Aim-listed Empire Metals has confirmed the Pitfield tungsten project, in Western Australia, as the world’s largest titanium resource in an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE).
The upgraded MRE states 8.16-billion tonnes grading 4.3% titanium dioxide at Pitfield, for 349-million tonnes of contained titanium dioxide across the Thomas and Cosgrove deposits.
On a measured basis, Pitfield has 374-million tonnes of resources grading 5.8% titanium dioxide, for 21.6-million contained tonnes; on an indicated basis it has 3.65-billion tonnes grading 4.3% titanium dioxide for 154-million contained tonnes; and on an inferred basis the project has 4.2-billion tonnes of resources grading 4.1% titanium dioxide, for 173-million contained tonnes.
The upgraded MRE contains the project’s first measured resource declaration, which strengthens confidence to progress mine planning and economic studies, Empire Metals says.
At Thomas, the upgraded MRE now has 43% of the resource reporting to the measured and indicated categories and the remainder reporting to the Inferred category. At Cosgrove, 51% of the resource reports to the indicated category and the remainder reports to the inferred category.
Empire Metals envisions Pitfield to have a conventional process to produce high-purity titanium dioxide, including in pigment and metal feedstock forms, to global markets. The project has existing rail links to ports serving Asia, the US, Europe and Saudi Arabia.
“The upgraded MRE, which underlines the sheer scale of this discovery, comes just weeks after we demonstrated an integrated flowsheet based on conventional processing steps to produce 99% pure titanium dioxide. 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,” says Empire Metals MD Shaun Bunn.
