Orion Minerals said on 19 October that a $40 million prepayment from Glencore has become unconditional, allowing it to start developing the Prieska copper and zinc mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape. The first drawdown is due by the end of October, and Orion targets first concentrate from the shallower “Uppers” section by the end of 2027. The money is the first tranche of a $250 million deal agreed in February and repaid with concentrate; the $210 million second tranche for the deeper ore body still needs other financing. The restart revives a mine that produced about 430,000 tonnes of copper and one million tonnes of zinc until 1991, and ties its future output to Glencore.
Sources
- Business Day: https://www.businessday.co.za/companies/company-strategy/2026-10-19-glencores-unconditional-40m-unlocks-orions-prieska-pit/
- Mining Weekly (Orion Minerals announcement): https://www.miningweekly.com/article/40m-for-prieska-copper-zinc-mine-development-in-south-africas-northern-cape-2026-10-19