What have been the main developments at your flagship Prieska Copper Zinc Mine (PCZM) over the past year?

At Prieska, we introduced the concept of early production which will bring us into production up to three years earlier than originally anticipated in the 2020 BFS. The finance secured from the Industrial Development Corporation and Triple Flag Streaming Finance allowed us to establish the site with all the services required to run a startup mining operation: power, water, surface infrastructure, housing, hiring the operations and management team, as well as running a trial mining exercise to demonstrate the mining method, with implications for the longer life of the mine. The data gathered from the mining trial has been reassimilated into a new, updated, optimized feasibility study, currently in the final stages of competition. Once this draft BFS study is ready in the next two months, it will be handed over to the lenders’ independent experts to confirm its “bankable status.” 

What is the updated production timeline for Prieska?

If we had all the funding in hand today, we could build a processing plant and be in production within 12 months. That would be followed by a three-year period of relatively small-tonnage, high-grade mining. The cash flow generated from this period will cover the cost of de-watering the mine ahead of developing the “deeps”  for the rest of the long-life deposit. Instead of standing still during the three-year-long dewatering process, we are launching into a small-scale production while we establish the rest of the mine. 

Orion Minerals has also done a drilling campaign on its second project, Okiep Copper, and acquired a controlling stake in the project. Could you share details?

Okiep is an exciting project for the long term. The project was previously operated by Newmont and then Gold Fields, before it was closed in 2001. We saw an opportunity to upgrade the historic drilling done by our predecessors into a BFS and get  small-scale production in place while we drill the rest of the mineral resource and show that ultimately the mine can go back to 30,000-50,000 t/y of copper that the district produced for 50 years. The South African permitting process can be extremely slow and frustrating, but we are now to the point where we can make the partial settlement and take the mining right into our hands. We bought the surface rights which allows us to go on the property and drill our own holes instead of only relying on the drilling done by our predecessors. 

With two BFSs underway and a third project lined up, how do you prioritize your focus?

Prieska is always going to be our flagship. This is a 30 million t high-grade JORC resource, fully-permitted and ready to turn the ON button as soon as we have a concentrator in place. Okiep is a stepwise opportunity to start on lower-copper production. We are waiting  the water use license as the last outstanding element. Lastly, Jacomynspan is a compelling project in its own right, but a very different story compared to the other two because this is a low grade Nickel-Copper-Cobalt-PGE sulfide, so it requires a new processing technology. 

Could you comment on Orion’s recent Share Purchase Plan?

On the back of a very successful A$7.7 million placement closed recently, we opened the Share Purchase Plan, giving our existing retail shareholders an opportunity to participate at the same price as the capital raise. This is something that has never been offered in South Africa, but on the ASX it is commonly done. Orion is in a unique position with incredibly strong retail support, with 22,000 South African retail shareholders. Though we are listed on both the ASX and JSE, most of our trading happens on the JSE – 75% trading on the JSE average over the past yea. The Share Purchase Plan is something of an experiment in South Africa. There is a big push from the government, the industry, and the Minerals Council of South Africa to get retail investors behind greenfield exploration and junior mining development, and this could be one of the mechanisms to mobilize such support. 

Lastly, what is your long-term outlook on copper?

Copper is the universal link in the energy transition. Whether we are talking battery systems, wind, solar, or even nuclear, they all require copper. The copper price has pulled back over the last couple of weeks but we shouldn’t be looking at weeks and months but long-term fundamentals. When the copper price comes down, the few mines that are marginal will come under enormous pressure and some will shut down, with the risk of never reopening, creating an even greater supply shortfall. Demand for copper is outstripping supply, and the discovery of new copper ore bodies simply isn't fast enough. You need 100 Prieska a year for the next 10 years to fulfill that growing need. We believe that we are bringing these mines to the point of production at a critical time when copper will ramp up.