With a revised finance and development plan in place, the Longonjo rare earths mine, under construction in Angola, is eyeing first production in 2025.
Mining Review Africa reports that by developing the mine in stages, the upfront capital expenditure will be reduced to US$200 million, with more than half the cost deferred until the third year.
A project of rare earths explorer Pensana, the open pit mine is targeting production of 38 000 tons a year of mixed rare earth sulphate, containing 14 000 tons of rare earth oxides and 4 400 tons of neodymium-praseodymium oxide, representing around 5% of world production. The minerals are used in magnets for EV batteries.
Once complete, the mine is expected create 420 permanent high-value jobs.
The project is being funded through a US$120 million project debt facility from Absa and US$80 million from FSDEA, Angola’s sovereign wealth fund, which is a major shareholder.
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