Phase 5 Drilling Program Completed at Makuutu

The Board of Ionic Rare Earths Limited (“IonicRE” or “The Company”) (ASX: IXR) advises on progress at its 60 per cent owned Makuutu Heavy Rare Earths Project (“Makuutu” or “the Project”) in Uganda.

• Phase 5 infill drill program at Makuutu on Retention Licence (RL) 00007 completed with 128 holes drilled for 2,501 metres;
• Infill drilling expected to both increase confidence and scale of updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) expected Q1 2024;
• Samples progressively being delivered to Perth for analysis, with first results expected this quarter; and
• Makuutu’s basket contains 71% magnet and heavy rare earths content, and is one of the most advanced heavy rare earth projects globally available as a source for new supply chains emerging across Europe, the US, and Asia;

IonicRE’s Managing Director Mr Tim Harrison said the Phase 5 drill program, now completed, is an important activity in advancing the next stages of development at Makuutu for a much larger Project.

“The infill drilling has progressed to plan and we await assays, expected over the remainder of 2023, to feed into a significant increase in confidence on the MRE associated with RL00007 which will support our next Mining Licence Application at Makuutu.”

“We await the results of the metallurgical test work on samples selected from the recent RAB drilling as part of this Phase 5 drill program which will enable revision to the Exploration target aimed for late this quarter, and also assist the Company plan future drilling across both EL00147 and EL00257.”

“Our focus on the delivery of the Makuutu Heavy Rare Earths Project in Uganda positions us to provide a secure, sustainable, and traceable supply of magnet rare earth oxides. Along with our Ionic Technologies Belfast recycling facility, Makuutu is key to us harnessing our technology to accelerate mining, refining, and recycling of magnets and heavy rare earths that are critical for the energy transition, advanced manufacturing, and defence”.

Figure 1: Makuutu Phase 5 drill plan, with completed RAB holes (shown in green) and recently completedcore drilling (black) shown in RL00007.

Figure 2: Phase 5 infill drilling completed on RL00007 within existing MRE areas A and B, plus extension areas.

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