Partnership with CMCI CRC

Empire Metals Limited, the AIM-quoted and OTCQX-traded exploration and development company, is pleased to announce that its research programme with Murdoch University has been accepted into the Critical Metals for Critical Industries CRC ("CMCI CRC"), established under the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centres Programme ("CRC Programme").

The CRC Programme is an Australian government-backed initiative supporting industry-led innovation and accelerating the commercialisation of globally competitive critical metals refining technologies, helping to build more resilient and secure critical mineral supply chains. In March 2026, the Australian Government awarded AUD$53 million over ten years to the CMCI CRC.

Empire’s research focus within the CRC is looking to find a pathway to produce titanium metal directly from Pitfield's TiO₂ product via molten salt electrolysis ("MSE") and other metal conversion technologies, powered by renewable energy.

The first phases of the project are scheduled for completion in early 2027, with the objectives of proving the suitability of Pitfield TiO₂ feedstock for titanium metal production and developing a strategy for scale-up to larger, continuous pilot operations.

Titanium metal is today produced almost exclusively via the Kroll process, a multi-stage batch method developed in the 1940s which first converts TiO₂ into titanium tetrachloride before reducing it with magnesium. The process is energy and labour intensive, and the resulting cost has long confined titanium largely to high-value aerospace, defence and medical applications, despite the metal's natural abundance. MSE takes a fundamentally different route, reducing TiO₂ feedstock directly to titanium metal in a single electrochemical step, and offers several potential advantages over the Kroll process:

Purity and efficiency: MSE has the potential to produce titanium of higher purity at lower energy consumption than the Kroll process.

Reduced environmental footprint: the method could significantly reduce the environmental impact of titanium production by minimising hazardous by-products.

Scalability and cost-effectiveness: MSE has the potential to be more scalable and cost-effective overall, particularly once adapted into a continuous process.

A successful outcome would support the development of domestic titanium production capability in Australia. Empire's acceptance into the CMCI CRC reinforces the strategic significance of the Pitfield Titanium Project, both for the region and for the development of Western titanium supply chains.