1st US heavy rare earths separation facility planned in Louisiana

A Canadian mining company plans to build a facility in Louisiana’s Calcasieu Parish to refine rare earth metals used in a variety of motors and electronics in the consumer, technology and defense industries.

Aclara Resources Inc., headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, announced a $277 million investment to construct the first US heavy rare earth separation facility at the Port of Vinton, according to a news release from Louisiana Economic Development.

The company plans to mine deposits of rare earth metals in South America and ship them to Louisiana for processing at its proposed facility in Vinton. The facility will use hydrochloric acid to extract and separate the metals from the clay mineral deposits.

Rare earth elements — such as dysprosium, neodymium, praseodymium and terbium — are considered critical materials for many industries. Some are used as high-powered magnets in wind turbine motors, vehicle alternators and heat-seeking missiles, according toScienceNews. Others are used as high-temperature alloys in aircraft engines and nuclear reactors, or as signal amplifiers in fiber optic cables, among other applications.

Aclara’s Louisiana facility is expected to directly employ 140 people. It will occupy anLED Certified Siteat the Port of Vinton, prequalified for industrial development through environmental and engineering reviews.

“Louisiana provides ready access to the key reagents we depend on, helping ensure operational reliability and lower transportation costs,” Aclara Resources CEO Ramón Barúa said in the news release. “The state’s world-class chemical industry and highly skilled workforce made the decision even more compelling. Simply put, Louisiana has everything we were looking for.”

The state is giving Aclara a $3 million grant to pay for infrastructure and an additionaljob-creation grantfor as much as 22% of wages paid. Additionally, the company will be eligible for the state’s lucrative Industrial Tax Exemption Program through which it will be largely exempt from property taxes in Calcasieu Parish.

Construction is expected to begin in 2026 and be completed in 2027.

Aclara boasts what it calls a sustainable mining process that uses no explosives, milling or wastewater ponds. The company says it recirculates 95% of the water it uses for mining and plants trees after razing the land. It plans to begin its mining operations in Chile in 2027 and in Brazil in 2028, according to the company’swebsite.

This article, originally published by Louisiana Illuminator, is republished under a Creative Commons license.