Empire Metals Ltd (AIM: EEE, OTCQB: EPMLF) shares jumped on Monday after the company reported the discovery of a large, high-grade titanium dioxide (TiO₂) zone at the Thomas prospect, part of its Pitfield Project in Western Australia — marking some of the strongest grades encountered to date.
The newly defined central core averages around 6% TiO₂ across a continuous 3.6km strike length, with mineralisation starting close to surface, the company said.
Managing director Shaun Bunn described the results as confirming “the exceptional scale and grade of titanium mineralisation at Thomas,” noting that assays were delivered ahead of schedule. This will allow the company to accelerate resource modelling and move rapidly towards its maiden JORC-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate.
Highlights from the latest assays include multiple thick, high-grade intercepts above 6% TiO₂, such as:
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44m at 7.87% from surface
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50m at 7.84% from 4m
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54m at 7.41% from surface
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98m at 7.05% from 2m
Drilling across the wider grid confirmed strong continuity, with nearly two-thirds of holes averaging above 4% TiO₂ and over 90% exceeding the 2% cut-off across a 5.2km by 2.6km area.
“The continuity of high-grade mineralisation near surface is particularly exciting for future mine development,” Bunn added.
The May–June campaign comprised 140 aircore holes (6,360m) and 40 reverse circulation holes (3,776m). Since drilling commenced in March 2023, Empire has completed 382 holes for 32,265m, including diamond, RC and AC drilling, with more than 5,000 samples submitted for assay.
On the market, Empire shares rose 17.65% +5.25 to 35.00p in Monday’s close of trading.
