Empire Metals Share Discussion Threads

[gta5] 04/9/2024 19:14

Thanks Geko5trade, I think you are spot on with your interpretation of the method they're forced to follow, and they will no doubt need to go through countless iterations to find the optimum combination of physical, chemical, magnetic, (etc) processes to follow to dial in the right "recipe" for optimum extractability at the lowest possible energy and reagent price at the least risky and most repeatable manner possible. It's no wonder it will take months for multiple experienced teams to do. SB has been clear that the timeframes are hard to predict, and 6months is a minimum.

However, the part I'm hoping for, is that Shaun can push one or two of these tests all the way through to "A final product", be that half a test tube of pigment grade TiO2 or 15grams of Ti metal sponge or whatever. It'd be the equivalent of putting a gold nugget from the prospecting license on the table, an unpolished diamond from the minesite, or am ingot of lead from the shipwreck on the table ... i.e. "undeniable proof of concept"....
At the end of the day, the only thing that will matter is the process, for sure, but in order to get there, I think SB will likely need more than warm words about the lab work.
I'm looking forward to seeing some of that end product in a electron microscope screencapture... Or the excited comments from Iluka/Tronox/etc
GL,
GTA

[juju44] 04/9/2024 18:38

That would be nice

[master rsi] 04/9/2024 16:55

The shorters check Level 2, and as soon there is only 1 MM at bid they come with a large amount to knock the Market Maker, that was the case of 150K sale at 16.12.
Despite the marked down of the share price from the start of the day high, the amount of buys v sales was better and even better if adding the Aquis trades.

link to Aquis...

[luckyabbeygale] 04/9/2024 16:05

juju44 you be delighted to see that a 6m delayed buy has just turned up for Oriole.

[geko5trade] 04/9/2024 16:04

Well fairly standard day for the mm's. Strong announcement, march them up to the top of the hill and march...Put them to bed, flat on the day...

[geko5trade] 04/9/2024 16:01

GTA5, As I understand it from what SB says you start broad. Then as the data comes in the processing route is refined. I may be wrong but I'd imagine there's a considerable amount of bracketing in early stages even when there's certainty of the concept. So although the path to production of final product may seem remote I'm confident that we are in very methodical safe hands. Not NM's first day in the office! I expect the resultant flowsheet to be close to optimum including essential processing data and with consideration for end products, by products and profitability.

[gta5] 04/9/2024 15:45

I think SB needs to show physical proof of the end resulting material(s) of the lab tests to get this to the next stage.
Granted, it'll only be test tube scale and not "25gal drums", but this is needed to get the market to believe this got legs.
Alternatively, Gerry needs to invite some of his pals from iluka, tronox, dupont, celanese and others to come and have a look at the lab output.

Until this happens I think we'll remain hopelessly undervalued. (wich is ok, until we need fresh funds, or need to be taken seriously for grants or loans from AU Govt.)

GL, GTA

[juju44] 04/9/2024 15:34

Looks like our resident guru has made an idiot of himself with his charting expertise. Like I said boasting and arrogance usually come with a fall

[master rsi] 04/9/2024 14:00

A "Sharecast" Update RESUME and Comments from Directors
Empire Metals upbeat on evaluations from Pitfield Project

(Sharecast News) - Empire Metals updated the market on its ongoing mineralogical and metallurgical studies at the Pitfield Project in Western Australia on Wednesday, focusing on the development of titanium-rich ores.

The AIM-traded company said its current evaluations, incorporating both historical research and advanced international expertise, had identified several promising processing routes, guiding ongoing metallurgical testing and flowsheet development.

It said the main goal of the testwork was to create a fully integrated mine-to-market facility, positioning Pitfield as a key supplier to the global titanium pigment and metal industries.

The company was working with both government and commercial laboratories in Australia, employing large-scale equipment and industry vendors to optimise the processing flowsheet.

Initial testing has concentrated on titanite ore found in the bedrock, successfully separating titanium-bearing minerals from lower-value materials.

Recent discoveries of high-purity anatase in the weathered bedrock cap had prompted a shift in focus, with new samples being collected for further testing.

Early results were encouraging, particularly in gravity separation and leaching tests.

Preliminary tests using hydrochloric acid (HCl) had shown that titanite minerals could be dissolved efficiently under controlled conditions, pointing to the potential for an economical processing method.

"I am extremely excited by the progress being made by our development team, led by our process development manager Narelle Marriott, and well supported technically by titanium industry specialists, Dr Trevor Nicholson and Eugene Dardengo," said managing director Shaun Bunn.

"We have commenced research studies with CSIRO and Curtin University scientists, both groups being located here in Western Australia, aimed at providing important information on the nature and origin of the mineralisation as well as the various routes through which to extract the titanium.

"Through the mineralogical studies completed to date at AXT and CSIRO, we now have an increasingly detailed understanding of the mineralisation, both for the fresh and the weathered titanium minerals, as well as for the gangue minerals."

Bunn said the company had also been working closely with titanium industry and market consultants, TiMPC, which was providing commercial guidance into what types of products were most desired by major titanium industry players and how Empire could market its high-purity products towards the high-value end of the market.

"With new knowledge being generated about Pitfield's ore geology and the titanium industry market requirements, plans for the next phase of testwork are being tailored towards the development of a commercial process flowsheet optimised for Pitfield anatase and titanite ores."

[onedayrodders] 04/9/2024 13:52

klosters654 Sep '24 - 10:32 - 11324 of 11330

"Government funding" as I understand it, would be for a much more advanced project rather than one still at the discovery / testing stages.

When we have a full JORC and confirmation of being able to produce a finished commercial product, that will come into play hopefully.

IMHO

ODR

[onedayrodders] 04/9/2024 13:47

would be good for Sean to do a few video interviews now to further explain progress to date.

[gta5] 04/9/2024 13:17

I've re-read the RNS again, and although this is a great step forward, it's clear that a lot more testing (with the relevant samples this time!) is needed.
I'm missing the final results of the testing. Even at lab-scale, they should be able to produce samples of final products, with the necessary caveats of course.
For now they're stating the desireable outcomes, not the ones possible even at lab test level.
-and mr Market is punishing the share price and MCAP for it.

I think that until more clarity (as Gerry rightly points out) is given, the markets won't start popping the champagne corks just yet.
I would have thought Shaun has enough data to start attracting the serious players in the field, if not the immediate competiion (Major miners) then at least the possible customers should be kicking the office doors in at Empire by now.

More patience needed.
(Note to self; Time to top up some more while waiting?)...
GL,
GTA.

[manlord1] 04/9/2024 12:07

I would assume the same Klosters. ML

[manlord1] 04/9/2024 12:06

Hi Mike,All valid points / queries and yes the plan is to prove it up (conceptually & materially).Shaun wants to go it alone and once all unknowns are known, he will be seeking government support / funding in the form of grants & low interest loans. In a nutshell that's how I see it.ML

[mikealig] 04/9/2024 11:27

I'm somewhat baffled (and annoyed) by this share.
Every RNS is very positive and creates a temporary blip up in the price only to be beaten back down in a few hours.
What I'm trying to work out is what the value of this company is, or might be, but I'm struggling.
We 'know' that there's 1.2 - 1.5 billion tonnes of titanium in the areas drilled. I believe we have a 70% interest?
What is that actually worth? Figures I've looked at seen to vary greatly but I can go with 1500 US$ per tonne for 95% pure rutile?
So now we have asset with a value to EEE of around 1.5 trillion US$!
How many tonnes could be mined per year?
What would be the cost of building the plant to process the titanium ore and associated infrastructure?
I guess both the above would depend on the size of the plant being built.
I find it hard to believe that EEE would be able to do this without massive fund-raising.
So is the objective to prove the whole concept works with associated profit forecasts and hopefully get taken out by Rio Tinto (or one of the other big mining outfits)?
I'm happy if someone with a better understanding thinks the above is complete b*ll*cks but I'd like to get some informed views. Thanks

[master rsi] 04/9/2024 11:08

klosters

I see all the time games they are playing, it is now 2 hours since the marked down and no delayed trades showing.

Being at the bottom at the moment, it could be a way to fill their books with shares being sold as any mark down encourages sales.

[klosters65] 04/9/2024 09:36

RSI Wonder if there has been a large Sell, which has not been declared yet.. I agree there has been a large seller , on a daily basis for some weeks.

[klosters65] 04/9/2024 09:32

manlord If the Australian government are to assist with funding, then I would expect them to require the company to be listed on the ASX. I would expect them to prefer the bulk of the shareholders to be Australian .

[master rsi] 04/9/2024 09:16

MMs playing games with their spread again? 6.90 v 7.20p

No sales showing at the time, but have moved the bid lower to 6.90p
Not many buys either since so they are covering their @rses just in case

[gta5] 04/9/2024 08:43

I think this RNS is another great and very positive bit of news on a long path to the "Eureka moment"

SB has been clear that they will be dripfeeding the news as they become available, and we're about 2 months into a 6 month timeframe that he gave originally.
The weathered cap with mainly Anatase is in my limited view a great boost to the project, but from a testing and process perspective it throws a complication into the mix; this is NOT (as initially suggested by the uniform TiO2 grades) a homogeneous Titanite-dominated discovery as they first thought, but rather a sliding scale of Anatase-rutile-titanite (etc) as shown in Aug22 RNS with a need to test various combinations of processing against the variable ore components.
Now, if the 2-30M slice of the top layer, - "weathered cap" - is uniform in its mineralisation across the find, it's likely that they won't need to touch much of the titanite or deal much with its processing (in our lifetime at least!)
But what I do gather from today's news is the positive language, and the expectation that if all is so good with the Titanite rich ore, it could (-Should-?) be even better with Anatase layers.
Missing from this update are details about the end result of their preliminary testing with the Titanite. What was the output quality? (yes, particle sizes, distribution, purity, suitability etc)

I'd like to see industry interest as the next big boost in Mcap.(praying it happens before the next placing)
Here is to hoping.

GL, GTA

[manlord1] 04/9/2024 08:39

The same RNS hits ASX & your up 30%. No worries, as the jigsaw puzzle is being put in place. I personally want to see a dual listing ASAP. Mining orientated investors & brokers from Oz would value this company correctly IMHO. Fantastic news today & bodes extremely well for the future guys. Yet again, Shaun giving us absolutely no reason to doubt his words, plans & actions. ML

[juju44] 04/9/2024 08:06

As usual market reaction to more EEE good news is pathetic

[bspgamer] 04/9/2024 08:00

JUJU he's a complete jumped up tool that clearly is playing his own game. Filtered