The Prieska Power Reserve is a large-scale initiative aimed at generating electrical energy from renewable sources and storing this energy as green hydrogen and ammonia on a long-term basis , with the intention to achieve energy independence , thus avoiding the limitations of the national electricity grid .

According to Orion , access to the Prieska Power Reserve would allow the Prieska Copper-Zinc Project to be entirely powered by renewable energy and green hydrogen sources , and potentially achieve net-zero carbon emissions , thus positioning it at the forefront of new futurefacing metal projects globally .

In addition , it would also have the potential to significantly reduce mine operating costs , with the recent results of the fifth round of South Africa ’ s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement ( REIPPP ) Programme returning an average bid price of R0.473 / kWh for renewable energy – less than half the assumed base power cost of R0.93 / kWh used in the Prieska Project Bankable Feasibility Study published on 26 May 2020 .

These reduced power costs also open the door to potentially incorporate future value-adding beneficiation and downstream processing at Prieska using reliable , low-cost , clean renewable energy .

The collaboration with CENEC builds on an earlier collaboration agreement signed with juwi Renewable Energies ( Pty ) Ltd South Africa ( juwi ) to investigate the feasibility of generating and supplying 35MW of electricity for the Prieska Project from a bespoke hybrid power system using integrated wind and solar technologies .

Further discussions are expected between Orion , juwi and CENEC regarding the potential inclusion of this bespoke power production plant at the Prieska Project into the Prieska Power Reserve , for an off-grid power supply solution . The time is ripe for discussions such as these based on the August 2021 , South African government gazetted amendments that exempt self-generation facilities , with a generation capacity of no more than 100MW ¹ . The amendments also now permit power generators to be able to ‘ wheel ’ ( convey electricity from the point of connection to a point of consumption ), through the national transmission grid .

Registration of self-generation facilities with the National Energy Regulator of South Africa ( NERSA ) will still be required , a shorter less onerous process than obtaining a generation licence . Given that the Prieska Project will require only 32MW , eventually supplied from renewable energy facilities adjacent to the mine , these recent legislative changes will significantly shorten licencing timelines and costs to commissioning an off-grid power supply setup , as well as accelerating the progress towards net-zero carbon emissions for the operation .

The Prieska district is already home to significant renewable energy infrastructure due to its highly favourable climatic conditions , including extremely high solar irradiation and sustainable wind potential . The district also has advantageous transport infrastructure , lying on the

The Prieska Copper Zinc Mine site with existing , independently owned , wind generation facility .

main N10 road haulage and national rail haulage route to the port of Gqeberha which has the potential to be established as a major hydrogen shipping hub in South Africa . CENEC has therefore selected the Prieska district as the preferred site for its renewable energy hub .

Having historically relied heavily on fossil fuel consumption , South Africa will soon be at the forefront of the global transition to green energy following its signing of the Just Energy Transition Partnership at the UN Climate Change Conference ( COP26 ) in November 2021 . Under the deal , South Africa will receive USD8.5-billion in grants and subsidised loans over the next three to five years to assist in the transition away from coal power . Funded by the United States , Britain , France , Germany , and the European Union , the programme is designed to help South Africa achieve the lower end of its emissions targets under the Paris Agreement .

Orion ’ s Managing Director and CEO , Errol Smart , commented in November 2021 , " The establishment of an independently owned and developed , large-scale renewable energy production and storage facility right on our doorstep represents a hugely exciting opportunity to establish Prieska as one of the lowest carbon emission sources of copper and zinc supply globally , with the potential to ultimately achieve carbon neutrality for the project .

“ South Africa is set to make a rapid transition away from the reliance on fossil fuels , and Orion intends to play a leading role in supporting this transition . This is a really exciting opportunity for us to play a pivotal role in the global energy transformation by delivering one of the largest new projects capable of meeting soaring demand for critical metals , such as copper and doing so in a way that goes above

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. Amendments to Schedule 2 of the Electricity Regulation Act 4 of 2006 , as detailed in Government Notice 737 in Government Gazette 44989 of 12 August 2021 . •

Orion Minerals Limited