Arrow Minerals Plans Pilbara Iron Ore Drill Program Next to Rio Tinto Operations
Key Takeaways
- Arrow Minerals is planning a drill program at its 415km² Yarraloola tenements in the Pilbara, targeting channel iron deposit mineralisation that has already returned surface samples at up to 58.3% Fe — Direct Shipping Ore grade.
- The Yarraloola package sits less than 15km from Rio Tinto's Warramboo Mine, part of the 65Mtpa Robe River Joint Venture, and shares a tenement boundary with ground the RRJV acquired for A$75 million in 2025.
- Two priority targets have been defined: the BBQ Valley CID trend with a mapped strike length exceeding 2km, and the Eastern Magnetic Target — a 10km-long, completely undrilled anomaly that the nearby Mardie port has made commercially viable to pursue.
- Drilling is contingent on the formal grant of tenement application E08/3668, which Arrow acquired a 70% stake in from Leeuwin Metals subsidiary Voyage Minerals in August 2026.
- A seven-stage phased work program — from desktop WAMEX review through passive seismic to RC drilling — is underway, with drill results also informing Arrow's option to acquire a 70% interest in two additional tenement applications.
Arrow Minerals plots drill program for Pilbara iron ore targets
Arrow Minerals (ASX: AMD) has commenced planning for a drill program targeting channel iron deposit (CID) and detrital iron ore mineralisation on its Yarraloola tenements in the Pilbara, Western Australia. The tenements sit less than 15km from the Warramboo Mine, part of the 65Mtpa Robe River Joint Venture (RRJV) operated by Rio Tinto, and within 50km of the Mardie bulk commodity export port. Drilling is contingent on the formal grant of tenement application E08/3668.
Managing Director David Flanagan
“We have assembled a package of exceptional iron ore tenements on the edge of Rio Tinto’s world-class operations and with the potential to access simple, low-cost infrastructure.”
“We are pushing to start drilling as soon as tenure is granted.”
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Building the Yarraloola iron ore land package
Arrow has moved quickly to consolidate a substantial Pilbara land position in the months leading up to this drill announcement:
- 18 August 2026: Agreed to acquire a 70% stake in E08/3668, a Direct Shipping Ore-grade iron ore project, from Voyage Minerals Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Leeuwin Metals Ltd (ASX: LM1)
- 17 September 2026: Submitted an exploration licence application over E08/3894, immediately west of the existing package
- Combined Yarraloola holding (once granted): 415km² across four adjoining tenements: E08/3668, E08/3894, E08/3803, and E08/3810
The package shares tenement boundaries with permits associated with the RRJV’s acquisition of CZR Resources’ Robe Mesa Iron Ore Project for A$75 million in 2025, signalling the quality of the surrounding ground.
Two priority targets defined for drill testing
BBQ Valley CID target
The BBQ Valley trend is the primary focus of Arrow’s exploration programme. Previous explorers, including CZR (formerly Coziron) and Leeuwin Metals, recorded DSO-grade rock chip samples at surface across the trend, with iron grades up to 58.3% Fe reported by Coziron in 2014. The mapped outcropping CID unit has a strike length of more than 2km and a width of more than 250 metres, with its north-west and south-east extents concealed by cover in each direction.
Iron mineralisation is also visible on the verges of the North Western coastal highway, which crosses the trend. The style of deposit directly mirrors the CID mineralisation being mined by the RRJV on adjoining tenements. The programme aims to test for both outcropping and concealed CID mineralisation.
Eastern Magnetic Target
The Eastern Magnetic Target is a meandering, subtle magnetic anomaly more than 10km long and up to 1km wide, completely untested by drilling. It spans the tenure boundary between E08/3803 and E08/3668, trending NNW-SSE and generally sub-parallel to the BBQ Valley trend.
Arrow considers the feature may be associated with a CID palaeo-channel, more recent channel fill, or the volcaniclastic sequence noted at Yarraloola on E08/3010. Historically, targets like this without clear infrastructure solutions would have been considered low priority. The recent development of the Mardie port facility, funded by contributions from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund and located less than 50km away, has changed that calculus.
What is channel iron deposit mineralisation?
Channel iron deposits, or CIDs, form when iron-rich material accumulates in ancient river channels over millions of years. The material consists of pisolitic iron ore, meaning small, pea-shaped grains of iron oxide. CID deposits can range in thickness from less than 1 metre to 100 metres.
The key commercial concept here is Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) grade. DSO refers to ore with sufficient iron content to be loaded directly onto a ship without requiring crushing, processing, or beneficiation first. That matters because it means significantly lower capital costs and a faster potential path to revenue compared with lower-grade deposits that need processing infrastructure.
At Yarraloola, the BBQ Valley trend has already returned surface samples at DSO grade. The goal of the upcoming programme is to confirm whether that grade extends at depth and along strike beneath the transported cover.
Phased work program: desktop to drill bit
Arrow’s exploration programme for E08/3668 and E08/3803 is structured in a systematic sequence, moving from data review through to drill testing:
- Desktop review of more than 450 entries across 74 accession-numbered open file reports from the WA Government’s WAMEX statutory reporting system
- Field validation of Leeuwin rock chip sampling across the main BBQ Valley outcrop and additional anomalous targets to the east
- Geological and regolith/landform mapping using high-resolution DEM and image data
- High-resolution drone or ground magnetics, upgrading on existing 100m line-spaced aeromagnetic data
- Ground gravity at nominal 200m line spacing with 100m station spacing, to detect palaeochannels hosting CID
- Passive seismic on a 200m grid, infilled to 100m across the interpreted channel axis, to model depth to basement and channel geometry
- RC drilling supported by downhole gamma and gamma-gamma density measurements, multi-element geochemistry, and spectral mineralogy
Results from drilling will inform Arrow’s decision on whether to exercise its option to acquire a 70% interest in associated tenement applications E08/3777 and E08/3719.
| Method | Purpose | Key Output | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Desktop WAMEX review | Assess 450+ historical open file entries | Data gaps identified; digital datasets sourced | Underway |
| Field validation | Confirm Leeuwin rock chip results at surface | Validated sample locations and additional targets | Planned |
| Geological mapping | Define cover limits and regolith units | Refined target boundaries | Planned |
| Drone / ground magnetics | Improve resolution on existing aeromagnetic data | High-resolution magnetic image | Planned |
| Ground gravity | Detect palaeochannels hosting CID | Channel geometry model | Planned |
| Passive seismic | Model depth to basement and channel fill | Estimated channel thickness | Planned |
| RC drilling | Test CID mineralisation at depth and along strike | Drill results; option exercise decision | Subject to tenure grant |
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Arrow’s broader portfolio: more than iron ore
The Yarraloola iron ore programme sits alongside a range of other assets across AMD’s portfolio:
- Niagara Bauxite Project (Guinea): Maiden Mineral Resource of 185Mt at 42.3% Al₂O₃, estimated by SRK Consulting (UK) Ltd; a new three-year industrial exploration permit was awarded in July 2026
- Simandou North Iron Ore Project (Guinea): Currently under review by the Guinea Government; Arrow has met all reporting requirements and signed an MOU with Baosteel for mine gate iron ore sales, though the outcome and timing of the review remain uncertain
- Yarraloola Copper-Gold Project (E08/3010 and E08/3803): Existing granted tenure adjoining the iron ore tenements
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