Diamond to lithium: North Arrow's gambit

While the year may have started out riding the success of its massive 2022 bulk sample at a diamond project in Nunavut, North Arrow Minerals Inc. transition in 2023 into the field of lithium exploration, and the gambit paid off.

Right away, the company began its lithium discovery with the purchase of the DeStaffany lithium-tantalum-niobium project from Panarc Resources Ltd., located on the north shores of Great Slave Lake and about 115 kilometers (70 miles) east of Northwest Territories' capital, Yellowknife.

Spurred by the flurry of staking and acquisitions from Li-FT Power Ltd. that created a lithium rush in the historic Yellowknife Pegmatite Province, North Arrow optioned the 1,843-hectare (4,554 acres) property.

Already known to host two lithium-bearing pegmatites, Moose 1 and Moose 2, the company quickly grew the herd with the discovery of two new pegmatites – Moose 3 and Moose 4.

Moose 1, which is exposed on surface for about 370 meters, is roughly five meters wide on average and is up to roughly 11 meters at its maximum exposed thickness. A 7.5-meter channel sample of this pegmatite averaged 1.5% lithium oxide.

Moose 2 surfaces for about 450 meters along strike and is up to 30 meters wide and returned samples up to 2.73% lithium oxide from over 250 meters of strike.

Although the company says the size and orientation of Moose 3 and Moose 4 remain uncertain, the pegmatite exposures have been traced over 75 meters and 30 meters, respectively, and have room to grow.

With early exploration still underway, North Arrow continued to expand its lithium holdings with the acquisition of a Nunavut-based property found within the Bathurst Inlet.

Like DeStaffany, North Arrow entered into an agreement with Panarc to option this new property.

Simply called the Bathurst Inlet, this lithium property about 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from B2Gold Corp.'s port facility that services the Back River gold mine project covers a series of mapped and interpreted pegmatite intrusives..

Not slowing down in the slightest, North Arrow announced in early July exploration for lithium on its Lac de Gras diamond property in Northwest Territories. After obtaining 100% interest in Lac de Gras from previous joint venture partner Arctic Canadian Diamond Company at the end of June, the company chose to investigate a possible lead for lithium once reported on the property nearly 80 years prior.

Diligent in looking for clues, it was only a few short months before the company could confirm the presence of at least four spodumene pegmatites on what it spun out as the newest LDG lithium property.

Due to this discovery and confirmation, exploration work initially planned for DeStaffany was moved to LDG, with prior plans for the former property being moved into this year.

"Based on the size potential of these pegmatites, their location immediately adjacent to transportation infrastructure provided by the Lac de Gras winter road, and the fact that an exploration camp and drilling permit are already in place, we have refocused our 2023 drilling plans to test these discoveries starting in late August," said North Arrow Minerals President and CEO Ken Armstrong.

If this success was not enough, the company quickly squeezed in the acquisition of MacKay, yet another possible lithium-bearing property six kilometers (four miles) from Lac de Gras.

Following leads provided by geologists and mappers from the 1940s, North Arrow collected four samples from the MK1 spodumene pegmatite at MacKay containing 2.45%, 2.51%, 2.76%, and 3.74% lithium oxide.

With at least four significant hard rock lithium properties in its portfolio, all with higher-than-average grades of lithium oxide, the diamond miner turned lithium explorer has set itself for growing success only as much as lithium continues to grow in demand.

And, considering the green energy transition only seems to be growing into full swing mode, this critical mineral will hopefully come at a time when it is needed most, and North Arrow aims to be ready to deliver.