The US$325 million Longonjo rare earths project in Angola has secured US$160 million in funding.
Mining Weekly reports that Absa Bank’s corporate and investment banking division has conditionally approved terms for its 50% participation in the US$160 million loan facility.
London-listed Persana, which owns the mine in the Huambo region of Angola, says the debt financing will cover about 60% of the project funding for the mine, with the balance funded through equity provided by Persana subsidiary Ozango.
‘Once in full production the project will create an estimated 2 400 direct and indirect jobs, and will produce around 5% of the world’s magnet metal rare earths used for wind turbines and electric vehicles,’ says Persana chair Paul Atherley.
Pensana has already sunk more than US$70 million into the project over the past six years for exploration, technical and environmental studies. Operating expenditure over the 20-year-plus mine life is estimated at about US$2.3 billion