Empire Metals Limited Announces Team Expansion & Bulk Met Testing Commences
Empire Metals Limited (OTCQB:EPMLF) has announced significant strategic appointments and the commencement of bulk metallurgical testing at its Pitfield Titanium Project in Western Australia. The company has appointed Alan Rubio as Study Manager and Pocholo Aviso as Hydro-metallurgist to strengthen its project development team.
The company has also partnered with Strategic Metallurgy Pty Ltd, a Perth-based metallurgical consultancy, to oversee the metallurgical testwork programme. The bulk testing program, using 0.5 to 1.5 tonnes samples, includes ore scrubbing, desliming, gravity spiral testwork, and flotation testing on the fines fraction. This testing will produce significant quantities of mineral concentrate for large-scale beneficiation testing and enable the first-time supply of bulk product samples to potential end users.
Empire Metals Limited (OTCQB:EPMLF) ha annunciato importanti nomine strategiche e l'avvio dei test metallurgici su larga scala presso il suo progetto Pitfield Titanium in Australia Occidentale. La società ha nominato Alan Rubio come Study Manager e Pocholo Aviso come idrometallurgo per rafforzare il team di sviluppo del progetto.
Inoltre, l'azienda ha stretto una collaborazione con Strategic Metallurgy Pty Ltd, una società di consulenza metallurgica con sede a Perth, per supervisionare il programma di test metallurgici. Il programma di test su larga scala, che utilizza campioni da 0,5 a 1,5 tonnellate, comprende la pulizia del minerale, la deslimatura, test con spirale gravitazionale e prove di flottazione sulla frazione fine. Questi test produrranno quantità significative di concentrato minerale per prove di beneficiamento su larga scala e permetteranno per la prima volta la fornitura di campioni di prodotto in grandi quantità ai potenziali utilizzatori finali.
Empire Metals Limited (OTCQB:EPMLF) ha anunciado nombramientos estratégicos importantes y el inicio de pruebas metalúrgicas a gran escala en su Proyecto Pitfield Titanium en Australia Occidental. La compañía ha designado a Alan Rubio como Gerente de Estudio y a Pocholo Aviso como Hidrometalurgista para fortalecer su equipo de desarrollo del proyecto.
Además, la empresa se ha asociado con Strategic Metallurgy Pty Ltd, una consultora metalúrgica con sede en Perth, para supervisar el programa de pruebas metalúrgicas. El programa de pruebas a gran escala, que utiliza muestras de 0.5 a 1.5 toneladas, incluye lavado del mineral, deslimado, pruebas con espiral gravitacional y pruebas de flotación en la fracción fina. Estas pruebas producirán cantidades significativas de concentrado mineral para pruebas de beneficiación a gran escala y permitirán por primera vez el suministro de muestras de producto a granel a posibles usuarios finales.
Empire Metals Limited (OTCQB:EPMLF)는 서호주에 위치한 Pitfield Titanium 프로젝트에서 중요한 전략적 인사와 대규모 야금 시험 시작을 발표했습니다. 회사는 프로젝트 개발팀 강화를 위해 Alan Rubio를 연구 관리자(Study Manager)로, Pocholo Aviso를 수처리 야금 전문가(Hydro-metallurgist)로 임명했습니다.
또한 퍼스에 본사를 둔 야금 컨설팅 회사인 Strategic Metallurgy Pty Ltd와 협력하여 야금 시험 프로그램을 감독하고 있습니다. 0.5~1.5톤 샘플을 사용하는 대규모 시험 프로그램에는 광석 세척, 세사 제거, 중력 나선형 시험 및 미세 분획에 대한 부상 시험이 포함됩니다. 이 시험들은 대규모 선광 시험을 위한 상당한 양의 광물 농축물을 생산하고, 잠재적인 최종 사용자에게 대량 제품 샘플을 처음으로 공급할 수 있게 합니다.
Empire Metals Limited (OTCQB:EPMLF) a annoncé des nominations stratégiques importantes ainsi que le lancement de tests métallurgiques en vrac sur son projet Pitfield Titanium en Australie-Occidentale. La société a nommé Alan Rubio en tant que Study Manager et Pocholo Aviso en tant qu'hydrométallurgiste pour renforcer son équipe de développement de projet.
La société a également établi un partenariat avec Strategic Metallurgy Pty Ltd, une société de conseil métallurgique basée à Perth, pour superviser le programme de tests métallurgiques. Le programme de tests en vrac, utilisant des échantillons de 0,5 à 1,5 tonnes, comprend le lavage du minerai, le déslimage, des tests de spirale gravitaire et des tests de flottation sur la fraction fine. Ces tests permettront de produire des quantités significatives de concentré minéral pour des essais de valorisation à grande échelle et permettront, pour la première fois, la fourniture d'échantillons de produit en vrac aux utilisateurs finaux potentiels.
Empire Metals Limited (OTCQB:EPMLF) hat bedeutende strategische Ernennungen bekannt gegeben und mit groß angelegten metallurgischen Tests an seinem Pitfield Titanium-Projekt in Westaustralien begonnen. Das Unternehmen hat Alan Rubio als Studienleiter und Pocholo Aviso als Hydro-Metallurgen berufen, um sein Projektentwicklungsteam zu verstärken.
Das Unternehmen arbeitet zudem mit Strategic Metallurgy Pty Ltd, einer metallurgischen Beratungsfirma mit Sitz in Perth, zusammen, die das metallurgische Testprogramm überwacht. Das umfangreiche Testprogramm mit Proben von 0,5 bis 1,5 Tonnen umfasst Erzwäsche, Entschlammung, Schwerkraftspiralentests und Flotationstests an der Feinfraktion. Diese Tests werden erhebliche Mengen an Mineralerzkonzentrat für groß angelegte Aufbereitungsversuche erzeugen und ermöglichen erstmals die Bereitstellung von Massengutmustern für potenzielle Endanwender.
- Strategic appointments of experienced professionals Alan Rubio (28 years experience) and Pocholo Aviso strengthen the technical team
- Partnership with respected Strategic Metallurgy Pty Ltd enhances metallurgical expertise
- Commencement of bulk metallurgical testing marks progress toward commercial development
- Ability to provide first-time bulk product samples to potential end users
- Project still in early development phase, not yet at commercial production
- Multiple testing and evaluation steps still required before feasibility study completion
Empire Expands Process and Engineering Development Team
Commences Bulk Metallurgical Testing
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM / ACCESS Newswire / July 16, 2025 / Empire Metals Limited (LON:EEE), the AIM-quoted and OTCQB-traded resource exploration and development company, is pleased to announce several strategic technical appointments and partnerships that strengthen the in-house project development team and support the advancement of the Pitfield Titanium Project ("Pitfield" or the "Project") in Western Australia.
These appointments coincide with the commencement of bulk-scale metallurgical testing, a critical step in progressing Pitfield toward commercial development.
Highlights
Strategic Appointments to Accelerate Development
Empire has appointed Mr. Alan Rubio as Study Manager and Mr. Pocholo Aviso as Hydro-metallurgist. These appointments are aligned with the Company's objective to evaluate mining scenarios, optimise product development, assess commercial process flowsheet options and progress the Project toward a feasibility study.Mr. Alan Rubio, an engineer and seasoned Study and Project Manager with over 28 years' experience working within the resources sector developing and evaluating mining projects, will lead the assessment of mining, infrastructure and oversee key economic studies to deliver a robust project development plan.
Mr. Pocholo Aviso, an experienced hydro-metallurgist with a background in the TiO₂ pigment industry (including roles at Tronox and BHP's Kwinana Nickel Refinery), will manage the titanium product development programme, focusing on product optimisation, process flowsheet designs and evaluating market pathways.
Partnership with Strategic Metallurgy Pty Ltd:
Empire has also partnered with Strategic Metallurgy, a highly respected, Perth-based metallurgical consultancy. The firm will provide oversight of the metallurgical testwork programme and technical guidance to the Company's internal metallurgists and process design engineers, helping transition from bench-scale process development to pilot-scale testing.
Bulk-Scale Testwork:
The Company has commenced bulk metallurgical testwork that will produce significant quantities of mineral concentrate to support large-scale beneficiation testing and, for the first time, enable the supply of bulk product samples to prospective end users. In addition, this testwork will provide critical technical information for the development of a commercial process flowsheet.
These key appointments advance the Company toward confirming project economics and assessing mine design, process flowsheets and product options-critical steps in the development pathway to commercial mine production.
Commenting on the announcement, Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said:
"I am delighted to welcome Alan and Pocholo to our team. Their technical expertise will be invaluable as we move toward defining the economic potential and product strategy for Pitfield. Building a strong in-house team has been key to our progress so far, and these appointments mark an important next step.
"We are also very pleased to be working with Strategic Metallurgy, whose reputation and experience in process development will significantly strengthen our metallurgical programme. The timing is ideal, with large-scale metallurgical testing now underway, including ore scrubbing and spiral gravity separation, using bulk samples collected earlier this year."
Process Development Update
A large-scale metallurgical testwork programme, involving mineral separation techniques that require bulk feed samples, between approximately 0.5 to 1.5 tonnes each, has commenced using the material collected from the February 2025 Air Core drilling. The programme includes ore scrubbing, desliming and gravity spiral testwork. Alternative gravity separation unit processes, such as jigs and up-current classifiers, are also being evaluated.
Flotation testwork is also being carried out on the fines fraction, separated in the desliming step. As part of this programme, bulk mineral concentrates will be produced for downstream processing, testing both hydrometallurgical and product finishing flowsheet concepts. This will allow a consistent, common mineral concentrate stream to be assessed across the range of flowsheet options that are being considered downstream of the mineral separation step.
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Figure 1. Photos of bulk testwork programme showing clockwise from bottom left: deslimed feed sample, wet scrubber unit, and gravity spirals .
This bulk testwork programme will produce significant volumes of concentrates which will feed into beneficiation testwork and result in larger product samples which can be delivered to potential end users for assessment for the first time.
In addition, this programme is designed to assess different types of process equipment and analyse a variety of flowsheet options, resulting in technical information necessary for developing a commercial process flowsheet.
About Strategic Metallurgy
Strategic Metallurgy Pty Ltd, established in 2010, is a metallurgical consulting company whose business model is to work with mining companies to develop their metallurgical strategy and ensure that it fits into their overall business plan. With a proven track record of providing expert consulting, process development, testwork management, feasibilities and strategic reviews Strategic Metallurgy has the extensive hands-on experience that Empire requires to progress the Pitfield Project through the metallurgical testing, process modelling, flowsheet design stages to pilot plant design and operation.
The Pitfield Titanium Project
Located within the Mid-West region of Western Australia, near the northern wheatbelt town of Three Springs, the Pitfield titanium project lies 313km north of Perth and 156km southeast of Geraldton, the Mid West region's capital and major port. Western Australia is ranked as one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world according to the Fraser Institute's Investment Attractiveness Index published in 2023, and has mining-friendly policies, stable government, transparency, and advanced technology expertise. Pitfield has existing connections to port (both road & rail), HV power substations, and is nearby to natural gas pipelines (refer Figure 2).
Figure 2. Pitfield Project Location showing the Mid-West Region Infrastructure and Services.
Competent Person Statement
The scientific and technical information in this report that relates to process metallurgy is based on information reviewed by Ms Narelle Marriott, an employee of Empire Metals Australia Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Empire. Ms Marriott is a member of the AusIMM and has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code 2012. Ms. Marriott consents to the inclusion in this announcement of the matters based on their information in the form and context in which it appears.
The technical information in this report that relates to the geology and exploration of the Pitfield Project has been compiled by Mr Andrew Faragher, an employee of Empire Metals Australia Pty Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Empire. Mr. Faragher is a member of the AusIMM and has sufficient experience that is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity being undertaken to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code 2012. Mr Faragher consents to the inclusion in this release of the matters based on his information in the form and context in which it appears.
Market Abuse Regulation (MAR) Disclosure
Certain information contained in this announcement would have been deemed inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014, as incorporated into UK law by the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, until the release of this announcement.
**ENDS**
For further information please visit www.empiremetals.co.uk or contact:
Empire Metals Ltd Shaun Bunn / Greg Kuenzel / Arabella Burwell | Tel: 020 4583 1440 |
S. P. Angel Corporate Finance LLP (Nomad & Broker) Ewan Leggat / Adam Cowl | Tel: 020 3470 0470 |
Shard Capital Partners LLP (Joint Broker) Damon Heath | Tel: 020 7186 9950 |
St Brides Partners Ltd (Financial PR) Susie Geliher / Charlotte Page | Tel: 020 7236 1177 |
About Empire Metals Limited
Empire Metals is an AIM-listed and OTCQB-traded exploration and resource development company (LON:EEE)(OTCQB:EPMLF) with a primary focus on developing Pitfield, an emerging giant titanium project in Western Australia.
The high-grade titanium discovery at Pitfield is of unprecedented scale, with airborne surveys identifying a massive, coincident gravity and magnetics anomaly extending over 40km by 8km by 5km deep. Drill results have indicated excellent continuity in grades and consistency of the in-situ mineralised beds and confirm that the sandstone beds hold the higher-grade titanium dioxide (TiO₂) values within the interbedded succession of sandstones, siltstones and conglomerates. The Company is focused on two key prospects (Cosgrove and Thomas), which have been identified as having thick, high-grade, near-surface, in-situ bedded TiO₂ mineralisation, each being over 7km in strike length.
An Exploration Target* for Pitfield was declared in 2024, covering the Thomas and Cosgrove mineral prospects, and was estimated to contain between 26.4 to 32.2 billion tonnes with a grade range of 4.5 to
The Exploration Target* covers an area less than
Empire is now accelerating the economic development of Pitfield, with a vision to produce a high-value titanium metal or pigment quality product at Pitfield, to realise the full value potential of this exceptional deposit.
The Company also has two further exploration projects in Australia; the Eclipse Project and the Walton Project in Western Australia, in addition to three precious metals projects located in a historically high-grade gold producing region of Austria.
*The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource. See RNS dated 12 June 2024 for full details.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
SOURCE: Empire Metals Limited
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
FAQ
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