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Ionic Rare Earths
Overview
Rare earth metals are best classified as difficult to discover and extract. In 2019, nearly 60 percent of global annual production (an estimated 132,000 tonnes) came from China, with only 12.2 percent of production coming from the second largest producer, the United States. But, what are rare earth metals? And why are they more important than ever?
Rare earth metals are classified into two categories: light and heavy. Light rare earth elements (LREEs) are commonly available and include lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, and neodymium. Heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) are more difficult to source (and therefore more expensive), and include samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium, yttrium, and scandium.
Known as the seeds of technology, rare earth metals set to play an ever growing important role in the future of clean energy, as well as serving as a key ingredient in the permanent magnets found in wind turbines and electric vehicles. With such rapid forecast demand looming it’s clear why this segment of the mining industry is attracting attention.
Ionic Rare Earths (ASX:IXR, or “IonicRE”) is an exploration and mining development company that aims to create rare opportunities for investors by operating a low capital operation with a high-margin product. The company currently has a 51 percent ownership (earning up to 60 percent) over the promising rare earth elements Makuutu project located in Uganda. Even though it is the company’s only project, the Makuutu project has a post-tax long-term free cash flow estimate of US$766 million over 11 years. This is expected to grow dramatically in the next 12 months as the company increases the resources to increase the potential life at Makuutu beyond 30 years.
The company is focused on developing its flagship Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda into a significant, long life, high margin, supplier of high-value critical and heavy rare earths. Makuutu is an advanced-stage, ionic adsorption clay (IAC) hosted rare earth element (REE) project highlighted by near-surface mineralisation, significant exploration upside, excellent metallurgical characteristics, and access to tier one infrastructure. The clay-hosted geology at Makuutu is similar to major IAC rare earths projects in southern China, which are responsible for the majority of global supply of low-cost, high value Heavy REOs (>95% originating from IAC). Metallurgical testing at Makuutu has returned excellent recovery rates, which provide multiple avenues for a low-CAPEX process route. Makuutu is well-supported by tier-one existing infrastructure which includes access to major highways, roads, power, water and a professional workforce.
Makuutu will produce a mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) product, and is planning on developing a standalone refinery to then process the radionuclide MREC product to produce secure and traceable individual rare earths required to supply a growing western demand.
Key investor take-aways:
- The Basket; High content of critical and heavy rare earths (73 percent) required to enable transition to carbon neutrality.
- Low capital development (US$89M); Scalable modular approach means that we can expand the operation from initial capital investment using free cash flows from the project.
- High payability mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) with no radionuclides.
- Long life; 27 years defined but scope to increase this to be much greater with additional exploration upside pending.
- Investigating standalone heavy rare earth refinery to separate MREC into refined products for marketing to western end users.
Figure 1: Makuutu is quickly being defined as one of the world’s most strategically important rare earth projects.
Figure 2: Granit outcroppings south of the mineralisation trend, with the expansive Makuutu project area in the distant north.
Historically, the majority of rare earth metals have been produced in China. However, economically significant deposits are now being explored and developed all around the world due to the increased commercial interest in the element driven by desires to develop secure supply chains to meet dramatic increases in future demand.
Additionally, Makuutu is the third-largest scandium deposit on the planet with 9,450t+ of scandium available and near term potential for a step change in size.
“We’ve recently done some exploration drilling that indicated that the overall mineralization system of Makutuu is going to get a lot bigger, so we’re going to continue to add value to shareholders and build a very large project,” Tim Harrison said in a recent interview.
Figure 3: Phase 4 infill drilling at Makuutu which is expected to net a significant increase in resources at Makuutu.
Figure 4: Makuutu project location, 120 km east of Kampala, Uganda.
Makuutu may have a strong presence of scandium, but the project also serves as a “one-stop-shop” for many other rare earth elements, especially the high value and high demand magnet rare earths , neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, and many others. There are 16 rare earth elements found in the Makuutu IAC mineralization, with lanthanum oxide, yttrium oxide, and neodymium oxide being found in the highest concentrations. Forecasting the price of all the rare earth elements found at Makuutu is how Ionic Rare Earths is expected to earn US$766 million over 11 years, with much more upside long term given sensitivity analysis indicated a 10% increase in rare earth prices projected a massive 30% increase in NPV post tax.
Ionic Rare Earths is led by a strong corporate management team with decades of applicable experience. Trevor Benson, the chairman, has over 30 years experience with investment banking and stockbroking, focusing on the resources sector. Tim Harrison, managing director, brings 20 years of experience in mineral processing and hydrometallurgy. Max McGarvie, the non-executive director, has 45 years of experience in mining development and mineral processing. Combined, the experienced management team is fully equipped to lead Ionic Rare Earths to success.
Company Highlights
- Ionic Rare Elements is an exploration and mining company that is cultivating a promising basket of rare earth metals, which includes magnet rare earths neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium, in high demand to feed the insatiable demand for Evs and offshore wind turbines
- Makuutu’s unique rare earth basket has the full list of all individual REEs required for the future industries dependent upon a secure and stable supply
- The Makuutu project is a low-capital development that will produce a high-margin product
- Rare earth metals already have many applications, but a forecast demand of these technology metals already exceeds potential supply indicating that long term REE procing is set for significant gains
- The Makuutu project is considered the third-largest scandium resource globally, and has the potential to produce many other in-demand REEs
- IonicRE is dedicated to developing and extracting value from the Makuutu project with a potential of extending the to 2050 and beyond
- IonicRE is planning on developing heavy rare earth refining capacity and supplying western markets as the next step in maximising the value of the Makuutu basket in a climate of strained supply.
- IonicRE’s magnet recycling business Ionic Technologies, has executed landmark partnership agreements with Ford Technologies, Less Common Metals, and British Geological Survey (BGS) to create a UK rare earth supply chain from recycled magnets.
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Low Capital Operations With the Potential for High Margins
Sulista Exploration Results Confirm a New High-Grade Rare Earth District
Sulista Rare Earth District - Leading scale, high-grade and strategic location
- District Scale: New drill results confirm an extensive high-grade rare-earth system at shallow depths - with +7 km of cumulative mineralised strike over seven exploration corridors within the Sulista Rare Earth District in Bahia, Brazil
- Exploration Target: Sulista covers a vast ‘10 km by 2 km’ exploration target area returning shallow, high- grade rare earth mineralisation results across regolith, bedrock and outcrop vectors. Exploration Target has now been estimated across the seven exploration corridors at Sulista
- Infrastructure advantage: The district is in a strategic location, with state highway BR-330 traversing and connecting Sulista with the Camaçari Petrochemical Complex, Bahia; 138 kV power just ~4 km, and skilled workforce and services ~12 km
Sulista East - Outstanding rare earth assays across regolith, bedrock, and new outcrop boulders
- Large-scale, shallow, high-grade rare earth system identified with true thicknesses up to 30 m over 500 m of strike, still open along trend and at depth
- New drill highlights include grades up to 9.6% TREO, with 15,695ppm NdPr, within 16.6 m at 3.9% TREO from surface (STU1482, open at depth), and large intercepts 33 m at 3.8% TREO from 7 m (JITDD0036)
- Widespread mineralised outcrops with grades of up to 10.5% TREO extend Sulista East by +5 km to the south; latest drilling defines a continuous, tabular bedrock rare earth deposit with grades over 3% TREO
- New discovery just ~500 m north of Sulista East: ‘Monte Alto-style’ ultra-high-grade outcrop boulders at 32.1% TREO, provide classic pathfinders to high-grade bedrock mineralisation
Figure 1: Sulista Project: Drill tested deposits and priority drill targets1
Sulista West - Outcrop Ridge drill program targeting high-grade extensions
- New 5,000 m diamond drill program is now underway at Sulista West, targeting a high-grade REE–Nb–Sc– Ta–U system beneath an intense surface geophysical anomaly
- Outcrop Ridge target is anchored by outcrop grades up to 20.6% TREO (R1255) and earlier drilling up to 22.4% TREO, pointing to a second high-grade centre advancing in parallel with Sulista East
- Follow-up auger results with grades up to 15.6% TREO with 34,467ppm NdPr and 1,767ppm DyTb within Sulista West Deposit cover interval of 6 m at 9.9% TREO from 14 m (STU1813)
Sulista District Exploration Target
Exploration Target estimate of 12–18 Mt, with grades of 4–6% TREO, across seven exploration corridors across the Sulista District.
- Observed thickness & grade distribution: At Sulista East ~70% of drill holes intersect mineralisation, with significant intercepts showing cumulative widths of 15–20 m and a length-weighted interquartile range of 3–5% TREO
- District-scale continuity from multiple pathfinders: >1% TREO auger trends, ground/airborne radiometric anomalies, broad gamma anomalies correlated with high-grade secondary monazite, and ultra-high grade outcrops/boulders define a drill-ready strike over ~6 km
- Geological process: Coexistence of a rich, coherent and consistent tabular bedrock REE melt (~3.1% TREO), thick high-grade regolith above, and proximal Monte Alto-style boulders indicates a highly prospective magmatic and regolith system that repeats along strike
The potential quantity and grade of the Exploration Target is conceptual in nature. There has been insufficient exploration to estimate a Mineral Resource, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the estimation of a Mineral Resource.
Sulista Drilling Status
- Sulista East: 44 core holes completed (4,737 m); 13 holes assayed and reported herein (1,188 m); 31 holes pending (3,549 m)
- Sulista West: 14 diamond holes previously completed (1,885 m), with assays previously reported for 11 holes (1,463 m) Including up to 22.4% TREO. New 5,000 m drilling program underway at Outcrop Ridge
- Sulista District: 61 new auger holes completed (1,040 m)
Next Steps
- Drilling: Step-out program to extend the Sulista East trend along the >1% TREO corridor; systematic drilling over the Monte Alto-style boulder field; advance Outcrop Ridge and priority targets
- Geophysics: Execute high-resolution helicopter magnetic & radiometric survey
BRE’s Managing Director & CEO, Bernardo da Veiga:
“Our successful exploration pathfinder model continues to deliver at our Sulista Rare Earth District – with the latest results confirming expansive, high-grade rare earth mineralisation with a clear path to scale.
These exceptional results also reinforce our conviction in the Rocha da Rocha Rare Earth Province. We now see the potential for this vast province to hold multi-district high-grade rare earth systems - and we’re at the beginning of systematically unlocking this potential.”
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Brazilian Rare Earths, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Rare Earths Extracted from Ema ISR Field Trial
Highlights
- First REEs successfully recovered under real-world conditions: Rare earth elements have been leached, extracted, and precipitated directly from the Ema deposit using in-situ recovery (ISR) methods
- Technical viability confirmed: This successful field-based extraction validates the ISR process at Ema and marks a significant step forward for the project’s development
- Environmentally friendly leaching solution used: The REEs were recovered using a low- concentration (0.5M) magnesium sulfate (MgSO₄) solution, supporting BCM’s commitment to environmentally responsible and sustainable mining practices
This achievement strengthens BCM’s position as a leader in low-impact, next-generation rare earths production and demonstrates the potential for ISR to offer a scalable, low-cost, and environmentally superior alternative to conventional mining methods.
To watch the video of the rare earths precipitate from solution, click on the link below https://braziliancriticalminerals.com/link/0y58QP
Figure 1. Precipitated solids directly in the field after in-situ leaching. Small amounts of reagent added to rare earth rich solution causing the rare earths and impurities to precipitate (cloudy material) in a beaker directly adjacent to extraction wells.
Andrew Reid, Managing Director, commented:
“Our field trials have now conclusively demonstrated that rare earth elements can be successfully leached, recovered, and precipitated from solution via in-situ recovery (ISR) at Ema, exceeding our expectations on all fronts. This represents a major technical and operational milestone and a critical step in de-risking the project.
It confirms that ISR can reliably mobilize and extract rare earths under real-world field conditions, positioning the Ema Project as a transformative development in the global rare earth supply chain— delivering high ESG performance and sustainable extraction practices.”
“We now look ahead to completing the current field trial program, initiating the feasibility study, and progressing key workstreams including permitting, financing, and offtake negotiations.
Ema remains uniquely positioned outside Southeast Asia as the only known rare earth project capable of operating via ISR with exceptionally low capital and operating costs. The February 2025 Scoping Study highlighted Capex of just US$55M and Opex of just US$6.15/kg TREO whilst able to produce 4,800tpa of TREO or 1,800tpa of key magnet elements in a mixed rare earth carbonate product.”
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Brazilian Critical Minerals Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Dalaroo Prepares Maiden Work Program for Blue Lagoon Zirconium, Niobium and Rare Earth Project in Greenland
Highlights
- Dalaroo has advanced planning for upcoming maiden field season at the Blue Lagoon Zr- Nb-REE project, Greenland. Field work will be conducted towards the end of June 2025.
- A program of auger drilling, stream sediment and soil sampling and reconnaissance mapping and sampling has been designed to follow up on historical highly anomalous values returned in a regional stream sediment program undertaken by the Greenland and Denmark Geological Society (‘GEUS”) for uranium in 1979 (refer to ASX release 20th Feb, 2025).
- No follow-up work on these results has ever been reported on the tenement.
- Dalaroo has secured the services of highly respected and experienced Greenland geologist Ole Christiansen, who has been instrumental in the modern development of metals in Greenland, including Critical Metal’s (NASDAQ: CRML Critical Metals Corp) Tanbreez project.
- The Blue Lagoon Project has similar geochemical anomalous footprint to the Kvanefjeld (ASX: ETM Energy Transition Metals) and Kringlerne/Tanbreez multi-element deposits in South Greenland, showing enrichment in critical minerals and high value LREE elements from regional stream sediment sampling. These projects are all hosted within the south- west north-east trending Gadar alkaline intrusive province where Blue Lagoon Is also located.
- US administration has continued to show considerable interest in Greenland, highlighting the importance Greenland has for critical metals and their ownership.
- Auger drilling to sample alluvial and colluvial material will form a key part of the program. In situ weathering of the alkaline granite might provide bulk tonnage options from beach- like deposits, providing potential low-cost options for mining and separation. Characterising these deposits geochemically is the first step of the evaluation of this potential.
Dalaroo Metals MD & CEO, Mike Brown commented “We are excited to have advanced a maiden field program at Blue Lagoon, and also secured the services of renowned Greenland geologist Ole Chistiansen. Auger drilling of weathered granite areas will be a key objective of the program. Stream, soil and rock chip sampling and prospecting over the tenement will complete the program. This should provide the first insight into the potential of the project to host heavy mineral sands type deposits of strategic metals and REEs. Placer deposits have obvious benefits on the cost of mining. With the Project being located on the coast with ice free water we are looking forward to getting onto the ground to commence exploration activities in June and report results when in hand.”
Figure 1: Project location, GEUS regional stream sediment location and neodymium assay results
The large and highly anomalous zirconium, niobium and REE geochemical anomalies over the Project area provides a compelling multi-commodity exploration target. The Vendor has identified the presence of potential bulk tonnage ‘placer’ type deposits from in-situ weathered granite. This is characterised by highly anomalous LREE and Nb signature, which is very similar to the geochemical signature that coincides with 3 other significant REE deposits in South Greenland associated with Gadar Block alkaline intrusives. The Company is looking forward to reporting the results of the work program as they come to hand.
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This article includes content from Dalaroo Metals Ltd, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
High-Grade Discoveries Enhance Scale of Pelé Project
New discovery of high-grade REE-Nb-Sc-Ta-U mineralisation
- High-grade diamond drill results at Pelé Target 1 returned assays of up to 13.5% TREO:
- NdPr: 23,217 ppm | DyTb: 938 ppm | Nb2O5: 5,011 ppm | Sc2O3: 381 ppm | Ta₂O₅: 248 ppm | U3O8: 1,100 ppm
- High-grade REE-Nb-Sc-Ta-U from shallow depths (~20 m) extending to vertical depths of ~70 m
- Drillhole TG1DD0004 returned 29.8 m of a cumulative downhole mineralisation, including 15.3 m at 9.1% TREO from 25.6 m depth, with grades of:
- NdPr: 15,617 ppm | DyTb: 692 ppm | Nb₂O₅: 1,861 ppm | Sc₂O₃: 231 ppm | Ta₂O₅: 94 ppm | U₃O₈: 754 ppm
- Auger drilling continues to discover extensive, near-surface horizons of high-grade monazite sands, with grades of up to 7.9% TREO and assays of up to 11,681ppm NdPr and 580 ppm DyTb
Pelé Target 1 discoveries extend high-grade mineralised trendline to 10 km
- Pelé is confirmed as a major district-scale rare earth exploration project located ~60 km southwest of BRE's Monte Alto project in Bahia, Brazil, and covers an exploration area over 60 times larger than Monte Alto
- Recent exploration has focussed primarily on Pelé Target 1 – one of five large exploration target areas within the larger Pelé Project area – delivering new discoveries of high-grade rare earth outcrops with grades of up to 17.7% TREO and high-grade monazite sands with grades of up to 8.5% TREO
- New outcrop discoveries of high-grade REE-Nb-Sc-Ta-U mineralisation significantly extend the mineralised strike at Pelé Target 1 to over 10 km
- Brazilian Rare Earths now controls three major confirmed projects - Monte Alto, Sulista and Pelé – each demonstrating significant diamond drill intersections of high-grade REE-Nb-Sc-Ta-U mineralisation
Figure 1: Pelé project location and relative size 1
The Pelé Project is hosted within the Volta do Rio Plutonic Suite, a large-scale magmatic system that extends over 180 km in Bahia, Brazil. Brazilian Rare Earths has confirmed the exploration potential of the province with multiple discoveries of ultra-high-grade mineralisation, including rare earth elements (REE), niobium (Nb), scandium (Sc), tantalum (Ta), and uranium (U).
Pelé Target 1 has the largest expanse of weathered REE-Nb-Sc-U outcrops discovered since exploration commenced at the Rocha da Rocha rare earth province. New geological mapping, 75 line-km of ground gamma stations and 162 new outcrop samples highlights that REE-Nb-Sc-Ta-U mineralisation repeats along eastern and western limbs of a regional structural fold that now extends over 10 km at the project.
Successful diamond drilling at Pelé Target 1
The new drilling results are from 10 diamond core holes totalling 901 metres and 100 auger drill holes totalling 1,095 metres. Assays are pending for a further 19 auger holes totalling 243 metres.
High-grade, hard rock REE-Nb-Sc-Ta-U mineralisation was intersected from shallow depths with assay grades of up to 13.5% TREO. High grades of neodymium and praseodymium were recorded, with grades up to 23,217 ppm NdPr, as well as high grades of dysprosium and terbium of up to 938 ppm DyTb.
Figure 2: Pelé Target 1 significant intercepts in auger and diamond drill holes. Results from recent outcrop samples shown right (yellow)
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Brazilian Rare Earths, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.