{"id":17583,"date":"2022-01-28T14:03:17","date_gmt":"2022-01-28T14:03:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=17583"},"modified":"2022-02-03T10:42:33","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T10:42:33","slug":"building-magnet-heavy-rare-earth-capacity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/building-magnet-heavy-rare-earth-capacity\/17583\/","title":{"rendered":"Building new magnet and heavy rare earth capacity to drive a net zero carbon future"},"content":{"rendered":"

From its magnet and heavy rare earth dominant Makuutu Project, Ionic Rare Earths is progressing downstream ambitions in building a new magnet and heavy rare earth supply chain.<\/h2>\n

Ionic Rare Earths<\/a> (ASX:IXR, \u2018IonicRE\u2019) is an exploration and mining development company that aims to rapidly produce secure and traceable magnet and heavy rare earth supplies from its Makuutu rare earths project in Uganda.<\/p>\n

IonicRE is also advancing plans on developing its downstream processing capability. This would include the development of a standalone rare earth refinery capable of separating magnet and heavy rare earths that make up 73% of its basket and the potential development for value-added metals and alloys to supply into Western markets.<\/p>\n

Around the world, governments are setting bold targets to cut emissions and increase renewable energy installations. To achieve such ambitious targets, the supply of critical raw materials crucial for technologies such as wind turbines and electric vehicles (EVs) will have to be ramped up over the remainder of this decade to 2030 and beyond. The most urgent requirement is sustainably sourced new magnet rare earth supply; neodymium (Nd), praseodymium (Pr), dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb). These will be the elements that literally will drive the revolution. Magnet rare earth elements are essential for the permanent magnet motors that make EVs and offshore wind turbines operate. This magnet rare earth content provides IonicRE with a significant advantage over its peers.<\/p>\n

Additionally, IonicRE has also recently announced plans to acquire Seren Technologies Limited (SerenTech), a UK-based company with a unique technology that enables the separation of individual rare earths using ionic liquids. SerenTech has also developed recycling technology, which uniquely can extract, separate and refine magnet rare earths from spent and waste permanent magnets. The planned acquisition of SerenTech significantly differentiates IonicRE from other rare earth project developers in the sector, providing the scope for near term low-cost vertical integration in the magnet rare earth industry that has the potential to make IonicRE a pivotal player to 2030 and beyond.<\/p>\n

Developing a new magnet and heavy rare earth supply source<\/h3>\n

The unique potential basket produced at Makuutu, which contains an astonishing 43% magnet rare earths, including a near-perfect split of main magnet rare earths Nd, Pr, Dy and Tb, provides IonicRE with a significant opportunity to realise downstream value addition. The low capital development potential of the Makuutu Project, coupled with a substantial looming deficit in the supply of magnet rare earths in the near term, along with the 44% heavy rare earth content, is expected to provide an opportunity for the company to participate meaningfully in the vertical integration of new supply chains. These supply chains will need to be created in the coming years to achieve the ambitions of global government policies and meet climate targets by 2050.<\/p>\n

IonicRE is now adding the individual processing components and advancing discussions with potential global partners in developing new supply chains to build the required capacity.<\/p>\n

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Granite outcroppings looking out over the Makuutu Project area<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Makuutu rare earth project<\/h3>\n

IonicRE\u2019s flagship Makuutu rare earths project in Uganda is on an accelerated track to production. Through its Ugandan subsidiary, Rwenzori Rare Metals Limited, IonicRE has defined a sizeable ionic adsorption clay (IAC) resource at Makuutu that still possesses significant exploration potential to the East and North West of the current resource base.<\/p>\n

The unique importance of Makuutu is the mineralisation itself, which is the most favourable IAC type of rare earth deposits, which is very difficult to find. IonicRE\u2019s Managing Director Tim Harrison commented:<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have rare earth projects, then you have Makuutu. It\u2019s a massive mineralised system, 37 kilometres end to end, with material potential for further increase in scale with more exploration activity across the near 300 square kilometres of tenements the company holds. The balanced rare earth basket from Makuutu includes all the rare earth elements the world needs, which is rare in itself and stands out when compared against the other projects that have been trying to get developed for the past decade and beyond.\u201d<\/p>\n

IAC deposits are rare outside Southern China and South East Asia, with less than a handful of global IACs identified with the scale and grade to compare with Makuutu. In discovering and developing Makuutu, IonicRE will unlock the potential for a balanced rare earth supply in Western supply chains.<\/p>\n

Typically, there are several advantages for IACs over the more readily available hard rock rare earth projects, including:<\/p>\n