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Orion Minerals said on Monday a new drill hole at its Flat Mine East within the Okiep Copper Project in the Northern Cape returned high-grade copper results, with the findings showing the deposit extends deeper than previously confirmed.The company said the drill hole returned a 3.96m thick layer of 4.64% copper, including a higher-grade section of 0.95m at 14.19% copper. It was drilled about 39m deeper in the same direction as a previous high-grade result.The drilling forms part of Orion’s 2026 resource optimisation programme, which aims to improve understanding of the deposit and test whether mineralisation extends beyond the resource estimate.Mineralisation refers to rock that contains concentrations of a metal such as copper that are significant enough to be of interest for exploration or potential mining.The company said the result confirms continuity of copper mineralisation at Flat Mine East and indicates the deposit remains open at depth with further drilling potentially extending the known mineralised zone.Orion said the findings will help guide the next phase of drilling and improve understanding of the geological structures controlling the mineralisation. It said drilling is being combined with ongoing geophysical surveys to refine future exploration targets.Flat Mine East forms part of Orion’s broader Okiep Copper Project in the Northern Cape. In March last year, the company reported a mineral resource of 10-million tonnes graded at 1.3% copper across the Flat Mines North, Flat Mine East, Flat Mine South and Flat Mine Nababeep deposits.CEO Tony Lennox said the latest drilling confirmed the continuation of the high-grade zone beyond the current resource envelope and would inform the next phase of resource optimisation drilling.
