- Ionic Rare Earths (IXR) is about to commence a phase four resource drilling program at the company’s Makuutu Rare Earth Project
- The program will focus on increasing the project’s indicated resource base, allowing additional tonnage to be incorporated into updated economic studies
- Ionic Rare Earths has already secured its first drilling rig and is organising the arrival of the second
- The company expects to receive assays from the phase three reconnaissance RAB drill program at Makuutu by the end of June
- Ionic Rare Earths is up 3.45 per cent and trading at 3 cents per share
Ionic Rare Earths (IXR) is about to commence a phase four resource drilling program at the company’s Makuutu Rare Earth Project.
The Makuutu Project is a rare earth element (REE) deposit, located 120 kilometres east of Kampala in Uganda. Ionic Rare Earths owns 51 per cent of the project and recently completed its phase three reconnaissance rotary air blast (RAB) drill program across all five of its tenements.
As such, the company expects to receive assays from the phase three program by the end of June. In the meantime, Ionic is moving forward with preparations to begin the next significant stage of drilling at Makuutu.
The company’s phase four drilling program will focus on increasing the project’s indicated resource base.
This would allow additional tonnage from the 315-million-tonne resource to be incorporated into updated economic studies. A recently announced initial scoping study for the Makuutu Project reflected only about 26 per cent of the project’s total mineral resource estimate tonnage.
In particular, an increase of the project’s indicated resource base will support important future studies at Makuutu, like its bankable feasibility study.
Ionic Rare Earths has already secured its first rig for the infill drill program and is organising the mobilisation of a second rig. The additional drill rig will help expedite the initial allocation of infill drilling at the project.
The company expects the second rig to arrive approximately a fortnight after drilling commences, which will take place shortly.
Ionic Rare Earths is up 3.45 per cent, trading at three cents per share at 10:11 am AEST.