5 AUGUST 2022
THIS ANNOUNCEMENT
CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION
Pensana Plc
("Pensana" or the
"Company")
ANGOLAN SOVEREIGN
WEALTH FUND INVESTS US$10 MILLION
Pensana is pleased to announce that Fundo Soberano de
Angola (FSDEA), the Angolan Sovereign Wealth Fund, will
make a further equity investment in the Company of US$10.0 million.
These funds will be directed towards the Longonjo project’s
early works programme which is now underway, including:
- Establishment of the construction camp, site offices and
associated infrastructure ahead of main plant construction activity
in 2023
- Completion of the detailed design for the concentrator and
Mixed Rare Earth Sulphate plants
- Mine HT/LT Substation detailed design and hydro-power
transmission line link establishment works
- Rail-side off-loading facilities for construction materials
and
- Agricultural Livelihood restoration activities
The investment follows FSDEA’s previous investments in Pensana
over the past two years and will increase FSDEA’s equity holding in
the Company to 24.42%, subject to the necessary regulatory
approvals.
FSDEA will subscribe for 12,331,334 ordinary shares at
£0.667 pence per share (US$0.811
cents per share) (Subscription Shares), to raise
US$10.0 million (£8.23 million)
conditional upon Admission of those shares to the Official List
(Standard Segment) and the LSE’s Main Market for listed
securities.
The Chairman of the Fundo Soberano de
Angola, Carlos Alberto Lopes stated:
“This additional investment is an
expression from the Angolan Sovereign Wealth Fund of its continuous
support for the Longonjo project, for what it represents for
Angola's participation in a sector
of crucial importance for the Green Economies narrative, as well as
for the positive impact it will have for Angola, from the socioeconomic point of
view.”
Pensana Chairman Paul Atherley commented:
“We very much appreciate the ongoing
support from the Angolan Sovereign Wealth Fund, which will enable
the recently appointed Project Delivery Team to accelerate
development of the Longonjo project.
The ongoing support for the project by the Angolan Sovereign
Wealth Fund demonstrates the Angolan Government’s commitment to
Longonjo. It also highlights the economic and social potential of
this flagship project, as part of efforts to diversify the Angolan
economy away from oil and gas towards mining, tourism and
agriculture.”
Application has been made for the Subscription Shares to be
admitted to the Official List (Standard Listing Segment) and to
trading on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market for listed
securities. Admission is expected to occur on or about 8.00 a.m. on Thursday 11
August 2022 (“Admission”).The Subscription Shares will rank
pari passu in all respects with each other and with the existing
Ordinary Shares, including, without limitation, the right to
receive all dividends and other distributions declared, made or
paid after the date of issue.
Following Admission, the Company’s issued share capital will
consist of 247,930,873 Ordinary Shares. No shares are held in
treasury and, therefore, the total number of voting rights of the
Company on Admission will be 247,930,873. This figure may be used
by shareholders as the denominator for the calculations by which
they will determine if they are required to notify their interest
in, or a change in their interest in, the Company under the
Financial Conduct Authority’s Disclosure Guidance and Transparency
Rules.
The information contained within this
announcement is considered by the Company to constitute inside
information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU)
No.596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via a
Regulatory Information Service, this inside information will be
considered to be in the public domain. The person responsible for
arranging for the release of this announcement on behalf of the
Company is Paul Atherley
(Chairman).
-ENDS-
For further information, please
contact:
Shareholder/analyst enquiries:
Pensana
Plc
Paul Atherley,
Chairman
IR@pensana.co.uk
Tim George, Chief Executive
Officer
Rob Kaplan, Chief Financial
Officer
Virginia Skroski, Head of
Investor Relations & Communications
Media enquiries:
FGS Global
Gordon Simpson / Richard
Crowley
Pensana-LON@fgsglobal.com
About Pensana Plc
The electrification of motive power is by far the most important
part of the energy transition and one of the biggest energy
transitions in history. Magnet metal rare earths are central to the
transition away from internal combustion engines and critical to
electric vehicles and offshore wind turbines.
Pensana plans to establish Saltend as an independent and
sustainable processing hub supplying the key magnet metal oxides to
a market which is currently dominated by China. The US$195
million Saltend facility is being designed to produce 12,500
tonnes per annum of rare earth oxides, of which 4,500–5,000 tonnes
will be neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr), representing over 5% of
the world market in 2025.
Pensana’s plug and play facility is located within the world
class Saltend Chemicals Park, a cluster of leading chemicals and
renewable energy businesses in the Humber Freeport and will create
over 500 jobs during construction and over 125 direct jobs once in
production.
It will be the first major separation facility to be established
in over a decade and will become one of only three major producers
located outside China.
Pensana is aiming to establish Saltend as an attractive
alternative for mining companies who may otherwise be limited to
selling their products to China,
having designed the facility to be easily adapted to cater for a
range of rare earth feedstocks.
www.pensana.co.uk