Ionic Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:IXR, OTC:IXRRF) is fielding a good deal of queries for commercial quantities of mixed rare earth carbonates (MREC) from the company’s Makuutu Heavy Rare Earths Project in Uganda.
In an interview with Proactive, IonicRE managing director Tim Harrison said the critical minerals explorer is on track to roll out the MREC products later this year.
“We're continuing with our demonstration plan at Makuutu, so we anticipate producing mixed rare earth carbonates later this year.
“Again, a lot of demand for our product from the demonstration plant with potential strategic partners.”
Positive assays
Earlier this week, the company received the second batch of positive assays from its Phase 5 rotary air blast (RAB) drill program in the northwest of Makuutu, which confirmed additional resource growth at the 60%-owned project.
Assays from drilling across Exploration Licence (EL) 00257 and Retention Licence (RL) 00007 at the western end of Makuutu reported thick clay-hosted rare earth intersections in 26 out of 31 drill holes above the 2022 resource estimate cut-off grade of 200 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxide minus cerium oxide (TREO-CeO2).
“We picked this ground a couple of years ago. This is the first time we've had a chance to drill.
“We've put 31 holes into that northwestern tenement and quite pleasingly, we've had some successes with 26 out of the 31 (holes) coming back with rare earth (at) quite thick intervals near the surface.
“So there will be more material that, hopefully, makes its way into an updated exploration target later this year,” Harrison added.
Metallurgy test
Alongside the drilling, IonicRE’s local Ugandan operating entity Rwenzori Rare Metals Ltd has initiated metallurgical test-work on the samples to feed into a revised exploration target for Makuutu planned for later this year.
"These samples look a bit different. So we just want to get some metallurgical work done,” Harrison said.
“We’ve initiated metallurgical work both across the tranche one assays … and this new area, so that it can better inform us about how aggressively we have been drilling out these areas, to move them towards mineral resource estimates over the next few years.”
Ongoing drilling
Infill drilling is ongoing in some areas of the Makuutu mineral resource estimate (MRE) to increase the confidence from inferred to indicated status.
To date, 103 holes for 2,032 metres have been drilled and it is expected that the program will be completed later this month.
Additionally, pending drill assays will determine the economic potential of the rare earth intersected for adding into an updated exploration target.
Makuutu’s conceptual exploration target, which is separate from the current Makuutu MRE, estimates additional mineralisation at 216-535 million tonnes grading 400-600 ppm TREO.
This is based on reasonable grounds and assumptions made by the company.