Ionic Rare Earths Limited (ASX: IXR) has moved to 60% ownership of Ugandan subsidiary Rwenzori Rare Metals Limited (RRM) which owns 100% of the Makuutu Rare Earths Project.
The news follows on from the positive Makuutu Stage 1 Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) which showed that Makuutu would have an initial 35 year mine life with EBITDA of A$2.29 billion and an IRR of 32.7% and subsequent advice that 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.
The company continues to engage with stakeholders in the Ugandan Government on the status of Mining Licence Application (MLA) TN03834 over the central Makuutu tenement RL 1693. Pleasingly, the Ministry has made progress in upgrading its mineral licencing 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 flagship Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda 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).
In March 2023, Ionic announced a positive stage 1 Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) for the first of six tenements to progress to a Mining Licence Application (MLA) which is pending in Uganda.
The Makuutu Stage 1 DFS defined a 35-year life initial project producing a 71% rich magnet and heavy rare earth carbonate (MREC) product basket and the potential for significant potential and scale up through additional tenements. The Stage 1 MLA is expected to be awarded in Q2 2023.
For further information please visit: https://ionicre.com.au/
