The Prieska copper-zinc mine had stood idle for 35 years, its lower workings filling with water. After eight months of negotiation spanning South Africa, Australia, Switzerland and Canada, the first US$40m of Glencore's US$250m package finally became unconditional, with money due to flow from the end of October. Orion Minerals chief executive Tony Lennox told Alec Hogg what that first cheque unlocked, what still stood between Orion and the far larger Deeps, and why he believed the story that South Africa makes mining near impossible was overrated. He also took on the risk of selling everything to a single buyer, the exit of a long-standing shareholder, BHP's interest in the Northern Cape, and whether a junior sitting between two giants could keep rowing its own boat..Listen here.Edited transcript of the interview.Alec Hogg (00:02) Well, patience is a virtue in mining. At Orion Minerals, it's become a job requirement. Today, though, the JSE and Australian Stock Exchange listed company told the market that its forty million dollars of funding from Glencore is now unconditional. That's the first tranche. The money starts flowing at the end of October. I'll declare an interest here. Orion used to be in the BizNews South African Rand portfolio, the Ricardo portfolio. We owned it because we were excited about the potential. And then last month we decided to restructure and to put a greater focus on maybe a surer bet, and that was in the informal sector in South Africa. Tony Lennox is the chief executive of Orion. I guess today you're saying, Tony, ‘man, you should have held on a little longer. We were always going to bring the bacon home.’Anthony Lennox (01:00) Alec, absolutely. Look, it feels a bit like an overnight success, but they're always a long time in the making. And we couldn't be more pleased. Saturday afternoon, when we dotted the last i and crossed the last t, was better than watching the Wallabies beat the Springboks.Alec Hogg (01:24) Had to get that one in, didn't you? You should have said with eleven men. But so the small cheque has cleared, but the big one not yet. Explain that to us.Anthony Lennox (01:31) Yes.Anthony Lennox (01:38) Okay. The agreement with Glencore is for two hundred and fifty million, and it's in three tranches: forty, fifty and one hundred and sixty. So the forty is unconditional. It allows us to construct and get the Uppers portion of our orebody into production, and that will be by the end of next year. So we'll be delivering concentrate into the market come 1 January.The fifty and one hundred and sixty are for the Deeps portion. It is a more substantial mining operation. We have conditions; we have to provide more funding along the way. But the Glencore support has unlocked the Prieska project, and we couldn't be more pleased.Alec Hogg (02:32) You lost a major shareholder, a long-term shareholder, recently. What was that about?Anthony Lennox (02:39) It was Tembo Capital out of London, a very strong long-term supporter. Their investment in Orion was in one of their funds, which had come to its conclusion. And pleasingly, we had a longstanding high-net-worth individual take up a large portion of the Tembo stock. It's all on the record. And also a South African institution.So we are thrilled to have institutional support on our register from a major institution in South Africa, and also the high-net-worth individual. So no concern. It was a deal that was done to everyone's satisfaction.Alec Hogg (03:29) You mentioned Major. That's the man who got us involved, Peter Major. I think he's going to be delighted to see that his prediction about the future of Orion is starting to come true. But what's going to unlock the rest of the money, the Deeps as you've called it, which is really the exciting part of the whole Orion story?Anthony Lennox (03:52) Well, firstly, it was not Peter Major, whom I've come to know quite well. It was a significant institution in South Africa and another individual. But unlocking the Deeps really is about us meeting our project schedule over the next forty-two months. So we will have the Uppers in production over thirteen months, by the end of next year.And then there's a subsequent twenty-nine months. And there are toll gates along the way, and there are clearly identified markers where we have to meet that. So it is a progressive aspect: dewatering the operation, the Deeps, re-establishing proper mining volumes. The Uppers is only relatively small. It's a quarter of a million tonnes per annum. The Deeps is a proper two point four million tonnes per annum. So it's just us being very deliberate. And if I want to coin a high-level phrase, protecting the critical path through the next forty-two months.Alec Hogg (05:06) Okay, so it's quite descriptive. Uppers meaning a higher part of the mine, presumably, the Deeps further down. Dewatering: explain to those who have no idea what you're talking about what it means.Anthony Lennox (05:21) Prieska mine has stood idle now for thirty-five years. And over that time, inflow from the surface has filled up a portion of the workings. This is not an unusual occurrence, and what we are underway with at the moment is steady and ramping-up dewatering operations. So they'll take just under two years to pump the water out of the workings, dry it out, and have the workings ready for production forty-two months down the way.The pleasing thing with Prieska is it is not old remnant mining, which you find in a number of mining operations around the world that are doing this sort of thing. Our orebody at depth is virgin material, brand new, and ready for exploiting and mining and getting out. And the technology over the last thirty-five years in terms of deep mining has improved vastly. So we have a totally different outlook on how to extract the ore and get the Deeps going. And that will be at a two point four million tonnes per annum rate.Alec Hogg (06:42) Of course we're talking copper, for anyone who hasn't picked it up yet. How well endowed is that part of South Africa with copper? When one talks copper, you think the DRC, you think Zambia, I suppose, in an African sense, and other parts of the world as well. But how much is there?Anthony Lennox (07:01) Look, if I knew, I would tell you in a heartbeat. But the pleasing thing Orion Minerals has enjoyed has been the support of BHP Xplor during the course of 2026. And one of the key aspects that has come out, and whilst we haven't nailed anything down, it is readily recognised that the Northern Cape, in terms of copper, is one of the most underexplored portions of the world. Prieska was readily available when they discovered it back in the sixties, early seventies, and got it into production. There is more copper to be had. We can't talk openly about it, but we've had an excellent year with the assistance of BHP Xplor. And there is more copper to be had in the Northern Cape, because it leads up into the copper province that is in Botswana; it leads up into copper that has been discovered way north in Namibia. So Mother Nature doesn't pay attention to sovereign boundaries. That region has copper, and we have a very clear eye on what more can be done in that part of the world.Alec Hogg (08:26) The narrative in South Africa, both internally and amongst many people externally, is that the government makes it impossible, or near impossible, for people to mine in this country. Clearly it's not impossible for you, because you're at it. Is that narrative overdone, or is it just that you guys have seen what the parameters are and worked within them?Anthony Lennox (09:22) No trouble, Alec. I've been doing mining for forty years around the planet. Every jurisdiction has its challenges. And I think the narrative about South Africa being difficult is overrated. South Africa has a hundred and fifty years of mining experience. We know how mining creates wealth for every sovereign entity around the world. And it's just being able to understand and work in South Africa, and we have an excellent team, all local, who understand that and make life easy for us and our shareholders.Alec Hogg (10:04) Are you seeing any movement from government? And I ask this because the mining minister, Gwede Mantashe, was usually a drop-in at the Joburg [Mining] Indaba, but at the most recent one he was there for the full two days, which tells you a lot, I think: that he's perhaps listening more attentively than he has in the past. Are you seeing any movement there?Anthony Lennox (10:26) Absolutely. I can't speak for the minister, although we are in touch from time to time, not regularly. And it's the whole focus on critical minerals and supply chain investment on a global basis that has reinvigorated the look for, you know, you've got the majors, coal, iron ore, and established provinces. People are looking readily and hard for all the other minerals. And that takes government support, collaboration and farsightedness.Alec Hogg (11:06) Well, that's pretty good news. Just going back a little to this deal with Glencore, it's taken eight months from handshake to signature, which is, I suppose, for people outside of mining, unusual. Is it usual for you guys to take this long?Anthony Lennox (11:26) Getting mining operations up, Alec, is a long-run race. And when you have to deal with South Africa, all the issues that exist here, we have a shareholder base in Australia, Glencore out of Switzerland, and also one of our other investors, Triple Flag, from Canada. It is a complex international arrangement that has to be gone through meticulously, methodically, and I can certainly say Saturday afternoon was a very pleasing time.Alec Hogg (12:08) Tell us a little more about Glencore. It's going to take a hundred percent of the bulk concentrate from the Uppers, which you've told us about, which is now on its way, and also a hundred percent of the Deeps, should that go ahead as you anticipate. Is having Glencore as your only buyer an exposure that shareholders should be concerned about?Anthony Lennox (12:35) No, not at all. Glencore, they are a serious entity around the world in mining, commodities trading, et cetera. They have been pragmatic, easy to deal with, and the relationship with Glencore is good. It is market related; it is not one-sided. We're very pleased with that. So I think shareholders should look at it from the other side of the coin and say, here we have long-term steady relationships. And if you look at other commodities around the world, Alec, that has been the case. Big long-term relationships have led to strong development of resource projects around the world, and I can talk about iron ore, coal and others. So it is good to have long-term relationships.Alec Hogg (13:36) But what happens to Orion in the long term? You've got Glencore now as a partner. They're going to take your offtake; they're giving you the money to develop things. You've got BHP that is helping you to look for more copper in that area. Those are two giants. Orion is entrepreneurial, small, looking at things. Are you guys likely to continue rowing your own boat, or is it almost inevitable that a junior will get swallowed up?Anthony Lennox (14:07) Look, speculation is a difficult part of the world. The most important thing for Orion is to do what it does, do it well, and ensure that we deliver quality product to Glencore, that our cost position is in the lowest quartile, where it currently sits for Prieska. And just as one person I know said, good business can be a little bit boring at times, but just deliver, deliver and deliver again.Alec Hogg (14:44) But this movement from being an explorer to now being a miner, how do you adjust internally to that?Anthony Lennox (14:52) We have spent a lot of time during 2026 going through what is necessary in terms of our values, how we align people, our structures, our processes, our efficient approach to life. That's what sets us apart. We are ready, and the whole package of producing... Yeah, as I said many years ago to a different audience, we're in the business of taking big rocks, grinding them up until they're extremely small, selling them to someone and doing it over and over again. We know what we're doing with that. I think our shareholders need to be relaxed that we will deliver very well for them.Alec Hogg (15:44) And for those who are coming across Orion for the very first time, just tell us a bit about yourself and your background.Anthony Lennox (15:51) Oh goodness. I grew up on a wheat and sheep farm in Australia. And in the early eighties, I thought mining looked like a great career. And I've been in mining now for some forty years: BHP, Rio Tinto. I started my career in juniors, and if you look at me, there's a little bit of grey hair here. I look forward to finishing my career, in the time to come, in the junior space as well. So I'm a mining engineer, and I've been doing this for a long time.Alec Hogg (16:31) I ask that question for a reason, because you've got a great pedigree. So what attracted you to this little opportunity in the Northern Cape of South Africa, when you presumably had a lot of other juniors you could have looked at?Anthony Lennox (16:49) Personally, I like Africa, not just South Africa. It has just got so much dynamism, colour and style about it. It is not a boring country. And I enjoy the excitement of delivering new projects, and rectifying projects that are not going all that well. But I looked at Orion, and I looked at the board and all of the other aspects that you pay attention to, and I thought, here is an organisation that I feel comfortable with, and I'm happy to be part of the organisation. We've got an excellent board, and we will continue to deliver. And as I said at the outset, Alec, these things seem to be an overnight success, but they are a long time in the making as well.Alec Hogg (17:42) No, it surely has been. And by the way, without doing a discredit to Peter Major, I meant he brought it to us at BizNews. He gave us the insight, not that he brought the project generally. What's the message your shareholders should take from today's news?Anthony Lennox (17:59) We are now going to be South Africa's next significant copper producer. We have a vision as to where our future will take us. And just keep watching us and monitoring how we deliver on what we say we will do.Alec Hogg (18:19) Tony Lennox is the chief executive of Orion Minerals. Big news today: forty million dollars coming into the bank. They'll be able to draw down on it from the end of October, which means they begin mining. It's a day that all Orion shareholders have been waiting for. And well, they've had to have patience, as have Mr Lennox and his team. I'm Alec Hogg from BizNews TV.