Empire Metals Limited has announced that the first phase of its major exploration campaign at the Pitfield Project in Western Australia is set to begin next week. The company plans to conduct 1,500 meters of Diamond Core drilling over the coming weeks to confirm the scale and structure of the titanium-enriched mineral system at the project. The drilling program will consist of three angled, 500-meter deep drill holes focused on confirming the continuation of high-grade titanium mineralization discovered during the company's maiden drill campaign. The drilling will particularly focus on the large, dense core mapped by an airborne gravity survey, which is believed to indicate thicker and higher-grade mineralization. The areas identified by the survey were not tested in the maiden drilling campaign. The next phase of drilling, scheduled for Q4 2023, will involve a larger program along the length of the high-density gravity core within the regional magnetics anomaly. Shaun Bunn, Managing Director of Empire Metals, stated that the information gained from the drilling will be invaluable in understanding the grade, mineralogy, thickness, and extent of the titanium mineralization at Pitfield.
The Pitfield Project is comprised of four granted Exploration Licences covering 1,042km2. It is located near Three Springs, Western Australia. Regional gravity and magnetics surveys have identified strong anomalies within the Yandanooka Basin, and more detailed surveys conducted by Empire have confirmed a massive alteration footprint within the host sedimentary rocks. The recent airborne gravity survey highlighted a high-density central core covering an area of approximately 30km in length and up to 6km wide. The planned diamond core drilling program will target this central core to assess the economic potential of the titanium mineralization.
The maiden RC drilling campaign conducted by Empire previously identified highly chargeable-highly resistive anomalies associated with iron and titanium oxide mineralization. However, none of these holes were drilled into the high-density anomalies identified from the recent airborne gravity survey. The extensive, high-grade titanium mineralization discovered in the RC holes has provided Empire with a significant exploration target that requires diamond core drilling for further assessment. The three diamond core drill holes have been strategically positioned to provide maximum coverage across the length of the high-density central core of the magnetics anomaly.
In the future, Empire plans to conduct a larger RC drilling program along the length of the high-density gravity core within the regional magnetics anomaly. The gravity data shows a distinct linear gravity high associated with dense rocks flanking the eastern side of the central core, indicating the potential for additional mineralization.