Pensana PLC (LSE:PRE) saw its shares rise by close to 9% in early trading on Monday after the rare earth and magnet metal mining company received a grant of up to £4 million from the government to help support the building of a facility at Saltend.
The grant from the secretary of state for business and trade will help fund the development of a rare earth oxide separation facility at the Humber Freeport.
A new facility is important in developing the UK’s supply chain for manufacturing electric vehicles as well as wind turbines and other strategic industries.
Through building the Saltend project, the London-listed group is expected to create 450 jobs during construction and 150 high-value jobs in operation, as well as provide “significant opportunity” for future expansion.
Chairman Paul Atherley said in a company statement: “The successful development of the US$250 million Saltend project would be an important step in supporting the UK automotive supply chain, which employs over 780,000 people, as it transitions to electric vehicles (EVs).
"By 2030 the UK is expected to have transitioned from being a major European producer of internal combustion engines to be a world leader in the manufacture of electric drive units (EDUs), producing three million EDUs annually, with a large proportion destined for export. Without a secure magnet metal supply chain this is under threat.”
Shares in Pensana are trading at around 26p on Monday, having fallen over 44% in 2023.