The Ministry's support "in speeding up the contract is widely acknowledged and is proof that Angola is 'open for business' even during the confinement of covid-19," said Tim George, commenting on the approval by President João Lourenço of the exploration of around 20 square kilometres in Longonjo municipality, in Huambo province.
According to the terms announced this Wednesday by the company, the prospecting will involve a 2 percent payment on revenues, 20 percent general tax and 5 percent municipal tax after two years of tax exemption, in addition to an exemption on the import of equipment and a three-year exemption for the collection of tax on dividends.
"The presidential approval of the investment contract at the Longonjo mine reflects the government's strong support for foreign investments, which help to diversify the economy and bring direct economic and social benefits to the communities where they operate," commented the Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas.
"Pensana's investment will be one of the largest in Angola's regions in recent years and will create jobs, provide training and support local businesses, as well as improve the social infrastructure within the Huambo region," added Diamantino Azevedo.
In March, the mining company Rare Earths had announced that the Angolan Sovereign Fund now held 4.8 percent of the shares through an investment of 2 million dollars in the company to finance a project in Longonjo.
"Pensana Rare Earths is pleased to announce that it has raised over 2 million dollars from the Sovereign Fund of Angola, which currently manages a significant part of our investment portfolio, distributed across various sectors and asset classes, including the mining sector," the statement said in March from the Australian mining company, which noted that the Fund would take 4.8 percent of the shares after the company's capital increase.
The project will be one of the largest suppliers of magnetic metals fundamental to the energy transition, and strong demand is expected for electric vehicles and wind turbine producers off the coast," said the company's chairman, Paul Atherley, cited in the March communiqué.
"It will provide jobs and an economic stimulus at a time when the Angolan government is actively seeking to attract foreign investment to diversify the economy," he added.
In April last year it was reported that a mineral prospecting project in Longonjo municipality, in Huambo province, which lasted around two years, identified 23,000 million tons of valuable metals, known as "Rare Lands".
The mining project, which is expected to begin this year, was carried out in partnership between Angolan company Ferrangol and the Australian company Pensana, indicated the managing director of Ozango Minerals (the company resulting from the partnership), Tim George, who did not give figures on the investment or the value of the metals in question.
Considered "the gold of the 21st century" for its rarity and economic value, Rare Earths are metals that serve as essential raw materials for high-tech items.
Locating them with the necessary degree of purity and concentration is a difficult task, which is why they are considered rare.
Among the most outstanding features are the conduction of heat and electricity, as well as structures that are highly magnetizable.
Their chemical and physical properties are used in a wide variety of technological applications and are incorporated in superconductors, magnets, catalysts, among others.
They are ores that guarantee unique characteristics to several types of alloys, such as iPhones, hybrid cars, lasers, among others.
The consumption of these minerals, all over the world, reaches 150 thousand tons/year.
The types of metals known as Rare Lands reach 17. However, six types are better known: Neodymium, Lanthanum, Praseodymium, Gadolinium, Samarium and Cerium.
China is the main producer and market of ore.
