Aclara Resources (TSX: ARA) has secured a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States for potential financing of up to US$750 million toward Project Dynamo, the company’s proposed rare earth separation, metals and alloys facility in Louisiana.
The terms are preliminary but substantial. EXIM indicated the financing could cover up to US$750 million of project costs with a repayment period of up to 15 years, under the bank’s Make More in America initiative. The figure was based on expected U.S. exports and job creation tied to the facility.
The letter is non-binding. It remains subject to EXIM’s customary due diligence, underwriting, authorization and documentation requirements, meaning a formal commitment is still some distance away.
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Project Dynamo is designed to take Aclara’s Super Pure Rare Earth Carbonate and separate it into individual oxides such as neodymium-praseodymium, dysprosium, terbium, samarium, gadolinium and yttrium. The plant will also carry metals and alloys processing capability, giving Aclara a route from concentrate to magnet-grade material.
The work is further along than a typical concept. Basic engineering by Hatch is in its final stages, key permitting is nearly complete, and the company expects the site to be construction-ready by the end of 2026. Aclara is demonstrating its proprietary solvent extraction technology at Virginia Tech and running an industrial-scale molten salt electrolysis cell in Chile.
“EXIM’s interest in financing our separation, metals and alloys facility in Louisiana represents a key milestone for Aclara,” said Chief Executive Officer Ramón Barúa, who framed the plant as the basis for a traceable supply chain serving U.S. and allied industries across electromobility, robotics, advanced technologies and data centre power generation.
Feedstock is to come from Aclara’s own ionic clay deposits, the Carina Project in Brazil and the Penco Module in Chile, while a joint venture with CAP converts refined oxides into permanent magnet alloys.
Aclara Resources last traded at $3.49 on the TSX.
