JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Base metals company Orion Minerals, which on Thursday, September 17 described itself as being on the way to becoming South Africa’s next significant copper producer, has taken firm steps to sharpen its own corporate governance as it transitions from copper project development to fully fledged mining and processing.

Two complementary base metal production hubs are being developed by Orion in South Africa’s well-endowed and well-established Northern Cape mining jurisdiction.

The Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed company, headed by CEO Tony Lennox, is reviving the Prieska Copper Zinc Mine, near Copperton, which from 1971 to 1991 produced 430 000 t of copper and a million tons of zinc from volcanogenic massive sulphide metal deposits when previously operated by Anglovaal.

Revived production from Prieska is now expected in the third quarter of next year amid Orion’s progressing Okiep Copper Project also having a premier historical copper record in a district that produced more than two-million tons of copper over 150 years.  

Fresh exploration drilling is also under way in a South Africa well served by mining and engineering know-how.

Emerging, too, on Thursday was impressive self-scrutiny by Orion of its corporate governance, a fact-packed annual report plus review of its promising participation in BHP Xplor accelerator programme in New York. BHP Xplor is a nine-month accelerator programme that provides mineral exploration and technology companies with up to $500 000 in equity-free funding and mentorship.

“During the year, we continued to define how Orion will operate as we progress towards becoming South Africa’s next significant copper producer,” Orion stated in its media release to Mining Weekly, which emphasised the company’s ambition to create an organisation centred on “experienced people, accountability, practical systems and adaptability”.

Interestingly, February’s binding agreement for a $250-million copper and zinc concentrates prepayment from a Glencore subsidiary is now South African Reserve Bank approved, with $40-million earmarked to fund the construction and startup Prieska’s Uppers, and $210-million for the funding of the same at Prieska’s Deeps.

Also beneficial has been the partial conversion into equity of the loan facility of South Africa’s State-owned Industrial Development Corporation as well as value engineering improving the sequencing of the development of the Uppers, where first phase production implementation will take place.

Meanwhile, at Okiep, drilling results have confirmed ongoing high-grade Flat Mine East copper mineralisation, with intercepts of 7.88 m at 9.24% copper and 3.33 m at 17.12% copper reported.

Following completion of Prieska and Okiep definitive feasibility studies in March last year, Orion stated that its focus throughout the reporting period had been on project execution planning and funding.

Prieska’s first phase, the company said, would target early production from the shallower, higher-grade Uppers with dewatering of historical underground workings progressing in parallel.

Prieska’s second phase would target the more extensive Deeps resource as dewatering, shaft rehabilitation and infrastructure provision are completed.

Exploration will continue alongside development. Five extension targets have been identified at depth and are planned to be evaluated through underground drilling as access improves, providing further potential to expand the resource base and extend mine life.

With Prieska moving from planning to executable work packages, Torque Africa was appointed as drilling contractor and Enprotec to build, own, operate and transfer a 20 000-t-a-month Uppers concentrator.

At Okiep, Flat Mines’ definitive feasibility study completion facilitated the completion of an evaluation to determine whether changes to mining methods, access and sequencing could improve the economics of Flat Mine North, Flat Mine East and Flat Mine South.

Flat Mine East drilling has intersected more high-grade copper and confirmed the lower mineralised zone’s down-dip continuity.

Orion spelt out Okiep’s current focus as being the bringing together of mining, access, resource and metallurgical work into an updated development case that defines Flat Mines’ next stage of development and eventual construction.

All this work is advancing against the global backdrop of copper demand being assisted by investment in electricity transmission, renewable energy, digital infrastructure and traditional industrial uses.

Highlighted by Orion is the expectation of the International Energy Agency that copper could record the largest critical mineral volume demand growth to 2040 and that mine supply could fall 25% short of primary copper requirements by 2035.

Supply growth is constrained by declining ore grades, higher project costs, fewer major discoveries and long development lead times.

Orion, with a market capitalisation of R2.54-billion, is advancing two permitted projects by revitalising legacy mines with significant exploration potential.