JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – ASX- and JSE-listed Orion Minerals has been granted two prospecting rights over strike extensions across important contiguous areas around the Prieska zinc/copper deposit, in the Northern Cape.
The new rights, granted by the Department of Mineral Resources to Orion subsidiaries Vardocube and Bartotrax, include two important occurrences of volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) zinc/copper mineralisation that were historically the subject of extensive drilling by previous owners Anglovaal during the 1970s and 1980s.
“Importantly, the new prospecting rights cover extensions to the Prieska deposit, which is already accessed by primary mine development. We are confident that the Vardocube extension will be included in the mining plan being developed as part of the bankable feasibility study, which is on track for completion in the fourth quarter of 2018,” says Orion MD and CEO Errol Smart.
The Vardocube prospecting right provides access, and represents a 30% increase, to the strike of the main deep massive sulphide target that was originally identified by Orion based on previous surface and underground drilling.
The newly granted prospecting rights also cover the Annex zinc/copper VMS discovery, which is a satellite occurrence to Prieska and which presents a high-priority target for exploration.
The Bartotrax and the Annex VMS body was discovered by Anglovaal in 1980 using electromagnetic (EM) surveys, with Orion now compiling the extensive Annex data and assessing the quality of the available information.
Ground EM, infill and verification drilling on this near-surface target is expected to start in May, with drill rigs already on site.
“Modern EM techniques with higher power transmitters and more sensitive receivers provide more accurate surveying and modelling of massive sulphide bodies to greater depths than previous generations of the technology,” Smart notes.