Pensana Plc - Angolan Sovereign Wealth Fund Invests us$10 Million
PR Newswire
London, August 4
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 Thursday11 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
