Longonjo – Exploration of the mineral reserve in Longonjo municipality, Huambo province, with 23 billion tons of raw ore known as “rare lands”, may begin in early 2022, ANGOP reported Monday.
The project, which will create 450 direct jobs, 50 percent of which will be for youths from the municipality, 64 kilometres to the west of the city of Huambo, is a partnership between Angolan company Ferrangol-EP and Australia’s Pesana.
In this regard, the geologist for Ozango Minerais (the company resulting from the partnership), Geraldine Tchimbali, said that the equipment was due to arrive in the country and be set up soon, and that the stalemate was due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said these are rare Neodymium and Preseodymium ores, among other special metals, used as raw materials for manufacturing ultra-strong and light permanent magnets, for end use in electric vehicles, wind turbines, modern electronics such as mobile phones, used in China’s new technologies.
Geraldine Tchimbali noted that the Longonjo municipality has the potential to become the first large “NdPr” rare lands mine in Africa, thus representing an opportunity for diversification of the economy, through mineral industrialisation.
Source: Angola Press News Agency