EEE Empire Metals Limited

Empire Metals Limited / LON: EEE / Sector: Natural Resources

6 February 2024

Empire Metals Limited

("Empire" or "the Company")

Empire Appoints Former BHP Metallurgist as  Process Development Manager

Appointment of Expert Titanium Industry Consultants Bolster Technical Advisory Committee

Empire Metals Limited (LON:EEE), the AIM-quoted resource exploration and development company, is pleased to announce the appointment of Narelle Marriott as the Company's Process Development Manager, commencing 11 March 2024. Ms Marriott will lead a small team of metallurgists and engineers and will manage the ongoing development of the Pitfield Titanium Project ('Pitfield' or the 'Project'). Coinciding with this pivotal appointment Empire has secured the services of two senior titanium industry consultants, Dr. Trevor Nicholson and Mr. Eugene Dardengo, who together have over 72 years of experience in the titanium processing and extraction industry.

Highlights

·    An experienced and talented former BHP metallurgist, Ms. Marriott has planned and managed all aspects of process flowsheet development, having over 20 years' experience working across multiple commodities including nickel, uranium, iron ore, and rare earths.

·    As Process Development Manager, Ms. Marriott will be responsible for the design and execution of mineralogical studies and metallurgical test work, and the subsequent development of an economic metallurgical processing flowsheet for mineral beneficiation, titanium extraction and product development for the Pitfield Project.

·    Ms Marriott will be supervising and providing technical guidance to a small team of metallurgists and process design engineers with the objective of advancing from the current process development studies to the construction and successful execution of a demonstration process-product plant.

·    Ms Marriott joins a strong technical leadership team led by Shaun Bunn, the Managing Director, that also includes our Exploration Manager, Mr. Andrew Faragher (formerly one of Rio Tinto's Chief Geologists).

·    The technical team are well supported by the Company's Technical Advisory Committee comprising Empire's Non-Executive Chairman, Dr. Neil O'Brien, Exploration Consultant, Mr Ed Baltis, and the recently appointed duo of titanium experts, Dr Trevor Nicholson and Mr Eugene Dardengo.

Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said: "I am delighted to announce the appointment of Ms. Marriott, who brings with her a wealth of experience and who will be a great addition to our growing  project development team.  Building our in-house technical expertise and investing in the right talent is key as we look to accelerate the economic assessment and development of the Pitfield Titanium Project. I am also extremely pleased that Dr Trevor Nicholson and Mr. Eugene Dardengo, two highly regarded titanium industry technical specialists will be joining the team as consultants."

"Ms. Marriott's appointment as Process Development Manager is a key milestone for the Company and significantly bolsters our project team's processing and project development capabilities. This appointment, along with the appointment of the two senior titanium industry technical consultants, ensures we have the expertise required to successfully develop and execute our project development plans. The timing could not be better, having recently announced (5 February 2024) that we are commencing  resource drilling at Pitfield to delineate high-grade, shallow zones of titanium mineralisation, and to provide key samples for mineralogical and metallurgical characterization."

Empire's Project Development Team

Process Development Manager Appointment

Ms. Marriott is an experienced metallurgist with over 20 years' experience working across multiple commodities including nickel, uranium, iron ore, and rare earths.  A graduate from the University of Queensland, with a Bachelor of Engineering (Minerals Process) Honours, her formative years were spent with BHP, rising to Senior Process Engineer based at BHP's Perth Technology Centre. Since that time, she has planned and managed all aspects of developing a beneficiation process flowsheet, including initial concept testwork, variability testwork, orebody assessments, pilot plant operation, design criteria development and translation to engineering design.

Most recently Ms. Marriott was employed as the General Manager - Process Development for Hastings Technology Metals Pty Ltd. ('Hastings'), working on the Yangibana Project. She was credited with the successfully execution of a metallurgical program to assess the beneficiation potential of the ore, upgrading it from 1% TREO to >25% TREO in final flotation concentrate. Leading a team of process engineers in the detailed design phase of the project she worked closely with the EPCM contractor to deliver beneficiation and hydrometallurgical plant design.

Prior to working with Hastings Ms. Marriott worked for Greenland Minerals & Energy Pty Ltd on the Kvanefjeld Rare Earth and Uranium Project, where she managed, designed and executed a geo-metallurgical testwork program to determine a beneficiation processing technology for the project aimed at developing an economic process flowsheet. Significant effort on her part was involved in identifying and engaging with experts in the field, researching existing processes and parallel industries, and developing testwork programs to translate research knowledge to practical application on the unique Kvanefjeld mineralogy. This culminated in the design and operation of three comminution and flotation pilot plant campaigns.

In addition to her experience on applying innovative technology and developing somewhat unique metallurgical processing routes, Ms. Marriott has also worked on a large iron ore project in the Mid-West region of WA, not far from the Pitfield Project. As the Process Manager for Crosslands Resources she managed the metallurgical testwork, inclusive of gravity separation, magnetic separation, flotation and product handling, at both bench and pilot scale which also required leading of a team of engineering consultants.

Titanium Industry Process and Extraction Consultants

Dr. Trevor Nicholson

Dr Nicholson is an experienced senior technical manager with an extensive metallurgical background who has been involved with the WA Mineral Sands industry since 1987. Key strengths are in project management and process engineering services backed by highly developed engineering and analytical skills which have been demonstrated through a track record of successful project outcomes.

Dr Nicholson completed a PhD in Mineral Process Engineering at the University of Queensland in 1996; his thesis entitled: "Mathematical Modelling of the Ilmenite Reduction Process in Rotary Kilns".  Key areas of expertise gained within both the titanium oxide and mineral sands industry over a 36-year career include management of hydro- and pyro-metallurgical operations, planning and management of research projects, and flowsheet modelling, analysis and optimization.

Dr Nicholson's clients include Tronox Ltd, Iluka Resources Ltd, Lomon Billions Co Ltd, TiZir Titanium and Iron AS, Bluejay Mining Plc, Alcoa of Australia Ltd, Northern Minerals Ltd, Hastings Technology Metals Ltd, Vale Exploration Pty Ltd, Doral Mineral Industries Ltd, Consolidated Tin Ltd, Metals X Ltd, Lynas Corporation Ltd, Technology Metals Australia Ltd, Atlantic Vanadium Pty Ltd, MSP Engineering Pty Ltd, Wave International, Hazer Group Limited, Image Resources NL, TZ Minerals International Pty Ltd, Lycopodium Engineering Pty Ltd and Australian National University (ANU).

Mr Eugene Dardengo

Mr Dardengo is an experienced Technical/Operations Manager with a broad background in the Titanium Oxide and Mineral Sands Industry, having had responsibility for providing professional and technical support to existing operations and greenfield projects in the industry for over 36 years.

Having spent his early career focusing on magnetic and gravity separation technologies, Mr Dardengo joined the titanium oxide pigment producer Tiwest in 1997, and he spent the next 12 years working in a number diverse roles, being accountable for Plant Operations, Technical Support, Mineral Testwork & Laboratory Services, Logistical Services and Safety, Health and Environment Advice.

Mr. Dardengo's clients include Allied Mineral Laboratories (AML), CSA Global, Australasian Minerals and Trading Pty Ltd, VV Mineral (India), Image Resources NL, Bluejay Mining Plc, Crossland Strategic, MSP Engineering, Minerals Commodities Ltd, Audalia Resources Ltd, Australian Garnet Pty Ltd, Primero.

Exploration and Geoscience Team

The appointment of Mr Andrew Faragher to the key role of Exploration Manager in February 2023 was a major milestone in the development of a highly skilled and experienced exploration team at Empire. Mr. Faragher's experience and skills compliment those of the other exploration team members that include Mr. Ed Baltis, as Exploration Consultant, and Ms. Louisa Stokes as Exploration Geologist.

Mr Faragher is an experienced exploration geologist with over 25 years' experience working across multiple commodities including copper/gold, base metals, uranium, iron ore, bauxite and diamonds. He has a strong track record of discoveries and a deep understanding of exploration.

Amongst other senior positions, Mr Faragher spent seven years working for Rio Tinto, where he held a number of roles including Exploration Manager - Canada and Chief Geologist -  Iron Ore and Bauxite. Highlights of his career with Rio Tinto include leading a team which discovered in excess of 5Bt of iron ore in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, along with building and developing successful exploration teams in both Australia and Canada.

Ed Baltis has an extensive geological knowledge of Western Australia and its mineral potential as well as notable operational experience having managed and led exploration campaigns for a diverse range of commodities throughout Australasia, Africa and the Americas.  Amongst other positions he was previously Regional Exploration Manager for Australasia and subsequently Vice President Project Generation for Gold Fields Limited, where he was integral to the successful acquisition of Barrick Gold assets in Australia in 2013 and provided oversight of the exploration programmes that led to discovery of >3Moz Invincible deposit at St Ives. In recent years Ed has been providing consulting services in geology and target generation to a range of companies focussed on Australasia and Africa and was responsible for the discovery of the +1Moz Mandilla gold deposit in Western Australia in 2019.

Louisa Stokes is a PhD Candidate (Applied Geology) at Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia. She graduated from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College London with a MScs Geology (1st Class with Honours) in 2010 before embarking on a career as an Exploration Geologist working in places such as Armenia, Liberia and Mali for gold explorers and producers. Amongst other responsibilities and achievements, Louisa was involved in the discovery and development of the 3.56Moz Dugbe Gold Project in southwest Liberia for Hummingbird Resources plc.

In addition to being the Company's Non-Executive Chairman, Dr. Neil O'Brien acts as a senior technical advisor to the Company.  He is a consulting economic geologist and former mining executive with a PhD in Geological Sciences from Queen's University, Canada, and nearly four decades of industry service.  Dr. O'Brien retired from Lundin Mining Corporation in 2018 as SVP Exploration and New Business Development and a member the executive team that transformed a once junior miner into a leading international base metal mining company. Dr. O'Brien has international experience on six continents in all stages of mineral exploration and development of economic mineral resource projects and has a specific expertise in identifying and exploring giant mineral systems with a focus on creating valuable mineral resource assets.

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:

About Empire Metals Limited

Empire Metals is an AIM-listed (LON: EEE) exploration and resource development company with a project portfolio comprising copper, titanium and gold interests in Australia and Austria.

The Company's strategy is to develop a pipeline of projects at different stages in the development curve. Its current focus is on the Pitfield Project in Western Australia, which has demonstrated to contain a newly recognised giant mineral system that hosts a globally significant titanium discovery. The Company is also advancing the Eclipse-Gindalbie Project in Western Australia, which is prospective for high-grade gold and also kaolin used to produce high-purity alumina, an essential component in lithium-ion batteries.

Company also has two further exploration projects in Australia; the Walton Project in Western Australia, and the Stavely Project in the Stavely Arc region of Victoria, in addition to three precious metals projects located in a historically high-grade gold producing region of Austria.