Arrow Minerals has agreed to acquire an 80 per cent interest in the Yarraloola copper project in the Pilbara of Western Australia.
The acquisition marks the first time the high-grade historical site will undergo modern, systematic exploration in nearly half a century.
The company considers Yarraloola to be a very attractive project. It was first mined in 1963, yielding a small but remarkably high-grade 2.8 tonnes of copper ore at an average grade of 14.6 per cent copper.
Despite follow-up drilling by Western Mining Corporation (WMC) in the 1970s that confirmed a substantial Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) system, the project has remained largely dormant for 50 years.
Arrow Managing Director David Flanagan said: “WMC proved in the 1970s that the rocks contained copper, silver, lead and zinc over reasonable thickness, width and strike.
Flanagan noted that new data found attractive targets and gold at surface.
“Add that to the copper in the WMC drilling, plus gold in rock chips, plus a copper mine, plus 50 years of pretty much sitting dormant while the Pilbara has become a home to some of Australia’s most amazing gold and base metals discoveries.
“This all adds up to a project that deserves extensive drilling, and we are very excited about getting out there and doing it.”
Arrow acquired the project from Skryne Hill Pty Ltd, owned by Adrian Black and William Amann, founders of Newexco, one of Australia’s premier geophysical consulting groups. The company will pay AU$50,000 in cash and AU$500,000 in shares.
As part of the joint venture, the Newexco team has already identified two high-priority bullseye targets, the Ava and Fraser prospects.
These targets are supported by coincident gravity and magnetic anomalies, which the company believes are analogous to the world-class Scuddles deposit in the Murchison.
To fast-track exploration, Arrow has received binding commitments for a AU$2.25 million share placement. The company will issue 562.5 million new shares at 0.4 cents per share.
The proceeds are earmarked for a 2026 drilling campaign targeting the historical mine workings and the newly identified geophysical anomalies.
The acquisition is subject to Arrow completing due diligence on the tenements and completing the capital raising, as well as shareholder approval.
