Pensana Plc - Longonjo construction budget on track and Coola carbonatite drilling
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION
("Pensana" or the "Company")
Longonjo construction budget on track and Coola carbonatite drilling
Pensana is pleased to provide the following update on the construction progress at Longonjo and the commencement of an exploration project at the Coola project in
-- Construction on track to meet capital cost schedule;
-- Engineering delivery partners mobilised;
-- Further drilling programme at Coola outlined.
The Longonjo project team
has completed a detailed review of the capital cost estimates and construction schedule since the approval of finance. Based on recent updates from all major contractors and supplier quotations, the project team has confirmed that
the overall capital cost envelope of
Key project delivery partners
SRK has contracted a specialist drilling company to commence drilling on the tailings storage facility ("TSF") to define the final excavation profile to meet Global Industry Standards on Tailings Management. The material excavated within the primary TSF will be deployed for mine haul road construction, plant and infrastructure terracing as well as the TSF wall construction.
Upon completion of TSF drilling, the drilling contractor will re-mobilise to the Coola exploration project, located approximately 40 kilometres north of Longonjo, to commence a drilling programme to test the potential for a deeply weathered and supergene enrichment central diatreme, as occurs at the Longonjo carbonatite.
The central diatreme is a compelling magnetic target and is covered by 3 to 5 metres of sand and a ferricrete layer. An initial 10 holes of 30 to 50 metres are planned to investigate this unique magnetic anomaly. Samples collected will be analyzed on site by portable XRF and mineralogical studies initiated. This will confirm the resource potential and allow for follow-up drilling to delineate the contribution that this deposit may make as a high-grade feedstock to the Longonjo operation.
Commenting on the progress, Pensana CEO
"We are extremely pleased with the excellent progress on the Longonjo project. The confirmation that our capital costs remain firmly within budget-and that our development timeline is intact-is a great result for the team. This reflects the quality of the planning and technical input to date, and we look forward to positive confirmation of the Coola deposit to extend the use of the processing infrastructure being developed at Longonjo beyond the +20 years currently contemplated"
About
About ProProcess Engineering
About
About Longonjo
Pensana has spent over
The Company has successfully delineated a near surface JORC compliant reserve of 22 million tonnes grading 3.04% TREO containing 139,457 tonnes of NdPrO making it one of the world's largest and highest grade, undeveloped magnet metal rare earth deposits with a mine life of over 20 years.
The electrification of motive power is arguably the biggest energy transition in history and needs rare earths for permanent magnets.
Initial production will be 20,000 tonnes of a highly marketable clean Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate ("MREC"). A proposed second phase expansion will see production increase to 40,000 tonnes per annum of MREC, representing about 5% of the world's production, capable of being converted into permanent magnets for electric vehicles and offshore wind turbines.
The Company is committed to developing the Longonjo mine to the very best international standards with the highest level of community engagement and has published a blueprint for sustainable rare earth development which is available on our website. Pensana_Blueprint_for_Sustainable_Rare_Earths.pdf
The team's efforts were recognised in 2022 when Pensana received green bond assurance by S&P Green Bond Rating Agency CICERO and more recently were awarded a
The information contained within this announcement is considered by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No.596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via a Regulatory Information Service , this inside information will be
considered
to
be
in
the
public
domain.
The
person
responsible
for
arranging
for
the
release
of
this announcement on behalf of the Company is Paul Atherley (Chairman).
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For further information, please contact:
Shareholder/analyst enquiries:
Pensana Plc
Rob Kaplan, Chief Financial Officer
