Altona Rare Earths (ANR.AQSE ) has announced its intention to apply for admission of its ordinary shares to trading on the LSE. Admission is set to become effective May 2022. Upon admission, the Company is expected to change its ticker to REE.
Admission to the LSE will facilitate the Company's fundraising efforts for its rare earths mining projects in Southern and Eastern Africa. It should provide Altona with enough liquidity to develop the Company's asset portfolio and give it more negotiating power in acquiring further projects in Africa.
Further to that goal, Altona also announced today it has raised £0.5m (gross) via a placing of 6.25m ordinary shares at 8 pence.
Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are key to the development of green technology, both in transportation and energy generation. A common use is permanent magnets used in EVs and wind turbines. Permanent magnet production has doubled between 2006 and 2021 to 125,000 tonnes currently, and expected to reach 315,000 tonnes by 2030. The REE market is expected to grow from $13.2 billion in 2019 to $19.8 billion in 2026.
Christian Taylor-Wilkinson, Chief Executive, commented: "Our move to the LSE Main Market signals the greater maturity of the Altona business and the increasing opportunity within the sector. It supports our strategy to develop the significant rare earth asset at Monte Muambe, where we have seen exploration success, while pursuing other rare earth exploration and acquisition opportunities."
"Our goal is to fill a significant gap in the market as global demand for NdPr and the other critical metals continues to rise. Altona has spent the last two years building its African infrastructure, including local partners, highly experienced directors and resource ministry relations."
View from VOX
Altona began developing its first REE site in Monte Muambe, Mozambique in July 2021. The site shows promising data with assay results in the 2.5-7.2% range of total rare earth oxides (TREO), anything above 1% being viable for commercialisation. In April 2022, the Company began Phase 2 exploration of the site. Altona is currently negotiating two new acquisitions, expected to finalise in H1, and investigating further opportunities in Angola, Tanzania, Uganda, and Burundi. The LSE listing and £0.5m new capital should adequately fund these efforts for the next 12 months.
Altona's strategy is to find, acquire, and develop overlooked REE sites in Africa. Many of these sites were initially studied for other minerals, with REEs discoveries neglected as demand was much less at the time of discovery. As a result, there are many overlooked, promising sites today that Altona is seeking to acquire.
With many developed countries actively phasing out internal combustion engines - the UK having set 2030 as a deadline for sales of petrol vehicles - the REE market is set to keep growing. Prices of critical REEs such as Neodymium (Nd), Praseodymium (Pr), Dysprosium (Dy) and Terbium (Tb) have risen significantly in recent years and the trend is expected to continue. As demand has risen, many governments have begun stockpiling REEs, notably China and the US, further driving prices up.
Follow News & Updates from Altona Rare Earths: