- Ionic Rare Earths (IXR) approves an increase to planned infill drilling at its majority owned Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda
- The company will add a further 2100 metres to its phase four drilling program, thereby increasing the overall distance drilled to 7800 metres
- IXR hopes to raise the project’s indicated and measured resource base to more than 250 million tonnes
- The work is expected to be complete in the next four weeks with the results set to inform a mineral resource estimate update early next year
- Shares are up 3.13 per cent to 3.3 cents each at 12:35 pm AEST
Ionic Rare Earths (IXR) has approved an increase to planned infill drilling at its majority-owned Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda.
In a statement today the company revealed it had added a further 2100 metres to its phase four program to increase the overall drilling distance to 7800 metres.
The additional work reportedly aims to increase Makuutu’s JORC resource confidence from the inferred to indicated classification at Area One.
According to IXR, this area’s current inferred resource measures 96 million tonnes and includes zones of elevated heavy rare earth content.
Overall, the company hopes drilling will increase the indicated and measured resource base at Makuutu to more than 250 million tonnes.
Further, any significant increase to the project’s mineral resource estimate (MRE) is slated to form a key milestone for IXR as the company moves towards completing a feasibility study ahead of submitting a mining licence application in the second half of 2022.
Ionic’s managing director Tim Harrison said the phase four drilling program had been tracking ahead of scheduled with three drill rigs mobilised to site.
“The team has navigated challenges, maintaining HSEC standards and working with local authorities and community stakeholders to ensure COVID protocols are maintained at all times,” he said.
“This positive progress to date has unlocked the potential to increase the size of he overall drill program, now increased to 7800 metres, which is expected to be completed over the next four weeks and get the drill core back to Australia for assay and ultimately feeding into the MRE update in quarter one next year.”
Mr Harrison said the expanded drilling reflected the company’s growing confidence in Makuutu as a secure and long-term supplier of critical and heavy rare earths.
Shares were up 3.13 per cent to 3.3 cents each at 12:35 pm AEST.