The Ionic Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: IXR) share price has had a momentous year so far, it's currently up by 190% year to date. The rare earth producer has had a run of good news concerning its Makuuta project, a deposit of ionic clay rare earths.
Let's look closer at what's driving the Ionic share price.
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The Makuuta project
In the first half of the 2020/21 financial year, the company's stake in the Makuutu project increased from 31% to 51%. The company has also advised that its stake may increase again, potentially reaching 60% in the future.
In January, Ionic Rare Earths announced Makuuta had received two additional exploration licences, increasing its exploration target by 50%. Finally, earlier this month, the company declared the mineral resource estimate of its Makuutu project had increased by 210%.
Rare earths are critical components of wind turbines and electric vehicles. Ionic Rare Earths believes the value of rare earths will go up as demand for clean energy increases.
The company states that ionic clay deposits operate at lower costs and have shorter development timelines than hard rock deposits.
Located in Uganda, Makuutu is one of the only large ionic clay rare earth element deposits outside of China. It is surrounded by infrastructure, including tarred roads, rail, power and water, and is accessible regardless of weather conditions.
Of the 315 million tonnes of rare earth minerals present at Makuutu, 26% are heavy rare earth oxides and 35% are critical rare earth oxides.
Ionic Rare Earths share price snapshot
The Ionic Rare Earths share price has rocketed higher since the beginning of the year. After commencing 2021 trading at 2 cents, the Ionic share price is currently sitting at 5.8 cents.
The company's shares have also increased by 480% over the last 12 months.
Ionic Rare Earths has a market capitalisation of around $178 million with approximately 3.1 billion shares outstanding.
