Name of the Project
Longonjo neodymium/praseodymium project.

Location
Huambo, Angola – 4 km from a modern rail line leading directly into the Atlantic Ocean Port of Lobito.

Project Owner/s
Pensana Rare Earths holds an 84% interest in Longonjo through its 84% holding in Angola-registered company Ozango Minerais, which, in turn, owns 100% of the mining licence.

The Angolan government holds a 10% interest and the company’s Angolan partners the remaining 6%.

Project Description
Longonjo is one of the biggest rare earths deposits in the world, with an initial 20-year mine life.

The project has total proven and probable reserves of 30.1-million tonnes grading 0.55% neodymium/praseodymium oxide for 166 000 t neodymium/praseodymium and total rare-earth oxides (TREOs) of 767 000 t.

The mine execution plan is based on a staged development of the mine and processing facilities.

At full production, once the phased development is complete, the Longonjo mine will target production of up to 38 000 t/y of mixed rare-earth double sulphate or mixed rare-earth carbonate (MREC) containing 14 000 t of TREOs and up to 4 400 t of neodymium/praseodymium oxides. This equates to about 5% of the worldwide production of neodymium/praseodymium oxides a year for downstream processing or to be sold on the international market.

Initial feedstock will be shipped as a clean, high-purity mixed rare earth sulphate to Pensana’s Saltend rare-earth oxide separation facility, in the UK.

Potential Job Creation
The mine will employ about 650 people during construction and will create 420 permanent high-value jobs.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Initial capital costs are estimated at $200-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The project can be put into production in less than 18 months.

Latest Developments
Angolan sovereign wealth fund Fundo Soberano de Angola (FSDEA) is “delighted to see the excellent progress” being made on site, as this is an important project for the entity, FSDEA chairperson Armando Manuel has said.

Pensana Rare Earths and its local subsidiary Ozango Minerais welcomed the full board of FSDEA to Longonjo for a site inspection on January 10. The six members of the board were accompanied by the head of investment and key analysts of the FSDEA.  

“[The] FSDEA has financed the acceleration of construction activities to ensure [that] the project maintains momentum while we work with the lender consortium to conclude the main finance,” Manuel has explained. 

The board was satisfied with the activities completed to date, namely the deployment of capital for the civil works for the camp, the rehabilitation of the access road to the Longonjo railway station and the agricultural demonstration plots under the Livelihood Restoration Programme.

The board also visited the overhead powerlines, which, together with an underground water supply and effluent disposal system, have been installed ahead of the arrival of the 350-person modular camp currently being assembled in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Pensana CEO Tim George has said the company is in good shape to start construction activities as soon as the financing is completed.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
ADP (main contractor); and MCC (main construction).

Contact Details for Project Information
Pensana Rare Earths, email admin@pensana.co.uk orir@pensana.co.uk.