Orion Minerals (ASX:ORN) Announces Strong New Copper Intercepts

Highlights:

➢ Assay results received for diamond drill hole OFMSD083 at Flat Mine South, which returned a significant broad intercept of strong copper mineralisation:

• 40.52m at 1.34% Cu including 18.52m at 2.00% Cu, confirming a 45m strike extension to the west of the previously reported high-grade copper mineralisation.
  ➢ Assay results also received from diamond drill hole OFMSD082, which returned a strong intercept well below previous drilling:
• 5.52m at 1.86% Cu, 170m down-dip of previously reported high-grade copper mineralisation.
  ➢ A ground geophysical program is currently in progress in the Flat Mines area using techniques not available to historical workers and is providing compelling indications of the potential for mineralisation analogous to the famous Carolusberg Deeps deposit at Okiep.

➢ The positive results from ongoing exploration have resulted in a strategic decision to investigate changing the primary access and ore handling strategy for FMS. Results of the updated engineeringnstudies will be incorporated in the BFS, now scheduled for release in January 2025.

Overview:

Orion Minerals Limited (ASX/JSE: ORN) (Orion or Company) is pleased to report final assay results from diamond drill holes completed to test strike and down-dip extensions of the high-grade copper mineralisation at the Flat Mine South (FMS) deposit, part of the Okiep Copper Project (OCP) in the Northern Cape, South Africa.

The latest results add further momentum to Orion’s development strategy for the OCP, building on the outstanding outcomes of the recently completed confirmation drilling program, which has confirmed the geology and endowment of the Flat Mines area (refer ASX/JSE releases 22 April 2024, 24 June 2024, 9 July 2024, 3 September 2024 and 23 October 2024).

The OCP ground holdings of 703km² cover most of the Okiep copper mining district, where a total of 105Mt is reported to have been mined over the past 100 years (refer ASX/JSE release 21 May 2021). Of the 105Mt mined, some 77Mt was mined on OCP prospecting and mining rights held by Orion. The Flat Mines area and the current drilling program fall entirely within the fully permitted Mining Right NC10150MR.

Results reported in this announcement have confirmed both strike and down-dip continuity of previously intersected high-grade copper mineralisation, highlighting the potential for further upside and extensions to the mineralisation intercepted in drilling by Newmont and Goldfields of South Africa (GFSA) in the 1980s and 1990s as well as Orion’s confirmation drilling program in 2024 (refer Appendix 1).

The historical drilling information underpinned Orion’s Mineral Resource for the Flat Mines deposits (refer ASX/JSE release on 28 August 2023) (Table 1)1.

Company Notes:

Orion’s Managing Director and CEO, Errol Smart, commented:
“Our latest drilling results from Flat Mine South show that this deposit is stacking up to become a major growth hub for the Okiep Copper Project. Recent drilling supported by interpretation of geophysical surveys have identified remarkable vertical persistence of strong copper mineralisation, and the drilling has not yet tested the most prospective horizon.

“The vertical continuity of Flat Mines South indicates a well-developed steep structure that is a key component for large- tonnage intrusive mineralisation in the district. The deposits with the largest scale and highest-grade mineralisation in the district have historically been encountered in well-developed steep structures, where they traverse the interval 250m above the Springbok Quartzite.

“Our interpretation of ground geophysics and SkyTEMTM airborne survey data has allowed us to predict the depth of this highly prospective horizon – and shows that we are now drilling at the upper reaches of the zone. En echelon offsets with large blows of mineralisation at the Springbok Quartzite contact are typical at the largest known deposits in the Okiep Copper District.

“We have therefore taken the strategic decision to investigate the redesign the Flat Mine South primary mine access and ore handling strategy. The results will be incorporated in the Bankable Feasibility Study, which is now scheduled for release in January 2025.”

Full ASX Announcement: 3A658335.pdf