Australia's Ionic Rare Earths has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Chinalco, a Chinese rare earth giant, to accelerate development and production at Ionic Rare Earths' Makuutu Rare Earths Project in Uganda. The deal also includes the potential for an offtake agreement and project funding.

Before the deal with Ionic Rare Earths was struck, Chinalco conducted extensive due diligence on the Makuutu project and concluded that it's not only a high-quality REE project, but a globally strategic critical and heavy REE resource.