Pensana Rare Earths: Longonjo, Saltend & Key 2026 Guide

• Pensana rare earths developer Pensana Plc is advancing the Longonjo mine in Angola, with main construction 22% complete as of June 2026 and first MREC production targeted for 2027.
• A heavy rare earth recovery circuit under development targets roughly 122 tonnes a year of combined dysprosium and terbium oxide.
• Offtake MOUs with Toyota Tsusho, ReElement Technologies and Vacuumschmelze (VAC) span Japan, the US and Europe.
• A proposed US$165 million strategic investment from Qatar-backed Cascade Natural Resources remains subject to finalisation, alongside a proposed US$160 million US EXIM-guaranteed debt package.
• Pensana is preparing a NASDAQ listing alongside its existing LSE listing (LSE: PRE).

Pensana rare earths (LSE: PRE) is building what could become one of the most strategically significant NdPr supply chains outside China — a 22-million-tonne reserve in Angola feeding a UK processing hub designed to serve European and US magnet manufacturers. As of June 2026, main construction at the Longonjo mine is 22% complete and on budget, targeting first production in 2027.

Pensana Rare Earths: Company Overview

Pensana Plc is a London-listed rare earth developer with a two-asset strategy: the Longonjo NdPr mine in Angola and the Saltend rare earth separation facility in the Humber Freeport, UK. CEO Tim George leads operations; Paul Atherley serves as Executive Chairman. As a Pensana rare earths business, the company is the only UK-listed pure-play developer focused on neodymium and praseodymium — the magnet metals central to electric vehicle motors and offshore wind generators. Pensana is also preparing a NASDAQ listing alongside its existing LSE listing, intended to broaden access to US institutional capital.

The Pensana rare earths commercial model is to produce mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) at Longonjo, ship it to Saltend for separation into neodymium and praseodymium oxide, and supply the resulting NdPr oxide directly to European and US magnet makers — bypassing Chinese separation capacity entirely.

Longonjo Mine — Angola

The Longonjo deposit, in the Huambo district of Angola approximately 350 km southeast of Luanda, holds a JORC-compliant ore reserve of 22 million tonnes grading 3.04% TREO — containing 139,457 tonnes of NdPr oxide — with a projected mine life exceeding 20 years. The near-surface, laterite-hosted carbonatite mineralisation supports low-strip-ratio open pit mining, with an initial feed grade of 4.12% TREO for the first five years at a strip ratio of just 0.25:1.

Phase 1 targets initial production of 20,000 tonnes per annum of MREC. A Phase 2 expansion would double output to 40,000 tpa, representing around 5% of current global rare earth production. The project is being developed through subsidiary Ozango Minerais, majority held by Pensana via its Sable Min subsidiary. Angola’s sovereign wealth fund, FSDEA, holds an equity position and has provided financing — a structural feature that reduces sovereign risk for a Pensana rare earths project in an emerging market jurisdiction.

Construction infrastructure — permanent power, water, wastewater treatment, telecommunications, and site security — was installed and commissioned during 2025. As of the June 2026 project update, main construction is 22% complete, with US$36 million spent of a US$250 million development budget. Site earthworks, geotechnical work and initial test-piling are finished, and the on-site concrete batch and aggregate plants are operational. Commissioning remains targeted for 2027.

A resource extension drilling programme aims to expand the existing JORC mineral resource estimate toward a target of over one billion tonnes. Alongside this, Pensana is developing a heavy rare earth element (HREE) recovery circuit targeting combined dysprosium and terbium oxide output of approximately 122 tonnes per year — up from an initial design of around 30 tpa — strengthening the project’s value case beyond NdPr alone.

Saltend Hub — UK

The Saltend rare earth separation facility, located within the Saltend Chemicals Park in the Humber Freeport, is designed to produce approximately 12,500 tonnes per annum of rare earth products, of which 4,500 tonnes would be NdPr oxide — equivalent to more than 5% of the 2025 world market. Powered by low-carbon offshore wind via a private wire connection to the adjacent Yorkshire Energy Park, Saltend is positioned as one of the few separation facilities globally that could supply ultra-low-carbon-embedded NdPr to automotive and wind OEMs.

The project has attracted UK government backing: a grant offer of up to £4 million from the Department for Business and Trade and first-phase progression through the £1 billion Automotive Transformation Fund. Total capex for Saltend is estimated at US$195–250 million. Pensana has sequenced development so that Saltend financing follows Longonjo reaching production and cash flow. Separately, Pensana has been awarded a grant under the EU’s Horizon Europe PERMANET initiative, which the company says will support linking rare earth separation into a metal conversion facility as part of a fully integrated mine-to-magnet chain, with first integrated output targeted for 2028.

The Saltend strategy reflects a deliberate pivot away from speculative dual-project development toward a sequenced mine-first model for this Pensana rare earths asset. For investors, this means Saltend upside is real but contingent — the timeline is measured in years, not months, beyond Longonjo first production. See our analysis of how Western magnet supply chains are reshaping pricing for context on why Saltend’s processing capacity retains commercial relevance.

Pensana Rare Earths Offtake and Financing — 2025–2026

Pensana has built out a multi-partner offtake framework across three continents through non-binding MOUs. In June 2025, the company signed an MOU with Toyota Tsusho Corporation for up to 20,000 tonnes per year of MREC, to be separated by Toyota Tsusho’s Indian subsidiary Toyotsu Rare Earths India. The same month, Pensana signed an MOU with ReElement Technologies for MREC processing through its Marion, Indiana facility. In October 2025, Pensana signed an MOU with Vacuumschmelze (VAC) to establish a mine-to-magnet supply chain in the US via VAC’s eVAC Magnetics facility in Sumter, South Carolina, which has since been commissioned. The proposed offtake targets 2,000 tpa of rare earth magnets initially, rising to 12,000 tpa by 2029.

On financing, Pensana announced a proposed US$165 million strategic investment from Cascade Natural Resources, a Qatar-backed investor, structured as US$15 million directly into Pensana (3.8% equity) and US$150 million into subsidiary Sable Min (38.2% interest). The first US$15 million tranche was received in April 2026; the remaining balance is subject to finalisation of long-form documentation. Alongside this, a proposed US$160 million debt package arranged by ABSA and guaranteed by the US Export-Import Bank remains under negotiation to support Longonjo’s construction. Combined, these facilities are intended to fund the HREE circuit, resource drilling, early US downstream work, and NASDAQ listing costs for this Pensana rare earths development.

The company has also pivoted its narrative toward US national security as well as European supply chain alignment — a positioning shift that could attract further government-linked financing. Pensana’s profile as a Western developer with active government partnerships makes it one of the better-capitalised junior developers currently in construction.

Pensana Rare Earths in the Global Market

Among non-Chinese rare earth developers currently in active construction, Pensana’s Longonjo sits alongside Lynas Rare Earths and MP Materials as one of the few projects with confirmed financing progress and on-site construction momentum. As a Pensana rare earths business, its NdPr focus targets the highest-demand segment of the magnet metals market, and the developing HREE circuit adds a heavy rare earth dimension that few Western-aligned peers currently offer. The resource’s radionuclide-free profile — a key differentiator from some competing deposits — simplifies regulatory approval and customer qualification, particularly for automotive OEMs. For investors tracking the broader junior developer landscape, Pensana appears in our ranked overview of rare earth junior stocks to watch.

The key risk remains project execution. Longonjo is in a jurisdiction with strong government support but limited infrastructure precedent for rare earth processing at commercial scale. Angola’s FSDEA backing mitigates political risk, but construction in a remote African location adds execution complexity. Financing completion is a near-term risk for this Pensana rare earths story — the Cascade investment and ABSA debt package are both still being finalised. Saltend’s timeline is a secondary risk — it is structurally dependent on Longonjo cash flow, and any construction delays at the mine will extend the processing hub’s development window. For reference prices on the elements Pensana produces, see the neodymium price tracker and praseodymium price tracker for current SMM benchmarks. For production data on global REE supply, see the USGS Mineral Resources program and Pensana’s investor relations pages.

Company Snapshot

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Prices are subject to change without notice.