Maputo, April 15, 2026 (Lusa) - The mining firm Altona has identified a significant concentration of heavy rare earths within the fluorite and gallium ore at Monte Muambe, an inactive volcano in northern Mozambique, acknowledging that the discovery enhances the project’s economic value.
In a statement released to the markets and seen by Lusa on Wednesday, the company said that the analyses carried out indicated around 3,200 parts per million of total rare earth oxides, of which approximately 1,300 corresponded to heavy rare earths, representing a ratio of around 40%.
Altona Rare Earths said the concentrations now identified in the fluorite and gallium ore were comparable to those recorded at the Lofdal project in Namibia, one of the most significant heavy rare-earth sites outside Asia.
Heavy rare earths, including dysprosium, terbium, and yttrium, were classified as critical minerals due to their essential role in advanced technologies such as high-performance magnets, electronics, medical devices, and military applications, with global production heavily concentrated in China.
While acknowledging that further studies were required to assess the extent, distribution, and recovery viability of these elements, Altona said that their presence created the possibility of developing a high-value by-product alongside gallium within the Monte Muambe fluorite project (an advanced mining exploration and pre-development project located in the Tete province, in Mozambique).
The development follows an agreement signed on 27 February in Maputo, in which the US government provided a $1.875 billion (€1.6 billion) grant to study the feasibility of rare-earth extraction in Tete, Mozambique, considering it vital to US interests.
Monte Muambe Mining (MMM) is managing the project at an inactive volcano in central Mozambique, where the multinational Altona Rare Earths has invested $4 million (€3.4 million) in exploration since 2021 and is now proceeding with a US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) feasibility study.
"The project will expand and strengthen the mining sector in Mozambique, boost its economy and contribute to the responsible development of Mozambique’s natural resources," said Abigail Dressel, who leads the U.S. Embassy in Maputo as chargé d’affaires and who signed this agreement on behalf of the USTDA with MMM, a subsidiary of Altona.
"It will support the initial technical work needed to mitigate risks and, ultimately, attract financing for the development of this rare earths mine in Mozambique, the most advanced project of its kind in the country”, she added, saying that the aim of the USTDA and the US government was to connect MMM with US buyers of critical minerals and to promote the use of US exports in the expansion of the facility.
"This is undoubtedly a project that brings benefits to the US and Mozambique," she said.
MMM’s administrator and Altona’s chief executive, Cedric Simonet, who signed the agreement, said the grant would enable extensive metallurgical and process engineering work.
He also said that the support could lead to the construction of a third facility in Moatize, in Tete province, for the processing of these ores, thereby increasing local production capacity rather than relying solely on exports.
“Adding value within the country and regionally is one of the fundamental pillars of MMM’s corporate social responsibility policy and will remain at the heart of our development efforts.”
Mount Muambe is an inactive volcano, 780 metres high, situated east of Moatize in central Mozambique, with a caldera composed of carbonatites rich in blue and yellow fluorite, which in turn contain gallium.
PVJ/MYAL // ADB.
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