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In a slower day for corporate news, junior miner Orion says acquisition of its promising Okiep Copper Project in the Northern Cape. Affordable housing developer Calgro M3 says it's faring well in a tough environment, while Eastplats has reported a return to profit. In international news, Nippon Steel has clearance in the EU for its proposed takeover of US Steel but likely faces a tougher battle in Washington.
Orion Minerals, a junior miner and developer of copper projects in the Northern Cape, said on Monday that all conditions had now been for it to be able to proceed to completion of the acquisition of a controlling interest in the Okiep Copper Project, with the first closing expected on 7 May. This includes regulatory approvals and approvals received from strategic funding partner, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which has approved R43.75 million of additional funding to fund its proportional share of ongoing drilling and operating costs at the OCP. The Okiep district is currently undergoing a major revival against the backdrop of surging copper prices, the company said, and it had leapt in April after reporting a high-grade result from one of its tests. Orion, valued at about R1.2 billion on the JSE, still fell 4% on Monday, though it has risen almost 30% in the year to date.
Affordable housing developer Calgro M3 flagged a between 20.2% and 27.7% rise in headline earnings per share for its year to end-February. This was achieved in challenging market and underscores the company's "deep understanding" of the markets it serves, it said, as well as the prioritisation long-term sustainability and expanding market share. It also came while rolling out the existing pipeline opportunities in a controlled but adaptable manner. Valued at over R700 million on the JSE, Calgro also has a memorial parks business, saying on Monday that this part of the business reached to its highest cash collections since the segment's formation in 2017. Calgro closed about 3% lower but has still almost doubled in the past year.
