Exploration of “Rare Earths” in the municipality of Longonjo, Huambo province, could begin in 2026, said, yesterday, the executive director of the administration of the Australian mining company Pensana, Tim George
The person in charge, who was speaking to the press, after a meeting with the vice-governor for the Political, Social and Economic sector of the province of Huambo, Angelino Elavoco, said that exploration will begin as soon as the prospecting work underway since 2015, with construction of support infrastructure beginning this year. The “Rare Earths” exploration project, part of the “Ozango Mineral” program, precisely based on the identification of neodymium and praseodymium, was designed for 20 years in the municipality of Longonjo, in the western corridors of this region of the central plateau of Angola.
Tim George assured that the project foresees the creation of approximately one thousand and 90 direct jobs, 650 of which during the infrastructure construction phase and the other 440 during the actual exploration period, to contribute to local economic development. He recalled that the exploration will be accompanied by the implementation of various social responsibility programs for the well-being of the population, with the promotion of sustainable agriculture and the professional training of young people in the mining sector.
The official said that the mineral reserve project will be able to rely on local labor, resulting from the professionalization of young people from the province of Huambo, sponsored by the Ozango Mineral project, to boost jobs in the municipality of Longonjo, in a development program sustainable mineralization. With an initial budget of approximately 200 million US dollars, the investors also intend to participate in boosting economic development programs, concentrated in the Lobito Corridor and showcase the mineral potential of the province of Huambo.
For his part, the vice-governor for the Political, Social and Economic sector of the province of Huambo, Angelino Elavoco, said that the “Rare Earths” exploration project will be another concrete opportunity for the diversification of the economy and, at the same time, , to generate new jobs. To this end, he reaffirmed that the Government of the province of Huambo will provide unconditional support for the success of the project in the municipality of Longonjo, to better attract other potential national and international investors aiming to improve the population’s living conditions.