Australian base metals company Orion Minerals (Orion) aims to finalise project financing and a concentrate offtake agreement for its copper project in South Africa by September.

It said in an update for the June quarter on July 30 that, apart from seeking to raise funding for phase one, or the Uppers, of its Prieska Copper Zinc Mine (PCZM), work on project execution will gain momentum in the third quarter.

This follows the release of the definitive feasibility studies (DFS) for both the PCZM and the Okiep Copper Project (OCP) Flat Mines Project in March 2025.

The ASX- and Johannesburg-listed firm's initial focus is on getting the Uppers into production and transitioning itself into a producing mining company. The first bulk concentrate from the Uppers is planned to be 13 months after finalising funding, with the second phase, or the Deeps concentrate following 29 months later.

'Orion has been focused on the financing of phase one of PCZM,' it said in the release.

'The company is currently engaged with multiple offtake parties with the objective of finalising an offtake agreement for the bulk concentrate from the Uppers, linked to offtake related financing that will contribute to the funding of the Uppers and potentially, the Deeps. In addition, our funding discussions with the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa are in progress.'

The DFS for PCZM covers both the Uppers and Deeps mining with a post-tax net present value of $364mn and internal rate of return of 26.2% (at an 8% discount rate) over a 13.2-year life of mine.

Orion’s MD and CEO, Tony Lennox, said the firm's agenda going forward is achieving first concentrate production from Uppers by December 2026 and dewatering the mine and completing other early works to prepare for development of phase two.

“In parallel, we are viewing the DFS for Flat Mines as a baseline that requires further optimisation over the coming months. Work on the optimisation has commenced, as has planning for early works.  In my first three months as CEO at Orion, I have been impressed by the upside potential at both PCZM and Okiep, and within Orion’s regional portfolio.'

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