Announcement • 4h
Empire Metals Limited Completes Integrated Metallurgical Processing Flowsheet for Pitfield Titanium Project
Empire Metals Limited had announced the completion of an integrated metallurgical processing flowsheet for the Pitfield Titanium Project in Western Australia. The flowsheet is capable of producing a premium 99%+ TiO2 pigment, supported by bench-scale testwork now successfully completed across the key processing stages. Pitfield's use of conventional processing technology, combined with the orebody's mineralogical advantage and the Project's location near readily available infrastructure, underpins a highly competitive cost structure. The flowsheet also offers the optionality to produce titanium metal feedstock and a high-grade alumina co-product. Integrated flowsheet defined to produce high-purity (99%+) TiO2 pigment and titanium sponge metal feedstock, plus a high-grade alumina co-product, from one of the world's largest and highest-grade titanium deposits. Pitfield offers a cost advantage over the conventional ilmenite sulphate route, driven by mineralogical advantages of the Pitfield ore and flowsheet: rejection of a low-value gangue fraction at the front of the circuit, lower acid consumption and leach temperatures, recycling of acid through the alumina circuit, and a vastly smaller iron residue stream. Flowsheet built entirely on proven, conventional processing steps, materially de-risking scale-up and feasibility. Whole-of-ore flotation confirms selective recovery of titanium minerals with rejection of more than 90% of unwanted gangue, producing concentrate grades above 34% TiO2. Titanium extraction of up to 98% achieved via an acid bake-water leach process, after atmospheric-pressure pre-leaching to remove the majority of the residual aluminium and iron from the titanium stream. High-grade alumina (98.7% Al2O3) produced from the pre-leach solution, offering the potential for a highly marketable co-product that simultaneously lifts TiO2 recovery, lowers reagent costs and reduces waste. Positioned to provide a significant Western source of TiO2 rutile pigment and titanium sponge metal feedstock, distinct from the energy-intensive ilmenite supply source that currently dominates global production. Continuous metallurgical piloting to commence Third Quarter 2026 to validate design criteria ahead of feasibility studies and produce product samples for evaluation by potential customers and offtake partners. Empire has commissioned a research programme at Murdoch University's Extractive Metallurgy Hub to develop a process for producing titanium metal directly from Pitfield's TiO2 product via molten salt electrolysis, offering a potential low-cost, lower-emission route to titanium metal and a pathway to further downstream value. The development of a fully integrated processing flowsheet utilising conventional beneficiation, leaching and refining processes to produce a high-grade (99.25% TiO2) product represents a defining moment in the development of the Pitfield Titanium Project. This outcome not only demonstrates the potential to produce high-quality TiO2 products, positioning Pitfield to serve premium pigment and titanium metal markets, but also provides an option to produce high-grade alumina, a highly marketable co-product. The process flowsheet which has been developed by Empire is a novel combination of various industry-standard unit processes which are highly suited to Pitfield's ore types. The process flowsheet has been broken down into two distinct circuits: Ore Preparation and Mineral Separation; Titanium Recovery and TiO2 Production. The process flowsheet has been batch-scale tested up to the point of calciner discharge, for both the TiO2 and alumina (Al2O3) products. In the case of the TiO2 product, batch testwork to date has resulted in a high-purity (99.25% TiO2) product. Product development testwork is underway to produce a high-quality rutile pigment post calcination, with promising results seen to date. Subject to undergoing further milling, chemical coating and surface treatment, this rutile pigment may be suitable for the high-value end of the pigment market, such as architectural paints. The Company is also continuing its research into the production of Ti sponge metal and is currently testing the TiO2 products being generated from the Pitfield ore to determine their suitability as a feedstock for the Ti metal industry. In the process of developing and optimising the flowsheet it has become apparent that there is an economic case for production of Al2O3 as a highly marketable co-product. It is inevitable that there will be some minor recovery of aluminium gangue minerals along with the titanium during the flotation stage. Rather than simply reject these in the titanium purification stage the testwork conducted to date has shown that a high-purity, circa 99% Al2O3 product can be made. The recovery of the alumina before the titanium purification stage not only creates additional revenue, but it also reduces the cost of neutralisation and the size and cost of the residue storage. The option of producing some alumina requires further evaluation and will be included in ongoing Scoping Studies. The development of a novel metallurgical flowsheet for Pitfield, using conventional technologies and resulting in a fully integrated plant, processing ore into a high-value TiO2 product suite, has been Empire's goal since the early days of the discovery. The RPEEE cost estimates previously prepared for the MRE open pit optimisation inputs have since been refined through metallurgical testwork, process modelling and engineering option studies carried out under the supervision of Empire's technical team. On the basis of this work, the Company believes the Pitfield flowsheet offers a cost advantage relative to the conventional ilmenite sulphate route, driven by structural advantages of the Pitfield ore and flowsheet: rejection of a low-value gangue fraction at the front of the circuit, lower acid consumption and leach temperatures than the conventional sulphate route, recycling of acid through the alumina circuit, and a vastly smaller iron residue stream. Independent cost data published by TiPMC Consulting in 2026 indicates production costs for conventional rutile pigment routes in the range of approximately USD 1,300 to USD 3,300 per tonne, varying by production method and region, with European and North American chloride and sulphate routes at the higher end and leading Chinese sulphate producers at the lower end. The Company expects to release an updated MRE in July/August this year, based on the large-scale drilling programme completed in April 2026, which will incorporate updated open pit optimisation inputs. Ore characterisation research and testwork has resulted in a deeper understanding of how Pitfield's giant titanium-rich ore deposit was formed, allowing the advancement of metallurgical concepts aimed at physically separating the titanium-rich minerals from the low-value gangue minerals.