Ionic Rare Earths appoints Mincore to deliver Makuutu feasibility study

Iconic Rare Earths has awarded Mincore the contract to deliver the feasibility study (FS) at its 51% owned Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda.

Mincore will complete the process plant and associated non-process infrastructure for the project, beginning with an initial review to identify and evaluate trade-off opportunities on project CAPEX and OPEX.

Ionic RE (ASX:IXR) plans to submit the FS report to the Ugandan Directorate of Geological Survey and Mines (DGSM) as part of its submission for a mining licence application (MLA) by October 2022.

“Complimentary skillset”

Mincore is expected to be able to significantly assist IonicRE with rapidly advancing the FS activity utilising their extensive African network of specialty service providers.

“We are delighted to have awarded the FS Engineering Management scope to Mincore,” Ionic Rare Earths managing director Tim Harrison said.

“The team at Mincore presented a very complimentary skillset to the IonicRE owners’ team, and their recent experience in similar technology applications provides IonicRE with some immediate optimisation opportunities worthy of consideration for Makuutu.”

African experience

Mincore’s team has direct experience in recently completing a heap leach project in elevated rainfall conditions and is also presently working on FEED project activities in Africa.

“We are pleased to be awarded the Engineering Manager Role for the Makuutu Project,” Mincore managing director Cameron Bain said.

“Mincore’s in-house process and African experience will complement the IonicRE Owners Team, and I’m certain our recent experience in heap leach and similar technologies will unlock immediate opportunities to be considered for the FS.”

“Robust” FS in 12-18 months

The company is focused on an accelerated development timeline for the ionic adsorption clay (IAC) hosted rare earth element (REE) deposit, which has potential as a long life, low-cost capital source of critical and heavy rare earths.

“The company has made significant progress over the past few months, ensuring the optimal team is in place and work programs are now underway to meet our accelerated timelines,” Harrison said.

“This next 6 months will see a continued increase in activity, highlighted by the current drill program, which will greatly enhance the Project’s resource definition, key to unlocking a robust feasibility study over the next 12-18 months.”

This article was developed in collaboration with Ionic Rare Earths a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.