Ionic has received a resounding show of support for its Makuutu rare earths project from the Uganda government and local stakeholders.
The company has successfully completed Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) public hearings with over 3,800 registered attendees indicating keen interest in the project.
With this strong response for Ionic Rare Earths’ (ASX:IXR) ionic adsorption clay-hosted REE project, the National Environmental Management Authority and Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development are now working to complete final statutory requirements to evaluate the ESIA and provide a formal decision.
Meanwhile, the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP) has moved into the final stages and will support Mine License Application, both of which will be completed by end October 2022.
The RAP will present the strategy to acquire land for the entire RL1693, which hosts Makuutu, over the life of the project while ensuring that Project Affected Persons (PAPs) – including vulnerable people – are not financially or socially disadvantaged.
With all PAPs already identified and the majority of their parcels of land mapped, the company will move to confirm the mapped areas and reach agreements with affected peoples to support land access once the ESIA is approved.
Makuutu is one of the rare proven IAC deposits – noted for their low costs and high magnet REE content – located outside of China and is of world-class scale with resources of 532 million tonnes grading 640ppm total rare earth oxides.
Most of this resource – 76% to be precise – is contained within the higher confidence Indicated category, more than sufficient to underpin the feasibility study.
Demand is high for magnet REEs which are key ingredients for permanent magnets that are in turn used extensively in electric vehicles and wind turbines.
Further exploration
Looking further afield, the company completed geological mapping of its EL00147 and EL00257 exploration licences to establish areas which have potential to contain clays with ionic adsorbed REE.
Once identified, such areas could be the focus of future exploration programs.
Ionic adds that during this field activity, it conducted community engagement and sensitisation to ensure that correct information is disseminated across the affected communities with regards to the overall activity planned and potential timeframes for the development of Makuutu.
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.