident magnetics-gravity anomaly would also be explored.
One of the primary objectives of the programme was to increase the density of drill holes in the two known areas of interest.
Both of the areas confirmed the presence of thick, high-grade, near-surface, bedded titanium dioxide mineralisation, each spanning an approximate seven-kilometre strike extent.
"Having clearly demonstrated through our successful exploration campaigns the global significance of this giant, titanium-rich mineral system, we are now focused on the economic development of the Pitfield Project," said managing director Shaun Bunn.
"This next phase of drilling will include both exploration and resource drilling to delineate high-grade, shallow zones of titanium mineralisation, providing key samples for mineralogical and metallurgical characterisation, with a view to establishing an economic processing route to produce high-value products.
"We are also extremely pleased that we have received a Western Australian Government grant for financial assistance for our Diamond Core drill hole programme, via the EIS."
At 1228 GMT, shares in Empire Metals were down 2% at 9.8p.
Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.
Empire Metals (EEE)