Just thinking of how Makuutu fits into this full scale Brazil chain? As, the mineral output from Makuutu (mixed rare‐earth carbonate, or MREC) will definitely be sent to there for further processing as part of IonicRE’s integrated strategy. Makuutu will produce MREC using heap‐desorption and membrane filtration in Uganda. Separately, Ionic Rare Earths has a 50/50 joint venture in Brazil (Viridion with Viridis Mining), which is being set up to refine this MREC into purified rare-earth oxides (REO) and magnets. Recent updates confirm that this Brazilian facility is intended for both refining the carbonate to oxide and integrating magnet recycling - all steps downstream from Makuutu's production. So Makuutu’s product will go to Brazil for refining and magnet-related processing as planned under IonicRE’s global supply-chain rollout.As for the question regarding Makuutu's grade vs others, yes Makuutu is considered a low-grade deposit, with rare earth oxide (REO) grades around 700–900 ppm (parts per million).This is much lower than hard rock deposits like Mount Weld (Australia), which can exceed 5–10% REO (i.e, 50,000–100,000 ppm). But that’s not necessarily a deal - breaker, it's ionic clay, not hard rock. Makuutu is an ionic adsorption clay deposit - like those found in southern China.These are easier and cheaper to process, often using simple leaching rather than costly cracking and separation, so this low-cost method offsets any low grades.Also not forgetting the much higher value attributed to heavy rare earths as Makuutu has a high proportion of critical heavy rare earths (HREEs) like dysprosium, terbium, and yttrium.These are much more valuable and harder to find than light REE's, so even at low grades, the economic value per tonne remains competitive. Also again the processing in Brazil increases real value - the ability to ship MREC to Brazil for value-adding processing (into oxides or magnets) boosts margins and helps IonicRE extract more value downstream.Also add in that Makuutu is a vast area with an extremely long mine life, can't recall the exact details here, but those two points always stuck out. And if I recall this product can be mixed in with others, though I'm not that upto date there.
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