Arrow Minerals Limited has lodged a first-in-time application for a new iron ore exploration tenement in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, expanding its prospective land holding by 30% to 415 square kilometres.

The new application covers ground immediately adjacent to Arrow’s existing Yarraloola holdings and sits right next to the Rio Tinto Robe JV operations. At its closest point, the tenement lies two kilometres from the large-scale open-pit Mesa A mining hub, which has been producing between 20 and 23 million tonnes per annum since the early 1970s.

The application follows a series of portfolio additions in the area. In August, Arrow agreed to acquire a 70% interest in the West Pilbara iron ore project from Voyage Minerals, adding 319 square kilometres of prospective tenure next to Yarraloola. That transaction followed the grant of an exploration licence in July that brought the Yarraloola Copper Project area to 47.7 square kilometres.

Arrow plans to actively explore the target area once the tenure is formally awarded, aiming to build a significant iron ore business in a region known for channel iron deposits.

“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. As proven by Rio, they often have very favourable deposit geometry and low impurities, meaning they can be low- cost high-profit operations. Our team knows this because we have mined them in the past.”

“The Company considers the tenement is prospective for iron ore. The tenement immediately adjoins operations run by Rio Tinto as part of the Robe JV that have significantly contributed to them and their JV partners becoming among the world's most profitable companies. This new tenement application may host Robe style CID mineralisation and we certainly plan to actively explore the area, subject to tenure award, as we seek to build a significant iron ore business.”

— David Flanagan, Managing Director

Read the full announcement: Application to secure another key iron ore tenement