Off-takers are keen on Orion Mineral’s Prieska copper zinc mine as the company is readying up to commence production where it has already built a mine site and could set-up a concentrator in the next seven to nine months.
Orion is also pursuing production at the Okiep copper mine also in the Western Cape.
The company said yesterday it had issued 479.5 million shares at an issue price of 1.5 cents per share to raise A$7.2 million (R88.2m) following the receipt of funds from investors.
Orion believes there is massive upside potential for the Prieska mine, with Errol Smart, Orion Minerals CEO saying “off-takers are keen” on product from the mine.
“There is a fantastic upside on the ore body at Prieska. Over the next 60 days, we will be able to show 2024 current figures (of mineralisation),” said Smart in a presentation to investors yesterday.
He said Orion had virtually built a mine site at Prieska, with the site now housing 200 people in addition to mining machinery that is already present. Power and water supplies have already been connected.
“We have met all compliance obligations; the power is in place, water is in place,” he said.
The company was now left with building a concentrator for the project.
Smart said this process could take up to nine months to complete, which would benefit from the mine’s pre-developed ore body for speedy transition into production.
Moreover, Orion had already undertaken trial mining, which had given returns for modern mining potential with stable ground and rock conditions.
At Okiep, Orion has tied up about 75% of the entire mining district.
It also has mining rights “in the centre of the area and we are only waiting for water-use licence before we are fully permitted” to mine here.
“We have a bankable feasibility study that is due in a matter of weeks on the Okiep prospect (and) we have IDC (Industrial Development Corporation) as a partner. There is an enormous amount of copper here,” said Smart.
He described Okiep as being in a strong financial position, saying the company was well financed as it moves up to the value chain towards production at Prieska, followed by Okiep.
Earlier this month, Orion said it had completed a R92.3 million capital raise.
The funds would be used to accelerate infrastructure development at Okiep and to fast-track development of the Prieska copper zinc mine, all located in South Africa.
“We have got a management aspiration of producing 50 000 tons a year of copper,” Smart said.
In May, the IDC approved an additional R43.7m financing facility for Orion’s acquisition of a controlling stake in the Okiep copper project in the Northern Cape.