Pensana Plc – Construction on track for 2027 first production

03 March 2026

THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONTAINS INSIDE INFORMATION

Pensana Plc («Pensana» or the «Company»)

Construction on track for 2027 first production

Pensana (PRE.LSE) is pleased to advise that the main construction activities at
the Longonjo Rare Earth Project («the Project»), one of the world’s largest and
highest-grade rare earth mines, continue at pace and that the project is looking
forward to a twelve-month period of intense activity with commissioning
scheduled for 2027.

Initial annual production will be 2,400 tonnes of light magnet metals NdPr
accompanied by 73 tonnes heavy magnet metals DyTb in the form of clean high
value mixed rare earth carbonate with plans to double production to 4,200 tonnes
NdPr and 122 tonnes DyTb post 2030.

Current resources are over 300 million tonnes and as previously announced an
11,000 metre drill programme has been planned which is designed to increase
resources towards one billion tonnes, which would make Longonjo one of the
world’s largest rare earth deposits ever developed.

The Project will be powered by low cost sustainable hydro-electricity supplied
from the Luaca dam hydro project. The Project is connected to the Port of Lobito
via the U.S. Government backed Lobito corridor rail and services which are
connecting Ivanhoe’s recently commissioned Kamoa-Kakula copper smelter in the
DRC to the Atlantic seaboard.

Discussions are well advanced with a number of parties to establish a U.S. mine
-to-magnet supply chain realigning a major long term supply chain of critical
minerals from Angola to OEM backed magnet producers in the U.S.

Highlights:

· The main pre-construction facilities have been installed and are
operational, including the camp and accommodation, construction and site power
and water treatment facilities;
· The process plant terrace and contractor’s laydown areas have been completed
with preparations for piling operations well advanced;
· Bulk earthworks and starter walls for the tailings storage facility are
underway following completion of site clearing;
· The aggregate and concrete batching plants are being commissioned for the
first large concrete pours scheduled for March;
· Major equipment vendor packages are progressing on schedule.

CEO, Tim George, commented:

«We are delighted with the progress by the engineering team to bring this world
class project through design, engineering and pre-construction and up to the
commencement of main construction. Huge thanks to Project Manager Kevin Botha
and his team for their considerable efforts to date as we look forward to a
period of intense construction activity over the next twelve months.

Pre-construction activities completed

Final compaction of the 44,000m2 laydown area was completed creating capacity
for the concreate batch plant, contractor facilities and equipment storage ahead
of installation on the plant terrace.

Design of the plant terrace and internal road network by RMCE has been
finalized, with the road infrastructure programme schedule for implementation by
Grupo Nov during Q2 2026. RMCE will continue to oversee plant terrace design and
associated civil and structural works under the supervision of the owner’s team.

The power infrastructure and reticulation, connecting the site to the Longonjo
grid connection, has been energised and will meet all construction power demands
for the next 18 months.

Underground sleeves have been installed across the main road, with excavation
for cabling connections to contractor laydown area distribution pillar boxes
underway.

The wastewater treatment plant is now fully operational alongside completion of
the pipeline for the containment and management of excess treated water.

Main construction progress

Bulk excavations for the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) are underway, led by
Grupo Nov, and will remain a critical path priority over the next twelve months
as the Company advances toward first production.

Topsoil stripping has been successfully completed, and excavation of the box cut
for the initial 12.8-hectare TSF compartment – a key component supporting the
plant commissioning programme – is progressing well and is scheduled to continue
over the next four months.

Material excavated from the box cut has undergone compaction testing by SRK and
has been confirmed as suitable for construction of the 14-hectare TSF starter
wall, supporting both the first and second TSF compartments. This outcome
provides a positive cost and schedule advantage through the utilisation of on
-site materials.

SRK has also completed the full scope of geotechnical investigations, including
localised test pits and core drilling, with the detailed engineering design for
sub-liner drainage systems, return water dams, pollution control infrastructure
and long-term TSF closure considerations now approaching completion.

Bulk earthworks have been the principle focus during Q1 2026. Successful
compaction of the 68,000m2 plant terrace area has been independently verified by
SRK undertaking DPSH/DCP testing across the entire area, mapping load bearing
characteristics in detail to inform final civil design and piling requirements
for individual major equipment installation.

In preparation for piling and broader civils, the on-site 60m3/hr batch plant
currently being commissioned alongside the 60 t/hr jaw and cone crusher
aggregate plant located at the granite quarry 3km from site. The product has
been graded suitable for the various aggregate specifications. Sizing of the
batch and aggregate plant is based on adequate delivery for the various
continuous concrete pours and some 3,000 sleepers required as support for the
modular pipe and cable rack units during the construction period.

Steel piling material supplied by TRM in Sweden for the hammered piling is en
route to site with installation of the initial batch of 500 x 170mm diameter
piles scheduled to commence in late March 2026. Priority is given to the 197
piles required for the ball mill which is fully fabricated and currently
awaiting road transport to site from Johannesburg under the overall Project
logistics contract services provided by DHL. The piling program, totaling 2250
piles to resistance at approximately 15m depth, is scheduled to be completed by
September 2026.

On schedule for 2027 commissioning

Off-site engineering works in progress include:

· Lycopodium & ProProcess (Engineering Service Providers) plus various vendor
package suppliers continue with detailed design and engineering under
supervision of the Owner’s team with all packages on schedule;
· The front end and blending stockpile area detailed design and engineering
has been completed by Crush & Screen in Perth;
· The comminution circuit, which includes pumping to the Barite pre-flotation
section, is currently under detailed design in Manilla and is progressing;
· The Ball Mill refurbishment by NCP has been completed and the equipment is
currently in storage at DHL in Johannesburg awaiting dispatch to site;
· The Scrubber package has been awarded to Cobar (South Africa) and detailed
design is progressing;
· The Flash Dryer and Acid Mixer package awarded to Ingetecsa (Spain) is in
detailed design with manufacture scheduled to commence in March 2026;
· Completion of nano-filtration testwork by BMS/Memcon (South Africa) to
validate detail design parameters has been completed and the detailed design
commenced;
· The Caustic Dissolution Plant package has been awarded to ProProcess
Engineering and detailed design has commenced;
· The Off Gas Scrubbing package has been awarded to TAPC (Australia) and
detailed design is progressing
· International Quality Services (IQS) continue quality checks under Owner’s
Team supervision on local and global vendors including the 250tpd Acid Plant by
Clark Solutions (Brazil);
· The Kiln & Cooler detailed design and manufacture by Drytec are progressing
satisfactorily;
· Detailed design and 3D modelling of the Eriez flotation columns is
progressing; and
· The Filter Presses & Thickeners detailed designed and manufactured by Roytec
(South Africa) are progressing.

  Ongoing community and camp related activities include:

· The Resettlement Action Plan (RAP);
· The Livelihood Restoration Program (LRP) supported by the demonstration
plots under cultivation;
· The Transitional Support Programme for Project Affected Households (PAH);
· Training of local residents in accommodation and messing related activities
in the camp; and
· Training of local residents in minor maintenance works associated with the
camp and other project related activities.

Strong demand for product and rare earth prices boasting economics

Since Q4 2025, the quoted Neodymium/Praseodymium Oxide price (CIF North America)
has increased materially, rising from approximately US$83/kg in November 2025 to
over US$135/kg in February 2026.

This strengthening price environment reflects sustained growth in demand for
secure, independent western-facing supply of rare earth materials and reinforces
the strategic importance of delivering first production in 2027 as scheduled.
The improving pricing backdrop has a direct and favourable impact on projected
project economics.

Against a backdrop of tightening supply chains, the company is experiencing
increasing market interest in expanding beyond the planned 2,400 tonnes per
annum of NdPr production and further leveraging the scale of the Longonjo
resource base.

In particular, engagement with US-based magnet producers has intensified around
heavy rare earth supply. This has led to the identification of an enhanced heavy
rare earth recovery stream with the potential to increase dysprosium and terbium
output up to fivefold as announced in November 2025.

At full scale, this would position Pensana as one of the significant producers
of heavy rare earths in the western market. The technical team continues to
assess additional recovery pathways to further optimise output. This increased
recovery results in an additional US$155 million revenue over and above prior
base case at phase 2 production. This is based on the current market for these
materials at US$1,125/kg for Dysprosium and US$4,500/kg for Terbium*.

The combination of increased heavy rare earth production potential and the
substantial scale of the Longonjo orebody, positions Pensana at the centre of
the emerging US-focused rare earth supply chain.

Following the partnerships signed in June 2025 with ReElement Technologies,
Hanwa and Toyota Tsusho, and the cooperation agreement executed in October 2025
with VACUUMSCHMELZE, the Company continues to receive interest from additional
magnet producers, including Vulcan Elements, which has partnered directly with
the U.S. Department of Defense.

Importantly, demand signals are increasingly originating downstream from OEM
sectors spanning defence, automotive, aerospace and hyperscale data
infrastructure, including companies such as Amazon and Microsoft. This
structural pull from end users underscores the strategic relevance of
establishing large-scale, secure and transparent rare earth supply chains
aligned to western industrial policy priorities.

* According toBenchmarkMineral Intelligence’s pricing assessment published on
19/02/2026, dysprosium oxide (CIF Europe) and terbium oxide (CIF Europe)
Benchmarknotes these levels are higher than prevailing Chinese domestic prices
over the same period, reflecting the strategic importance and limited
availability of these materials in non-Chinese supply chains. These prices are
indicative and reflectBenchmark’s assessment as at 19/01/2026

About Pensana

Pensana is developing one of the world’s largest and highest-grade magnet metal
rare earth deposits which will produce initially 20,000 tpa of a clean high
value MREC including both LREE and HREE. The plan is to expand production to
40,000 tpa of MREC once initial operations have been established.

The Longonjo operation will extract, concentrate, calcine and chemically refine
the free dig material to produce a high-value MREC which will be railed 273km in
containers to the Atlantic port of Lobito for export.

The Longonjo rare earths deposit is located adjacent to the Lobito rail corridor
approximately 60 km west of the provincial capital of Huambo in central Angola.

The project currently under development comprises an open pit, concentrator and
recovery plants, tailings storage facility (designed to meet the requirements of
the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management), process water supply, bulk
power supply, mine infrastructure, workshops, offices, accommodation village,
recreational facilities, and other associated infrastructure.

About the Lobito Corridor

The 1,300 kilometre Lobito Corridor rail and services corridor connects mineral
and energy developments in Angola, the DRC and Zambia to the Atlantic Port of
Lobito. Ivanhoe Mines recently commissioned Kamoa-Kakula copper smelter in the
DRC and is a user of the line.

The rail concession, operated by Trafigura, Moto-Engil and Vecturis, is
supported by the U.S. Governments through a US$553 million DFC backed financing
and the European Union though financial and other commitments.

The Lobito corridor is seen as an important Atlantic access to the Copper belt
and other critical mineral developments at a time when China is investing US$1.4
billion into the 1,860 TAZARA railway connecting Zambia to the East coast Ports
of Africa.

The information contained within this announcement is considered by the Company
to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse
Regulations (EU) No.596/2014. Upon the publication of this announcement via a
Regulatory Information Service, this inside information will be considered to be
in the public domain. The person responsible for arranging for the release of
this announcement on behalf of the Company is Paul Atherley (Chairman).

-ENDS-

For further information, please contact:

Shareholder/analyst enquiries:

Pensana Plc

Paul Atherley, Chairman

[email protected]

Tim George, Chief Executive Officer

Rob Kaplan, Chief Financial Officer

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com
https://news.cision.com/pensana-plc/r/construction-on-track-for-2027-first-production,c4315655