TONY Lennox, CEO of Orion Minerals since May, is hoping to deliver on the mineral development firm’s decade-long promise of copper production, starting with a financing plan that will most likely feature upfront metal sales. If he is successful, the first copper concentrate production will be by Christmas. In 2026. The company needs about R6.7bn to redevelop the entire Prieska copper-zinc mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape. The mine, which operated in the 1970s, is forecast to produce 22,000 tons of copper and 65,000t of zinc a year based on a feasibility study completed in March. To accelerate the project, ... (full story)