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(Alliance News) - Pensana Rare Earths PLC on Monday reported high-grade rare earths in soils from its first sampling programme completed at its Coola project, which is adjacent to its Longonjo project in Angola.
Pensana began work at the Coola project in October to look for high-tech critical commodities, including heavy rare earths such as scandium, niobium, tantalum, hafnium and fluorspar.
Shares in Pensana were up 7.5% at 73.10 pence in London on Monday.
Pensana said assay results received from Coola soil sampling highlight a high tenor soil anomaly of up to 4.7% rare earth oxides over a 1.3 kilometre by 1.4 kilometre area. The highest rare earth oxide values lie over the 3.2 kilometre perimeter of the carbonatite ring structure, and are coincident with an outcropping circular carbonatite dyke, it said.
As a result of these findings, Pensana said it plans to drill test these defined targets in 2021.
Chief Operating Officer Dave Hammond said: "These high grade rare earth assays are a great start, from what is only the first of several exploration targets for critical technology metals identified within the new Coola project. Drilling will also determine if rare earth mineralised carbonatite lies beneath the soil cover in the central part of the one kilometre diameter volcanic pipe."
Pensana also has completed a large diameter drilling programme at its Longonjo project, where it obtained more than 170 tonnes of mineralisation from surface to 24 metres depth, it said.
By Zoe Wickens; zoewickens@alliancenews.com
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