Arrow Minerals (ASX: AMD) has affirmed mineralisation, as hypothesised earlier, over a 2-kilometre strike, resulting from its first drilling at the Niagara Bauxite Project in Guinea.
Image Source: S Purohit (@subhapurohit) / X
Emphasised intersections include 7 metres at 47.1 per cent aluminium oxide (Al₂O₃) and 2.9 per cent silica (SiO₂) from the surface and 10 metres at 46.6 per cent Al₂O₃ while 7.9 per cent SiO₂ from the surface. The initial results verified the Niagara discovery and followed up on the drilling of 180 holes that Vale had executed in 2007.
Arrow is actively exploring three of the nine bauxite exploration targets it acquired from the previous Vale derivatives. The company is moving forward with development plans at a rapid pace, including initiating discussions with potential bauxite purchase clients.
"These are spectacular results [that] demonstrate broad zones of high-grade mineralisation from the surface within trucking distance of a multi-user railway, at a time of record alumina and bauxite prices," Managing Director David Flanagan shared. He further added, "Coupled with the broad expanse of prospective host rocks intersected in drilling and our proximity to the multi-user Trans-Guinean Railway, the Niagara bauxite project presents an excellent opportunity to create value for shareholders, generate jobs in local communities and remain consistent with Arrow's goal of establishing itself as a new and independent significant-high-quality bauxite supplier."
Various mining companies have scoured through the Niagara bauxite project since the 1960s, including geological studies and analysis from 180 holes drilled by Vale in 2007.
Guinea's bauxite ore reserves – which presently account for close to 30 per cent of worldwide consumption – are not usually beneficiated and are sold as direct shipping ore (DSO), typically priced on direct negotiations with customers relative to a standard 45 cent Al₂O₃ product.
Arrow believes these drilling results underscore the potential to deliver grade and chemical specifications suitable for DSO bauxite, paving the way for a promising future. The company has already received favourable outcome comparisons from visits to other bauxite mining facilities, where it inspected a range of mining equipment and met with contractors who have partaken in operating bauxite mines in Guinea.
"With current record-high bauxite prices, high-grade intercepts from surface achieved in several drill holes across substantial distances, all within potential trucking distance of a state-of-the-art railway, […] the company remains highly optimistic about reporting further encouraging results in the coming weeks and resources in 2025," Mr Flanagan concluded.
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