Empire Metals Limited has upgraded the Mineral Resource Estimate for its Pitfield Project in Western Australia to 8.16 billion tonnes at 4.3% TiO₂ for 349 million tonnes of contained TiO₂, confirming the asset as the world’s largest titanium resource.

The updated estimate significantly expands on the project’s maiden Mineral Resource Estimate of 2.2 billion tonnes at 5.1% TiO₂ for 113 million tonnes of contained TiO₂ across the Thomas and Cosgrove deposits.

Unlike the maiden resource—which was restricted to Indicated and Inferred categories—the current upgrade incorporates the project’s first declared Measured Resource of 374 million tonnes at 5.8% TiO₂ containing 21.6 million tonnes of TiO₂. The remaining inventory comprises 3.65 billion tonnes in the Indicated category and 4.2 billion tonnes in the Inferred category.

The resource expansion follows Empire Metals completing its largest-ever drilling campaign at Pitfield, totalling 35,000 metres. To fund the resource growth, mine planning, and economic studies, the company raised £8 million from institutional shareholders in May 2026.

The updated Mineral Resource Estimate also details a substantially larger near-surface, in-situ weathered zone of 4.39 billion tonnes at 4.4% TiO₂ containing 194.5 million tonnes of contained TiO₂. This compares with the previously reported weathered zone of 1.26 billion tonnes at 5.2% TiO₂ for 65.6 million tonnes of contained TiO₂. Empire Metals noted that this upper zone consists of soft, friable material from surface containing naturally formed anatase and rutile, with minimal overburden and no inter-burden, designed to support simple and efficient mining methods. High-grade cores averaging above 6% TiO₂ define early mining targets, stretching over a 5-kilometre strike length at Thomas and a 4-kilometre strike length at Cosgrove.

“The scale is only part of the story. The declaration of our first Measured Resource of 374 million tonnes at 5.8% TiO 2 containing 21.6 million TiO 2 , together with a substantial Indicated component, provides the platform for mine planning and the economic studies that will underpin Pitfield's development. This milestone comes just weeks after we demonstrated an integrated flowsheet based on conventional processing steps, producing TiO 2 at better than 99% purity, targeting both pigment and titanium metal feedstocks. The high-grade weathered zone sits at surface and lends itself to simple, efficient mining methods. We now have both halves of the equation: a titanium resource of exceptional scale, and an integrated processing route designed to produce high-value products.”

— Shaun Bunn, Managing Director

Empire Metals is planning continuous pilot-plant testing at Pitfield commencing in the third quarter of 2026, alongside further Mineral Resource Estimate upgrades targeted for mid-2027.

Read the full announcement: Empire Metals Limited Announces MRE Upgrade at Pitfield Titanium Project