Aclara Resources and CAP have announced the launch of a demonstration plant aimed at advancing technology for producing rare earth metals and alloys.
The facility, opened by the 50/50 joint venture (JV) Aclara Metals, was inaugurated at CAP’s Huachipato steelworks in Talcahuano, Chile.
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The ceremony was attended by Governor of the Biobío Region Sergio Giacaman, alongside company directors and executives.
The demonstration plant will use molten salt electrolysis to convert neodymium and praseodymium oxides into metals and alloys.
According to Aclara, the site has been designed for a nominal output of up to 175kg of rare earth metal per day, targeting a minimum purity of 99.5%.
The project’s first phase centres on producing neodymium and praseodymium metals, with the JV considering a second phase that could introduce dysprosium oxide to create a neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium alloy.
Aclara CRO Ramón Barúa said: “This demonstration plant marks another important step in Aclara’s development of an integrated rare earth supply chain. It complements our concentration pilot plants in Chile and Brazil and our separation pilot plant in Virginia, US.
“With the addition of metallisation and alloy production capabilities, Aclara is advancing toward an end-to-end technology and production platform integrating mining, concentration, separation, metallisation and alloy production.”
Aclara Metals plans to run a series of production campaigns to test the plant’s capability to operate under stable and continuous industrial conditions.
Operational data from the demonstration plant will inform basic engineering for a prospective industrial facility in Louisiana, US, and contribute to the development of predictive digital models for process optimisation.
The industrial electrolysis cell design was developed by Aclara Metals and the Huachipato team, with the venture noting the absence of established industrial standards for rare earth metallisation.
Rare earth metals and alloys produced at the demonstration plant are essential for manufacturing permanent magnets, which are used in sectors including electromobility, robotics and wind power.
The companies stated that the initiative is part of a broader strategy to create an integrated rare earth value chain in Chile, beginning with extraction at the Penco Module, the country’s first rare earth deposit.
In June this year, the Environmental Assessment Commission of Chile’s Biobío Region approved the Environmental Impact Assessment for Aclara Resources’ Penco Module ionic clay project.
