Orion Minerals Nearing Completion of South African Copper Acquisition Agreement

Orion Minerals Ltd (ASX/JSE: ORN) (referred to as Orion or the Company) is excited to announce a significant milestone in its journey towards becoming a premier diversified global base metals producer. As it nears the completion of acquiring a controlling stake in the Okiep Copper Project (OCP), situated approximately 570km north of Cape Town in South Africa's Northern Cape Province, Orion advances further in its strategic objectives.

Following its ASX/JSE announcement on April 17, 2024, Orion is delighted to announce the following developments:

• The Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa Ltd (IDC), a strategic funding partner in the OCP, has completed its internal approvals and has countersigned the addenda to the agreements for Orion's acquisition of the controlling interest in the OCP.

• All supplementary conditions required to proceed with the initial phase of the Okiep transaction have been met. This includes obtaining approvals from the Foreign Surveillance Department of the South African Reserve Bank and the South African Takeover Regulation Panel. Consequently, the Okiep transaction agreements, as amended, have now become unconditional.

Building on the aforementioned progress, Orion expects to finalize the initial phase of the Okiep transaction around Tuesday, May 7, 2024. This involves the payment of ZAR46 million (~A$3.8 million), with ZAR11 million to be paid in cash and ZAR35 million to be settled through the issuance of fully paid ordinary shares by Orion. 

As outlined in Orion's ASX/JSE announcement on April 23, 2024, the company will convene a General Meeting of shareholders on Thursday, May 23, 2024, to seek approval for various matters, including the ratification of the agreement to issue the consideration Shares.

Approval has been granted by IDC for funding amounting to ZAR43.75 million (~A$3.6 million) to cover its proportionate portion of drilling and operational expenses for the New Okiep Mining Flat Mines Project. In February 2024, a diamond drilling initiative commenced within the Flat Mines zone of the OCP. The program outlines eleven diamond core drill holes scheduled at Flat Mine East (FME), Flat Mine South (FMS), and Flat Mine North (FMN), totaling 5,800 meters in length.

The program's purpose is to validate historical drilling data and interpretations, gather geotechnical information, and acquire extra drill core for confirmatory metallurgical testing. It is structured to include five holes at FME, four at FMS, and two at FMN. Each hole incorporates a deflection (or wedge) through the mineralization to obtain additional drill core required for confirmatory metallurgical testing.

The assay findings from the initial two drilled holes at FME were disclosed on April 22, 2024. Notably, drill hole OFMED153 yielded a high-quality intercept, with a measurement of 49.00 meters at 4.89% Cu spanning from 231.00m to 280.00m, and a subsection measuring 10.23 meters at 12.47% Cu.

The drilling operations are proceeding smoothly, and we anticipate receiving the subsequent batch of assay results from this ongoing drill program by May 2024. Furthermore, the Flat Mines Feasibility study remains on target for completion as planned in July 2024.