Aclara Resources Targets Rare-Earth Supply Chain From South America to Louisiana

Key Points

• Aclara Resources is pursuing an integrated rare-earth supply chain spanning ionic-clay deposits in Chile and Brazil, a planned separation facility in Louisiana, and a metals-and-alloys operation focused on heavy rare earths such as dysprosium, terbium and yttrium.
• The company targets mine production at Penco in late 2028 and Carina in mid-2029, with Louisiana separation expected to begin in late 2028 and metals production in early 2029, subject to financing and execution.
• The integrated plan is estimated to require about $1.7 billion in construction capital. Aclara is seeking customer offtake agreements and potential U.S. government-backed financing, including an Export-Import Bank letter of interest for up to $750 million.

Aclara Resources TSE: ARA outlined plans to build an integrated rare-earth supply chain spanning two ionic-clay deposits in South America, a separation facility in Louisiana and a metals-and-alloys operation, with management emphasizing its focus on heavy rare earth elements including dysprosium, terbium and yttrium.

At the company’s investor day in New York, Chief Executive Officer Ramón Barúa said Aclara’s strategy is centered on producing materials that are scarce outside China and are needed for permanent magnets, power-generation equipment, aerospace applications and other technologies. He said the company intends to become a long-term supplier rather than develop assets for sale.

Barúa said Aclara has invested more than $300 million over roughly eight years to advance its assets and technology. The company’s principal mining projects are the Penco deposit in Chile and the Carina deposit in Brazil, both ionic-clay deposits that management said contain relatively high concentrations of heavy rare earths.

Project timelines and processing plans

Chief Operating Officer Hugh Broadhurst said the company’s mines are designed to produce a high-purity mixed rare-earth carbonate product known as SPREC. The material would be shipped to a planned 82-acre site in Port of Vinton, Louisiana, where Aclara intends to separate it into individual rare-earth oxides and subsequently produce metals and alloys.

Aclara said it has completed basic engineering and obtained a key air permit for the Louisiana site. The company is targeting the start of separation operations in late 2028 and metals production in early 2029, subject to financing and project execution.

• Penco: Aclara recently released an updated preliminary economic assessment for the Chile project, which is expected to have a 17-year mine life. The company has received an environmental license and expects to complete a feasibility study in the first quarter. It is targeting mine production in late 2028.
• Carina: The Brazilian project is expected to have an 18-year mine life, according to management. Aclara completed a feasibility study in April and is pursuing environmental licenses. Management said it expects first production in mid-2029.
• Louisiana: The planned downstream operation, called Project Dynamo, would use solvent extraction and mixer-settler equipment to produce oxides including neodymium-praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium and yttrium.

Broadhurst said the company selected conventional solvent extraction because it is commercially proven, though applying it to heavy rare earths remains complex. Aclara is operating a pilot-scale separation circuit at Virginia Tech’s Corporate Research Center and said it has produced market-grade neodymium-praseodymium oxide. The company expects samples of dysprosium and terbium at target specification in the fourth quarter.

The company also said it has operated a metallization demonstration plant at CAP’s Huachipato site in Chile. Broadhurst said the facility has produced about 500 kilograms of neodymium-praseodymium metal and reached a targeted production capacity of 175 kilograms per day.

Funding, offtake and economics

Chief Financial Officer Francois Motte said Aclara estimates the integrated supply chain would require approximately $1.7 billion of construction capital. The Carina project represents the largest component, with estimated investment of $780 million, while the expanded Louisiana separation facility is estimated at $494 million.

The company said the U.S. Export-Import Bank has issued a non-binding letter of interest for up to $750 million in potential debt financing for the Louisiana industrial facilities. The U.S. International Development Finance Corp. has invested $5 million in Carina and holds an option to provide additional financing, according to management.

Aclara has also signed three non-binding memorandums of understanding with end customers, Motte said, and is pursuing additional agreements. Management said future offtake contracts would likely include minimum-price floors during the initial project payback period, while potentially retaining exposure to higher market prices after capital costs are repaid.

Motte said the company’s integrated model implies approximately $3 billion in value and cited unlevered project internal rates of return of roughly 26% to 27%. He said that, once financing is incorporated, leveraged returns could rise to 40% to 45%, though these outcomes depend on commodity prices, financing and project execution.

Technology and ESG focus

Aclara said its circular mineral harvesting process uses dilute ammonium sulfate, a common fertilizer, to release rare earths from near-surface clays. Management said the process avoids blasting, crushing and milling, recycles 99% of its main reagent and recycles 97% of water used in the plant. The company also said the process does not require a conventional tailings dam.

Head of Technology and AI Projects Mauricio Carrasco said Aclara is working with Argonne National Laboratory to develop digital-twin models of its separation process. The models are intended to help optimize operating conditions and shorten plant ramp-up periods. The company is also using satellite imagery and artificial intelligence through a Stanford University Mineral-X collaboration to identify prospective exploration areas.

Executive Vice President José Augusto Palma said Aclara is pursuing environmental and social standards aligned with International Finance Corp. requirements and the Equator Principles. In Brazil, he said the company is working toward a preliminary license for Carina and expects a decision by the end of the first quarter, followed by further installation approvals before construction.

About Aclara Resources (TSE:ARA)

Aclara Resources Inc TSX: ARA, a Toronto Stock Exchange listed company, is focused on building a vertically integrated supply chain for rare earths alloys used in permanent magnets. This strategy is supported by Aclara's development of rare earth mineral resources hosted in ionic clay deposits, which contain high concentrations of the scarce heavy rare earths, providing the Company with a long-term, reliable source of these critical materials. The Company's rare earth mineral resource development projects include the Carina Project in the State of Goiás, Brazil as its flagship project and the Penco Module in the Biobío Region of Chile.

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