Name of the Project
Monte Muambe rare earths and fluorspar project.

Location
North-western Mozambique.

Project Owner/s
Altona Rare Earths (51%).

Project Description
A scoping study has proposed the openpit mining of Target 1 and Target 4 at the Monte Muambe project over a life-of-mine of 18 years.

An estimated 750 000 t/y of ore is planned to be extracted and processed through a beneficiation plant to produce a rare-earth concentrate.

The beneficiation process will include crushing, milling and flotation.

The concentrate will be processed through a hydrometallurgical plant to produce an average of 15 000 t/y of mixed rare-earth carbonate.

The hydrometallurgical process will involve a weak acid gangue leach, followed by rare earths leaching and purification.

The mixed rare-earth concentrate product will be packaged and transported by existing road infrastructure to the Port of Beira, in Mozambique, for export.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $283.3-million and an internal rate of return of 25%, with a payback of 2.5 years.

Capital Expenditure
Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $276.3-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Altona has completed all field activities pertaining to a scoping study on short-term fluorspar mining. The results of the study are expected to be available in the first quarter of next year.

The company has said that a representative ore sample has been taken for assay, beneficiation testing and evaluation by potential buyers.

Altona started a scoping study for the production of metallurgical grade fluorspar from low-tonnage high-grade veins, along the western margin of the rare-earths-bearing Monte Muambe carbonatite intrusion, in September 2024.

During October, the company's team conducted field activities. These included a photogrammetric topographic survey of the fluorite zone to provide a high-resolution digital terrain model to serve as base for three-dimensional modelling of fluorspar mineralisation, along with detailed geological mapping of high-grade fluorspar outcrops. The activities also included the production of a representative 300 kg crushed sample of high-grade fluorspar ore.

The ore sample will be split into different subsamples and used for geochemical assays and for beneficiation testing. Representative subsamples will also be submitted to potential buyers and offtakers for evaluation this month. The results will be used as inputs in the study.

The study will also take into consideration the potential production of 15 000 t/y to 20 000 t/y of fluorspar over an initial five years.

Beneficiation of high-grade ore from the fluorite zone to produce metallurgical-grade fluorspar is expected to be simple and to involve crushing, followed by gravity concentration using jigs or a dense-media separation plant.

Altona has said the expected size and relative simplicity of this project lends itself to fast-tracking, with potential for commercial sales within 12 months of an investment decision.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Altona Rare Earths business development, Christian Taylor-Wilkinson, tel +44 7795 168 157 or email ctw@altonaRE.com.