Message from CEO

MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

Greetings to everyone in the Siyathemba and Vanwyksvlei communities.

You may have heard by now that Orion Minerals is looking at ways of fast-tracking production at the Prieska Copper- Zinc Mine. What this means is that we are investigating the possibility of rescheduling the order of development by bringing the open pit construction forward. We are also hoping to access and mine the underground pillars left as support by the previous owners, in a way that keeps the mine safe and supported by backfill.

If we can plan to mine at the same time as we pump out the 8.5 million cubic metres of water currently in the mine, we may be able to achieve production 14 months earlier, thus potentially producing copper and zinc concentrate by 2024 rather than 2026 as originally planned. The water must be removed before we can start mining the deeper orebody.

But before we decide whether this is a good idea, we need to find out whether there is enough copper and zinc ore above the water for us to start mining. This is why Murray & Roberts has been brought in for the highly specialized underground drilling needed to confirm our estimates. This drilling will test the grade and extent of the mineral deposits above the water, as well as the stability of the underground mine.

Murray & Roberts has been identified as a contractor with the highly specialised equipment and skills to conduct this work quickly, so we can press ahead with early development. While the special skills to do this drilling were not available in Siyathemba, we have ensured that Murray & Roberts, a Level 1 BEE company who has the skills, will provide opportunities to the Siyathemba community through employment and skills training. They have agreed to employ five people from Siyathemba and provide underground competency training for an additional six community members during the drill program. We are also excited to announce that Murray & Roberts and Orion will also be offering 10 Siyathemba community members learnership opportunities at the Murray & Roberts Training Centre later in the year.

We hope to complete the drilling and decide which route we will take to production by July this year.

In the meantime, we have made some progress with regard to the Community Participation Framework. As agreed at the October Bosberaad, Orion has facilitated the establishment of a Task Team, which will help us establish interim targets for local employment, procurement and contracting opportunities.

The Task Team is chaired by Ivan Steenkamp and met twice in February. Terms of reference were tabled at the last meeting, opening the way for the Task Team to push ahead with its mandate in the weeks ahead. Orion with some community representatives have set aspirational targets of 50% local employment, 30% local procurement and 40% contracting opportunities for the Prieska Copper-Zinc Mine and we are grateful for all those who participated in the Bosberaad and those who continue to work with us as we seek to take the Siyathemba community with us as we grow.