Modern Mining January 2023

PRIESKA COPPER-ZINC PROJECT

Africa, to fund the start of mine dewatering and the trial mining operations required to complete the mine’s early production plan (announced in January 2022) to bankable feasibility accuracy. It includes the December 2022 definitive agreements that Orion inked with Triple Flag, for a combined US$87 million (R1.49 billion) secured funding package, comprising an US$80 million (R1.37 billion) precious metal stream for 84% of the gold and 84% of the silver produced at Prieska – to be drawn down to fund mine devel opment following completion of early production BFS, and a US$7 million (R120 million) early fund ing arrangement – conditional on Orion securing the IDC funding or an additional A$20 million funding to execute the agreed work focused on early dewatering. The R250 million IDC funding package has satis fied the key condition to the $7 million (R120 million) Triple Flag early funding arrangement, and the com bined almost R370 million will enable the start of dewatering within the Prieska Deeps mine and for Orion to begin a 6-month trial mining programme to demonstrate the mining method and the cost of this mining method, in a bid to complete Prieska’s early production plan BFS. Smart says the restated BFS on Prieska’s early production plan is well advanced, with targeted com pletion in mid 2023, while the dewatering project is also well advanced, with underground storage dams and pump site construction completed and the shaft platform installed to facilitate pump installation. The dewatering project is now expected to take 36 months at an estimated pumping rate of 500 m 3 per hour, instead of the original 12 months at an average pumping rate of 1,500 m 3 per hour, but at a third of the originally envisaged cost. Dewatering will run concurrently with early works and trial min ing to lower the water level progressively to safely allow for early revenue production from the upper mine-levels. Total dewatering of the mine is still required to access the main Prieska Deeps orebody and deliver the full 200,000 tonne per month throughput as envisioned in the 2020 BFS, yet currently subject to funding availability. As electric vehicles and renewable energy con tinue to support the demand for copper, Smart believes there is growing copper production defi cit building and that there isn’t going to be enough copper produced to meet demand from as early as 2024. “It is going to take decades to build produc tion up to where it needs to be to meet the current demand alone,” he says. With a new operating philosophy of staged growth, and an experienced development team to guide the company through this, Orion is focused on demonstrating to the market that while it may be a junior, it has a big vision for future growth. 

2.4 million ton per annum and should take an extra year or two to reach full target production. “In the meantime, however, we will achieve concentrate production from a run of mine of between 60,000 to 100,000 tonnes a month much earlier,” Smart revealed. Sources of finance for early works close to finalisation The combined funding package that Orion is work ing towards finalising includes a pivotal R250 million senior secured, convertible debt facility from the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) of South

Water treatment plant delivery to Prieska Mine.

Mining Equipment being delivered to Prieska Mine.

Top projects Orion has appointed South African, Peet Van Coller who has a wealth of mining and mining contracting financial management experience, as the new group CFO. Orion’s Executive of Eastern Operations, Johan Stoltz, has experience in running ultra-deep mechanised mining operations and operations in the Northern Cape while Mine Manager Stoffies Odendaal is well versed in mech anised mining pillar extractions, cut and fill mining in hard rock conditions. Ben Otukile, the company’s Engineering Manager, has a wealth of engineer ing experience in ultra-deep mechanised mining and with mechanised mobile mining equipment. The right team for job Orion has established itself as a proven explorer with an experienced study team capable of planning how to breathe new life into the historic Prieska mine, but as the company transitions from explorer to developer, it has stopped at nothing to secure a mining team with the knowledge and experience capa ble of executing the revised development strategy at Prieska.

44  MODERN MINING  January 2023