The LSE has welcomed its newest resource exploration and development company, Altona Rare Earths, to its main market.
Altona has raised £2-million, or $2.5-million, through an oversubscribed placing, having issued 40-million new ordinary shares at 5p apiece through a placing of £1.7-million and a subscription of £322 700.
The company is developing the Monte Muambe rare earths project, in Mozambique.
The project is a carbonite-hosted rare earths deposit located in the Tete province, which is considered a mature and safe mining region in Africa, with excellent infrastructure.
Altona has determined from exploration work since June 2021 that the project can be fast-tracked to a low strip ratio openpit mining operation.
The company is preparing a maiden mineral resource estimate and scoping study on Monte Muambe.
Altona CEO Cédric Simonet says the ever-growing global ambition of a clean energy future has vastly increased demand for rare earth elements, and that their role in the manufacturing of permanent magnets for products such as electric vehicles and wind turbines has placed them at the centre of the international green agenda.
The commodity also remains key in many defence and communication applications.
Altona, which was established in 2005 and is headquartered in the UK, aspires to play an essential role in ensuring these varied needs are met, while also acting as an alternative supply option from the otherwise Chinese-dominated market space.