September 10, 2024: Kraaipan Gold Project, Financing Announcement and Share Consolidation - Voiceover by President and CEO, Ken Armstrong.
North Arrow’s exploration programs are conducted under the direction of President and CEO, Ken Armstrong, P.Geo., a Qualified Person under NI 43-101. Mr. Armstrong has reviewed and approved all information posted on this page that is of a scientific or technical nature.
Location: Southern District of the Republic of Botswana, north of border of South Africa
Size: ~1,400km2 covering the entire ~60km northern extension of the Kraaipan Greenstone Belt
Ownership: North Arrow earning 60% from Rockman Resources Ltd (“Rockman”) by spending US$5M in three years (can earn up to 80%)
Stage: Systematic exploration of entire property; overburden drilling, base of Kalahari and upper bedrock sections in high interest areas underway; year-round exploration
Closest Infrastructure: 80 - 120km southwest of Gaborone and 30 - 65km east to northeast of Lobatse with rail and airport access. The main 500KV power line is located 80 to 100km north of the project, while 132KV and 33KV power lines are connected to the town of Lobatse and the village of Mmathethe respectively; paved and unpaved roads are present throughout the properties.
The Kraaipan Project is focused on the Archaean Kraaipan Greenstone Belt (“KGB”) within Botswana, an area that is largely covered by younger Kalahari sediments. The geological setting is highly prospective, yet underexplored because of the sand cover. The KGB extends for over 400km, extending from South Africa northward into Botswana. The KGB in South Africa is known to host significant mineralization, including Harmony Gold’s Kalgold mine, approximately 40km south of the Botswana border. Using modern exploration techniques and a belt-wide systems approach, North Arrow and Rockman intend to thoroughly test the potential of the Kraaipan Project to host similar mineral deposits within the 60km strike extent of the KGB in Botswana. Deposit targets include orogenic gold and/ or magmatic Ni-Cu-PGE deposits.
Greenstone belts are found within every Archean craton (2.5 to 4 billion years old) and reflect the very early stages of the earth’s tectonics and continent formation. They are very often associated with precious and base metal deposits (e.g. Au, Ag, Ni, Cu, Zn) originating from metal rich volcanic rocks and subsequent magmatic activity. The Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Canada is a very prolific example.
The KGB extends over an 400km strike length from northern South Africa northwards into Botswana, and is comprised of meta-volcanosedimentary rocks deposited between 3.64Ga and 3.1Ga (Nkomo, 2020). Where exposed, these rocks are characterised by chlorite-actinolite-epidote alteration assemblages, typical of greenstone rocks. Approximately 80% of the 60km strike extent of the KGB in Botswana is covered by the sands of the Kalahari desert. As a result, the Botswana hosted portion of the KGB remains poorly understood and has seen only limited past exploration.
The volcanosedimentary rocks of the KGB, known as the Kraaipan Group, make up the majority of the belt. The Kraaipan Group rocks are not well understood but consist predominantly of mafic metavolcanic units interlayered with iron- and silica-rich metasedimentary rocks. The Kraaipan Group is sub-divided into three formations:
The Goldridge Formation- oldest formation of the Kraaipan Group and comprised predominantly of amphibolites, banded iron formations (“BIF”) and lesser phyllites, schists and clastic metasediments. Approximately 40km south of Botswana border, the Goldridge Formation hosts Harmony Gold’s KalGold Mine within the South African extent of the KGB..
The Ferndale Formation- structurally overlays the Goldridge Formation and is mainly comprised of ferruginous and jaspillitic cherts interlayered with felsic metavolcanics.
The Khunwana Formation- forms the upper part of the Kraaipan Group and is lithologically very similar to the Goldridge Formation consisting of mafic meta-volcanic rocks derived from basalts.
Granitoid intrusions were emplaced episodically throughout the formation of the KGB. Such intrusions are typical features of greenstone belts and are often associated with the formation of mineral deposits. The intrusive relationship between the granitoids of the KGB and the Kraaipan Group supracrustal rocks is poorly understood due to limited exposure, however the granites typically contain xenoliths of Kraaipan Group amphibolites and banded iron formation confirming their younger age (Anhaeusser and Walraven, 1997).
Outcrop of the KGB within the Kraaipan Project area is limited to the roughly north-south trending Mosi ridge (see image below) and a few local exposures along the Molopo River that forms the international border between South Africa and Botswana. The Mosi ridge is comprised of a series of discontinuous, grass covered hills comprised of banded iron formation (BIF).
Gold mineralisation was identified from rock-grab samples and drill intersections over the Mosi ridge by previous exploration companies. Highlights reported from 1990s-era drilling completed by Reunion Mining included 42m @ 0.6g/t Au, 21m @ 1g/t Au, 9m @ 1.6g/t Au and 3m @ 5.1g/t Au. Gold mineralisation is typically associated with BIF-hosted quartz-carbonate veins, similar to those of the +5Moz Kalgold mine, approximately 40 km south and along trend of the Kraaipan Project in South Africa.
Approximately 20 target areas have been identified by Rockman and North Arrow, from high-resolution magnetic data collected using the Rockman-affiliated (Mineral Services), proprietary Remote Mapper UAVs. The target areas represent interpreted high interest BIF units with favorable fault and fold structures within the KGB, typically buried by <10 to 40 m of Kalahari sand cover. The top 5 to 6 targets have been prioritized for initial overburden drilling (80 to 120 drillholes). A truck-mounted Rerverse-Circulation drill will be used to drill and sample the base of the Kalahari sands and into the underlying bedrock. A planned hole spacing of 50 m will be used to drill fences perpendicular to structures of interest. All samples will be analyzed for Au by fire assay.
Soil sampling will be conducted over prospective targets interpreted from high-resolution magnetic data, outcrop mapping and historical sampling results. Sampling will initially focus on areas with thin or no Kalahari cover. Samples will be collected every 25 m along 100 m spaced lines perpendicular to mapped structures.
High-resolution magnetic surveys will continue to be conducted, followed by detailed interpretation and mapping allowing for updates to regional geological and structural mapping as well as definition of prospective regions in preparation for core-drilling and sampling. Core-drilling is proposed for H1 2025 to test targets resulting from results of overburden drilling, soil sampling and magnetic survey results.
