Pensana Launches $11M Drilling Program to Expand Longonjo Rare Earths Resource
Critical minerals company Pensana Rare Earths is preparing an $11-million drilling and metallurgical programme aimed at increasing the Joint Ore Reserve Committee (JORC)-compliant resource estimate at its Longonjo project in Angola to over one billion tonnes, potentially making it one of the world’s largest rare earths deposits.
The programme, set to begin in early 2026, will include 25,000 metres of vertical core drilling to extend the near-surface, neodymium/praseodymium-rich total rare earth oxide (TREO) layer, currently averaging 30 metres in depth, down to more than 100 metres.
Metallurgical sampling and testwork will also support mine planning and processing optimisation.
Pensana Chairperson Paul Atherley highlighted the project’s strategic importance amid growing global demand for rare earths and China’s plans to expand processing capacity at Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia.
“The style of mineralisation at Longonjo has very significant depth extensions, and we are confident this programme will rapidly deliver a substantial increase to our already world-class resource inventory,” he said.
Longonjo benefits from multibillion-dollar infrastructure investments along the Lobito Corridor, including rail, hydroelectric power, and port facilities, enabling rapid scale-up to meet international demand.
The project will also supply feedstock to Pensana’s US partner eVAC, supporting production of 2,000 tonnes of advanced magnets in Sumter, South Carolina, initially, rising to 12,000 tonnes per year by 2029.
Atherley noted that the integrated mine-to-magnet supply chain from Longonjo to the US would strengthen Pensana’s position as a major non-Chinese rare earth producer and appeal to offtake partners seeking to reduce reliance on China’s export controls.
