Member Info for Manlord

Q) “If the realistic recovery is only a third of the headline number — then say so.”

A) That’s entirely speculative. There is no evidence that the recovery will drop to a third, in fact, multiple results have demonstrated high recovery across various grind sizes. The Independent Metallurgical Operations testwork has been transparent and independently conducted. Also, the key value proposition at Pitfield isn’t just recovery, it’s the scale, grade, shallow depth, soft host rock, and the market’s need for strategic anatase-rich titanium feedstock.

Q) “Is it quite telling that Shaun Bunn is a metallurgist.”

A) Yes, it’s telling that Empire is led by a highly experienced metallurgist with decades in mine development, project advancement, and processing unlike commentators who openly confirm " I don’t know every detail anymore — far from it." Shaun has consistently under-promised and over-delivered, as evidenced by the pace of drilling, resource definition, with consistently successful metallurgy.

Rather than speculate wildly with outdated opinions from 18 months ago, maybe it’s time to catch up with the actual results and see where this is headed. The scale, metallurgy, and ore body characteristics of Pitfield break the mould, and the data if you cared to look (which you say you're not interested in anyway) supports it.

Good luck with your own investments Element.

ML

Element1,

Q) “Lot of investors keeps quoting this ‘99%’ TiO2 recovery — but does anyone really genuinely think you can grind millions of tonnes of ore to 30 microns…

A) The 30 micron grind was clearly disclosed as "lab-scale work", as part of the early scoping and metallurgical testwork, not a production-scale claim. This is entirely normal for mining studies and as you appear to be very well versed, I would expect you to also know this. Empire has never claimed that this would be the operational grind size at scale. In fact, Shaun Bunn has referenced multiple grind sizes depending on the circuit, with ongoing optimisations. The pilot plant stage are where economic grind sizes are refined and that’s currently underway, not yet finalised. It is disingenuous to suggest Empire is claiming 30 microns will be used for commercial throughput.

Q) “53 microns is the ABSOLUTE limit for high-grade refractory gold… gold is vastly more valuable per gram than titanium.”

A) This is a false equivalence. The processing route for titanium-bearing minerals like anatase is vastly different to gold, and this comparison is again misleading. You seem to be unwilling to offer full context. Empire is not grinding to liberate precious metals, they’re using selective beneficiation to concentrate TiO2 from weathered, soft saprolite ore. The soft, friable nature of Pitfield makes ultra-fine grinding much more feasible with lower energy input required than for hard-rock gold operations.

Q) “30 microns is IMO simply totally unrealistic for large-scale production for any ore body let alone a titanium one.”

A) Again, this misunderstands the nature of the Pitfield mineralisation, it is not hard rock, and not comparable to traditional ilmenite mining or refractory ore bodies. The company has said the ore is soft, easily ground, low strip ratio, and with naturally occurring high TiO2 concentrations. Recovery is not just about grind size, it’s about liberation characteristics, and the metallurgical results have shown high recovery across a range of grind sizes but nobody was referencing 99% recovery rates, it's 99.25% product purity which is completely different. You should be very clear on your statements.

Q) “Why publish extreme recovery numbers at an unrealistic grind size?”

A) It’s standard industry practice to publish lab-scale recoveries as part of initial metallurgy, the idea is to demonstrate the technical potential of the ore, not to lock in a plant design. As disclosed, further pilot-scale testwork will define an optimal commercial grind size, and those economics will be detailed in upcoming studies (PFS, FS).

CTD......

I get it Element, titanium’s tough, and skepticism is healthy. But cherry-picking red flags from outdated notes and a quick skim doesn’t do Pitfield justice. Empire’s ticking boxes on time, as stated, as verified and have done since June 2022 when Shaun took over as MD. We have unique geology, high-purity products, top-tier technical partners, and institutional cash. If you’re still seeing red, it might be time to dive deeper than a year-old notepad. Happy to keep the debate rolling, bring some fresh data next time and I’ll be over on the Empire board as I’m not one for diluting another company thread with unrelated, ill informed, context lacking hearsay.

ML

You’ve dug up Shaun Bunn’s stint at Hummingbird Resources, implying his track record sank Karoussa. Cute detective work whilst only “skimming” but context matters. Hummingbird was a gold project in Mali with entirely different challenges, hardly a 1:1 with a titanium play in Australia. Bunn’s metallurgical expertise has driven Pitfield’s discovery of this huge 40km x 8km mineral system, backed by an expert team including Dr. Trevor Nicholson (40+ years in titanium) and TiPMC Consulting. Empire’s also partnered with CSIRO and Curtin University, which I’d wager carries more weight than a “missing” LinkedIn profile. If that’s your red flag, I’d suggest a sturdier magnifying glass.

Your alarm over the 38-micron grind size (P80) is noted, but let’s not get lost in the lab. Yes, ultra-fine grinding can be tricky at scale, but Pitfield’s friable cap is soft as butter, making scrubbing and flotation a breeze. The 38-micron tests were about maximising recovery in early trials, Empire’s now processing 40-50 tonne samples to optimise for commercial scale, exploring multiple flowsheet options. As I explained earlier, the absence of deleterious elements and use of standard tech (unlike your implied “tricky” metallurgy) keeps costs in check. If you’re calling this a “well-run trick,” I’d say it’s more a case of missing the forest for the micron-sized trees.

You question Asian Investment Management and the lack of “serious” institutional holders, while noting management’s 1.3% stake (Incorrect). A quick reality check, Empire raised £4.5 million in May just gone, boosting cash to £7.1 million for drilling and metallurgical work. That’s not pocket change from retail dreamers, that’s institutional confidence from one of the biggest construction moguls in Saudi. A retail-heavy base is par for the course for AIM juniors with high-upside potential. As for management’s stake which you avoiding discussing options / warrants on lieu of remuneration, the focus is on delivering value, not hoarding shares. If you’re hunting for blue-chip funds in a pre-MRE junior, you might be a tad early to the party but sure I’m sure you’re happy here, so why discuss a company you know little about.

You also suggest Empires MC is inflated by clueless retail investors. Yet, this actually reflects informed optimism about a 40km x 8km titanium giant, with high-grade TiO2, low-cost mining potential, and alignment with critical mineral demand (defence, aerospace, renewables). Empire’s valuation is modest compared to peers, especially with Australian government backing for critical minerals. Feasibility studies are indeed ahead, but with a potential 2026 revenue timeline and a maiden MRE on the horizon, this isn’t blind hype, it’s a calculated bet on a tier-one asset.

CTD…….

Thanks for the colorful commentary, Element1! I must say, it’s bold of you to wave the red flag parade without a financial stake or, by your own admission, deep expertise in the Pitfield ore body. Since you’ve dusted off some year-old notes and skimmed a recent update, allow me to fill in the gaps with a touch more precision, after all, a quick glance doesn’t quite cut it when tackling a globally significant titanium deposit.

You claim Empire’s focus on the “soft, friable” lithocap zone is a red flag, as it’s just a sliver of the ore body. With all due respect to your skimming skills, that’s a bit like judging a book by its cover. The weathered cap, spanning 60-80m deep with circa 4-5 billion tons of ore, is indeed the low-hanging fruit, packed with high-purity anatase and rutile (up to 99.25% TiO2). This isn’t some trivial footnote, it’s a low-cost, strip-mineable zone that skips the drilling and blasting, slashing CAPEX. Unlike your run-of-the-mill ilmenite deposits, Pitfield’s cap only requires circa 1 tonne of acid per tonne of mineral versus ~2 tons for ilmenite, making it a greener, cheaper win.

Oh, and Empire isn’t ignoring the deeper 26-32 billion tonne exploration target. With 22,000m of drilling across 180 holes, including high-grade intercepts at the Thomas Prospect to 5km depth, they’re building a JORC-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate by Sept 2025. Sounds like a company that’s got its eyes on the whole prize, not just the cherry on top.

You’re spot-on that titanium extraction, via the Kroll Process, is a beast, energy-hungry and pricey, with China’s ilmenite dominance. But here’s where your notes need an update, Pitfield isn’t your typical hard-rock slog. Its anatase and rutile are naturally high-purity TiO2 minerals, bypassing the complex processing ilmenite demands. Lab tests show extremely high titanium extraction with simple gravity/flotation and leaching, yielding a 99.25% TiO2 product free of deleterious minerals like uranium. This isn’t just lab magic, it’s aimed at premium markets like sponge metal and chloride pigment producers, where global rutile shortages are driving demand (3.7% annual TiO2 pigment growth, FYI).

So, while you’re fretting about Australia’s high costs, Empire’s leveraging conventional tech and a unique geology to target high-value markets, not compete in China’s ilmenite sandbox. A bit of a game-changer, no?

CTD…..

I'm aware I've been very active here recently but things are getting very serious now, so I owe it to myself to be as up to speed as I can. I'm going to take a backseat now until we have tangible news. All the above is my just my own opinion, thoughts and expectations. Will I be proven correct? I hope so but I know no more than anyone else here and everyone here should make the time and effort to create and develop your own thoughts and beliefs even if that means that you're on the opposite scale to me. That way, no matter what happens, you went with your own gut instinct, backed with your own research and opinions.

This is AIM, this is investing and nothing comes easy. Put the effort in and the results and output will hopefully match your efforts.

Good Luck All.

ML

Governments like the UK, US, Australia, Japan, and Germany are actively trying to secure critical minerals like titanium from stable, non-Chinese/Russian sources. Titanium is on multiple national critical minerals lists. Just this week , UK Export Finance confirmed they have £13 billion available to fund critical mineral and clean-tech projects globally (See Empire Metals LinkedIn & X account). A project like Pitfield, supplying titanium for defense, aerospace, and energy sectors, fits that agenda perfectly. So yes, funding will be required, but the bigger question is what type of funding we'll secure. There are many options,

Government backed debt or guarantees (UK Export Finance, Australia’s Critical Minerals Facility, US EXIM Bank, JOGMEC in Japan)

Strategic partnerships with majors like Rio Tinto or BHP, who want critical minerals exposure

Industrial partnerships with end-users like DuPont, Chemours, or Tronox that need long-term titanium feedstock

Sovereign wealth funds (We already have a Saudi Investor) or infrastructure funds from countries securing future raw material supply chains

In that context, personally I don’t really see funding as a binary “risk” where the project fails without it. It’s more a challenge of picking the best funding route to maximise shareholder returns and minimise dilution. To be honest, if the MRE delivers what we all hope it might, it won’t be Empire chasing funding, it’ll be governments and majors chasing Empire to get a piece of the action.

In my view the key catalysts from the August MRE will be:

1) The headline size and grade of the resource

2) Whether the mineralisation is consistent and continuous across the drilled zones

3) The JORC classification, Indicated or Measured straight away would be huge

4) Early signals of economic strength, like shallow strip ratios and clean metallurgy

5) A fast-track path to feasibility studies and potential offtake talks with end-users

So overall, Empire’s sitting at £184m MC and 26.75p right now. If the August MRE delivers something like 1.1b tonnes at ~6% TiO2, and they classify it as Indicated or better, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the share price jump to 55–85p pretty quickly. If momentum and sentiment catch fire, maybe even higher.

Medium-term, as they progress through studies and partner up, something like £1 - £2 seems achievable, and if Pitfield does go into production, you could be looking at £3 - £5+, depending on how titanium prices and development progress play out. The real shift here is that Pitfield could move from being seen as a high-potential junior explorer/developer to a globally significant, strategic titanium project with government and industry backing. That totally changes the funding and development narrative.

CTD.....

When a resource like this is declared, the market usually shifts away from valuing the company just on blue-sky exploration upside and starts valuing it per tonne of in-ground metal. Critical mineral projects like this tend to trade anywhere from £3 to £10 per tonne of contained metal, depending on purity, economics, jurisdiction, and risk profile, all of which are on the positive side for Empire.

Let’s say, for example, they come out with 1.1b tonnes at around 6% TiO2. If the market applied a conservative £5 per tonne of contained TiO2, you’d be looking at a project valuation of £6.6 billion. Divide that by 690 million shares, and you’re talking about a "theoretical" value of over £9.56 per share. REMEMBER this is theoretical, but even if you slash that by 75% to account for CAPEX, development risk etc., it still puts the company at £2.40, way above today’s price.

So what could the short-term share price reaction look like after the MRE? If it confirms the scale and grades, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 100% to 200% re-rate quite quickly, so from 26.75p to maybe 55–85p in the days or weeks after the release. If sentiment runs hot and the grades/purity come in at the top end, you could even see it spike towards 90p+ on momentum alone (my estimates but obviously I cannot know for sure, nobody can).

Medium-term, as they move through feasibility studies and de-risk the project (mining studies, metallurgy, permitting, offtakes), you could be looking at £1-£2.

Long term, assuming the project heads into construction or early production, and depending on how the titanium market shapes up and what sort of deal they strike on financing, it’s not unrealistic to think of £3-£5.

Ok so, I'm sure a few will call me a ramper as has been thrown at me recently, however I'll give you a few reasons why this view isn’t just wishful thinking or me being clouded by confirmation bias. The sheer resource size (1.1b tonnes) would put Pitfield amongst the largest titanium deposits globally. The grade (~6% TiO2) is extremely high for a sedimentary titanium system. If they jump straight to Indicated or Measured status, they’ll have done in two years what other juniors take 5 - 10 years to achieve. The metallurgy is already producing 99.25% purity TiO2, which could slot into multiple markets, titanium pigment, aerospace-grade sponge, or critical minerals supply chains for defense and energy. We're in Western Australia, one of the safest and most mining-friendly places in the world, with great infrastructure, political stability, and no sovereign risk.

Now, on to the funding and dilution question, which always comes up . Yes, development-stage companies face BIG CAPEX needs and financing risk. But Pitfield "could" be looked at very differently. This isn’t some cowboy mining project, it’s a strategic critical mineral play. That’s a big deal when you look at global supply chain politics.

CTD.........

As per yesterdays post on this thread, it's now a waiting game but with such a big moment coming up, I have some thoughts on valuation and what's next after that.

Right now, we have circa 690m shares in issue and we trade at 26.75p, which gives a market cap of around £184m. That already puts us into mid-tier explorer / developer territory, showing the market has started to price in the scale and quality of Pitfield. Pitfield itself is shaping up to be something very rare, a massive sediment-hosted titanium system, "potentially" world-class in both size and purity. What’s interesting is how straightforward the metallurgy is looking, which removes a lot of the typical headaches you’d normally associate with titanium projects.

The expected late August JORC MRE could be the turning point for the company. This’ll be the company’s first formal resource statement and should give everyone some clarity on what they’ve really got (including those who have doubts about what the company have). Until now, it’s all been based on drilling scale, grades from assays, and geophysical mapping, but the MRE will officially lock it in. The market seems to be expecting an initial multi-hundred-million-tonne resource, I'm expecting it to nudge past a billion tonnes (1.1b to be exact) just from the Thomas prospect alone. If Shaun & Co. can pull that off, it’s a serious opening estimate, and that’s just one part of the broader system, remember there’s upside still to come from areas where we haven’t even properly drilled yet.

Then you’ve got the grade of material. It would be sensible to say that we're targeting grades of around 4% to 8% TiO2, which is extraordinarily high, especially for a sediment-hosted system. That kind of grade, combined with simple processing (We're already hitting 99.25% purity in lab tests), makes this a "potentially" very low-cost and scalable operation. It’s worth saying, most sedimentary titanium deposits globally don’t get anywhere near those grades, and the ones that do often have much more complex metallurgy. Those that don't have the grades we do, are still viable, indeed profitable.

If the continuity proves true, meaning a big, thick, consistent mineralised zone at Thomas, we're likely to see a decent chunk of the resource straight into the Indicated category which is still incredibly positive, maybe even some Measured from day one (Ageos has detailed analysis on why he believes this will be a measured MRE). That’s huge, because it skips years of drilling that most explorers need to convert Inferred resources. It lowers geological risk right out of the gate and lets investors and analysts start modelling large-scale development scenarios with almost full confidence.

CTD...........

Fully agreed RP.

ML

So now we wait, the drilling is done, the assays are being analysed, and the MRE is being prepared, and the future of Empire lies in the hands of the same gods who shaped Pitfield itself, a world-class weathered cap mineralised system, blessed with high-grade titanium, shallow, simple extraction, 99.25% purity, sitting in the heart of Western Australia, a Tier 1 mining jurisdiction, in one of the safest and most respected countries on Earth. May those same gods guide the numbers that are about to follow.

The very best of luck to you all.

ML

And one thing worth pointing out is the timing of the programme. If this was a longer drill campaign, let’s say two or three months, you’d nearly always expect assays to be released in batches, because by the time you’re halfway through drilling, the first holes are already coming back from the lab. It keeps a steady news flow going, but when you’re dealing with a shorter programme like this one, four or five weeks, there’s probably not much point in rushing out partial results. The first assays might only have been ready towards the end of the programme anyway, so they’ve probably decided to just hold it all and release one full set of results now that drilling is done. Makes more sense than giving a halfway update and then another one straight after especially with the fickle nature of AIM investors (in general). It would also allow the brain donors who we have to deal with daily in here, throw more accusations and endless questions that can't be answered, to spread FUD, but having spoken to SB about this, he really isn't concerned about that and confirmed that with a very clear reply to me "THEY DO NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT" in reference to the public company attack in Q1/Q2 2024 which SB was more than proven correct about.

If I was to guess, I’d say we’ll see the assays probably in the next 2-3 weeks, so sometime in July, assuming they’ve had them coming back from the labs in mid to late June. Then you’re looking at the MRE maybe August, depending on how long it takes Snowden to run the numbers, and they should be so big that I would honestly expect them to have to check twice or three times to confirm what they are seeing is indeed correct.

The only way we don’t see assays beforehand is if they decide to drop everything as part of the full MRE release, which is rare but has happened in some projects before where the main focus was just on the final resource numbers rather than the step-by-step drilling detail. I personally don’t think that’s the case here, I think we’ll see assays first, but probably all in one go now that the drilling’s wrapped up.

If they’ve gone for a measured resource, as it looks like they’ve planned for (Ageos thinks so and it's my understanding and expectation based on business logic, rather than Ageos's technical knowledge), then I’d expect them to want to show the market what they’ve found before the final resource comes out.

Otherwise you lose the opportunity to get people excited about the results, not that they'll need to be coaxed to do so.

So, bottom line, I’d say we’re looking at assays first, MRE after, and the clock should really start ticking on those assay results now that the rigs have stopped turning.

CTD.......

Just finished reviewing my previous F/C (on this thread from last week but posted here at 07:47 today) and have updated as per below.

The drilling is now confirmed as finished, but we haven’t had any assay results yet. Normally (from looking online) what you’d see in this situation is that assays are released as the drilling progresses, in batches, so the market can follow along with what’s being found. Typically you’d expect to see the first batch of results maybe three to four weeks into the drilling programme, with subsequent batches following as the lab work catches up.

In our case, drilling ran for about five weeks, so the first assays should really be ready by now, they’d normally have been coming back from the labs while drilling was still underway. The fact we haven’t had anything suggests one of two things to me (but feel free to add your thoughts please). Either we have deliberately held the results back, waiting to release them all at once, or there’s been some sort of delay at the labs or with the logistics chain. I’d say the first option is far more likely, because looking at who the samples were sent to (Intertek Vs previously used ALS) I believe this was done purposely due to expected lead times for results. As ALS are the go to lab for gold, lithium and iron ore in WA, Intertek are historically quicker due to not having big producers hammering them with hundreds of samples per week. Another angle to consider is cost. As some of you might be aware, Intertek having a prep facility in Geraldton (ALS do not) meaning we wouldn’t have to haul our samples all the way down to Perth straight from Pitfield, which would save on freight costs and time. As labs are always competing for business, it’s possible Intertek gave them a better overall deal on pricing, especially if we were looking for a priority turnaround service to hit their MRE timeline. When you’re running a tight programme like this, you’ll sometimes go with the lab that offers the best combination of location, speed, and cost, not just the one that’s most widely used. So it’s probably a mix of cheaper logistics and Intertek offering a competitive package to get the job done quickly. for the avoidance of doubt, there are no differences in their QAQC standards and testing methods.

If we're holding results back, it might mean they want to release them all together, or maybe because they want the first time we see them to be alongside the MRE. It avoids people over-analysing partial results and jumping to conclusions before the full picture is available. It also gives Snowden Optiro the full dataset to work with before they release anything publicly.

My own personal feeling is that we’ll still get assays first, before the MRE. That’s what normally happens, you get the drill results as a separate announcement first, probably in one big batch now given we’re at the end of drilling, and then a few weeks later you get the full MRE.

CTD.

Thanks Ageos.

That would be my understanding and expectation too. Appreciate the additional clarity.

ML

The one question I would ask is as we know Snowden-Optiro have been in discussions with us for a very long time and have designed and created this drill programme to achieve an MRE, do you think they did so to achieve an inferred, indicated or measured MRE (maybe combination)? I personally believe it would have been discussed in detail and agreed that such spacing would achieve the highest possible form of reliability and economically viable MRE but we all have to make that choice ourselves. Why would such experts just bang holes into the ground by chance, spend all that money if they had no idea of the target objectives? Why 400m x 200m if you needed 200m x 100m? Just my thoughts and time will tell I suppose.

You can listen to the green boxes if you wish, I’m going to listen to a full board of MINING INDUSTRY EXPERTS WITH OVER 200+ YEARS OF MINING / FINANCING / DEVELOPMENT / MERGERS / JV / BUSINESS from companies such as BHP / RIO / LUNDIN / NEWMONT.

Today’s RNS:

“Drilling was conducted on a systematic 400m by 200m grid covering over 1,352 hectares and was designed to support the initial MRE as well as providing key data for economic evaluation studies.

The Thomas Prospect was selected as the basis for the maiden MRE due to the extensive, thick and high-grade titanium mineralisation hosted within the broad, in-situ weathered zone.

The location and spacing of the current RC and AC drillholes were designed, with the input of mineral resource consultants Snowden-Optiro (see my recent post history for details on S-O), to provide the necessary drill assay data density to allow the preparation of an MRE at the Thomas Prospect.

The completed drill campaign consisted of 140 AC drillholes, on a 400 x 200m drillhole-spaced grid with an average forecast depth of 45.4m, for a total of 6,360 metres, and 40 RC drillholes within the AC drilling grid, to an average depth of 94.4m, for a total of 3,776 metres. The overall drillhole grid extends 5.2km by 2.6km and totals an area of 1,352 hectares.”

Only 2 weeks ago Shaun was very clear to outline they were carefully monitoring the drilling plan and progress to ensure they can achieve the best possible outcome for the rapid development of the project, and for continued value creation for all Empire Metals shareholders.”

Ignore the noise and those that focus on the hourly SP. Let’s talk properly in 8 weeks and see who is still here happy to debate the company then, my guarantee is they will be nowhere to be seen, just like those asking endless questions that they knew couldn’t be answered in H1 2024. They want us to engage, but trust me, not seeing what they post is delightful 👍🏼

[url=https://ibb.co/5HQ3dQ6][img]https://i.ibb.co/V4FGdFt/IMG-3139.jpg[/img][/url]

ML

SB meeting another stated deadline eh? What a surprise. As I surmised on Thursday and finished with “IGNORE THE NOISE”

As the drilling campaign started early June, with 164 holes planned (124 Air Core and 40 Reverse Circulation), totaling around 10,700m, they stated it would take 4 to 5 weeks, so likely wrapping up or just finished right about now. (Another milestone achieved).

It’s important to note that previous assay results from February’s AC drilling averaged 6.20% TiO2 over 54m, confirming high-grade titanium zones 📈

As we await the MRE which was estimated for Q3 2025, this latest drilling data will now be incorporated in all the modelling.

If indeed the drilling has finished (which I couldn’t possibly confirm) SB and Co. are busy shipping the drill core samples to the lab for detailed geochemical assay testing. My understanding is this process can take 4 to 8 weeks depending on lab capacity, complexity of tests, and sample backlog. I rang the lab today to see if they were busy (I’m joking but who thought I did?).

Given the volume (over 10,000m drilled), the lab might be quite busy, so closer to 6-8 weeks is potentially more realistic?

Once assays start coming back, Narelle and the technical team will verify, validate, and interpret the data to confirm grade continuity and mineralisation zones. I’m thinking this will take 2 to 4 weeks after these initial assay results were received.

Using the validated assay data, a geological model will be constructed, and the MRE is then calculated following the JORC codes. I expect this phase to typically takes another 4 to 6 weeks depending on complexity and any required external expert inputs, of which Snowden Optiro are the best in the business.

So, if the drilling ended today, assays will be turned around from mid July to Mid August, data validation from late July to late August (most likely overlapping with assays). The MRE modelling and compilation from August to September with the expected MRE release Q3 2025 (July to September window), which aligns perfectly with the company’s stated timing in the relevant RNS. SB hasn’t missed a stated deadline yet, and the additional II funding was specifically going to be used to expedite all areas of the business. There’s no rush on my side, as the team are fully focused now on lab sample logistics and ensuring high-quality assay results. Will we get an RNS about drilling completion or assays? Not sure but I think we might see results rolling out within the next 4-6 weeks, with the MRE following shortly thereafter. If the drill program wraps smoothly and assays confirm as I suspect, strong mineralisation and continuity, then Pitfield will be positioned for a significant value uplift with the MRE, a hugely critical milestone to attract further investment or potential partners, along with shareholder value creation 💰

Ignore the noise here, plenty to come.

ML

Morning all, Ageos,

 

Thanks for the follow up posts over the weekend. Good to get clarity on all potential topics.

 

Absolutely no need for an apology, I took it in the manner you meant it, and anyway we're now even as I had incorrectly posted "Agios" in one of my replies last week :-)

 

Good start to the week so far and as I've said on Telegram earlier this morning, with the exclusion of some minor ups and  downs over the last 12 days of trading, we have essentially been in a phase of consolidation since the 20th of June. We hit 25p on that day and we have bounced from 30.8p to 23.4p and could be seeing a bullish pennant / flag pattern developing from the initial rally at 19.9p.

Please note I am not a chartist but I decide to educate myself in this department so as I could understand the patterns and then see if they play out over time (including the ones that may create a drop). I’m 99% about the fundamentals so this is a learning phase for me just to try to smooth off my investing rough edges. (CEV - please forgive me for my charting sins 😂).

 

Start of the strong uptrend - 19.9p

Top before consolidation - 30.8p

Flagpole height: 30.8p – 19.9p = 10.9p

 

Breakout Target:

Assuming the breakout happens somewhere around 28.5p to 29p, the projection might be as per below.

 

28.5p + 10.9p = 39.4p

29p + 10.9p = 39.9p

 

Target Range if the rally is confirmed 39.4p to 39.9p

[url=https://ibb.co/1fMDRMJZ][img]https://i.ibb.co/HDCWGCp7/IMG-3132.jpg[/img][/url]

ML

So for us, the roadmap could look like this, move from explorer/ developer to producer, build out a world class titanium mining operation, partner with offtakers in the aerospace, defence, and industrial sectors, and potentially play a key role in reshaping the West’s critical mineral supply chains.

The timing couldn’t be better, and Pitfield looks like the right project, in the right place, at the right moment.

The perfect storm in you will.

ML

The demand drivers for titanium are as strong as they’ve ever been. In aerospace, it’s a critical component of aircraft like Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner and Airbus’s A350, used in airframes, engines, landing gear so basically anywhere you need high strength-to-weight ratio and corrosion resistance, titanium is your man. The US military, NATO countries, and Japan are all ramping up defence spending, and you simply can’t build modern submarines, fighter jets, or armoured vehicles without titanium. It’s also used in missiles, satellites, and hypersonic vehicles, all growth areas in the current security environment.

Beyond defence and aerospace, it has huge roles in clean energy. Hydrogen storage tanks, offshore wind turbines, and heat exchangers for solar and geothermal energy all use titanium because it resists corrosion and can handle extreme conditions. There’s also growing demand in desalination plants, where titanium pipes and components last far longer than steel. These are the kinds of sectors that governments are throwing billions into as they try to decarbonise industry and all going well, we could be subject to something similar.

Then there’s the medical sector, hip replacements, dental implants, surgical instruments, it’s biocompatibility and strength mean it’s the material of choice in such instances. As populations age in Europe, Japan, and the US, this market is only growing.

But here’s the crunch point, the global titanium supply chain is fragile. Russia’s VSMPO-AVISMA is still the largest global supplier, but sanctions and geopolitical tensions make that supply chain vulnerable. China has been building out its downstream capacity for years, but no one in the West wants to increase dependence on China for critical defence and industrial materials. That’s where Empire Metals fits in. A secure, Western-friendly supply of titanium from Australia could be a game-changer for offtakers who are desperate to diversify their supply.

Australia itself has titanium resources, but Pitfield, if it delivers, could move the country into a new league, not just as a miner, but as a major contributor to the titanium supply chain at a global level. The Australian government’s Critical Minerals Strategy shows they’re serious about supporting projects like this with funding, infrastructure, and trade agreements to get them off the ground fast.

The products coming out of titanium mining like Pitfield’s would likely feed into the production of titanium dioxide for industrial coatings, but more importantly into the manufacture of titanium sponge and alloys. These are the intermediate products that eventually find their way into aerospace forgings, military hardware, and industrial equipment.

CTD….

On the NATO angle, while Australia isn’t a NATO member, it is one of NATO’s closest global partners. In recent years, NATO has expanded its focus beyond the Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific, recognising that economic and security issues in the Pacific now affect global stability. Australia has been invited to multiple NATO summits and has signed partnership agreements around defence cooperation, cyber defence, and even supply chain resilience.

The current Australian government has explicitly said that it sees critical minerals as a way to strengthen these alliances further. Their Critical Minerals Strategy isn’t just about boosting exports, it’s about ensuring secure and resilient supply chains for Australia and its trusted partners. That phrase “trusted partners” is a direct nod to the US, the UK, Europe, and Japan.

So when you ask how likely it is that Australia would be used as a critical minerals hub for the West, the answer is:l, it’s already happening, and it’s going to accelerate in the coming years. Countries like the US, Germany, and Japan are looking for diversified, stable, and ethical sources of supply, and Australia ticks all the boxes. If we can prove Pitfield up as a globally significant titanium project, I would expect us to be at the forefront of this shift.

It’s not just about who has the mineral anymore, it’s about who you can trust politically, economically, and militarily. And Australia has been on the right side of that equation for over a hundred years.

Most people including myself up until recently, think of critical minerals as battery metals like lithium or cobalt, but titanium is becoming exponentially more involved in modern industry. Unlike some of the battery metals, titanium is essential for both advanced defence systems and clean energy, a rare crossover which I covered recently here having investigated Ageos’s posts about new tech and opportunities.

If Pitfield does gain global acceptance, which initial exploration results suggest we do have a vast mineralised system, high-grade in places, with scale and continuity, we could position this project as one of the most important titanium deposits in the world. It’s not just a little niche project, if this keeps delivering, it could end up sitting alongside the biggest deposits globally, at a time when the world desperately needs alternative, secure supply.

CTD…