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amongst a sea of **** posts, i’ll try yet again to garner some sensible commentary. shameful behaviour here from “adults”. i’m truly embarrassed for those that continue to show the maturity of a sperm!

anyway, i have been looking at empire through a slightly different prism this week and thought it might be worth sharing.

typically when we discuss empire or a mining company we naturally focus on the obvious investment drivers, grade, scale, metallurgy, jurisdiction, infrastructure and ultimately the financial potential of the project. those are still the core pillars of any investment case and rightly so, but after reading the article in the link below which covers esg frameworks in mining and how governments and financial institutions are beginning to use them to guide capital investment, i decided to dig a little deeper into how this might relate to pitfield.

esg has not been the highest point of interest for me personally over the years. right or wrong (probably wrong)i was focused on the resource size, economics and future valuation potential but esg is certainly becoming increasingly important for the entities that ultimately provide the largest pools of capital. governments, export finance agencies, potential strategic partners and ii’s are all placing far more importance on esg credentials when assessing long term mining projects.

what struck me was that australia has actually developed a sustainable finance taxonomy that explicitly includes mining and critical minerals. from what i can see, the purpose of the framework is to guide investment toward projects that can demonstrate responsible environmental and governance standards while supporting the supply of strategic resources.

basically esg is hurriedly moving from being a tick box exercise to a capital allocation filter.

with that in mind i took a flyer at pitfield through that viewpoint. we obviously don’t yet have a fully operational esg profile for obvious reasons. that will come later when we complete the environmental studies, feasibility work and permitting. however some of the characteristics already highlighted in previous rns announcements and presentations are actually quite interesting when you take a look. one of the more important points is the very low levels of deleterious elements reported in the ore from sb. he has previously referenced many times that our ore has extremely low levels of uranium, thorium and other contaminants. this is significant because mineral sands projects have to manage radioactive by-products. the indication that pitfield does not appear to have this issue will reduce environmental complexity and impacts later in our development process.

ctd….

Latest article

Critical minerals, energy partnerships a focus in trade mission

Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael will lead a delegation of up to 16 critical minerals companies to Canada and the United States to strengthen Western Australia's strategic partnerships and highlight the State's battery, critical minerals, and energy sectors

Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael to lead a WA delegation to Canada and the United States to strengthen critical minerals and clean energy partnerships

Mission includes attending the 2026 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada Convention and meetings in Toronto, New York, and Washington DC

Visit builds on strong North American investment and trade ties and the Australia-US critical minerals framework

Cook Government committed to becoming a global leader in investment attraction

Mines and Petroleum Minister David Michael will lead a delegation of up to 16 critical minerals companies to Canada and the United States to strengthen Western Australia's strategic partnerships and highlight the State's battery, critical minerals, and energy sectors.

As part of the mission, Minister Michael will attend the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) 2026 Convention in Toronto from 1-4 March.

PDAC is the world's premier mining and exploration event, attracting up to 30,000 attendees from more than 130 countries each year.

The visit will reaffirm Western Australia's long-standing relationships with Canada and the US, two of the world's most advanced resources and manufacturing economies.

The mission comes at a time of deepening commercial engagement with North America.

In 2024, Canada was Australia's fourth-largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI), with the stock of Canadian FDI in Australia valued at $84 billion.

The US also remains a major economic partner, ranking as Australia's largest source market for FDI in 2024, valued at $235.3 billion.

Engagement with the US will build on the bilateral framework on critical minerals and rare earths signed between Australia and the US in October 2025.

The agreement aims to accelerate priority projects and diversify supply chains, opening significant opportunities for Western Australian companies seeking North American investment and access to US supply chains.

Across Toronto, New York, and Washington DC, the Minister will meet with industry, investors, and stakeholders, reinforcing Western Australia's position as a trusted, ethical, and reliable supplier of critical minerals, which are essential to the global energy transition, defence, and advanced manufacturing capabilities.

CTD…..

From Telegram:

It’s a very interesting and enviable position to be in whether we will be bought out or go it alone. Neither confirmed as of now.

TBH, both scenarios are credible, but let’s be realistic, the vast majority of mining projects never make it into production, never mind become multi-decade, district scale assets. When something starts to show genuine world class characteristics, it is completely natural for some shareholders to think about a potential buyout. A tier 1 stepping in removes funding risk, execution risk and timeline risk. It crystallises the value and as JJB said, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.

But here is the other side of the equation and it’s also very appealing for those willing to be patient. Every major mining asset in the world was once just drill core on a table. The first holes at Escondida did not come with a guarantee of becoming the largest copper mine on the planet. Someone had to believe, fund it, build it and scale it so why not us, we have all the ingredients you’d wish for to execute it.

Pitfield is showing clear signs of being something completely different in the titanium industry. If the geology, scale and processing pathway continue to stack up which SB seems confident it will, then the upside of building a long life, strategic supply asset into a tightening critical minerals market is clearly far greater than an early buyout, but it also comes with more work, more funding and more execution risk.

So the debate really comes down to people’s appetite for risk Vs reward.

A buyout could come at a strong premium and still be below ultimate long term value (Billions - multiple billions). Going it alone could create something far larger but will require steely conviction and significant capital.

When you look at the calibre of the team assembled, Phil Brummit, Dr. Neil O’Brien, Shaun and others with tier 1 backgrounds, plus the increasing government engagement around critical minerals, it is not unreasonable to think this is being built with optionality. Optionality for a strategic partner, funding support or to develop internally if market conditions allow.

Personally, I am genuinely torn. If an offer came in at a serious multiple, the board would have to assess it. Equally, if feasibility, funding and government alignment fall into place, circling the wagons and building a globally significant titanium asset could be transformational, one which all our kids & grandkids will hear about.

Right now, the key is execution of the drilling, metallurgy, scale confirmation and continued strategic positioning which today’s RNS suggests the BoD are laser focused on achieving.

The rest will take care of itself.

ML

Well this has got my attention, even if it won’t drive the SP short-term.

Empire being included in the “2026 WA Critical Minerals Delegation” to North America is a serious coup IMO. This is a state led visit organised by WA’s Department of Mines, Petroleum and Exploration, aligned with the Oct 2025 US–Aus Critical Minerals Framework which was set up to secure strategic supply chains between the 2 countries.

We’ve been invited as part of a select group of Aussie critical minerals companies presenting at PDAC in Toronto, followed by investor and industry meetings in NYC and finally DC which is not a random stop given it is the policy, defence, and strategic capital of America’s critical mineral territory.

We know titanium sits right in the middle of aerospace, defence, naval systems and advanced manufacturing and the US has made it clear they want to reduce reliance on hostile jurisdictions for critical inputs. Aus is one of the few jurisdictions the US considers a trusted strategic partner and to have Enpire part of this visit is not only important, it’s putting Pitfield in the shopfront window of US government and defence buyers, users and policy makers.

The bigger and most important part of this RNS for me is that it means the WA Govt considers Pitfield fully relevant to that conversation. They do not just take junior explorer / developers on official delegations unless they will play a part in the specific conversations. Empires Inclusion is a very clear and strong signal that the project fits within state and federal critical minerals priorities and has potential scale significance, that’s now not in doubt and you can be sure SB and all associated know full well it’s commercially viable, hence the current drilling expansion.

Now, does this mean government funding is guaranteed? No, but I’d say it’s as bloody close as you could get without a signature.

As I said only last week, Govts typically step in at PFS / DFS stage once scale, metallurgy and commercial pathways are demonstrated. That’s just how it works as they have to be able to stand over an audit, the media and the public in the event of an investment / funding.

This now positions us early within the strategic architecture of US–Aus critical mineral cooperation and “when” Pitfield proves commercial at scale, we will already be involved with the WA critical minerals strategy, Federal Australia critical minerals framework with presumably a strong partnership with the US. Phil Brumit will certainly be part of this visit to demonstrate our US links (he is located there and will offer a big impact).

At some point in the future, govt involvement, whether through debt support, export credit, strategic introductions or project-level backing, becomes almost a certainty IMHO.

CTD….

Well said Gymboy!

I listened to SB’s interview twice to properly get a handle what he was saying.

The main point for me was again simple, the titanium at Pitfield isn’t in question, the scale isn’t in question, the grade isn’t in question. The full focus has now clearly shifted to building a repeatable, commercial processing pathway. Again, nothing new here really if I’m honest.

When he speaks about continuous piloting and producing product, that’s full on development language for me rather than exploration.

It’s my humble opinion that our additional drilling campaign and the fact that you only move to continuous pilot output if you’re confident in the mineralogy, and SB and the mgt team are now refining the pathway to a saleable, high-grade product. That’s speaks volumes for me based on just keeping the basic facts about Pitfield simple.

As Ageos so eloquently explained yesterday, the latest drilling isn’t likely to just be about publishing grades for the sake of headlines. It’s about metallurgical understanding, consistency, and process optimisation along with other very important data that will contribute to our development of Pitfield. That tells me this is being engineered forward with confidence , not just explored forward with hope.

What also stood out was the early engagement with end users. Getting marketing and technical teams in front of potential customers now, not later, suggests they’re building toward product specifications and real value chains. It might appear to be a relatively quiet headline RNS period but I think we’re past that in some respects, it’s now getting close to the point where one particular RNS could unlock a new level overnight based on the possibility of them involving confirmation of flowsheet (not working on it), II investment (not just talk of), govt support (not just relationships are strong), commercially viable (not only lab test success) and a host of other potential company making news points.

We have validated mineralogy.

We’re fully funded for the current phase and by my calculations, beyond that also.

One of the largest drilling programmes to date is either underway or incoming.

Strong management with a very methodical approach.

Ongoing engagement with government bodies in a jurisdiction laser-focused on critical minerals.

Tier 1 location in WA with infrastructure and regulatory stability.

Add to that the clear Western push for secure titanium supply (aerospace, defence, advanced manufacturing), and the strategic positioning becomes obvious to me and many others.

If an ASX listing comes (which I’m hoping it does), I see it less as hype and more of the current structural positioning, placing Pitfield in front of a far more mature and mining literate capital market that understands scale, metallurgy, and development, and value them so.

CTD….

Of course the 40p placing and the share price trading below it is now a focus or topic of discussion, but if you look back over the last 3 years with Empire, this exact pattern has happened before.

The 11p placing is a good example. After that raise, the share price went all the way back to around 6p at one stage. That’s almost 50% below the funding price, sentiment was poor, people questioned the raise and we had an influx of detractors talking about geology and metallurgical issues which all turned out to be false, but we did have short-termers sell up which contributed to the fall.

Fast forward, and those who funded at 11p (FAT) have been significantly up at various points since.

Before that, there was the 5.5p placing (IIRC?). Same story with weakness back to 4p (almost -30%) after the raise, yet those participants have ultimately been very well rewarded as the project advanced.

In each case the placing price was breached to the downside for a period with short-term pressure which followed. The company executed their plans post funding and our valuation moved into a new range.

Now we’re seeing exactly the same behaviour around 40p. This doesn’t concern me in any way but I can understand why others might be concerned short-term. All AIM stocks almost always test placing levels and below.

What matters far more, in my opinion, is not the short-term movement around 40p, it’s what the latest £7m is being used for and as it will be used frugally to expand our drilling scale, advance metallurgy toward commercial validation, strengthen strategic positioning and progress broader market initiatives such as an ASX launch, then the question becomes whether this funding round helps move the company into a new valuation space over time which I’m personally confident that it will.

Previous placings only look obvious in hindsight because execution followed, but there were also people “who shall remain nameless” who constantly bleated negativity at the time only to be proven wrong 2 years on.

I couldn’t care less whether we dip 5%, 10% or 50% below a placing price in the short term. I’m focused on whether this 40p funding materially increases the probability of a step-change in value as the technical and strategic work progresses.

Execution of the stated plan is the driver, the rest is…………………………

You’ve guessed it……………noise!

DYOR

ML

It’s also worth recognising that we will all view this investment differently depending on our own circumstances. Entry price, position size, exit targets, age, health, financial position and personal goals will all shape how each of us approaches it. We are not all going to see eye to eye, and that’s reasonable. I can only speak for myself.

My strategy here is fully long term, and I have no interest in selling shares because I am not under any financial pressure to do so. I am here to see the project play out. Whether I could have sold at 46p last month or bought more at 30p a few months ago is irrelevant to me. The short-term moves are noise and nothing more. What matters is the underlying development of the asset, the metallurgical work, the engineering progress and the broader building of the overall business.

At roughly a £250 - £300 MC, the market is recognising the scale of the resource and the credibility of management, but it is certainly not yet fully pricing in validated metallurgical recoveries, defined product specifications, detailed engineering economics or strategic development partnerships. Those elements are likely to determine the next meaningful step change in valuation and ones which I believe have a very high potential of success.

From here, additional tonnage is unlikely to transform the share price. Continued progress on metallurgy, processing economics, reserve conversion and third-party validation will be key. If those milestones are delivered in line with the stated direction, a move towards the previous high would not be unreasonable, and with strategic backing and engineering clarity, valuations beyond that could become easily justified.

For me, this stage requires patience as all stages have. The next proper moves in valuation are likely to be driven by data and execution rather than short-term volatility, and the coming months should provide clearer direction as drilling results and technical work continue.

What continues to stand out to me is the scale of the opportunity at Pitfield beyond just the titanium. The step-out drilling across the broader anomaly has the potential to show that this is not simply a single deposit, but part of a much larger mineralised system. If that broader footprint (20% to 70% of area) continues to deliver, and particularly if additional commodities such as copper were ever confirmed in commercial quantities, then the long-term narrative shifts from a large titanium project to a genuine district-scale critical minerals system. Located in WA, a tier 1, mining friendly jurisdiction with established infrastructure and regulatory clarity, that combination of scale, commodity exposure and jurisdiction is difficult to ignore. That’s why this opportunity remains unbelievably compelling over the long term.

GLA

DYOR

ML

Having watched to the latest interview at least 3 times and reflected on where we stand, I think it’s worth setting out how I see the current position.

At 37p, this is no longer about proving a discovery, as the scale of the Pitfield has already been firmly established with the 2.2Bt MRE at Thomas and Cosgrove. The current 754 hole programme is not just additional drilling but a clear and structured campaign that includes infill at Thomas to improve resource confidence, expansion and infill at Cosgrove, and step-outs across the license area. That progression suggests to me a deliberate move toward strengthening geological definition and future mine planning optionality as the project advances.

The sequencing of work is also telling, with diamond drilling (DD) focused on metallurgy and geotechnical data and AC/RC drilling designed to improve density and expand coverage efficiently. There is a clear direction toward reserve planning and engineering studies, which is a vital and important step given the scale of the opportunity at Pitfield.

The programme is fully funded having secured funding previously announced at £7m @40p, and SB has outlined our intention to pursue a dual listing on the ASX in the first half of 2026, with Canaccord Genuity acting as lead adviser. An ASX presence should broaden the shareholder base and increase visibility within a market that is deeply familiar with large-scale resource development and earlier today I continued my posting of latest info from Empire on the Aussie mining forum “Hot Copper” to which I fully expect will have many new members in time. The Telegram group which is moderated extremely well has offered good debate and earlier today the latest Aussie investor from Melbourne joined the group with positive comments made about Pitfield and the overall project.

It is also worth noting that Canaccord Genuity has initiated coverage with a buy recommendation and a 62p price target, providing an external valuation reference point as technical and development milestones are delivered.

In terms of management, one of the reasons I remain constructively positive is the historical performance of Shaun and the BoD in delivering against stated objectives. Over the past few years, key milestones that were outlined have generally been met, and in several cases exceeded. That does not guarantee commercial success, but the consistency between communication and delivery gives me confidence in the direction of travel.

CTD…..

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