During the second quarter of the year, ASX-listed rare earth mineral explorer Ionic Rare Earths continued work programmes at its flagship Makuutu rare earths project, in Uganda, to enable it to submit a mining licence application by the end of October.

Ionic also reports that capital and operating cost estimation is progressing well, with the study due to be completed in October. This will form a key component of the mining licence application.

During the period, feasibility study activity continued with mine plan enhancement starting to incorporate the larger 532-million-tonne mineral resource estimate into the project.

In addition, metallurgical test work continues despite being delayed as a result of resourcing issues at commercial laboratories; however, progress has been made on demonstration of the ability to heap leach Makuutu ionic adsorption clay mineralisation with heap leach columns successfully being operated at 5 m during the quarter.

Results thereto are pending, along with that of over 500 new bottle rolls completed across 26 km of mineralisation tested at Makuutu.

During the quarter, Ionic also completed a location analysis which has been used in discussions with potential partners for selection of potential refinery sites, with shortlisting and inspection of potential sites being completed along with discussion on potential technology partners and end-user customers in the US.

Metallurgical test work continues, despite being adversely affected by analytical turnaround times, which has delayed finalisation of the process model.

The production profile of the refinery scoping study will also be aligned to the production profile post mine plan enhancement from Makuutu, which is expected to be completed over the next six weeks.

Following the end of the quarter, an engineering group has been appointed to complete capital and operating cost estimation, with the refinery scoping study now expected to be finalised around the same time as the Makuutu feasibility study.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

During the second quarter, Ionic increased community engagement activities at Makuutu, with various dignitaries visiting site and providing support for the development of the project.

In this regard, during a visit to Uganda in May, Ionic chairperson Trevor Benson and MD Tim Harrison met with the Kyabazinga of Busoga William Wilberforce Gabula Nadiope IV, and key representatives of the Busoga Kingdom, to discuss initiatives to prioritise employment and business opportunities for local stakeholders.

Further, Ionic is also continuing with work in Uganda regarding public hearings scheduled to be held in early August for the environmental- and social-impact assessment.

Plans are in place to action land access consents with local project-affected persons for a voluntary resettlement action plan, which is expected to be completed by the end of August.

Meanwhile, Ionic continued to engage with potential partners across the full rare earths supply chain across key Western markets during the second quarter. Engagement with groups across North America, Europe, India, Japan and the UK progressed with potential to leverage Ionic’s unique offering into new supply chains required across these markets, including magnet recycling, to facilitate manufacturing across electric vehicle, renewable energy and military and defence applications.

Going forward, Ionic, in the third quarter, aims to continue activities in preparation ofor the mining licence application at Makuutu, which is due to be completed by November 1.

The company also notes that progress will continue on the Makuutu feasibility study and refinery scoping study, which it intends to complete by October.

In other news, Ionic reports that, with the acquisition of SerenTech now complete, it is advancing the integration activity, along with preparing for a new pilot plant run, plus engineering studies to update estimates of capital and operating costs for the magnet recycling facility.