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

Location
North-western Mozambique.

Project Owner/s
Junior exploration and critical minerals company 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
The US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) has confirmed its intention to support the project.

The confirmation was provided by USTDA deputy director and COO Thomas Hardy on February 8 during his address at the high-level engagement meeting on US support for critical mining projects in sub-Saharan Africa, in Cape Town.

USTDA support is intended to help define the technical and financial pathway for project development, targeting the production of rare-earth elements needed for high-strength permanent magnets, defence applications and energy transition technologies.

This support is subject to the execution of a formal grant agreement, which is in preparation.

In the interim, Altona expects to receive the assay results from its recent fluorspar and gallium drilling campaign in the near future. The company expects that these results, and the resulting mineral resource estimate, will demonstrate that the fluorspar component of the Monte Muambe project represents a viable mining project of significant interest. 

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.