Copper miner Orion Minerals has confirmed that a wholly-owned subsidiary of Glencore is in the final stages of due diligence to provide Orion with financing for its Prieska project.
Orion Minerals subsidiary Prieska Copper Zinc Mine signed a non-binding term sheet with Glencore’s subsidiary for financing of US$200 million to US$250 million and a concentrate offtake for the Prieska project.
Glencore said that its technical and financial due diligence is in the final stages and legal due diligence is almost complete. Glencore and Orion are also finalising binding terms and documentation for the concentrate offtake and financing.
Orion expects the binding documentation, including an intercreditor agreement, to be signed in the middle of December.
Under the terms of the agreement, disclosed in September, Glencore will provide US$40 million in tranche one for construction and startup costs at the Uppers at Prieska. Tranche two will see Glencore provide between US$160 million to US$210 million for the same costs at the Deeps at Prieska.
The Prieska Copper Zinc mine is the centrepiece of Orion’s future-facing metals portfolio. Historically mined between the 1970s and the 1990s, Prieska is one of the world’s top-30 volcanogenic massive sulphide base metal deposits, with recorded historical production of over 400,000 tonnes of copper.
