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Orion Minerals’ test work confirms excellent copper, zinc recoveries at Prieska

Published: 15:53 22 Oct 2018 AEDT

project area
Prieska bankable feasibility study targeted for completion in Q2 2019

Orion Minerals Ltd (ASX:ORN) (JSE:ORN) has successfully completed follow-up metallurgical test work on the deeper mineralised domains at its Prieska Zinc-Copper Project in South Africa.

The deeper mineralised domains known as the Prieska Deep Sulphide Zone is currently the subject of a bankable feasibility study (BFS) targeted for completion in Q2 2019.

Excellent recoveries of both copper and zinc into separate, high-quality concentrates have been achieved using the froth-flotation process that was used in historical operations.

 

In addition, the use of modern metallurgical reagents – which have advantages in terms of health and safety, environmental management as well as in potential capital and operating cost savings – is showing encouraging results.

Results have confirmed the metallurgical continuity of the Deep Sulphide Zone with the up-dip area of the mineralised zone, where, in the period between 1971-1991, 45 million tonnes of ore were mined and successfully processed to produce clean and widely-marketed concentrates.

READ: Orion Minerals likely to boost 29.4-million-tonne Prieska zinc-copper resource by December

Orion managing director and chief executive officer Errol Smart said: “We are very pleased to have shown conclusively that the extensions of the Prieska Deep Sulphide Zone targeted by our recently completed resource drilling are metallurgically identical to the ore that was treated with great success for over 20 years.

“This is an important result, which shows that we can expect to at least match and potentially exceed the historical plant performance and concentrate qualities.

“The results from the locked-cycle test work program confirms that we can include and use the historical mine metallurgical performance in the ongoing bankable feasibility study, allowing us to complete the design of the process plant.”

READ: Orion Minerals progresses South African assets with $19 million in the bank

Smart added “We can now also provide potential concentrate off-take parties with target concentrate specifications including minor element analyses, confirming our ability to deliver high quality concentrates.

“The fact that we can produce concentrates with negligible levels of key contaminants such as manganese or lead in our zinc concentrates is a real plus for Orion as a new base metals producer.

“The additional test work findings also indicate that we can use modern reagents and exclude cyanide from the process, bringing both health and safety and environmental management benefits to the project while achieving likely capital and operating cost reductions.”

Orion Minerals awards trial mining contract for Prieska

Orion Minerals Ltd (ASX:ORN, JSE:ORN) CEO Errol Smart tells Proactive the company has awarded a trial mining contract for the Prieska Copper-Zinc Mine to Newrak Mining Group - an experienced South African contract mining company with 28 years of operating history. He adds that previous Prieska...

on 5/9/23