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- Ionic Rare Earths (IXR) has mobilised a second drill at its Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda
- The company is in the middle of a 3700-metre phase two drill program to test the site’s 26-kilometre-long mineralisation corridor
- So far, Ionic has drilled 393 metres across 22 holes, with notable intercepts including 4.4 metres at 981 parts per million total rare earth oxides
- The overall aim is to increase the site’s resource estimate, which currently sits at 78.6 million tonnes at 840 parts per million in total rare earth oxides
- Ionic Rare Earths shares are in the grey in early trade, priced at 1.1 cents each
Ionic Rare Earths (IXR) has mobilised a second drill at its Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda to speed up the current exploration program.
The company is in the middle of a 3700-metre phase two drill program to test the site’s 26-kilometre-long mineralisation corridor. The overall aim is to increase the site’s resource estimate, which currently sits at 78.6 million tonnes at 840 parts per million in total rare earth oxide.
So far, Ionic has drilled 393 metres across 22 holes, with notable intercepts including 4.4 metres at 981 parts per million total rare earth oxides.
The program will evaluate the site in three stages. First, infill drilling will be performed at the previous program’s exploration area to confirm mineralisation continuity.
Second, the company will focus on expanding the resource estimate and hopes to reach a target of 270 million to 530 million tonnes, grading 0.04 to 0.1 per cent total rare earth metals. However, this target remains conceptual and is not guaranteed by the program.
Last, the program will turn to untested areas on the site, moving to two adjacent tenements to the east and west of the current mineral body.
Ionic Rare Earths’ CEO Tim Harrison said the company was excited to now have the second rig drilling at Makuutu.
“We maintain a 100 per cent focus on the timely evaluation of Makuutu, and the second rig now greatly accelerates the overall development timeline. We intend to position ourselves to take full advantage of the favourable project attributes and the near-term projected upside in the rare earth elements market,” he said.
Ionic Rare Earths shares are in the grey in early trade, priced at j priced at 1.1 cents each at 10:27 am AEST.
