Empire Metals MD: Rutile pigment breakthrough brings "enormous" value uplift at Pitfield

Empire Metals Ltd (AIM:EEE, OTCQX:EPMLF) managing director Shaun Bunn spoke with Proactive's Stephen Gunnion about a major technical milestone at the Pitfield project, where the company has demonstrated its ability to produce rutile pigment from its titanium-bearing material. Bunn described the development as "one of the major breakthroughs that we've been working on," explaining that it demonstrates a pathway from Pitfield's titanium minerals towards a potentially higher-value final product. The company is now looking towards the next stage, coating the rutile pigment to improve light reflection, brightness and whiteness - a well-established industry process that could enable the material's use in high-quality paints and architectural coatings. In the short term, Empire Metals plans to send pigment to laboratories in Europe for coating work. Bunn also highlighted the potential value uplift, noting the anatase pigment previously assumed in the mineral resource estimate sells for around $2,500 per tonne, while the rutile pigments now being produced sell for approximately $3,500 per tonne. "The value add of getting into this market, the value add to the project is... enormous," he said. The interview also covered Empire Metals' titanium metal pathway work with Murdoch University, supported by Australia's Critical Minerals Research Centre, with Bunn saying the backing positions the work for continued support and funding as the company develops its critical metals processing pathway. Visit Proactive's YouTube channel for more interviews and market updates. Give the video a like, subscribe to the channel and enable notifications so you don't miss future content. Read Proactive's Editorial Policy here: https://www.proactiveinvestors.co.uk/pages/editorialPolicy #EmpireMetals #Pitfield #Titanium #TitaniumPigment #Rutile #CriticalMinerals #Mining #MineralProcessing #MurdochUniversity #MiningNews #CriticalMetals #ProactiveInvestors