Orion Minerals Ltd (ASX:ORN) (JSE:ORN) chairman Denis Waddell has picked up another 2 million shares in a series of market trades.
The chartered accountant, who founded Tanami Gold NL in 1994, added to the substantial indirect stake he holds yesterday, through the private company Tarney Holdings Pty Ltd.
Tarney paid $69,000 for the 2 million shares in fast-tracked explorer Orion which has a market capitalisation of $63.7 million.
The company's flagship project Prieska.
An increased stake
Waddell now has 44,732,526 shares through Tarney and continues to have 66,982,220 indirectly-held shares through the DP Waddell Superannuation Fund.
The Orion chairman’s 111,714,746-share holding was valued at $3,798,301.364 at yesterday’s closing price of 3.4 cents.
READ: Orion Minerals investors Tembo Capital and Ndovu Capital up stake to 23%
Waddell also holds 12 million options priced at a variety of target prices up to 5 cents.
If he was to exercise the options, the efforts would add another $420,000 to the company’s cash balance which was sitting at $19 million after a two-part $17.3 million capital raising completed last month to help fund a definitive feasibility study.
Major investors Tembo Capital Mining Fund II LP and Ndovu Capital X B.V. (Ndovu) increased their majority stake in the South African asset holder by 5.58% to 22.99% during the raising, converting $6.3 million in loans in Orion into shares.
Independence Group NL (ASX:IGO) held an 8.23% stake on August 23 after the capital raising while substantial shareholder Waddell had 5.86%.
Orion board member Waddell was previously finance director at Metana Minerals NL group and has close to 30 years experience in finance roles, and with resource sector companies.
Orion’s South African assets.
About Orion
Earlier this week, Orion unveiled initial high-grade nickel-copper hits at Rok Optel nickel-copper-cobalt-platinum target on South Africa’s Areachap Belt.
The company has a number of projects on the prospective mineral belt, including its flagship project Prieska, for which Orion is currently preparing a bankable feasibility study to be published by early next year.
READ: Orion Minerals progresses South African assets with $19 million in the bank
The shuttered copper mine has a 29.4 million tonne zinc-copper resource.
Orion’s securities closed 0.1 cents or 3.03% up to 3.4 cents yesterday.