Aclara Resources Inc. announced a $277 million investment to build a heavy rare earth separation facility at the Port of Vinton. The company expects the project to create 140 direct new jobs at its first U.S. location. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the development will result in an additional 456 indirect jobs.
"Our project is unique in the Western world," Aclara Resources CEO Ramón Barúa said. "With direct access to our ionic clay deposits, this will be the only fully integrated heavy rare earth separation operation capable of producing material volumes at scale. We are moving at an accelerated pace to bring supply online as quickly as possible, and we currently expect our projects to converge and enter production by mid-2028.”
The new facility will use Aclara’s proprietary sustainable extraction technology to produce the heavy rare earth elements essential for electric vehicles, wind turbines, drones and robotics. By processing material from Aclara’s mineral deposits in Brazil and Chile, the Louisiana operation will create a U.S. supply of these materials.
The Aclara facility will occupy an LED Certified Site at the Port of Vinton, prequalified for industrial development through extensive environmental and engineering reviews. The company selected the location after evaluating more than 100 potential U.S. sites for its proximity to key chemical suppliers, access to Gulf Coast logistics and availability of a skilled industrial workforce.
The company expects construction to begin in 2026 and be completed in 2027. The facility will be built in phases, beginning with the rare earth separation plant, followed by potential future expansions to support downstream processing and alloy production as part of Aclara’s long-term growth strategy.
“This facility will become a cornerstone of critical minerals reindustrialization in the Western Hemisphere," Aclara Resources COO Hugh Broadhurst said.
To win the project in Vinton, the state of Louisiana offered Aclara Resources a competitive incentives package that includes the comprehensive workforce development solutions of LED FastStart and a $3 million performance-based grant for utility and infrastructure improvements. The company is also expected to participate in the state’s High Impact Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption program.
