JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) - ASX- and JSE-listed Orion Minerals on Monday announced further encouraging results from drilling at the company's Prieska zinc/copper project, in the Northern Cape.

Drill hole OCOD087_D2, drilled on the south-west margin of the NW Trough Target, intersected 14 m of mineralised massive sulphide and contained mixed, fine to coarse grained cumulates and veinlets of metal sulphide minerals typically of composition pyrite, pyrrhotite, sphalerite and chalcopyrite with a combined content of more than 40%.

This intersection, the company stated, confirms that the thick massive sulphide mineralisation included in the inferred resource reported on February 8, is open down-dip and to the south-west and emphasises potential to increase the current mineral resource in the NW Trough Target area.

"We continue to be pleased with the drilling and exploration results at the Prieska project. While the area initially targeted has yielded greater tonnages than anticipated, our drilling continues to discover significant extensions of thick massive sulphide mineralisation, which remains open down dip," Orion Minerals MD and CEO Errol Smart commented on Monday.

In addition, Orion has now completed 56 intersections from 24 mother holes into the Deep Sulphide Target.

The intersections have been achieved at vertical depths from 974 m up to 1 193 m and have required 9 462 m of percussion pre-collar and 33 713 m of diamond drilling.

All completed intersections are now reported, while five holes are currently in progress testing up-dip extensions, the company said in a statement.

However, the company explained that drilling is currently focussed on the up-dip area in the NW Hinge Target, which is more challenging to drill, and slower drilling progress is anticipated.

Permitting of the SE Target extension is anticipated to be completed in coming weeks so that drilling can continue to test the strike extent of the Deep Sulphide Target.