Pensana appointed a team of eight to implement the project for Saltend and Longonjo

Pensana plc (LON:PRE) has announced that following the recent groundbreaking ceremony at the Saltend rare earth processing centre, the company is pleased to announce details of the highly experienced project delivery team that will be responsible for the delivery of the Saltend and Longonjo projects.

The eight-person project implementation team leads a team of 134 specialist engineers from various disciplines, many of whom are experts in their field, dedicated to the implementation and commissioning of the two projects.

Key appointments in the project implementation team include:

• Hamish Westwater as Project Director for Saltend. Hamish has over 30 years experience delivering complex projects in the chemical engineering sector for both contractor and client. He specializes in rapid delivery and management of all project phases from FEED studies to final commissioning and start-up.
• Kevin Botha as Project Director for Longonjo. Kevin is a qualified electrical engineer and project management specialist with over 45 years of experience in the global mining industry. He has worked for international blue chip companies and as a director and owner of companies providing engineering and project management services to the sector. Kevin’s global experience includes multi-billion dollar projects and related portfolios in Africa including Angola, Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.
• Jeremy Clark as project sponsor for Longonjo. Having worked at an executive technical level with Anglo American, Jeremy has over 35 years of experience in gold, uranium, copper and diamonds. He was previously a consulting metallurgist for De Beers, where he was responsible for the metallurgical performance of their plants worldwide.

Full details of the project delivery team are available on the company’s website www.pensana.co.uk

Both projects are undergoing preparatory work, with main construction scheduled to begin later in the year.

To date, engineering has been completed for over 70% of the equipment and service packages, with 100% of the critical path Tier 1 and 2 packages being externally priced. To minimize on-site construction activities and streamline commissioning, some unit processes have been modularized, while all other process equipment has been selected as standard, off-the-shelf items to ensure stable and easy plant operation.

For Saltend, this includes:

• PX Global services beyond the fence
• Infrastructure and site services are early works, starting with the Yorkshire Water water main route
• Arrangements for the production of mixer precipitator for solvent extraction

For Longonjo, this includes:

• All infrastructure including power, water supply and construction camp facilities
• ROM processing and shredding sections
• Floating chain columns
• calciner (furnace)
• Sulfuric acid plant and gas purification circuits
• Compaction and disposal of tailings
• Choosing a mining contractor

Under the leadership of COO Rocky Smith, Pensana’s core engineering functions moved from Wood Group’s offices in Perth, Australia to the UK and South Africa, due to proximity to relevant projects.

• Wood Group Reading – detailed design and construction for Saltend operations overseen by Paul Squirrel (Wood) and Hamish Westwater (Pensana)
• Wood Group Johannesburg – detailed design and construction for Longonjo operations led by Henry Yonkers (Wood) and Kevin Botha (Pensana)
• Pensana Perth – Metallurgical optimization and piloting continue to be based in Perth, led by Metallurgical Manager Roy Gordon (Pensana)

Pensana Chairman Paul Atherley commented:

“The ground breaking at Saltend was a major milestone for the Company, marking the transition from design to construction for both projects. We are extremely grateful to the expert teams who have done such a great job to bring the Saltend and Longonjo projects to FEED status in record time.

It is now very exciting to announce details of our world-class project delivery team, which has the right mix of experience to deliver and commission both projects, supported by a team of highly skilled and dedicated engineers.”