Orion Minerals (ASX:ORN) set to raise $20m for South African projects

• Orion Minerals (ORN) will undertake a $20 million placement to fund the next phase of development at its South African projects
• The placement will be undertaken in three phases with a total of 1000 million fully-paid ordinary shares on offer at a price of two cents
• Orion will also be undertaking a share purchase plan to raise up to a further $3 million with eligible shareholders able to subscribe for up to $30,000 worth of shares
• The money will be used to progress the development of the Prieska Mine, progress the feasibility study on the Okiep Project and undertake test work on the Jacomynspan Project
• Orion ends the day in the grey with shares trading at 2.2 cents

Orion Minerals (ORN) will undertake a $20 million placement to fund the next phase of development at its South African projects.

The placement will be undertaken in three phases with firm commitments received for the first two.

Under the placement, a total of 1000 million fully-paid ordinary shares will be issued at a price of two cents each as well as 151 million free attaching options, however, this is only under phases one and two.

Phase one will issue 156 million shares to raise $3.1 million, while phase two will issue 145 million shares to raise $2.9 million.

Subject to shareholder approval, phase two will see Non-Executive Director Tom Borman apply for $2 million and Chairman Denis Waddell apply for $200,000.

Furthermore, participants in both phases will receive one free attaching option for every two shares issued with an exercise price of 2.5 cents and an expiry date of June 30, 2023.

Phase three will see 699 million shares issued to raise $14 million, however, this is subject to shareholder approval.

Orion will also be undertaking a share purchase plan to raise up to a further $3 million.

Eligible shareholders will be able to apply for up to $30,000 worth of shares which will be priced the same as the placement of two cents.

Orion may choose to accept oversubscriptions or scale back applications under its discretion.

The plan will open on June 28 and is expected to close on August 5.

Orion will use the money from the placement and share purchase plan to progress the development of its Prieska Copper-Zinc Mine, progress the feasibility study on the Okiep Copper Project and undertake test work on the Jacomynspan nickel-copper-cobalt-PGE project.

“The prices of copper, zinc, nickel and other future-facing metals are still very strong – and underlying demand from the renewable energy and EV sectors continues to increase, and will do so for many years to come,” CEO and Managing Director Errol Smart said.

“With advanced, near-term production assets in one of the world’s best mining jurisdictions, the Northern Cape, Orion stands ready to play a key role as a supplier of these metals.”

Orion has ended the day in the grey with shares trading at 2.2 cents.