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- Oro Verde (OVL) is set to kick off a scoping study at the Makuutu Earths Project in Uganda
- The scoping study follows results from metallurgical test work which achieved excellent recoveries
- The money spent on the study will bring Oro Verde’s holding in the project to 51 per cent
- At the moment, the company owns 20 per cent of Makuutu and is earning up to 60 per cent from Rwenzori Metals
- To reflect the opportunity presented at the project, the Oro Verde Board has proposed to re-name the company to Ionic Rare Earths
- This will be discussed in more detail at the General Meeting on March 18
- Oro Verde has ended the day 14.3 per cent in the green with shares trading for 0.8 cents apiece
Oro Verde (OVL) is set to kick off a scoping study at its Makuutu Earths Project in Uganda.
The scoping study will be driven by Oro Verde’s recently-appointed Project Manager, Tim Harrison. Tim has 20 years of experience in metallurgy and project development.
The decision to start a scoping study follows the recent release of results from initial metallurgical test work that achieved excellent recoveries.
The Makuutu Project is made up of three licences and covers a 132 square-kilometre area.
According to Oro Verde, the project is one of the largest ionic clay deposits in the world outside of China.
The cash spent on the study will bring Oro Verde’s interest in Makuutu up to 51 per cent. Currently, the company holds 20 per cent of the project and is busy earning up to 60 per cent from Uganda-based Rwenzori Metals.
To reflect the opportunity presented at the project, the Oro Verde Board has proposed to re-name the company to Ionic Rare Earths Limited.
According to Oro Verde, this name captures one of the key traits of Makuutu, being that the clay-type geology is similar to the major rare earth projects in southern China which produce the majority of the world’s supply of rare earths.
Clay-type rare earth projects can typically be easily mined and simply processed using standard static leaching.
“This is a significant milestone to have reached just seven months since acquiring our initial interest in Makuutu,” Technical Director Dr Marc Steffens said.
“Everything we have seen to date gives us confidence that this project has the potential to be a major rare earths development and a key strategic alternative supplier to Chinese sources,” he added.
The scoping study will take six to nine months to complete and will include the infill drilling of already drilled areas, exploration drilling in areas that have been minimally drilled or are yet to be drilled, and resource development and mining studies.
Oro Verde said it hopes to release results from the new study in the second half of 2020.
Oro Verde has ended the day 14.3 per cent in the green with shares trading for 0.8 cents apiece in a $14.01 million market cap.
