Name of the Project
Prieska zinc/copper project.

Location
The project is located 270 km south-west of Kimberley, in the Northern Cape, South Africa.

Client
Orion Minerals owns an effective 73.33% interest in the project through its subsidiary companies.

Project Description
The Prieska zinc/copper deposit has been recorded as one of the world’s top 30 volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits.

The project encompasses the historical Prieska copper mine, where mining ceased in 1989. The site was closed and rehabilitated in 1991, leaving behind a significant portion of the Copperton deposit.

Initial metallurgical testwork at the proposed project has yielded positive results, demonstrating Prieska’s potential to produce high-quality marketable zinc and copper concentrates.

The project has total mineral resources of 29.4-million tonnes for 1.13-million tonnes of zinc and 360 000 t of copper.

Orion intends to establish new mining operations to continue the extraction of the remaining deposit.

Orion MD and CEO Errol Smart has indicated that the project will likely comprise an openpit and underground operation, with the openpit to produce ore while the underground operations are dewatered and re-established.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
None stated.

Value
Not stated.

Duration
Orion Minerals aims to reopen the Prieska mine in 2020.

Latest Developments
Orion Minerals has secured a new A$3.6-million bridge loan facility from financier Tembo Capital Mining Find to progress the bankable feasibility study of its Prieska zinc/copper project.

The loan facility will be made available in two tranches, with the first instalment of A$600 000 to repay all the amounts owing under the current bridge loan. The facility’s interest will be capitalsed at 12% a year, accrued daily on the amount drawn down.

Tembo could elect to have the balance of the loan facility converted into Orion shares at 2.6c a share, the same conversion price as the existing 2017 convertible notes. The outstanding amount must be repaid by January 25, 2020.
 
Key Contracts and Suppliers
None stated.

On Budget and on Time?
Not stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Orion Minerals, tel +61 3 8080 7170, fax +61 3 8080 7174 or email info@orionminerals.com.au.