HOUSTON, July 24th (Argus) - Canadian rare earth developer Aclara Resources has been selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to receive federal funds to apply artificial intelligence to the separation and production of heavy rare earth elements.
Aclara stated on Friday that its US subsidiary Aclara Technologies was selected based on the DOE's Genesis Mission initiative, with the terms and timeline depending on the negotiation of the award. The scale of the award has not been disclosed.
Its first project, "Optimizing the artificial intelligence process for rare earth separation using multiple raw material sources", was selected under the challenge area covering key mineral extraction and processing technologies. A successful first-phase project may be advanced to the second phase to obtain further federal funds.
Aclara plans to develop and validate an artificial intelligence-assisted digital twin that can optimize the rare earth solvent extraction method under constantly changing operating conditions, attempting separation production from multiple raw material sources. This work will utilize the operational data from the company's separation test plant in Blacksburg, Virginia, and combine with the process simulation capabilities developed by Argonne National Laboratory.
Aclara said that this platform is expected to increase recovery rates and product purity, improve process stability, reduce operator intervention, and shorten expansion time.
Aclara's test plant in Blacksburg, Virginia was put into operation in March this year, aiming to produce separated dysprosium, terbium, and neodymium-praseodymium, providing engineering support and capacity enhancement for the company's planned commercial separation facility in Louisiana with an investment of $277 million.
The Louisiana plant is planned to break ground in the fourth quarter and start operation in mid-2028, with a target of 1,131 tons/year of praseodymium-neodymium, 148 tons/year of dysprosium, and 25 tons/year of terbium.
The plant will process ion ores from Aclara - the Carina project in Brazil and the Penco project in Chile, and convert the generated oxides into magnets through a joint venture with Chilean steel producer CAP.
