RAB Drilling To Commence Across All Five Tenements In Uganda
Ionic Rare Earths Limited (ASX: IXR) has commenced the next phase of drilling at its 51% owned Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda.
The drill program will provide initial reconnaissance drilling with a view to providing indicative potential of resource extension.
This phase of drilling at Makuutu has been planned as a follow on to the company’s threefold increase of the Mineral Resource Estimate at Makuutu, which has been estimated at 315 Million tonnes at 650 ppm Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) with a cut-off grade of 200 parts per million (ppm) TREO minus Cerium Oxide (CeO2)
Managing Director, Tim Harrison, said Makuutu ranks amongst the world’s largest ionic adsorption clay (IAC) deposits, and as such, a globally strategic resource for low-cost, high-margin and long-term security of critical and heavy rare earth (HREO) supply.
“The company is excited to resume drilling at our flagship Makuutu Rare Earths Project. Key to this is Exploration Licence 00147,” Mr Harrison said.
“We identified the new eastern target radiometric anomaly in August last year, and having been granted EL00147 and EL00148 in December, where we expect a similar outcome to the 2020 Phase 2 drill programme which confirmed the radiometric anomaly targeting as being a very good proxy for REE ionic adsorption clay mineralisation.
“Furthermore, the HREO dominant nature of the clay mineralisation in EL1766 immediately adjacent to the EL00147 could result in a very substantial addition at Makuutu.
“Additionally, the company has been patiently waiting for an opportunity to assess the areas adjoining the individual radiometric anomalies within the basin margins to test for further continuity of ionic adsorption clay mineralisation.
“We expect over the course of the next two to three months we will start to get a more accurate idea on the total potential deposit magnitude at Makuutu which will be critical as we fast track Makuutu to production.”
IonicRE will commence a 1200 metre (67 hole) reconnaissance Rotary Air Blast (RAB) drill program aimed to test new targets plus test REE mineralisation in areas outside the previous focus of the Project. Some targets are potential alternate host types that have not been previously tested.
The drill programme covers all five tenements at Makuutu with several targets being evaluated.
The 37 kilometre long sedimentary basin that hosts the Makuutu REE mineralisation has been interpreted from aeromagnetic and gravity data. Drilling to date has focused exclusively on eU/eTh radiometric anomalies interpreted to be derived from the laterite hardcap within the basin. There has not been any testing of radiometric anomalies outside the sedimentary basin or from zones within the basin that do not show this type of radiometric response. These untested targets are the focus of the RAB drilling on licences RL00007, RL1693 and EL1766.
EL00147, covers an extensive radiometric response similar to, and continuing from, EL1766. Resource Area I within EL1766, immediately west of EL00147, is estimated to contain 96 million tonnes at 550ppm TREO, which also showed zones of elevated HREO particularly on the northern margin.
