Rare earths developer Pensana has signed a five-year offtake agreement with Toyota Tsusho, a subsidiary of Toyota Group, for up to 20,000 tons per year of mixed rare earth carbonate from the Longonjo mine in Angola. Pricing details are yet to be finalized.
Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), the two companies aim to develop an independent and resilient rare earth supply chain.
Toyota Tsusho intends to process the material at its facility in India, operated through its wholly owned subsidiary, Toyotsu Rare Earth India.
“This partnership with Toyota Tsusho marks the next strategic step in establishing Longonjo as the most important rare earth development in over a decade,” said Paul Atherley, Chairman of Pensana.
Construction of the Longonjo project began in May 2025. The first phase targets annual production of 20,000 tons of mixed rare earth carbonate, with a second phase planned to double output to 40,000 tons per year.
Tsutomu Aoki, General Manager of the Metal Resources Department at Toyota Tsusho, emphasized the importance of the agreement:
“This MoU represents a significant step in the development of a global rare earth supply chain—not only to support Toyota Tsusho’s direct customer base, but also to strengthen and diversify the broader rare earth value chain.”
The deal underscores growing global efforts to secure stable, diversified supplies of critical materials essential for the clean energy transition, electric vehicles, and high-tech industries.
