UK-based rare earth developer Pensana expects its Angolan mining operation to benefit from the recently announced $555 million investment in the Lobito Rail Corridor, Kallanish reports.
A Trafigura-led consortium – Lobito Atlantic Railway – has been awarded a 30-year concession to operate the rail infrastructure corridor that runs around 1,300 kilometres. The line connects the Lobito port to Luau, in eastern Angola, close to the border of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The Lobito railway extends across Angola and then continues for 400 km into the DRC to Kolwezi, the heart of the Copperbelt.
The consortium JV partners, which include Mota-Engil and Vecturis, plan to invest $455m in Angola and up to $100m in the DRC.
Pensana plc (LON:PRE) explores and mines neodymium, praseodymium, and rare earth minerals. The Company’s flagship assets are the Saltend rare earth refinery project in the United Kingdom and Longonjo neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) Project in Angola.