Empire Metals Ltd on Friday said its loss widened in 2024 on asset impairments, as the firm works towards commercialisation at the Pitfield titanium project.
The London-based explorer and resource developer, currently focused on the Pitfield titanium project in Western Australia, said its pretax loss widened to £4.2 million in 2024 from £2.8 million in 2023.
This was largely driven by a £1.4 million impairment of intangible assets, against a £527,245 impairment the year before. This relates to the impairment of the Eclipse gold project to its net realisable value.
Administration expenses increased 22% to £2.8 million from £2.3 million.
‘Our exploration strategy has focused on accelerated commercialisation, and this disciplined approach is now bearing fruit. The discovery of a significant zone of near-surface, high-grade, clean titanium dioxide minerals within the weathered saprolite layer - rich in rutile and anatase - presents a major opportunity to fast-track development. These minerals offer a lower-cost processing route and align with rising global demand for more sustainable titanium sources,’ said Managing Director Shaun Bunn.
‘Empire is in a strong financial position following two successful funding rounds in 2024, and a further raise in 2025, providing us with a current cash position of approximately £7 million. This support from the market not only validates our strategy but ensures we are well funded for our ongoing programmes, from resource definition to additional metallurgical testing as we move closer to commercialisation.’
Near-term objectives include delivering a maiden mineral resource estimate, finalising process design and advancing mine studies at its Pitfield project.
Pitfield has a maiden JORC exploration target of 26.4 to 32.2 billion tonnes at 4.5% to 5.5% titanium dioxide.
Managing Director Brunn continued: ‘Each milestone continues to de-risk Pitfield, both technically and geologically. The results to date have only strengthened our conviction that Pitfield is a once-in-a-generation discovery. As we progress towards commercialisation, our commitment to unlocking its full value has never been stronger. We look forward to another transformative year for Empire.’
Shares in Empire Metals were up 7.0% at 14.60 pence each in London on Friday morning. The stock is up 20% over the past year.
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