Name of the Project
Makuutu rare earths project.

Location
Uganda, 120 km east of Kampala.

Project Owner/s
Makuutu is 100%-owned by Ugandan company Rwenzori Rare Metals, of which Ionic Rare Earths (IonicRE) currently owns 51%, which will increase to 60% on the completion of the feasibility study by the end of October 2022.

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
The retention licence for the project has been renewed for a another two years, which enables the company to retain the land and the mineral rights for two more years, during which it can continue to explore and develop mining operations.

After the retention period is over, the company must either begin mining operations, relinquish the rights to the land or apply for an additional extension. 

The renewed licence is immediately south of a prospective exploration target, where applications have been submitted for drilling to start this year to further define the scale of potential ionic clay mineralisation to the west of the MLA area.

Once these new exploration approvals have been granted, the company intends to initiate the Phase 5 drill programme at Makuutu to move the resource to an indicated resource classification. 

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Ionic Rare Earths, tel +61 8 9481 2555.