Empire Metals Ltd (AIM:EEE, OTCQX:EPMLF) managing director Shaun Bunn talked with Proactive about the company’s successful £7 million capital raise and its plans to accelerate development of the Pitfield project.
Bunn said the raise was an important milestone that brings the company’s cash reserves to around £11 million, providing significant momentum to drive forward its metallurgical and drilling programmes into 2026.
He emphasised the importance of continued support from long-term shareholders, noting, “These funds came in back in May earlier this year… we’re really pleased to see them step up again.”
The capital will support infill drilling at Thomas, extensional drilling at Cosgrove, and crucial metallurgical test work in Perth. Bunn said the goal is to move quickly into pilot-scale production and deliver high-purity TiO₂ samples to potential end users.
He described this stage as “incredibly important” for establishing commercial viability, with a particular focus on creating a product suitable for titanium metal production.
Bunn also commented on a potential dual listing on the ASX to attract further investment, especially from Australian institutions. He said there is no firm timeline but called it a strategic move aligned with the international scope of Pitfield.
Proactive: Shaun, congratulations on that £7 million raise. Why was now the right time to strengthen the balance sheet? And what message does the premium placing send to investors?
Shaun Bunn: Yeah, that was a really important event for us, this raising, because we've been looking at our cash reserves for some time, contemplating what is really a very important phase for the development of the company. So we’re now topped up to about £11 million in our cash reserves, and obviously that's going to give us huge momentum in our development plans over the next few months and well into 2026.
Proactive: And obviously placed at a premium, so showing support for your projects?
Shaun Bunn: Yeah, these long-term shareholders — they are great for us. These funds came in back in May earlier this year, showed great support for what we're doing with the Pitfield project, and we're really pleased to see them step up again with what is a fantastic contribution to the company's forward projections.
Proactive: Shaun, you've said the funds will keep momentum going across key workstreams. Can you walk us through the main milestones investors should expect over the next year?
Shaun Bunn: We've previously announced that we’ll go back and start further development of the resource — a bit more infill drilling at Thomas, some extensional drilling at Cosgrove. That work is planned towards the end of the year and early next. But the key thing here is the push ahead with our metallurgical developments, and we’re hitting this at a pretty rapid rate now.
We've got a lot of work on in the laboratories here and in Perth. I mean, we’re blessed with the fact that there are at least five or six internationally recognised, high-quality metallurgical facilities available for us to do our test work. So lots happening on the development side of the process. And the plan is to really move into continuous piloting early next year and to start producing products, because I'd like to get our marketing manager out there and start to talk to end users as soon as possible.
Proactive: You’ve mentioned pilot-scale production and delivering high-purity TiO₂ samples to end users — how important is that step in proving Pitfield’s commercial potential?
Shaun Bunn: Look, I think it’s incredibly important that we establish a clear line and pathway to high-value products. So the only way we can really achieve that is to talk to the end users. I'm particularly focused though on what we would regard as our holy grail — getting a product that could go to titanium metal. You’re realising, of course, that’s a huge part of the news flow at the moment in the market.
This whole concept of critical minerals, critical metals — the US and the Australian government signing big treaties and agreements around supply chains for critical minerals. So I’m really focused now on saying to our team here that we’re going to find this pathway to produce metal, and we’re going to accelerate that and get into some continuous testing as soon as possible now.
Proactive: Finally, there’s talk of a possible dual listing on the ASX — what’s driving that move, and how could it benefit Empire shareholders?
Shaun Bunn: We look at this as an opportunity. There's no firm decision on timing and how that would unfold. But you of course realise we’ve now got a very strong investor base from Oceania and particularly Australian funds that we’re going to be looking to attract in an ASX listing. So that’s really important, I think, to spread.
But the other thing about our company, our project — it’s a world-class, globally important, internationally focused opportunity here. So we are still quoted on the OTCQX, and we’ve made the AIM100. We’re constantly looking at how we attract investors, not just from one part of the globe, but with an international base.
Proactive: Shaun, I hope you'll keep us abreast of developments on all those fronts. Thank you very much for speaking with us today.