Northern Cape copper revival: Orion raises funds to advance Prieska, Okiep projects

ORION Minerals has secured a capital injection of R67 million to accelerate work on its flagship copper and zinc projects in the Northern Cape, signalling growing investor confidence in the province’s mining revival.

Edward West reported in Business Report that the Australia- and Johannesburg-listed company confirmed this week that the funds will primarily be used to advance development of the Uppers section of the Prieska Copper Zinc Mine (PCZM), near the town of Prieska, and to support ongoing site works and optimisation studies at the Okiep Copper Project, near Springbok.

Orion’s share price jumped more than 7% on the JSE following the announcement, bucking the usual market trend where share prices typically drop after new share issues. The move was widely viewed as a vote of confidence in the company’s long-term prospects and the viability of its Northern Cape operations.

The funding will also go towards general working capital, including work related to securing off-take agreements – an essential step before full-scale construction and production can begin at PCZM.

Orion’s latest capital raise involves issuing 522 million shares, bringing the company closer to transitioning from an exploration-focused entity to a full-scale mine developer. There are currently around 6.85 billion shares in issue.

The two Northern Cape projects – Prieska and Okiep – are central to Orion’s strategic vision. Both sites saw significant progress earlier this year, with updated Definitive Feasibility Studies (DFS) for each project completed by the end of the March quarter. These studies confirmed the potential for safe, mechanised, and financially viable copper mines in the province.

Critical implementation phase

Orion’s new managing director and CEO, Tony Lennox, said the company is preparing to enter a critical implementation phase, with work under way on project financing, early infrastructure planning, and off-take negotiations.

The Prieska project, in particular, is expected to deliver its first production within just over a year from the start of construction. Once operational, it aims to produce up to 22,000 tonnes of copper and 65,000 tonnes of zinc annually.

Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe visited the Prieska site in June, underscoring government interest in reviving the copper belt in the Northern Cape – a region historically rich in copper but largely dormant since the 1980s.

Mining at many of the region’s former copper operations ceased decades ago due to a combination of depleted reserves, deeper and lower-grade deposits, and fluctuating global copper prices. However, with the surge in demand for copper driven by the global shift to renewable energy and electric vehicles, the Northern Cape’s copper resources are attracting renewed attention.

“We envisage developing multiple mines at Okiep over time,” said Lennox, describing the Flat Mines Project near Okiep as a longer-term development that will undergo further optimisation in the coming months.

With copper in high demand and the Northern Cape central to Orion’s development strategy, the company’s latest fund-raising drive could play a key role in reviving the province’s once-thriving copper industry – and expanding a mining sector already rich in iron ore, manganese, and diamonds.