Name of the Project
Makuutu rare earths project.

Location
Uganda, 120 km east of Kampala.

Project Owner/s
Ionic Rare Earths (IonicRE).

Project Description
A base case scoping study has demonstrated the potential for Makuutu to become a sustainable, long-life operation, supplying critical rare-earth oxide and heavy rare-earth oxide to global markets, 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 ionic adsorption clay run-of-mine (RoM) fed into a modular heap-leach plant, where the rare-earth oxide (REO) is recovered from the ionic adsorption clay mineralisation using salt desorption to produce a mixed rare-earth carbonate product.

The first module will process 2.5-million tonnes a year 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 12.5-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 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
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Ionic Rare Earths has started Phase 4 of its drill programme at its majority-owned Makuutu rare earth project.

The programme is aimed at converting a significant portion of the inferred resources on RL 1693 to an indicated resource classification, as well as on converting RL 1693 exploration targets to classified resources.

The company’s mineral resource estimate is 315-million tonnes at 650 parts per million (ppm) total rare-earth oxide (TREO), with a cutoff grade of 200 ppm TREO minus cerium oxide.

Makuutu ranks among the world’s biggest ionic adsorption clay deposits and, therefore, a globally strategic resource for the long-term security of critical and heavy rare earth (HREO) supply, Ionic said on June 15.

The recent Makuutu rare earths scoping study was primarily supported by the project’s indicated resource, which reflected only about 27% of the mineral resource estimate.

Ionic has said that the current infill drill programme is primarily aimed at increasing the indicated resource base to support future studies at Makuutu, including the feasibility study.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

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