Ionic Rare Earths (ASX:IXR) spruiks scandium upside at Makuutu

• Ionic Rare Earths (IXR) begins marketing activities to promote the potential of scandium co-product from its Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda
• Earlier this year, the company increased the site’s scandium oxide resource from 2300 to 9450 tonnes
• Makuutu is reportedly the third largest scandium resource globally
• The company expects this resource to continue to grow with substantial exploration upside identified at eastern tenement EL00147
• On the market this morning, Ionic is down 8.82 per cent and is trading at 3.1 cents per share

Ionic Rare Earths (IXR) has begun marketing activities to promote the potential of scandium co-product from its Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda.

The company first told of its marketing plans in January and since then has further increased the scandium oxide resource from 2300 tonnes to 9450 tonnes.

In April, Ionic provided an overview of the potential of scandium oxide production from Makuutu.

Makuutu is reportedly the third largest reported scandium resource globally, currently containing over 9450 tonnes within the current mineral resource estimate.

The company expects this resource to continue to grow with substantial exploration upside identified at eastern tenement EL00147.

Ionic is positioning itself to become a key player in the scandium resource market,
with initial plans to produce 20-25 tonnes per annum, with an aim to ramp up
production over 10 years to around 90-100 tonnes per annum.

“While the current scandium market is 15-20 tonnes per annum, the global transportation industry has the potential to turn scandium into a billion-dollar market,” the company explained.

“The existing market for aluminium across automotive, aerospace, marine, rail and space applications is approximately seven million tonnes per annum.”

The company continues its discussions with global groups interested in development of aluminium-scandium alloys and is exploring opportunities for collaboration in this sector.

On the market this morning, Ionic was down 8.82 per cent and is trading at 3.1 cents per share at 10:21 am AEST.