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- With a Phase 2 drilling program now complete, Ionic Rare Earths (IXR) has begun a resource update at its Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda
- Assays have been received for 34 “outstanding” drill holes which sought to infill the current Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) area
- Significant results include 7.4 metres at 1228 parts per million and 9.5 metres at 1290 parts per million of Total Rare Earth Oxide
- The updated MRE is expected to be completed by late February this year
- Ionic Rare Earths is down 8.11 per cent to 3.4 cents per share
Ionic Rare Earths (IXR) has begun a resource update at its Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda.
Located 120 kilometres east of Kampala, the Makuutu deposit extends 37 kilometres in length and has so far shown substantial potential for a long life, low-cost capital intensity source of critical and heavy rare earths.
The latest batch of seven assays relate to a drill program that was completed in October last year, which consisted of 222 drill holes over a total of 3745 metres and was designed to infill the current Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) area.
34 of these “outstanding” drill results delivered clay and saprolite mineralisation intersections above the cut-off grade of 300 parts per million of Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO), which Ionic Rare Earths said is consistent with initial drilling phases completed in 2019 and early 2020.
Some of the most significant results include 7.4 metres at 1228 parts per million from hole RRMDD248 and 9.5 metres at 1290 parts per million of TREO from hole RRMDD251.
“The last of the infill holes assay results confirmed numerous thick, high grade REE intervals as expected. This caps off a very successful Phase 2 drill program,” said Tim Harrison, Managing Director of Ionic Rare Earths.
“We are very pleased by the outcome with 216 of the 222 holes drilled returning clay REE intervals above the MRE cut-off grade,” he added.
According to a previous resource estimate that was published on June 23, 2020, the Makuutu Project hosts an indicated resource of 9.5 million tonnes at 750 million parts per million of TREO, as well as an inferred resource of 69.1 million tonnes at 860 parts per million.
The updated resource estimate, which is anticipated to significantly expand the scale of the project, is expected to be completed in late February this year.
Ionic Rare Earths is down 8.11 per cent to 3.4 cents per share at 11:17am AEDT.
