US backs Altona’s Mozambique rare earths project

Shares in Altona Rare Earths (LON: REE) soared after the company said the US government confirmed its intention to support development of its Monte Muambe project in Mozambique.

The stock was up more than 76% at 2.29 pence by mid-afternoon in London, lifting the critical raw materials explorer’s market capitalization to £4.25 million ($5.8 million) after it confirmed backing from the US Trade & Development Agency (USTDA).

Altona said the USTDA’s involvement is aimed at defining the technical and financial pathway to develop Monte Muambe, which targets rare earth elements used in high-strength permanent magnets, defence applications and energy transition technologies. The project also hosts fluorspar, a mineral used in industrial and chemical processes.

The company expects assay results soon from a recent fluorspar and gallium drilling campaign and said the resulting mineral resource estimate should demonstrate that the fluorspar component represents a viable standalone mining project.

Chief executive officer Cedric Simonet said the US backing reflects the project’s growing strategic importance and its potential role in strengthening global supply chains for rare earths and fluorspar.

Altona has a 51% interest in Monte Muambe, which will rise to 70% once it completes the ongoing prefeasibility study, and holds a 25-year mining licence that runs through at least 2049.