RARE EARTHS
RC drilling at the Kudu target supported the definition of a 3.2 million tons CaF2 exploration target.
Altona targets fluorspar production by year-end 2027 By Nelendhre Moodley
LSE-listed Altona Rare Earths, which is focused on unlocking value of critical raw materials across Africa, sits in the sweet spot as geopolitical tensions and shifting global supply chains drive demand for rare earth elements. The junior miner has a multi-pronged strategy aimed at advancing its Monte Muambe rare earths and fluorspar projects in Mozambique, while eyeing early-stage quick cash generative assets on the continent, CEO Cedric Simonet, tells Modern Mining.
A ltona’s primarily asset is the Monte Muambe Project located in Tete Province in Mozambique. The flagship site hosts high-grade rare earth elements (REE), , with a 13.6 million tonne resource at 2.42% Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO), along with significant fluorspar and gallium (3.48 million tons at 20.6% CaF2 and 11.73 million tons at 54.73 g/t Ga2O3). While the Monte Muambe REE project, currently at the Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) stage, is focusing on neodymium- praseodymium (NdPr), the Monte Muambe Fluorspar/Gallium project, located on the same mining license as the REE project, is being fast-tracked for potential production by 2027 to generate early cash flow. Strategy for the next two years Since 2024, Altona has been focused on becoming a cash- generative mining company with sustainable revenue and cash flow. Although its rare earths project is a long-term development with significant capital requirements and lengthy timelines to production, its fluorspar project, by contrast, is smaller, with an estimated capex of around $15 million, making it well aligned with Altona’s near-term development objectives. “Both the rare earths and fluorspar projects sit within the
same geological system—though not on the exact same sites— and fall under a single mining concession, which we have recently updated to include both rare earths and fluorspar. This allows us to advance the projects in parallel while managing them independently. In terms of progress, the rare earths project is currently at the pre-feasibility stage, with metallurgical and process engineering work underway, supported by the United States Trade and Development Agency (USTDA). For the fluorspar project, we are at the scoping study stage. A drilling campaign was completed late last year, and we have published a maiden mineral resource estimate for fluorspar and gallium. This will later be updated to include heavy rare earth elements. At the same time, we are conducting advanced metallurgical testing for fluorspar recovery, with scoping study results expected in the third quarter of this year. Subject to a positive outcome, we intend to move directly into a definitive feasibility study, with the goal of reaching a final investment decision on the fluorspar project by year-end.” Discussing timelines to production on the fluorspar project, Simonet says he expects a final investment decision by the end of 2026, with construction earmarked for 2027 and initial production in late 2027 or early 2028.
16 MODERN MINING www.modernminingmagazine.co.za | JULY 2026
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