Posted on 17 Oct 2025
UK-listed rare earth developer Pensana has confirmed it is moving its UK refinery project to the US due to better support prospects, Kallanish reports.
The Saltend refinery was planned with a production capacity of 12,500 tonnes/year of rare earth products, including 4,500-5,000 t/y of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) oxides. It would process feedstock mined at its Longonjo mine in Angola. Commercial operation was expected in 2024.
Company’s founder and chairman Paul Atherley explained Thursday that the project in Hull, northern England, received a “relatively small” level of support from the UK government, which was ultimately “insufficient” for its development despite several location advantages.
The proposed UK refinery was primarily unable to overcome the “very low” Chinese rare earth prices, making project financing “very, very difficult,” he says. “We weren’t able to get the support we needed to get this one off the ground.”
However, Atherley highlights that the US government is “making a much bigger effort” to attract supply chains to the country to reduce its dependence on Chinese supply. Having received a $3.4 million technical assistance grant from the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) for its mine development in Angola, Pensana believes its secondary listing on the Nasdaq “will lead to [US] government support.” The company remains in discussions with officials in Washington, but no support guarantee has been given yet.
The chairman tells Kallanish that China’s new export restrictions on rare earth materials and related equipment are working as a tailwind in the West, particularly in the US. “Every time China threatens or restricts anything to do with rare earths, it just accelerates the development of supply chains elsewhere… We can’t be held hostage by uncertain supplies in the future from China. So we’ll be part of a supply chain being developed in the US for rare earths,” he says.
At the end of the 2025 financial year, Pensana had $811,049 in cash and cash equivalents, after net loss doubled to $11.4m. Atherley is confident the New York debut will help cover short-term general and administrative funding needs. He also notes the mine is currently being developed with a $25m loan from its major shareholder, the Angolan sovereign wealth fund FSDEA.
Longonjo, one of the world’s largest and highest-grade rare earth deposits, is planned to produce 20,000 t/y of mixed rare earth carbonate. First production is slated for 2027.
In July, the US government entered into a “transformational” private-public partnership with MP Materials, which involves equity investment, an offtake agreement and a NdPr price floor of $110/kg.
Source:Kallanish
