The project, located on an 82-acre Louisiana Economic Development (LED) certified site at the Port of Vinton, involves an investment of approximately $277 million and is expected to be completed in 2027.
Aclara Resources Inc. has announced a landmark decision to construct the first heavy rare earths (HREE) separation facility in the United States, positioning the State of Louisiana at the center of a new, integrated Western supply chain for critical minerals.
The facility is a cornerstone of Aclara's mine-to-magnet strategy and is designed to address the urgent domestic need for HREEs, which are essential for advanced technologies like electric vehicles (EVs), wind turbines, drones, and robotics. Once fully operational, with a secured feed from the company's ionic clay deposits in Brazil (Carina Project) and Chile (Penco Module) by mid-2028, Aclara anticipates being able to supply more than 75% of the U.S. requirements of Dysprosium (Dy) and Terbium (Tb) for electric vehicles.
This Louisiana facility is set to be unique in the Western world, as the only HREE separation operation integrated with sustainable ionic-clay feed from friendly jurisdictions. The planned annual production is anticipated to be 200 tpy (Dy), 30 tpy (Tb), and 1,400 tpy (Neodymium and Praseodymium or NdPr) of separated high-purity oxides, representing a significant challenge to the current near-monopoly of Chinese production.
The project is highly strategic, establishing a vertically integrated supply chain that extends to a strategic alliance with magnet-maker VAC (VACUUMSCHMELZE), which is concurrently building a permanent magnet production facility in Sumter, South Carolina. Aclara is also planning an additional investment to construct a metals and alloys plant on the property to further support the high-performance permanent magnet industry.
The selection of the Port of Vinton site was driven by its direct road and waterway access via the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, proximity to chlor-alkali facilities, and a skilled industrial workforce. The State of Louisiana is actively supporting the venture with an estimated US$46.4 million in tax incentives and grants. This package includes an estimated US$29.3 million from the Industrial Tax Exemption Program, US$11.6 million from the High Impact Jobs Program, a US$3.0 million Performance-Based Infrastructure Grant, and support from the LED FastStart® workforce training program.
Hatch Ltd., retained for the project's engineering, is coordinating the design with Aclara's upstream Carina Project in Brazil, ensuring an efficient, cohesive execution plan across the entire value chain. CEO Ramon Barua confirmed the accelerated pace, noting: "We are moving at an accelerated pace to bring supply online as quickly as possible, and we are working to have our projects converge and enter production by mid-2028."
