According to the ambassador, the mine, which is due to start operating in 2027, will promote sustainable economic development for Southern Africa and the United Kingdom, generating more jobs for Angolans.
On the occasion, he reported that, during these two years, infrastructure will be built to enable the exploration of 'Rare Earths', which is already an international project, located in Longonjo.
The British diplomat also said that his country's government will work on the exploration of critical minerals from this mine, make use of the Lobito Corridor and send the minerals to the United Kingdom and other companies around the world that produce electric cars, at a time when the financing was made available two days ago, writes Angop.
These infrastructures will therefore begin exploration work, which is scheduled for 2027, with commercial value focused on neodymium and prazeondymium metals, used to manufacture extremely strong magnets, contributing to stimulating the transition to green energy, the manufacture of wind turbines, electric cars, among others.
As for the value of the investment, Pensana announced that the project has financing in the order of 268 million dollars.
Quoted in the note, Pensana's president, Paul Atherley, said that they were "extremely grateful for the work carried out by the AFC [Africa Finance Corporation] and FSDEA [Angolan Sovereign Fund] teams in providing the Longonjo project with the financing requirements".
He also pointed out the creation of jobs with this project. "Once the second phase is in full production, the project will create around 2400 direct and indirect jobs and will produce around 5 percent of the world's rare earth magnetic metals used for various applications, including wind turbines and electric vehicles."
The president of FSDEA, Armando Manuel, highlighted the importance of the project: "The Longonjo Mining Project is of strategic importance to the Angolan Sovereign Fund as part of its commitment to advancing the national mining sector. In addition to its substantial economic impact — such as job creation and tax revenue — the project plays a crucial role in establishing in Angola a key segment of the value chain for an industry essential to the global energy transition."
Geraldine Máquina, national manager of Ozango Minerais, responsible for prospecting the mine, reported that, at this moment, the creation of all the technical conditions and hiring is underway to begin the support and implementation works of the refinery, with which it will be possible to explore an element rich in rare earths, which could be targeted for export.
In terms of jobs, the official, quoted by Angop, said that it is expected to employ 600 direct workers during the construction phase and another 400 for exploration, without counting services and suppliers, and also recalled that, according to studies carried out, the mine has an estimated exploration period of 20 initial years.
The official also reported that families living near the mine will be compensated.
