Arrow Minerals Limited is poised to launch its maiden bauxite exploration program at the Niagara Bauxite Project in Guinea. The program will include drilling, bulk sampling, and metallurgical testing to estimate Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources. This will set the stage for a Scoping Study in the first half 2025.
The project's initial phase will focus on three of nine identified targets, selected for their strategic location near the rail corridor and cost-effective start-up potential. These targets will benefit from past exploration efforts, including 448 drill holes completed in previous campaigns by companies such as Vale in 2007.
Arrow plans to drill approximately 150 holes, spaced 600m by 600m and reducing to 300m by 300m, totalling around 2,000 meters of drilling. In addition, up to 10 bulk samples will also be collected to assess Niagara bauxite's value-in-use characteristics for potential alumina refinery customers.
Field crews have already arrived on-site to conduct preparatory work, with drilling set to commence in the third week of October 2024. This marks a significant milestone in Arrow's efforts to advance the Niagara project towards resource definition and potential future development.
The exploration to date needs to be increased to estimate a Mineral Resource, and there is uncertainty as to whether further exploration will result in such an estimate. The upcoming drilling campaign will target areas where previous exploration efforts, including Vale's, have identified significant bauxite mineralisation at or near the surface. The drilling program is expected to be completed within 4 to 6 weeks, with initial assay results anticipated later in the quarter. Arrow expects to finalise all drilling activities and chemical analyses by the end of 2024. This data will support estimating a maiden mineral resource, with a scoping study planned for H12025.
Fieldwork is underway, focusing on engaging local and regional government authorities, briefing host communities about Arrow's upcoming activities, and gathering baseline environmental data.
Arrow has also outlined an exploration target for the Niagara Bauxite Project, estimating between 170 and 340 million tonnes (Mt) with an aluminium oxide (Al2O3) grade ranging from 40 to 46 per cent and silica (SiO2) content between 1 and 4 per cent.
David Flanagan, Managing Director of Arrow Minerals, said, "We already know that there is extensive Bauxite mineralisation at Niagara, but previous explorers did not follow up, mainly due to low bauxite prices and the absence of rail and port infrastructure."
"Since that time, the bauxite market has seen a significant improvement. With the recognition of the importance of aluminium as the ultimate future-facing metal, global supply has tightened, demand has increased substantially, and the bauxite price is rising. We also see the delivery of the massive multi-user trans-Guinean railway and Morebaya port infrastructure in 2025 as a huge opportunity for Niagara."
Arrow has appointed Ozone Guinee (Ozone), a team of independent social and environmental consultants, to oversee and ensure that the company and its contractors and consultants conduct all fieldwork in full compliance with Guinean environmental laws and regulations.
The Managing Director added, "Our drilling program will target these highly prospective areas at drill spacings considered appropriate to inform the estimation of Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources sufficient to comply with reporting requirements for scoping studies."
"These are just the first three targets; they have a cumulative strike length of 20 kilometres, and as you can see, we will be drilling many holes. I am excited about their potential and look forward to receiving the initial results back from the lab later in the quarter".
The company has engaged the expertise of SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd, a leading resource consultancy firm, to provide advisory support for the work program and estimate mineral resources in preparation for upcoming economic studies.
