Pensana banks $15m tranche from Cascade as it advances Longonjo rare earth project

Pensana banks $15m tranche from Cascade as it advances Longonjo rare earth project Proactive uses images sourced from Shutterstock

Pensana PLC (LSE:PRE, OTC:PNSPF) has received the first US$15 million tranche of a US$165 million strategic investment from Cascade Natural Resources, giving the rare earths developer fresh capital to push ahead with its US mine-to-magnet strategy and the Longonjo project in Angola.

The funding package includes a US$15 million subscription into Pensana itself, with Cascade taking 13,992,537 new shares at 80p each for a 3.8% stake.

A further US$150 million will be invested into Pensana subsidiary Sable Min Unipessoal Lda, which is a majority shareholder in Ozango Minerais, the developer of the Longonjo Rare Earth Mine, in return for a 38.2% interest in Sable.

Pensana said the strategic investment, together with a proposed US$160 million ABSA debt funding package backed by US EXIM, is intended to cover construction of the Longonjo mine, a newly planned heavy rare earth recovery facility, drilling to grow the resource toward a one billion tonne target, downstream development work, proposed NASDAQ listing costs and wider corporate costs.

Chairman Paul Atherley told investors the deal would help Pensana expand Longonjo into one of the largest rare earth mines ever developed. Meanwhile, the company noted construction is already underway, with first production scheduled for 2027.

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