Rare earths miner Pensana has signed a nonbinding memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Japanese trading group Hanwa Co., Ltd for the offtake up to 20,000 tonnes per year of mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC).

London-listed Pensana holds 84% of the Longonjo neodymium / praseodymium project in Angola, which aims to produce 20,000 t/y of MREC in 2026 and twice that amount by 2029 following planned expansions.

In an announcement, Pensana said it will cooperate with Hanwa on marketing and distribution for the MREC globally and developing a strategic and sustainable supply chain for magnet metal materials.

“We are delighted to be working with Hanwa with a view to establishing a long term and sustainable supply of high-quality magnet metal products from our Longonjo operations in Angola,” Pensana chairman Paul Atherley commented.

The MoU also allows for Hanwa to consider providing financial support and to jointly study support opportunities from governmental and financial institutions for Pensana projects, including the Coola and Sulima west expansion, which relates to a separation and metallisation project.

“Hanwa is considering a deeper co-operation including [the] possibility of an investment to continue to develop the Pensana upstream and downstream projects with the aim of delivering a low embedded carbon magnet metal supply chain supporting Hanwa’s customers and future partners,” the announcement said.

Hanwa, a Japan-based trading company, handles a diverse range of commodities including steel products, non-ferrous metals, foods, petroleum and chemical products, lumbers and machinery.

It is now intensively focusing on key feedstock (metals and chemicals) for the electric vehicle (EV) and fuel cell vehicle (FCV) with a market capitalisation of JPY215.9bn ($1.5bn).