Pictured: Orion Minerals Ltd Managing Director, Errol Smart and Minerals Council South Africa and Minister for Mineral Resources & Energy Gwede Mantashe Speaking at Mining Indaba in Cape Town in February
ASX-listed South African developer Orion Minerals Ltd is a step closer to project development after receiving environmental authorisation for mining of the Vardocube resource on its Prieska copper-zinc project.
The authorisation is the final step towards granting of the full Mining Right for Vardocube, a south-eastern extension of the main Prieska deposit.
The rest of the Prieska project received its Mining Right in August 2019. Orion managing director Errol Smart said the granting was another “significant milestone” towards Prieska’s development.
“The award of this important authorisation is testament both to the commitment of the Orion leadership team to deliver this project and to the support of the South African authorities in facilitating new investment in a modernised mining sector,” Smart said.
Orion is at the forefront of a new era of junior development in South Africa’s mining scene which has been dominated by the major mining houses for generations. Smart has taken on a leadership role in the sector, working with the Minerals Council South Africa and Minister for Mineral Resources & Energy Gwede Mantashe to devise policies which will promote junior developments.
Speaking at Mining Indaba in Cape Town in February, Minister Mantashe said his Government wanted to grow junior participation and exploration expenditure to build a new generation of mining projects.
For more on Mantashe’s Mining Indaba address and coverage of the entire week-long conference, subscribe to the March edition of Australia’s Paydirt.