Resource upgrades dominated the mining news flow, with Empire Metals delivering a headline-grabbing confirmation of scale in Western Australia while Rockfire Resources added further high-grade zinc hits to its Greek development story. Both stocks moved higher on the back of substantive exploration and resource news rather than speculative trading.
Empire Metals confirms Pitfield as world's largest titanium resource
Empire Metals (AIM:EEE) has upgraded the Mineral Resource Estimate at its Pitfield titanium project in Western Australia to 8.16 billion tonnes at 4.3% titanium dioxide, containing 349 million tonnes of TiO2. The company says the figure confirms Pitfield, spanning its Thomas and Cosgrove deposits, as the world's largest titanium resource on a contained TiO2 basis, benchmarked against US Geological Survey data and comparable JORC-reported estimates. Shares in Empire Metals rose 9.368% to 50.2p on the update.
The upgrade marks a step change in resource confidence, introducing Empire's first Measured category at Pitfield, 374 million tonnes at 5.8% TiO2 for 21.6 million tonnes of contained TiO2, alongside 3.65 billion tonnes Indicated at 4.3% TiO2 and 4.2 billion tonnes Inferred at 4.1% TiO2. A near-surface, in-situ weathered zone totalling 4.39 billion tonnes at 4.4% TiO2 accounts for 194.5 million tonnes of contained TiO2, and is described as soft and friable with minimal overburden, supporting simple mining methods. High-grade cores average above 6% TiO2 over a 5km strike at Thomas and 4km at Cosgrove.
"This upgraded MRE is a landmark moment for Empire Metals and confirms Pitfield as the world's largest titanium resource," said Thomas, managing director of Empire Metals.
The Measured and Indicated tonnages now give Empire the resource backbone to move into mine planning and economic studies, building on the integrated processing flowsheet announced in June that targets 99%-plus purity TiO2 for pigment and titanium sponge feedstocks. With Empire holding 70% of Pitfield in joint venture with Century Minerals and acting as sole manager, the scale confirmation strengthens the company's negotiating position on financing and potential partnership discussions as it advances toward a development decision.
Rockfire drilling adds high-grade zinc hits at Molaoi
Rockfire Resources (AIM:ROCK) has reported further high-grade assay results from its 100%-owned Molaoi zinc deposit in Greece, with shares gaining 4.762% to 0.11p. Hole HMO-020 returned three notable intersections, including 2.34 metres at 6.2% zinc, 20.2g/t silver and 15.1g/t germanium from 215.60 metres downhole, alongside further hits of 2.86 metres at 4.1% zinc, 24.5g/t silver and 9.3g/t germanium, and 2.23 metres at 5.2% zinc, 24.4g/t silver and 4.1g/t germanium.
The results build on Molaoi's existing JORC Inferred Resource of 15.0 million tonnes at 7.26% zinc, 1.75% lead and 39.50g/t silver, equivalent to 1.5 million tonnes of zinc-equivalent metal. Drilling continues with hole HMO-021, targeting the same section as HMO-015 and HMO-020, though work is temporarily suspended over the summer vacation period, and core samples have been sent to SLR Consulting for comminution testing. "Each successful hole is expected to add to the overall tonnage of our targeted Indicated Resource," said David Price, chief executive of Rockfire.
The germanium credits are a notable addition to the zinc-silver-lead mix, giving Molaoi a critical-minerals dimension that could sharpen its appeal as European supply chains seek alternatives to Chinese-dominated germanium sources. With drilling paused for summer, the focus now shifts to comminution test work that will inform processing design ahead of any move toward an Indicated resource upgrade.
