TIDMPRE
RNS Number : 9701M
Pensana PLC
27 September 2021
27 September 2021
Pensana Plc
( "Pensana" or the "Company" )
Coola Continues to Deliver Strong Progress
Pensana Plc today provides an exploration update from its Coola
project located 16 kilometres north of the Company's
state-of-the-art Longonjo rare earth development in Angola.
Having identified highly anomalous technology metals including
rare earths, scandium and fluorite in soils surrounding the 7,500
km2 Coola project in 2020, field exploration activities resumed in
Q3 2021.
Highlights include:
-- The Coola carbonatite has an enriched distribution of heavy
rare earths compared to the light rare earth elements including
neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) at Pensana's Longonjo project. Work
is ongoing to establish the extent of the mineralisation and
confirm its distribution. This will help to identify how Coola may
complement NdPr production from Longonjo. Heavy rare earths are
less abundant and are important in a range of clean energy
technological applications including permanent magnets.
-- Scandium in Coola's soils is highly anomalous with most
values at more than 80 ppm and exceptional values of over 200 ppm.
Work is underway to identify the mineral host and the extent of
mineralisation. Scandium is used in alloys, particularly with
aluminium, for light-weighting applications in industries including
aerospace manufacturing.
-- In 2020, Pensana identified outcropping of fluorite and
undertook soil sampling and geological mapping over the 6 km by 2.5
km complex. An outcrop sample of very high-grade material of over
97% calcium fluoride has been highlighted for further
investigation. Given that outcropping fluorite is often difficult
to identify, this is strong evidence for more similar
mineralisation. The area is being mapped in detail and will be soil
sampled. Trenching, rock chip sampling and drilling will be
considered thereafter. Fluorite is crucial in a growing range of
chemical, ceramic and metallurgical processes.
While the global pandemic has interrupted field staff site
access , a Phase II programme has commenced and is on track to
conclude in Q4 2021. This comprises:
-- Detailed geological mapping and rock chip sampling of the Coola carbonatite complex
-- Mineralogical studies including XRD, petrography and whole rock geochemistry
-- Infill soil geochemistry over the area of fluorite mineralisation
-- Infill soil geochemistry over the rare earth/ Scandium enriched carbonatite ring dyke
-- Augering the central diatreme.
The Phase II programme is well timed to access upgrades which
will enable larger equipment on site at Coola in 2022.
Pensana's CEO, Tim George, said:
"Now that Covid restrictions are being eased we are really
pleased to get the team back in the field and restart exploration
activities at Coola.
The Coola carbonatite is the first of several targets within the
7,500 km2 Exploration Licence area we will be targeting.
The initial focus is to follow up on the heavy rare earths,
scandium and fluorite anomalies identified at Coola and we very
much look forward to reporting results from these programmes over
the coming weeks."
For further information:
Pensana Plc
Website: www.pensana .co.uk
Paul Atherley, Chairman / Tim George, CEO contact@pensana.co.uk
About Pensana
The electrification of motive power is the most important part
of the energy transition and one of the biggest energy transitions
in history. Magnet metals are central to the transition and
critical to high value manufacturing applications such as electric
vehicles and offshore wind turbines.
Pensana plans to establish Saltend as an independent,
sustainable supplier of the key magnet metal oxides to a market
which is currently dominated by China. The US$125 million Saltend
facility is being designed to produce circa 12,500 tonnes per annum
of rare earth oxides, of which 4,500 tonnes will be neodymium and
praseodymium (NdPr), representing around 5% of the world market in
2025.
The Saltend facility is located within the world class Saltend
Chemicals Park, a cluster of leading chemicals and renewable energy
businesses at the heart of the UK's energy estuary, and host to a
range of companies including BP Petrochemicals technology, INEOS,
Air Products, Triton Power, Nippon Gohsei and Tricoya.
Pensana's plug and play facility will create over 500 jobs
during construction and over 100 direct jobs once in production. It
will be the first major separation facility to be established in
over a decade and will become one of only three major producers
located outside China.
Initial feedstock will be shipped as a clean, high purity mixed
rare earth sulphate (MRES) from the Company's Longonjo low impact
mine in Angola. The open-cast mine, state-of-the-art concentrator
and proprietary MRES processing plant are being designed by Wood to
the highest international standards. They will be powered by
minimal carbon hydro-electric power and connected to the Port of
Lobito by the recently upgraded Benguela railway line.
Pensana is of the view that provenance of critical rare earth
materials supply, life cycle analysis and GHG Scope 1, 2 and 3
emissions will all become significant factors in supply chains for
major customers. The Company intends to offer customers an
independently and sustainably sourced supply of the metal oxides
and carbonates of increasing importance to a range of applications
central to the energy transition, industrial, medical, military and
communications sectors.
For many miners around the world who are looking to access the
European and US supply chains, it is becoming increasingly clear
that the proposed EU and possible UK carbon border taxation would
mean that it is no longer acceptable for manufacturers to source
material extracted or processed unsustainably.
Pensana is aiming to establish Saltend as an attractive
alternative to mining houses who may otherwise be limited to
selling their products to China, having designed the facility to be
easily adapted to cater for a range of rare earth feedstocks.
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END
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