Ionic Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:IXR, OTC:IXRRF) has taken 60% ownership of the Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda by acquiring controlling ownership of Ugandan subsidiary Rwenzori Rare Metals Ltd (RRM), which owns 100% of the project.
The move follows a positive stage one definitive feasibility study (DFS), showing that Makuutu would have an initial 35-year mine life with an EBITDA of A$2.29 billion and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 32.7%.
Ugandan Government approval
Subsequent approval from the Ugandan Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development (MEMD) to progress the construction of a technical facility and Demonstration Plant at the Makuutu mine site sealed the deal.
Watch: Ionic Rare Earths gets green light for demo plant at Makuutu
The company continues to engage with stakeholders in the Ugandan Government over the status of mining licence application TN03834, which covers the central Makuutu tenement RL 1693.
Ionic welcomes news that the Ministry has made progress in upgrading its mineral licensing system to align it with the provisions of the Mining and Mineral Act 2022 and is in the final stages of developing the Mineral and Mineral Licencing Regulations, 2023.
The company will update the market as further progress is made on the mining licence application.
About Ionic Rare Earths
Ionic Rare Earths Limited plans to become a miner, refiner and recycler of sustainable and traceable magnet and heavy rare earths needed to develop net-zero carbon technologies.
The flagship Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda, now 60% owned by Ionic, is well-supported by existing tier-one infrastructure and is on track to become a long-life, low capex, scalable and sustainable supplier of high-value magnet and heavy rare earths oxides (REO).
Last month the company announced a positive stage one DFS for the first of six tenements to progress to a mining licence application, now pending.
The DFS defined a 35-year life initial project producing a 71% rich magnet and heavy rare earth carbonate product basket and the potential for scale-up through additional tenements.
Ionic Technologies International Limited (IonicTech), a 100%-owned UK subsidiary acquired in 2022, has developed processes for the separation and recovery of rare earth elements (REE) from mining ore concentrates and recycled permanent magnets.
Post-acquisition, IonicTech is now focusing on the commercialisation of the technology to achieve near-complete extraction from end-of-life/spent magnets and waste (swarf) to high value, separated and traceable magnet rare earth products with grades exceeding 99.9% rare earth oxide (REO).
This technology provides first mover advantage in the industrial elemental extraction of REEs from recycling, enabling near-term magnet REO production capability to support demand for early-stage alternative supply chains.
As part of an integrated strategy to create downstream supply chain value, the company is weighing up the development of its own magnet and heavy rare earth refinery to separate the unique and high-value magnet and heavy rare earths in the Makuutu basket into the full spectrum of REOs plus scandium.
This three-pillar strategy completes the circular economy of sustainable and traceable magnet and heavy rare earth products needed to supply applications critical to electric vehicles, offshore wind turbines, communication and key defence initiatives.