The stream funding from Canadian streaming and royalty finance company Triple Flag Precious Metals will be advanced against the delivery of future gold and silver by-product production from the mine.
The funding is conditional on the mine development being fully-funded, finalisation of an executable mine plan and necessary South African regulatory approvals.
An additional $10m (US$7m) will be advanced against calculated payments equal to 0.8 per cent of gross revenue from future mineral sales.
That funding is conditional on Orion securing an additional $20m in funding for the the beginning of mine dewatering.
The funding package will underpin the completion of a feasibility study for early open-pit mining at Prieska and mine development.
Orion’s managing director Errol Smart looked forward to finalising the funding arrangements with Triple Flag, beginning mine de-watering at Prieska and completing early mining feasibility studies to determine the project’s optimum development path.
Orion has previously placed a $480m price tag on refurbishing and restarting the shuttered underground mine in South Africa’s Northern Cape region, but is now eyeing the early development open pit to cut start-up costs.
Prieska last operated in 1991 when then-owner Anglovaal decided to close it because of the deteriorating economic and political environment in South Africa at the time.
It hosts a globally significant VMS resource of 30.49Mt at 1.2 per cent and 3.7 per cent zinc.
Orion also announced today it had signed a term sheet with Stratega Metals to investigate the use of its licenced refining technology to produce specialist battery precursor products from its Jacomynspan nickel-platinum group elements project also in the Northern Cape.
