Name of the Project
Makuutu rare earths project.

Location
Uganda, 120 km east of Kampala.

Project Owner/s
Ionic Rare Earths (IonicRE). The company currently owns 51% of Makuutu; however, it will increase its stake to 60% on completion of the feasibility study before October 2022 and has a pre-emptive right over the remaining 40% stake.

Project Description
Makuutu is an ionic adsorption clay (IAC) deposit. IAC deposits contain rare-earth elements ionically bonded to the clay rather than existing as primary minerals in the ore.

A base case scoping study has demonstrated the potential for Makuutu to become a sustainable, long-life operation, supplying critical rare-earth oxide (REO) and heavy REO to global markets, and generating strong financial returns while delivering significant social and economic benefits for the local communities.

The study proposes openpit mining over an initial 11-year mine life, with the IAC run-of-mine (RoM) fed into a modular heap-leach plant, where the REO is recovered from the IAC mineralisation using salt desorption to produce a mixed rare earth carbonate product.

The first module will process 2.50-million tonnes a year of RoM and produce about 800 t/y REO equivalent product.

Additional modules will be added in years 2, 4, 6 and 9 to increase the plant throughput up to 12.50-million tonnes by Year 10.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has an after-tax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $321-million and an internal rate of return of 38%, with a payback of about five years.

Capital Expenditure
Total capital expenditure (capex) is estimated at $301-million.

Preproduction capex, including contingency, is estimated at $89-million for Module 1, including the mining fleet.

The Module 2 expansion in Year 2 is estimated at $40-million.

The expansion from Module 2 to 5, estimated at about $172-million, will be funded from project cash flow.

Planned Start/End Date
Production is expected in 2024.

Latest Developments
Ionic Rare Earths has reported a 70% increase in the mineral resource estimate for its Makuutu project. The project is estimated to host a mineral resource of 532-million tonnes at 640 parts per million (ppm) total rare earths, with the indicated resource component increasing by 512%, to 404-million tonnes, at 670 ppm.

The updated mineral resource estimate has cemented Makuutu as one of the world’s biggest ionic adsorption clay deposits, with the potential to significantly increase, and as a globally strategic resource for low-cost, high-margin and long-term security of magnet and heavy rare-earth oxide supply.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
IonicRE, tel +61 8 9481 2555.