02/08/2021
ORION EXERCISES OPTION TO ACQUIRE AND CONSOLIDATE THE OKIEP COPPER PROJECT
Orion Minerals is pleased to announce that it has taken another key step in its strategy to become a leading diversified international base metals producer by exercising its exclusive option to acquire a controlling interest in the majority of the properties comprising the Okiep Copper Project (OCP) in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa.
The OCP is a significant growth opportunity as it could become a second base metal production hub for Orion in the Northern Cape alongside its flagship Prieska Copper-Zinc Project (Prieska Project), located 450km east of the OCP.
In addition to the OCP option acquisition, Orion has also applied for additional Prospecting Rights to supplement the OCP mineral rights.
“Just six months after we made headlines in South Africa by securing an exclusive option to secure a controlling interest in this world-class copper district, we have delivered JORC compliant Resources, completed a Scoping Study, conducted extensive due diligence studies, embarked on major greenfield and brownfield exploration programs and now exercised our option to acquire key assets under a restructured agreement with the vendors,” said Orion Minerals Managing Director and CEO Errol Smart.
Following its exercise of the OCP Option, Orion is mobilising to commence drilling at the high priority BCC Prospecting Right, where Orion is acquiring a 100% interest in the Prospecting Right. Orion will also progress further feasibility studies for the development of a proof-of-concept scale mining operation at OCP in line with the parameters outlined in the May 2021 Scoping Study. In addition, the SkyTEM survey currently underway is expected to be completed by mid-August, after which the survey data will be integrated with the existing OCP datasets to inform and prioritise drill targeting for future drilling programs.
“This is an area that has delivered significant historical copper production – with previous owners, such as Newmont and Goldfields, producing 30,000 - 40,000 tonnes of copper metal per annum over many decades – and we believe there is a compelling opportunity to re-establish this scale of production following the completion of further drilling and feasibility work.
He added that Orion’s objective is for future production from OCP to supplement Prieska’s forecast production of 22ktpa of copper and 70ktpa of zinc, transforming Orion into a substantial base metal mining house with two operating hubs in Tier-1 mining districts in the Northern Cape.
https://www.orionminerals.com.au/investors/asx-jse-announcements/
