Empire Metals Limited Announces Major Drilling Campaign to Commence at Pitfield

LONDON, UK / ACCESS Newswire / February 17, 2026 / Empire Metals Limited (LON:EEE)(OTCQX:EPMLF), the AIM-quoted and OTCQX-traded exploration and development company, is pleased to announce the commencement of a major drilling campaign at the Pitfield Project in Western Australia ('Pitfield' or the 'Project'). This programme is designed to evaluate the extent of the giant TiO₂ mineral system at Pitfield, expand the Cosgrove Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE), and enhance the confidence levels associated with the MRE at Thomas.

Highlights

• A total of 754 drill holes are planned:

  • 683 Air Core ('AC') drillholes for approximately 34,150 metres, and

  • 71 Reverse Circulation ('RC') drillholes for approximately 7,100 metres,

  • totalling 41,250 metres of drilling.

• The fully funded campaign will utilise 3 AC drill rigs and 2 RC rigs and drilling is expected to be completed by mid-April.

• The key outcome of the drilling will be an updated MRE at Thomas, with increased resource classification into the Measured and Indicated categories, and a significantly larger updated MRE at Cosgrove.

• Updated MRE anticipated in Q3 2026 to support ongoing engineering and study work.

Shaun Bunn, Managing Director, said:"We are pleased to commence this important drilling campaign at Pitfield, focused on upgrading our maiden MRE from the Thomas and Cosgrove Prospects (announced 14 October 2025) and extending the exploration target area. This fully-funded campaign is the largest undertaken to date at Pitfield and will significantly improve our understanding of the scale and grade of the Pitfield MRE, and also increase the confidence levels of Measured and Indicated Resources in readiness for developing mine design and Ore Reserves."

Drilling Programmes

The titanium discovery at Pitfield is of unprecedented scale and hosts one of the largest and highest-grade titanium resources reported globally, with a current MRE totalling 2.2 billion tonnes grading 5.1% TiO₂ for 113 million tonnes of contained TiO₂.

The MRE, which covers only the Thomas and Cosgrove deposits, includes a weathered zone resource of 1.26 billion tonnes at 5.2% TiO₂ and a significant Indicated Resource of 697 million tonnes at 5.3% TiO₂, predominantly from the Thomas deposit. Titanium mineralisation at Pitfield occurs from surface and displays exceptional grade continuity along strike and down dip. The MRE extends across just 20% of the known mineralised footprint, providing substantial potential for further resource expansion.