Pensana received approval for the funding package from Africa Finance Corporation Angolan Sovereign Wealth Fund and Absa Bank to develop the Longonjo rare earth project in Angola.

Pensana announced the approval of a US$268M funding package which will be provided to major owned subsidiary company Ozango Minerais, developing the Longonjo rare earth project in Angola.  The funding package is comprised of investments from multiple parties, the Africa Finance Corporation, providing US$81.2M, and Absa Bank providing US$78.8M as a combined US$160M syndicate loan facility, a US$15M bridging loan and US$38M equity and convertible loan facility from the Angolan Sovereign Wealth Fund, and a second convertible loan facility by the Africa Finance Corporation for US$54.9M.  The funding package is estimated to meet phase 1 capital costs for the development of the Longonjo project, estimated by Pensana in January 2024 to be US$216.5M.

The Longonjo project is targeting the construction of a rare earth mine and refinery in Huambo district of Angola.  Once commissioned and ramped-up in phase 1, the mine and facility is scheduled to have a capacity of 20ktpy mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) (containing roughly 10ktpy REO).  This ties in with the non-binding offtake proposal agreed with Hanwa in Japan in September 2024, for 20ktpy MREC over a 5-year period.  A Phase 2 expansion is planned at the Longonjo project after three years of operation, increasing capacity to 38ktpy MREC (19ktpy REO) with additional capital costs estimated at US$100M.