First attempt at doing a STT tip. Pretty impressive leases ORN...

First attempt at doing a STT tip.

Pretty impressive leases ORN have, hopefully up and onwards for 2018!

ORN - Targeting Zinc, Copper, Cobalt, Silver, Gold, Platinum & REE in Australia and S.Africa.

SP = 3.2c
Shares  = 1.2 Mill
Cash =  $4.2 Mill (as of Nov 17 Presentation)
MC = $41 Million.

Orion Minerals NL is a minerals exploration and development company focussing on zinc, copper, nickel, gold and platinum-group elements in South Africa and Australia. The company’s primary listing is on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX: ORN) and it has a secondary listing on the Main Board of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE: ORN).

In South Africa, the Prieska Copper Project, which was mined previously (between 1971 and 1991) is completing the first resource drill-out campaign, and a bankable feasibility study is advancing rapidly. The project, which is infrastructure-rich as all key services still remain on site, is combining its latest data with historical information to ensure an improved understanding of this exceptional metals province. With 14 drill rigs in operation, both at surface and underground, excellent initial results from the intensive drilling program to test the project’s Deep Sulphide Target have been generated, including high grade near surface supergene sulphides identified in drilling at the +105 Level Target, indicating the possibility of open pit mining. Importantly, drilling results have also identified dip and strike extensions to historically identified mineralisation.
The Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) started in July 2017 and is being targeted for completion in the fourth quarter of 2018. In parallel with the BFS, Orion Minerals’ is progressing key commercial work streams, including concentrate marketing, project finance capacity and optimal structures, regional exploration and targeting work, as well as Mining Right and Environmental Impact Assessment studies, with an aim of submitting these during the first quarter of calendar year 2018.

PROJECTS:
PRIESKA (S.Africa)
Advanced Zn-Cu project being fast tracked to feasibility

• Major infrastructure in place (power, water, road/rail access, accommodation)
• World class orebody, well understood
• Recorded as one of world’s top 30 VMS deposits
• Historic production of over 430,000 tonnes of copper and more than 1 million tonnes of zinc
• Proven metallurgical process to produce premium product

The Prieska Project is located 270 kilometres south-west of Kimberley (the regional capital) in the Northern Cape province. Importantly, the project has access to significant local and regional infrastructure, with mine infrastructure including a regional power grid feed, bitumen access roads, access to a bulk, treated water supply and a 1,900 metre landing strip. Several large commercial wind and solar generation projects are operational in the surrounding area and the mine is located just 48 kilometres from a railway siding at Groveput with an open-access railway line connecting the site to the world-class export port of Saldanha Bay.
The current focus is on fast tracking the Prieska Project to production. A Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) was commenced in July 2017, with lead consultants appointed for these studies, along with the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies. The BFS and EIA work programs will be undertaken in parallel with the current activities (resource drilling, underground inspections and establishment of activities), taking advantage of the substantial historical database from mining and processing at the project.
Underground access has been re-established, allowing assessment of geotechnical conditions and the substantial remaining underground infrastructure. Ground conditions and infrastructure in the underground mine to date have been found to generally be in a better state than was expected. Orion is confident that mine refurbishment will not require substantial engineering effort. Power and vehicle access has now been gained to the +105 Level.
The Company is undertaking two major phases of drilling at the Prieska Project targeting near surface mineralisation expected to be amenable to open pit mining (105 Level Target) and the Deep Sulphide Target below the historical mine, which is expected to form the cornerstone of the Company’s development strategy.

JACOMYNSPAN (S.Africa)

The Jacomynspan Project area contains numerous known occurrences of VHMS style zinc-copper deposits and is highly prospective for magmatic hosted nickel-copper mineralisation similar to that seen in Proterozoic mobile belts worldwide including the Thompsons Belt in Canada and the Albany-Fraser Belt in Western Australia. A number of mafic-ultramafic intrusions have been recognised within the project area, with most historical work focusing on the Jacomynspan Deposit. The Jacomynspan Project area is contiguous with the prospecting rights held under the Company’s Masiqhame transaction and adjacent to the Marydale Prospecting Right.
Orion believes a substantial exploration opportunity exists within the project area to search for higher grade, massive and semi-massive accumulations of nickel-bearing sulphides, analogous to the Nova-Bollinger deposit in the Fraser Range Province of Western Australia.
Orion has identified many similarities to the Fraser Range-style of mineralisation from historical data available for the project area and the surrounding Areachap belt. Orion will be utilising its experience and expertise developed in exploring for magmatic nickel-copper deposits in the Fraser Range Province of Western Australia to reinterpret the extensive database for the Jacomynspan Project area and rank the exploration targets. These will then be followed up with modern high-powered geophysical tools and methods which have not previously been applied in the Areachap belt before drill testing.
MASIQHAME (S.Africa)
In April 2016, Orion entered into a binding option agreement to earn up to a 73% interest in Masiqhame Trading 855 Pty Ltd (Masiqhame), which holds a prospecting right covering an area of almost 980km² located 80 kilometres north of the PC Project (Figure 1). The Masiqhame Prospecting Right is located in easily accessible flat-lying countryside and is well situated with regional grid power and rail lines within 10km of the site. A good all-weather dirt road passes within 800m of the deposit.
Orion has targeted the large Masiqhame Prospecting Right after analysing regional data which points to the potential for three significant styles of mineralisation:

• Zinc-copper VHMS-SEDEX mineralisation in the Areachap-Copperton Province;
• Nickel-Copper mineralisation hosted in mafic intrusions analogous to the Jacomynspan Deposit; and
• Pegmatite hosted mineralisation such as lithium, beryl and REEs in the Orange River pegmatite belt.

Orion believes that the integration of geochemical and geophysical methods may quickly enable new targets to be identified within the Masiqhame Prospecting Right, which overlies a highly prospective VMS horizon extending over more than 30km of strike. This horizon contains numerous published occurrences of copper-zinc and zinc-copper mineralisation associated with massive sulphides.
Kantienpan Deposit is one of a number of Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) hosted zinc-copper occurrences in the area of the Masiqhame Prospecting Right. The deposit was targeted by a combination of magnetic and time-domain electromagnetic ground surveys, following up on alteration identified by rock-chip sampling (Rossouw, 2003).
A total of 14 diamond core holes for 3,199m were drilled at the Kantienpan Deposit by Iscor. Significant intersections are detailed below:

• 8.84 metres at 6.32% zinc and 1.02% copper (KN005);
• 6.15 metres at 4.74% zinc and 0.49% copper (KN010);
• 7 metres at 3.15% zinc and 0.57% copper (KN007);
• 13 metres at 3.96% zinc and 0.36% copper (KN003); and
• 2.6 metres at 6.59% zinc and 0.35% copper (KN011).

Drilling has confirmed the presence of significant mineralisation extending from 80 metres – 250 metres below surface and along 800 metres of strike. Mineralisation at the Kantienpan Deposit remains open both along strike and at depth.
Orion’s maiden RC drill hole intersected 7m at 6.4%Zn. Orion’s initial work program also comprised a high powered fixed loop ground electromagnetic survey which identified the KN1 Conductor. The KN1 conductor is modelled to be substantially larger and highly conductive (~6000-8000S), being 3-4 times the conductance of the shallower, historically drilled, conductor, yet was not detected in the lower powered historical survey. The Company has completed 3 drill holes for 1347.5m as a first test of the KN1 conductor and confirmed that the presence of massive and disseminated sulphide mineralisation with assay results including 2.05m at 9.93% Zn + 0.09% Cu from 404.87m
FRASERS RANGE (Western Australia)
On 10 March 2017, the Company secured the involvement of Independence Group NL (ASX: IGO), the owner of the Nova Bollinger Mine, in the ongoing exploration and evaluation of its highly prospective tenement package in the Fraser Range. A Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) was entered into with the leading mid-tier miner where terms of the JVA included Orion is free carried to the completion of a pre-feasibility study by IGO over the Fraser Range ground.
The Fraser Range Project consists of a substantial tenement holding in the Albany-Fraser Belt, which hosts Australia’s two most significant discoveries of the last decade, the Tropicana Gold Deposit and the Nova Nickel-Copper Cobalt Deposit.

STRATEGY
Orion’s strategy is to focus on world class Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) multi-commodity mineral deposits to meet the increasing industrial demand led by ongoing technological innovation. This demand is reflected in the ongoing upward trend in the prices for copper and zinc. The company has targeted geological terranes known for VMS potential and shortlisted world class mineral provinces, where modern exploration techniques would then be applied to prove its mining potential. This search has resulted in Orion securing a large consolidated land package (1,790km²) in the proven Areachap Minerals Belt in South Africa, which includes the Prieska Zinc-Copper project, as well as highly prospective zones with VMS and precious metals potential. The Prieska project brings additional upside for Orion shareholders – due diligence of historic data shows unmined mineral resources exist around the current infrastructure footprint that includes a primary shaft (1,024m deep) in addition to links to power, transport and water. Fast-tracking development of these projects will deliver on Orion’s growth strategy as mine development and time to market are significantly reduced. This will realise quicker returns for shareholders that is not typical for early stage exploration companies.