Empire Metals Ltd (AIM:EEE) has released preliminary results from its mineralogical and metallurgical studies on the high-grade titanium discovery at the Pitfield project in Western Australia.
The results demonstrate a significant opportunity for onsite processing to deliver a high-value titanium dioxide (TiO2) product, the company said in a statement.
Managing director Shaun Bunn told investors that the findings demonstrate “the extraordinary mineralogical nature of the giant, titanium-rich mineral system”, and, also, “unique favourable metallurgical characteristics”.
The studies identified titanite, a calcium titanium silicate, as the most abundant Ti-bearing mineral, making up approximately 67% of the total contained TiO2.
Empire noted that this titanite is amenable to a simple, low-temperature acid-leaching process, distinguishing it from the more commonly found ilmenite ores, which require energy-intensive smelting.
It supports the company’s aim of producing a highly concentrated, high-value product on-site without smelting.
"This confirmation that the titanium mineralisation is dominated by titanite, in such quantities as to set Pitfield apart from any previously reported world-class titanium resource, has further reinforced our belief that we are dealing with an unprecedented discovery, one that could provide a path for Empire to become a major supplier of 'rutile equivalent products' or even a significant TiO2 pigment producer in its own right,” Bunn said in a statement.
“With our newly appointed metallurgical team we are ready to successfully execute and expedite the next phase of project development and we will continue to bolster this group with highly talented and experienced titanium industry professionals.
“I look forward to providing further updates on our process development phase over the coming months."
Empire Metals noted that is also exploring further opportunities to refine the TiO2 product onsite, potentially creating a pigment-quality product for direct sale to end users in various industries.