Africa-Press – Angola. The Minister of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas, Diamantino Pedro Azevedo, this Monday denied information about the possible start of exploration of the mineral reserve in the municipality of Longonjo, Huambo province, known as “Rare Lands”.
The minister was speaking to the press, moments after having reopened school complex no49, in the commune of Lepi, municipality of Longonjo, rehabilitated, expanded and equipped by HM Grupo, within the framework of the social responsibilities of the company that operates in the mining sector.
With 23 billion tons of raw ore, the mineral reserve of the municipality of Longonjo “rare earths”, is composed especially of neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr), currently exploited by less than five countries.
These miners, among other metals existing on site, are used as raw material for the manufacture of ultra-strong and lightweight permanent magnets, for final use in electric vehicles, wind turbines, modern electronics such as cell phones, used in new technologies in China. .
According to the minister, the information alleging the start of exploration work in the area, also known as the gold of the 21st century, whose project is being implemented through the partnership company Ozango Minerais SA, which has already opened on the site, is false. 369 holes, in an area of more than eight thousand meters of drilling.
On the occasion, the minister said that prospecting work had been taking place since 2018, in the expectation that they would be successfully completed, to give rise to a mine.
“In this order of work, several stages are developed, one of which is the collection of samples of small and large volumes for carrying out tests that are being carried out, both here in Angola and abroad, so it cannot be confused with the mining activity, but rather specific phases of the prospecting project”, he explained.
He added that the prospecting phase can legally take up to seven years and in cases of force majeure the deadline can be extended and in the case of Longonjo’s reservation, there was an extension of the initial period of seven years, due to the implications of Covid-19. 19.
At the same time, the official said that in Huambo province, among others, construction materials and ornamental rocks are already explored.
Combating Mining
Diamantino Pedro Azevedo referred that the Ministerial Department continues to reinforce measures to combat gold mining, as it is an illegal practice in Angola, with a view to conforming mining activity to the framework of the law.
Among the measures, he pointed out the organization of the diamond exploration cooperative in commercial companies, so that they can fulfill all the legal requirements required to be able to act in the sector.
The official said that there are no gold exploration cooperatives in the country, but citizens who carry out the activity, in an isolated and illegal way, which has made the situation complex, which requires the adoption of strategies to reverse the situation.
The Company Ozango Minerais, SA, a company incorporated under Angolan law, which results from the partnership between the company Pensana PLC (currently an investor in the United Kingdom) and the Fundo Soberano de Angola, has been in the municipality of Longonjo since 2018, where it carries out land prospecting work rare, located in Tchimbilundo mountain.
The Tchimbilundo mountain is located on the outskirts of the municipal town of Longonjo, which is 68 kilometers west of the center of Huambo.
Recent studies indicate that rare earths are 17 chemical elements of the periodic table, with fundamental magnetic properties for the manufacture of electronic equipment.
They basically allow the manufacture of very strong magnets, used in the memory of electronic devices. They have a high capacity, much higher than that of other metals.
According to studies, unlike other metals, such as iron, found in large deposits and easy to extract, these elements are very dispersed, but they are more abundant than gold, present in 0.00000031% of each 100g of crust.
These are substances found in relatively low concentrations, which need to be excavated and processed with chemical reagents, generating a heavy environmental impact.
The consumption of these minerals, worldwide, reaches 150 thousand tons/year.
The types of “rare earth” metals number 17, but only six types are better known: neodymium, lanthanum, praseodymium, gadolinium, samarium and cerium.
China is the main producer and market for this mineral.
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