https://www.miningweekly.com

Pensana confirms $494m capital cost for its Saltend, Longonjo operations

25th May 2022

By: Marleny Arnoldi

Deputy Editor Online

     

Font size: - +

London-listed Pensana has completed a front-end engineering design (FEED) and value engineering study for a rare earth separation hub at the Saltend Chemicals Park, in the Humber Freeport, in the UK.

The company aims to establish a rare earth processing hub amid growing concerns over supply chain resilience globally and burgeoning demand for magnet metals from the electric vehicle and offshore wind sectors.

Pensana plans to source raw material from its Longonjo rare earth deposit, in Angola, along with third-party feedstock for processing at the Saltend facility.

The FEED and value engineering study, which was prepared by consultancies and professional services firms Wood, SRK Consulting, Snowden Mining Industry Consultants and Paradigm Project Management, envisions production of 12 500 t/y of separated rare earths, including about 5 000 t/y of neodymium and praseodymium oxides.

The Longonjo life-of-mine is expected to be about 20 years, for an average total rare earth oxides grade of 3.72% in years one to five, before declining to 2.18% in years six to 20.

The Saltend refinery capital cost is estimated at $195-million, while the Longonjo mine and processing infrastructure will total just under $300-million. 

Total pre-production capital expenditure for Pensana, therefore, amounts to $494-million, with a payback period of 1.5 years and an internal rate of return of 71%.

The net present value after tax sits at $3.5-billion for the Longonjo and Saltend operations.

Based on the first five years of steady-state production, the mining and refinery operations can generate $630-million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation and almost $1-billion in revenue.

The Longonjo project will comprise an openpit mine, a flotation concentration plant and mixed rare earth sulphate (MRES) refinery. It will treat 1.5-million tonnes of ore a year, producing about 40 000 t/y of MRES for export to the Saltend refinery.

Longonjo will be powered by hydroelectric power from the Angolan national grid system. The mine capital cost estimate includes the building of port and rail infrastructure. 

The Saltend refinery will be the first major new rare earth concentrate facility to be established in more than ten years and, once in full production in 2024, will be one of only three major rare earth oxide producers located outside of China.

Meanwhile, Pensana has initiated a design and cost estimate study into producing heavy rare earths – dysprosium and terbium – which are critical for high-technology magnets required for the automotive industry.

Edited by Chanel de Bruyn
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor Online

Comments

The content you are trying to access is only available to subscribers.

If you are already a subscriber, you can Login Here.

If you are not a subscriber, you can subscribe now, by selecting one of the below options.

For more information or assistance, please contact us at subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za.

Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):

Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format

Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):

All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.

Already a subscriber?

Forgotten your password?

MAGAZINE & ONLINE

SUBSCRIBE

RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA

SUBSCRIBE

CORPORATE PACKAGES

CLICK FOR A QUOTATION