Aclara Resources is set for a transformative year with several key milestones on the horizon, says CEO Ramon Barua, who recently updated Magnetics Magazine on the status of the company’s projects. The developing operations span multiple countries in the Americas including Brazil, Peru, Canada and the United States as it forges a fully integrated mines to magnets business that is decidedly devoid of China.
Rare earth resources in South America, vertical integration, strategic industry partnerships and raising a lot of money are key elements of the grand plan:
- 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 Bio-Bio Region of Chile.
- Both projects feature Aclara’s patented technology named Circular Mineral Harvesting, which is designed to offer a sustainable and energy-efficient extraction process for rare earths from ionic clay deposits.
- Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Aclara Technologies Inc., it is also developing a rare earths separation plant in the U.S to process mixed rare earth carbonates sourced from the company’s mineral resource projects, separating them into pure individual rare earth oxides. A site search is underway.
- Through a joint venture with CAP S.A., Aclara is advancing its alloy-making capabilities to convert these refined oxides into the alloys needed for fabricating permanent magnets. This joint venture leverages CAP’s extensive expertise in metal refining and special ferro-alloyed steels. CAP is a Chilean conglomerate operating in various industries and one of the leading high-grade iron ore producers in the world.
- In 2024, Aclara raised more than US$54 million of fresh capital at valuations representing a significant premium to its then-current share prices on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Barua is a graduate in Economics from the University of Lima and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York City. In previous roles, he was CFO of Hochschild Mining for more than 11 years, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange and a principal shareholder in Aclara. He began his career in debt capital markets at Deutsche Bank in New York, where he was a vice president.
Hochschild is a precious metals producer focused on the exploration, mining, processing and sale of gold and silver with 2023 revenues of $693 million. Headquartered in London, it has over 50 years’ operating experience in the Americas where currently it operates three underground mines, two located in southern Peru and one in southern Argentina. In 2021, Hochschild demerged 80% of its rare earths business, represented by Aclara. Aclara was listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and made a concurrent initial public offering which raised approximately $98 million. The Hochschild Group holds 57% ownership in Aclara.
Significant progress mounts at Aclara
“Our flagship Carina Module continues to show strong potential, with an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment with an after-tax NPV of US$1.5 billion based on the base case price forecast, and US$2.2 billion when considering the incentive price forecast by Argus Media, which excludes Chinese supply, reports Barua.
“Additionally, we recently announced a 77% increase in inferred mineral resources, further solidifying the Carina Module’s supply capacity. To support the rapid development of the project, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the State of Goiás and the Municipality of Nova Roma, reinforcing our partnership to accelerate the permitting and implementation phases, while contributing to local economic and social development.”
“We are making significant progress on the Penco Module’s Environmental Impact Assessment, having received the consolidated report from the Environmental Service Assessment agency. We are preparing a thorough response to the observations and expect to submit it by the end of Q1 2025.”
“Another key highlight is the completion of a conceptual engineering study for our U.S.-based rare earths separation project. Developed in collaboration with the Saskatchewan Research Council, this separation flowsheet integrates advanced environmental features such as significant waste reduction and zero liquid discharge.”
“These results position Aclara to become the first vertically integrated heavy rare earths producer outside of Asia, a critical achievement for the global supply chain of sustainable rare earth elements. Between Aclara’s Carina Module and Penco Module, the company would be able to produce 16% of China’s 2023 official heavy rare earths production. With these accomplishments, Aclara is well-positioned for a year of growth, continuing to lead the way in sustainable rare earth production while contributing to the clean energy transition.”
The production volume targeted by Aclara is 258 tons annually of Dysprosium and Terbium (DyTb) which, along with Neodymium & Praseodymium (NdPr) are the key magnet-feed rare earths. DyTb is particularly valued as essential minerals in the production of high-performance permanent magnets used in high temperature operating applications such as electric vehicle powertrains.
Other progress
In January 2025, Aclara received a payment of US$12.5 million from CAP, corresponding to the second tranche of its planned $29.1 million strategic investment in Aclara’s Chilean subsidiary, REE Uno, in exchange for a 20% equity participation. REE Uno owns the Penco Module and all of Aclara’s mining concessions in Chile. To date, the Aclara has received two tranches totaling US$22.2 million, with the remaining tranche of $6.9 million scheduled to be paid in January 2026.
In July 2024, Aclara and Germany-based magnet producer Vacuumschmelze GmbH, announced they have made a strategic agreement to establish a preferred supplier-purchaser relationship. Key aspects of the alliance include approaching potential new customer together as a ‘mine-to-magnets’ solution, providing product specification requirements to produce the high-performance permanent magnets used in EVs, analyzing the mine-to-magnets cost structure. VAC is currently contracted with General Motors to supply the automaker with permanent magnets by building a new magnet factory in South Carolina.
Looking ahead
“As we enter 2025, we are excited about the continued momentum carrying over from 2024,” said Barua. “Aclara is fully financed to pursue a focused fast-track program aimed at achieving production by 2028. Our focus for the coming year includes:
• Progressing Permitting: We expect considerable advancements in permitting in both Chile and Brazil, setting the stage for the next phase of development at both rare earth projects.
• PFS and Feasibility Studies: The PFS in Brazil is on track for completion in Q3 2025 and we are determined to make substantial progress on the feasibility study for the Carina Project.
• Pilot Plant and Process Optimization: Aclara’s pilot plant is on track to start operations in Brazil by Q2 2025, offering us an invaluable opportunity to further optimize our patented Circular Mineral Harvesting process and gain firsthand insights into our operational capabilities. We expect visits from several of our important stakeholders, replicating the successful pilot plant experience we had in Chile.
• Solvent Extraction and Alloy Production: We aim to complete optimization work for the solvent extraction process of our rare earth carbonates and move forward with piloting in Q4 2025, while advancing our metals and alloys joint venture to support high-performance magnets.”
For more info, see www.aclara-re.com.
