Pensana Metals Ltd of Australia has commissioned a preliminary study of the feasibility of swiftly beginning to mine rare earth at Longonjo in central Angola, Mining Review Africa reports.

The website says the study will focus on open-pit mining requiring relatively little investment, and on taking the output to the Atlantic port of Lobito by the Benguela Railway for sale to Chinese buyers.

The report says Pensana Metals is negotiating financing for the project and expects to have the money needed once the preliminary feasibility study is finished, in September.

It quotes Pensana Metals executive Dave Hammond as saying Chinese processors of rare earths are looking for more cheap feedstock to meet demand from makers of electric vehicles and wind turbines.

Pensana Metals and Chinese technical institutes are working together to improve the production process, Mining Review Africa says.