Tony Lennox

SINCE taking the helm at Orion Minerals in April 2025, Tony Lennox has overseen some notable milestones in the junior miner’s quest to become a South African copper and zinc producer. In September, Orion unveiled a financing and offtake deal for its Prieska Copper Zinc Mine with Glencore worth up to $250m. PCZM is the jewel in Orion’s asset crown as it is forecast to produce 22,000 tons of copper and 65,000t of zinc a year. First production is targeted for this Christmas.

But the pace of redeveloping the mine has been slow and Orion requires R6.7bn to redevelop the entire PCZM at a time when similar copper projects in South Africa’s Northern Cape province – notably Copper 360’s – have run into serious difficulties. Still, the Glencore deal is a signal of market confidence. “Glencore came through at the end with quite a degree of gusto, and we found the terms they were offering very palatable and acceptable given the size of Orion and the size of the facility,” Lennox said, while acknowledging the scepticism in the market.

It’s a big undertaking for a company of Orion’s size, but the ultimate prize is copper, the red metal that is currently a highly coveted commodity. Orion is also of interest because PCZM will add to the diversity of South Africa’s minerals and metals mix while signalling that new mining projects can still get off the ground in the country.