Pensana Plc (LSE:PRE) saw its stock jump 7.5% in London on Thursday after announcing a new supply agreement with Vacuumschmelze GmbH & Co. KG. The memorandum of understanding outlines a five-year partnership to provide rare-earth materials for the German company’s upcoming magnet manufacturing facility in South Carolina.
Under the deal, Pensana will deliver mixed rare-earth carbonate sourced from its Longonjo mine in Angola. The company said the agreement is designed to “strengthen and secure the global rare earth value chain.”
Vacuumschmelze’s South Carolina plant is expected to begin with an annual output of 2,000 tons of magnets, with plans to ramp up production to 12,000 tons by 2029.
To align with this timeline, Pensana is moving to accelerate the launch of production at Longonjo to late 2026 — earlier than its initial target of early 2027. That accelerated schedule is intended to meet the start date of a U.S. ban on imports of Chinese rare-earth products for defense applications, which will take effect in 2027.
Vacuumschmelze joins a growing group of companies setting up magnet production facilities in the U.S. as part of a broader push to build critical supply chains independent of China.
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