JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – The latest drilling at Okiep in South Africa’s copper-endowed Northern Cape has provided a clear path to scale up at Flat Mine East, where a down-dip extension hole is already being developed as a follow-up.

High-grade assay results, described as being outstanding, have been received from recently completed resource optimisation at the Okiep Flat Mine East Drilling (OFMED157) drill hole, which was designed to test an open zone, 36 m down-dip of previously reported high-grade mineralisation.

The OFMED157 intersection, described as being exceptional, confirms high-grade, norite-hosted continuity as providing “substantial, immediate scale potential”. 

“Crucially, this exciting intersection points to high-grade copper mineralisation remaining completely open at depth,” an upbeat Orion CEO Tony Lennox noted in a media release to Mining Weekly on Wednesday, May 20.

The drilling results are described as providing compelling evidence of mineralised continuity beyond the current resource envelope, reinforcing the Flat Mines area as a quality growth cornerstone and directly informing ongoing drilling strategy.

Building on the “outstanding outcomes” of the 2024 confirmation drilling programme is now 7.88 m grading 9.24% copper from 311.29 m assay result, which includes 3.33 m grading 17.12% copper from 315.84 m.

The Okiep Copper Project’s 703 km² ground holdings encompass most of the Okiep copper mining district, where 105-million tons of extraction has taken place over the past 100 years, 77-million tons of it from the project’s prospecting and mining rights area.

Current drilling offers the potential for additional mineral resources at Flat Mines, where past drilling has proven up extensions and infill potential.

Sampling has been carried out using diamond drilling procedures in sampling areas that have been selected through visual observation and handheld analyser reading.

Interestingly, metallurgical testwork has commenced at Maelgwyn on the Okiep Copper Project’s Flat Mines South deposit amid previous testwork having been limited to the Flat Mines North and Flat Mines East areas. The current programme is designed to validate the performance of the proposed process flowsheet for the resources of Flat Mines South.

Dewatering of Flat Mines North has commenced, following completion of the building of a new wastewater dam.

PRIESKA COPPER ZINC

During the three months to March 31, value engineering, operational readiness and critical skills identification took place for project execution at the Prieska copper/zinc mine, also in the Northern Cape. A definitive feasibility study has outlined an accelerated development strategy. This is based on an initial “Uppers” mining operation at a rate of 20 000 t a month as well as dewatering in preparation for the “Deeps” mining phase at a production rate of 200 000 t a month.