Name of the Project
Okiep Copper Project (OCP).

Location
Northern Cape, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
New Okiep Mining Company comprises Orion Minerals (56.25%) and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, or IDC (43.75%).

Project Description
The OCP ground holdings of 641 km² covers the majority of the area where 105-million tonnes is reported to have been mined in the district over the past 100 years.

A scoping study completed in May 2021 proposed a proof-of-concept-scale copper mining operation at the brownfield OCP, and confirmed that the project’s deposits have the potential to be mined at low cost using openpit and underground mining methods.

The outcome of the scoping study, based on five initial deposits (Flat Mines), supports the economic merit of developing a foundation-phase mining operation, while Orion conducts the required work and engineering studies to evaluate the potential to re-establish mining operations.

The life-of-mine (LoM) for the proof-of-concept foundation phase is modelled for 12 years, during which concurrent exploration and mine expansion scenarios will be planned and potentially implemented.

The proposed foundation-scale mining operations could run at a design processing plant throughput of 780 000 t/y, resulting in 9 000 t/y of copper sold in marketable concentrates. This could potentially supplement the 23 000 t/y of copper production planned from Orion’s flagship Prieska copper zinc mine (PCZM) .

Only mineral resources from the Flat Mines Area of the greater Okiep Copper Complex are incorporated in the foundation-phase plan, leaving significant potential for future expansion scenarios to be considered.

Underground and surface mining methods will be used in conjunction with mineral processing using conventional froth-flotation concentration to produce the copper concentrates for export.

The proof-of-concept phase of the proposed operation targets the development of only those Okiep copper deposits for which Orion has verified and reported mineral resources during the early phase of the due diligence period. The milled production target comprises measured mineral resources of 33%, indicated mineral resources of 46% and inferred mineral resources of 21%.

Potential Job Creation
About 750 jobs are expected to be created.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The scoping study for the project indicated a pretax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of R1.9-billion and an internal rate of return of 44%, with a payback from first production of 3.25 years.

Capital Expenditure
Peak funding is estimated at R643-million in 2021 terms.

Planned Start/End Date
First production is possible within 16 months from the start of construction.

Latest Developments
Orion is finalising studies to start early production from the Flat Mines Area of the OCP while undertaking exploration programmes to increase the mineral resource and reserve base to underpin a larger-scale, longer-term operation.

The current mineral resource within the Flat Mines Area is 12-million tonnes at 1.4% copper for 160 000 t of contained copper, with strong upside potential as the exploration campaign advances.

Orion achieved an important milestone in January 2024 with the acquisition of 12 156 ha of surface rights at the OCP. This acquisition has created new opportunities for exploration in the area and provided access to conduct validation drilling at the Flat Mine East, North and South deposits to support the Okiep bankable feasibility study (BFS). Mineral resources at Flat Mine East, Flat Mine North and Flat Mine South have been reported at 9.3-million tonnes at 1.3% copper.

The BFS to underpin project finance and mine development at the project is on track for completion in the December 2024 quarter, in parallel with ongoing drilling and exploration work.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
ABS Africa; Falcon and Hume Attorneys Inc; ALS Chemex (core sample analysis), Discovery Drilling; Rados; Geolabs and Sound Mining.

Contact Details for Project Information
Orion Minerals, tel +27 11 880 3159 or email info@orionminerals.com.au.