London-listed Pensana has reported that construction activities at the Longonjo rare earth project, in Angola, continue at pace and that the company is looking forward to a 12-month period of intense activity, with project commissioning scheduled for 2027.

Pensana says initial yearly production will be 2 400 t of light magnet metals neodymium/praseodymium (NdPr) accompanied by 73 t heavy magnet metals dysprosium/terbium (DyTb) in the form of clean high-value mixed rare earth carbonate.

There are also plans to double production to 4 200 t/y NdPr and 122 t/y DyTb post 2030.

The company says current resources are over 300-million tonnes and an 11 000 m drill programme has been planned which is designed to increase resources towards one-billion tonnes, which would make Longonjo one of the world’s largest rare earth deposits ever developed.

The project will be powered by low-cost sustainable hydroelectricity supplied from the Luaca dam hydro project, in Angola.

The project is connected to the Port of Lobito through the US government-backed Lobito corridor rail and services which are connecting Ivanhoe’s recently commissioned Kamoa-Kakula copper smelter in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to the Atlantic seaboard.

Pensana says discussions are well advanced with a number of parties to establish a US mine-to-magnet supply chain realigning a major long-term supply chain of critical minerals from Angola to original equipment manufacturer-backed magnet producers in the US.

The company reports that the main pre-construction facilities have been installed and are operational, including the camp and accommodation, construction and site power and water treatment facilities.

Additionally, the process plant terrace and contractor’s laydown areas have been completed with preparations for piling operations well advanced, and bulk earthworks and starter walls for the tailings storage facility (TSF) are under way following completion of site clearing.

Further, the company notes that the aggregate and concrete batching plants are being commissioned for the first large concrete pours scheduled for March and major equipment vendor packages are progressing on schedule.

“We are delighted with the progress by the engineering team to bring this world class project through design, engineering and pre-construction and up to the commencement of main construction.

“Huge thanks to project manager Kevin Botha and his team for their considerable efforts to date as we look forward to a period of intense construction activity over the next 12 months,” says CEO Tim George.

STRONG DEMAND

Since the fourth quarter of 2025, Pensana notes that the quoted NdPr oxide price (CIF North America) has increased materially, rising from about $83/kg in November 2025 to over $135/kg in February.

The company explains that this strengthening price environment reflects sustained growth in demand for secure, independent western-facing supply of rare earth materials and reinforces the strategic importance of delivering first production in 2027 as scheduled.

It notes that the improving pricing backdrop has a direct and favourable impact on projected project economics.

Against a backdrop of tightening supply chains, the company says it is experiencing increasing market interest in expanding beyond the planned 2 400 t/y of NdPr production and further leveraging the scale of the Longonjo resource base.

In particular, the company says engagement with US-based magnet producers has intensified around heavy rare earth supply, which has led to the identification of an enhanced heavy rare earth recovery stream with the potential to increase DyTb output up to fivefold as announced in November 2025.

At full scale, Pensana says this would position it as one of the significant producers of heavy rare earths in the western market.

The company says the technical team continues to assess additional recovery pathways to further optimise output.

This increased recovery results in an additional $155-million revenue over and above prior base case at Phase 2 production.

This is based on the current market for these materials at $1 125/kg for dysprosium and $4 500/kg for terbium.

The company says the combination of increased heavy rare earth production potential and the substantial scale of the Longonjo orebody, positions Pensana at the centre of the emerging US-focused rare earth supply chain.

Following the partnerships signed in June 2025 with ReElement Technologies, Hanwa and Toyota Tsusho, and the cooperation agreement executed in October 2025 with VACUUMSCHMELZE, the company continues to receive interest from additional magnet producers, including Vulcan Elements, which has partnered directly with the US Department of Defense.

Importantly, Pensana says demand signals are increasingly originating downstream from original-equipment manufacturer sectors spanning defence, automotive, aerospace and hyperscale data infrastructure, including companies such as Amazon and Microsoft.

“This structural pull from end-users underscores the strategic relevance of establishing large-scale, secure and transparent rare earth supply chains aligned to western industrial policy priorities,” the company says.