Orion moves ahead of JSE junior copper peers
NORTHERN Cape copper developer Orion Minerals, the FM’s Junior Mining Hot Stocks selection for 2026, has so far been the clear standout among the JSE’s junior copper counters.…
Junior miners find an audience among SA investors despite the risks
IF you think about the number of the JSE’s listed junior miners as a beauty pageant, they’d look more like a turnout from a high school, perhaps, than Miss Universe. Fewer than…
Orion awaits Glencore’s $250m Prieska cheque
INVESTORS are still waiting for Glencore’s $250m (R4.5bn) to Orion Minerals to clear, with the miner saying several hurdles remain before funds can flow into South Africa. The…
SA miners fear the worst in mineral cadastre rollout
IN May 2024, then Orion Minerals CEO Errol Smart gushed: “I’m coming off an all-time high on hearing this news.” A day earlier, the South African government had signed an…
Will BHP really bet on South African mining again?
SOUTH African mining is at one of those rare moments when its trajectory could tilt either way. There is talk of hope and renewal, encompassing an overdue honesty about Eskom and…
Orion Minerals sets sights on wealthy equity partners
ORION Minerals, a Northern Cape copper developer, is optimistic its most recent investor roadshow to Australia will achieve what has so far eluded it — a broad base of…
BHP unveils collaboration with Govt on minerals data
THERE is a definite air of forward momentum in South Africa’s much ignored minerals exploration sector. On the back of a R600m commitment from Anglo American (Anglo-Teck when…
BHP backs Orion Minerals’ Northern Cape exploration
BHP, the world’s largest miner, announced today that it is partnering with JSE and ASX-listed Orion Minerals to advance Orion’s extensive copper and zinc exploration programme in…
Orion Minerals says copper project will not fail
AFTER the best part of a decade of planning, Orion Minerals is determined to make a success of its Prieska Copper Zinc Mine with its CEO promising “high-end governance” as the…
Orion clinches watershed $250m deal with Glencore
ORION Minerals finally has liftoff on its Prieska Copper Zinc Mine after unveiling today a major financing and offtake deal with Glencore of up to $250m. The Sydney- and…
Copper by Christmas? Juniors get real about capital markets
TONY Lennox, CEO of Orion Minerals since May, is hoping to deliver on the mineral development firm’s decade-long promise of copper production, starting with a financing plan that…
Can South Africa save its minerals exploration sector?
Last year, a South African government-backed fund invited applications from would-be junior miners, hoping to find that the country’s mineral exploration business was not…
Orion raises A$5.8m as question over big capital looms
ORION Minerals confirmed on Tuesday it had raised A$5.8m (R67m) through an issue of shares which was encouragingly supported by its key shareholders. The capital raised is to…
Orion halts ASX trade ahead of capital raise
A TRADING halt in Orion Minerals shares on the Australian Stock Exchange could indicate that the company has begun the fundraising flagged by former CEO Errol Smart in May after…
Orion may bring ‘big brother’ into copper mine plans
SHAREHOLDERS in copper exploration firm Orion Minerals can look forward to brighter days after it unveiled bankable feasibility studies of two projects in the Northern Cape.…
Orion confident of funder support to develop PCZM
COPPER mine developer Orion Minerals is confident of raising the necessary funds to proceed with development of its flagship project, Prieska Copper Zinc Mine (PCZM), based on…
Errol Smart jumps ship from Orion to go into the exploration business for himself
Former Orion Minerals CEO Errol Smart is going to set up his own exploration and development operation in South Africa after abruptly leaving the junior copper miner at a…
Canada’s streamers making hay in the Africa
CANADIAN metals investor Sprott was in Johannesburg last month to drum up some business. “We are always looking for opportunities and places to invest our capital,” says Caroline…
Orion delays copper study results after bringing in experts
ORION Minerals has extended the deadline for a study into its Prieska Copper Zinc Mine (PCZM) in South Africa’s Northern Cape province to the first quarter. This follows the…
How train drivers and nurses helped fund SA copper firm
FOR a resource economy it’s curious there’s been so little mineral development by so-called junior miners in South Africa. However, a relatively minor capital raise in July by…