Australia-based Arrow Minerals Limited has lodged a first-in-time application for a new iron ore exploration tenement in Western Australia's Pilbara region, immediately adjacent to Rio Tinto's Robe joint venture operations.
The new tenement adjoins Arrow Minerals' existing Yarraloola tenements as well as the Rio Tinto Robe JV mining lease. According to Arrow, the area is located as close as 2 km from a large-scale open pit mine forming part of the Robe Valley Mesa A mining hub, which has been operating since the early 1970s and currently produces between 20 million mt and 23 million mt per year.
Prospective land holding to increase by 30 percent
If awarded, the new tenement will increase Arrow Minerals' prospective land holding in the area by 30 percent to 415 sq km.
Arrow considers the tenement prospective for iron ore and said the area may host Robe-style channel iron deposit mineralization. The company intends to actively explore the area following the award of the tenure.
“Our team is well aware of the tonnage and cashflow-generating potential of channel iron deposits, such as those in this part of the Pilbara,” Arrow managing director David Flanagan said, noting that such deposits can have favorable geometry and low impurity levels. Flanagan added that the company sees the application as part of its efforts to build a significant iron ore business.
Arrow's planned exploration activities in the new area remain subject to the tenement being granted.
