Orion Minerals called for a halt in trading of its shares on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on Friday while investors await the details of an upcoming capital raise.
The copper company, which has a dual listing on the JSE and ASX, said on Friday that it expected to make a material announcement in relation to funding by Tuesday.
“The trading halt is required to enable the capital raising to be undertaken in an orderly manner”, said Orion, adding that the JSE had not declared a corresponding trading halt.
The warning sparked concern among investors on the JSE, with shares in Orion plunging as much as 20% in morning trading, before stabilising to close at 14c, down 6.67%.
Year to date the share price is down 22.2% as the costly transition from pure exploration company to a developer and operating copper miner weighs on its balance sheet.
In the past year, Orion has doubled down on its copper ambitions, racking up A$1.18m in contractor and adviser expenses and A$2.44m in exploration expenditure in the six months to end-December 2024.
The added costs resulted in Orion widening its operating loss to A$6.52m in the period, compared with A$5.56m in the previous second half.
The group issued 12.16-million new shares in February to raise capital.
Still, Orion has been upbeat about the prospects for its SA mine development projects, which it hopes will allow it to start selling copper by next year.
After his appointment in early April, CEO Anthony Lennox told shareholders his focus was on transitioning the company to a base metal producer in the near term.
In late April, investors welcomed feasibility studies for its Prieska Copper Zinc Mine (PCZM), the group’s flagship project and the first mine it plans to develop in SA, and its Flat Mines operation, the first mine to be developed at its Okiep Copper Project.
By bringing PCZM and Okiep to first production, Orion expects to sell its first copper in late 2026 and aims to grow production to more than 50,000 tonnes a year by the end of the decade.
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