London-listed Pensana has completed an initial drilling programme on the Coola carbonatite, located about 30 km north of the company’s flagship Longonjo rare earth project in central Angola.

Longonjo remains one of the world’s largest undeveloped rare earth deposits and Coola is a key component of Pensana’s regional exploration strategy to extend the Longonjo life-of-mine, Pensana points out.

It highlights that the programme was completed ahead of the onset of the rainy season, marking another important milestone in the company’s efforts to evaluate the broader mineral potential of the Coola Complex.

Following earlier fieldwork and soil sampling programmes, the reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign covered eight selected points across the central diatreme.

The programme successfully secured samples for the further assay, mineralogical and metallurgical analysis to assess the alkaline or carbonatite complex’s potential contribution to future rare earth production.

The drilling was executed by Pensana’s Coola exploration team in collaboration with local Angolan drilling contractor and engineering services provider SOEMTO.

Drill chips were collected at 1 m intervals and the use of on-site portable X-ray fluorescence allowed for efficient real-time interpretation by SOEMTO, with oversight and verification by Pensana’s experienced technical team, the company highlights.

Initial interpretations will be released in the coming weeks, following the more detailed off-site laboratory analyses.

“I’m delighted that we were able to complete this drilling programme timeously alongside SOEMTO ahead of the impending rainy season at the Coola carbonatite target. We look forward to announcing our interpretation in the weeks ahead,” says Pensana exploration manager Grant Hayward.

“Coola means a lot to us as Angolan partners in establishing ourselves in the drilling space. We know the challenges that come with it and that’s why working with a company like Pensana is such a milestone.

“For us, Coola is more than a drilling programme, it’s a step forward for Angola, for our partners and for the communities whose lives will benefit from its success,” the SOEMTO founders said.