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Australian rare earth explorer Rift Valley is currently focused on advancing Longonjo, the company’s flag ship project.
Rift Valley Resources (ASX:RVY) has commenced drilling at its Longonjo NdPr project in the West African nation of Angola. A reverse circulation rig is on site and has commenced the 9,000 meter programme, which will test the full extent of the shallow weathered NdPr mineralization across the six square kilometers that comprise the Longonjo carbonatite deposit.
Australian rare earth explorer Rift Valley is currently focused on advancing Longonjo, the company’s flag ship project.
As quoted from the press release:
“It has been a great team effort to complete the preparation programmes on time to allow the drilling to commence bang on schedule. We are targeting a large tonnage, high grade deposit that could rank Longonjo as one of the world’s biggest NdPr projects and are really looking forward to reporting the first results within the next few weeks,” said Dave Hammond, company COO.
About the Longonjo NdPr Project
The Longonjo NdPr Project is being developed at a time when demand for NdPr in magnet metals in electric motors is growing rapidly.
Driven by the electrification of all aspects of motive power, notably electric vehicles and wind turbines, the permanent magnet motor market is projected to grow from US$26.6 billion in 2017 at a CAGR of 10.47 percent over the next five years to reach US$48.3 billion by 2023.The market is dominated by China which controls over 95 percent of NdPr metal production. Prices of the feedstock NdPr oxide have risen recently to US$53,000 tonne and are forecast to continue to rise as NdPr magnets are targeted in the US China trade war and demand outstrips supply.
The only independent non-Chinese producer of note is Lynas Corporation (ASX:LYC) which produces around 7 percent of world production much of which is contracted for supply to China and has a market capitalization of AU$1.5 billion.
Located adjacent to the AU$1.8 billion rail link to the Atlantic Port of Benguela in the emerging West African economy of Angola, Rift’s 9,000 meter drill programme is setting out to confirm that the Longonjo six square kilometer carbonatite hosts one of the world’s largest resources of NdPr.