Orion Minerals Ltd (ASX:ORN, JSE:ORN) is celebrating the results of its first diamond drilled hole at the Flat Mine South (FMS) prospect of the Okiep Copper Project in South Africa, hitting 20.5 metres at 4.99% copper within a wider result of 43 metres at 3.41% from 527 metres.
The high-grade copper mineralisation is open for at least 200 metres down dip from this first drill hole, offering further potential for more exploration at depth.
Flat Mine South was a virgin discovery with no indications of prospectivity at surface, which Orion believes will form a key part of an early production plan for the project.
“Outstanding” intercepts
“Following our success in confirming the potential for high-grade copper mineralisation at Flat Mine East (FME) over the past month, the first assay results from Flat Mine South, located about 3 kilometres to the southwest of Flat Mine East have delivered further outstanding copper intercepts.
“These results show that the Flat Mines complex contains very high-grade copper sulphide mineralisation contained within wider zones of moderate-grade intrusive.
“We are encouraged by the potential to rapidly add high-grade tonnes from near-surface bodies such as at Flat Mine Nababeep (FMNb) and also down-dip and along trend of the blocks being included in the current mine plan.
“Our initial bankable feasibility study (BFS) that is nearing completion has only focused on immediately available JORC-compliant mineral resources from Flat Mine North (FMN), FME and FMS.
“However, the potential to expand scale and extend the mine life lies at the core of why Orion invested in the Okiep district.
“Our aspirational target is to restore our Okiep properties to their historical production levels of 20,000-50,000 tonnes of copper production per annum, which previous owners maintained for over five decades.
“Our ongoing drilling results underscore this potential.”
Copper exploration continues
Orion says the results from this latest drill hole confirm the company’s interpretation of geological setting and grade distribution across the tenure, an important validation as those models were used in mineral resource modelling and estimation for the project.
The company is now testing the down-dip extension of the high-grade mineralisation at Flat Mine South, a previously untested area with 300 metres of strike and stretching at least 200 metres down-dip.
ORN has also begun confirmation drilling at Flat Mine Nababeep, which already holds an inferred-category mineral resource estimate of 1 million tonnes at 1.4% copper.
The results will provide geotechnical information and deliver additional material for confirmatory metallurgical test work, which will include x-ray fluorescence (XRF) sorting, comminution, flotation optimisation and tailings characterisation.