The drilling results have brought further momentum to Orion’s development strategy for the Okiep project. Picture: Supplied
By Tawanda Karombo
ORION Minerals has announced significant progress in its exploration efforts as recent drilling confirms additional copper mineralisation near its proposed Flat Mine South operation in the Northern Cape.
Following the acquisition of two high-priority prospecting rights, the company is strategically positioned to advance the Okiep Copper Project, amplifying its potential within the region.
In a statement, Orion highlighted that the latest assay results from a drill hole at the Flat Mine South site have unequivocally confirmed “robust mineralisation”.
“The intersection confirms that high-grade copper mineralisation continues in an up-thrown and repeated fault block position. Drilling is continuing at Flat Mine South to further test the down-dip extension of high-grade copper mineralisation in a previously untested area,” it said.
A ground geophysical programme was also in progress around the Flat Mines area.
Orion’s managing director and CEO, Errol Smart, said “ongoing drilling at the Okiep Project continues to deliver the highly anticipated extensions of previously intersected wide, high-grade copper” mineralisation.
Results coming from the test drilling across Okiep were confirming the substantial upside of the project.
“Importantly, the newly intersected mineralisation is at the foot of the proposed mine development planned for Flat Mine South, to extract the existing mineral resource,” said Smart.
The drilling results released this week brought further momentum to Orion’s development strategy for the Okiep project.
Orion’s ground holdings of 703km² cover most of the Okiep copper mining district where a total of 105 million tons is reported to have been mined over the past 100 years.
Of the 105m tons, some 77m tons of copper had been mined within the Okiep Copper Project prospecting and mining rights.
Orion’s Flat Mines area and the current drilling program falls entirely within a mining right surrounded by the company’s newly granted prospecting rights.
Orion said this week that the prospecting rights “host several exciting historically drilled prospects and historical mines that offer the potential for additional mineral resources” through future drilling.
“Internal waste rock widths up to 3 metres are included within the reported intersection widths, providing opportunities for upgrading material using modern XRF ore sorting techniques to reject internal waste before milling,” added the company.
This, said Orion, provides the potential “for optimised metal extraction with larger stopes operated at lower mining cost” while limiting concentrator capital and operating costs.
In July, South African shareholders underpinned Orion Minerals’ R44 million share purchase plan. The company’s share purchase plan closed on July 23, helping it to raise a total of A$3.6 million which is equivalent to R44m.
Eligible shareholders were entitled “to apply for parcels of new fully-paid ordinary shares from a minimum parcel of A$165 or R2,000 up to a maximum of A$30,000 or R365,000” without incurring brokerage or transaction costs.
This further strengthened Orion’s “treasury position,” putting it “in a strong position to complete and deliver the bankable feasibility studies” on the company’s two copper development projects in South Africa.
Orion is also focused on continuing with site engineering works at the Prieska Copper Zinc Mime and drilling processes at Okiep.
– BUSINESS REPORT