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Mint
19-05-2025
- Automotive
- Mint
Rare-earths plants are popping up outside China
GOINIA, Brazil—In a warehouse deep in Brazil's savanna, machines churn through piles of red clay to produce chalky rocks packed with metals critical for making electric cars, smartphones and missiles. But what is particularly precious about these minerals is their intended destination: They are bound for the U.S., not China. China mines some 70% of the world's rare earths, the 17 metallic elements primarily used in magnets needed for civilian and military technologies. But its 90% share of processing for rare earths mined around the world is what really concerns officials from other countries working to secure their supply. 'China is a formidable competitor," said Ramón Barúa, chief executive of Canada's Aclara Resources, which is opening a rare-earths mine to supply a processing plant it plans to build in the U.S. Aclara said it plans by August to decide where in the U.S. to build its plant for separating rare-earths deposits into individual elements. It also has a buyer lined up. Aclara signed an agreement last year to supply rare earths to VAC, a German company that is building a factory in South Carolina with $94 million in Pentagon funding to make magnets for clients including General Motors. 'We're seeing a tsunami of demand," Barúa said. Aclara aims to extract and process both light and heavy rare earths from its plants in Brazil and Chile. Geopolitical tension is fueling interest in Brazil's minerals. After the U.S. set new tariffs on China last month, China tightened restrictions on the export of rare-earth materials, worrying U.S. manufacturers including Tesla and redoubling their hunt for non-China alternatives. Exports of rare earths restarted this month for some companies. 'Hopefully, we'll get a license to use the rare-earth magnets," Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on the company's April earnings call. Brazil has the world's second-largest rare-earth reserves after China, some 21 million tons, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That represents more than a fifth of known global reserves—and more than 10 times those in the U.S. Brazil is also rich in a scarcer subset of heavy rare earths, including dysprosium and terbium, silvery metal elements that stop magnets from losing their strength at high temperatures. They are important in electric vehicles, where magnets power the motor even as it heats up. Despite its huge reserves, Brazil has been a small player in rare earths because of its complex mining regulations and the difficulty of attracting financing from companies willing to confront entrenched Chinese competitors. Costs to mine and process Brazilian rare earths are estimated to be around three times China's, meaning Western buyers would likely pay a substantial premium for Brazilian minerals. Only a few companies outside China have mastered rare-earth processing, and the learning curve is steep. While it can't beat China on prices, Aclara says that its mining processes are more has the world's second-largest rare-earth reserves after China. Brazil is mapping potential rare-earths deposits and searching for traces of them in waste from other mines, said Alexandre Silveira, the country's minister of mines and energy. 'This potential presents a significant opportunity," he said. Brazil's first big rare-earths mine opened last year some 90 miles west of the town of Nova Roma, where Aclara plans to produce. Backed by Denham Capital, a Boston-based private-equity firm, the project is one of the few outside Asia to produce dysprosium, terbium, neodymium and praseodymium—elements used to create high-power magnets. But the mine is contracted to ship most of its production to China. The U.S. has dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars over the past five years to reviving rare-earth processing plants and magnet factories closed during decades of Chinese dominance. President Trump declared a national emergency in 2020 over U.S. dependence on foreign critical minerals, including rare earths, and has made the sector a priority since returning to office. Europe has worked to reduce its reliance on China. The European Union aims to process 40% of the critical raw materials it needs and has agreed that no outside country should supply more than 65% of Europe's annual consumption of a list of designated materials that includes rare earths. After opening a pilot plant to perfect the refinement process near Goiânia, Aclara plans to invest some $600 million to complete work on a larger plant next to the mine in Nova Roma to start full production in 2028. The plant will partially process the rare earths, creating rare-earth carbonates: white rocks containing all the elements that will be separated into individual elements in the U.S. A German company building a U.S. magnet factory has agreed to buy rare earths from Aclara. While Aclara can't compete with China on price, it markets its mining practices as more environmentally friendly. Brazil's record on mining is far from perfect. The collapse of a tailings dam owned by iron-ore miner Vale killed 272 people in 2019, four years after another dam it owned jointly with BHP Group ruptured. Even so, Brazilian regulations are tighter than regulations are in China. Aclara's mining process also poses fewer risks, analysts said. China typically mines rare earths by drilling holes into clay and flushing out rare earths with ammonium sulfate solution, a common fertilizer. The process is relatively cheap, but risks contaminating surrounding soils and the water supply. Instead of following suit, Aclara plans to excavate its clays from depths of up to some 30 meters, or nearly 100 feet, and transport them to the plant for treatment. 'Their clay is right at the surface, so you don't have to dig deep," said Erik Eschen, CEO of VAC, the company planning to buy rare earths from Aclara. Sacks of clay inside an Aclara plant await processing into rare-earth concentrate. The residual clay is washed and returned to the ground, eliminating the need for tailings dams. Lugging truckloads of earth that typically contain less than 3 pounds of rare earths in each ton is expensive. But it reduces contamination at the site of the mine. 'The attention to environmental concerns is the biggest difference between what is done in China and what Aclara plans to do in Brazil," said Jon Hykawy, a rare-earths expert who recently inspected Aclara's pilot plant and mine. Write to Samantha Pearson at and Jon Emont at
Hindustan Times
19-05-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
Rare-Earths Plants Are Popping Up Outside China
A technician trains workers at Aclara's pilot plant in Brazil. GOINIA, Brazil—In a warehouse deep in Brazil's savanna, machines churn through piles of red clay to produce chalky rocks packed with metals critical for making electric cars, smartphones and missiles. But what is particularly precious about these minerals is their intended destination: They are bound for the U.S., not China. China mines some 70% of the world's rare earths, the 17 metallic elements primarily used in magnets needed for civilian and military technologies. But its 90% share of processing for rare earths mined around the world is what really concerns officials from other countries working to secure their supply. 'China is a formidable competitor,' said Ramón Barúa, chief executive of Canada's Aclara Resources, which is opening a rare-earths mine to supply a processing plant it plans to build in the U.S. Aclara said it plans by August to decide where in the U.S. to build its plant for separating rare-earths deposits into individual elements. It also has a buyer lined up. Aclara signed an agreement last year to supply rare earths to VAC, a German company that is building a factory in South Carolina with $94 million in Pentagon funding to make magnets for clients including General Motors. 'We're seeing a tsunami of demand,' Barúa said. Geopolitical tension is fueling interest in Brazil's minerals. After the U.S. set new tariffs on China last month, China tightened restrictions on the export of rare-earth materials, worrying U.S. manufacturers including Tesla and redoubling their hunt for non-China alternatives. Exports of rare earths restarted this month for some companies. 'Hopefully, we'll get a license to use the rare-earth magnets,' Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on the company's April earnings call. Brazil has the world's second-largest rare-earth reserves after China, some 21 million tons, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. That represents more than a fifth of known global reserves—and more than 10 times those in the U.S. Brazil is also rich in a scarcer subset of heavy rare earths, including dysprosium and terbium, silvery metal elements that stop magnets from losing their strength at high temperatures. They are important in electric vehicles, where magnets power the motor even as it heats up. Despite its huge reserves, Brazil has been a small player in rare earths because of its complex mining regulations and the difficulty of attracting financing from companies willing to confront entrenched Chinese competitors. Costs to mine and process Brazilian rare earths are estimated to be around three times China's, meaning Western buyers would likely pay a substantial premium for Brazilian minerals. Only a few companies outside China have mastered rare-earth processing, and the learning curve is steep. Brazil is mapping potential rare-earths deposits and searching for traces of them in waste from other mines, said Alexandre Silveira, the country's minister of mines and energy. 'This potential presents a significant opportunity,' he said. Brazil's first big rare-earths mine opened last year some 90 miles west of the town of Nova Roma, where Aclara plans to produce. Backed by Denham Capital, a Boston-based private-equity firm, the project is one of the few outside Asia to produce dysprosium, terbium, neodymium and praseodymium—elements used to create high-power magnets. But the mine is contracted to ship most of its production to China. The U.S. has dedicated hundreds of millions of dollars over the past five years to reviving rare-earth processing plants and magnet factories closed during decades of Chinese dominance. President Trump declared a national emergency in 2020 over U.S. dependence on foreign critical minerals, including rare earths, and has made the sector a priority since returning to office. Europe has worked to reduce its reliance on China. The European Union aims to process 40% of the critical raw materials it needs and has agreed that no outside country should supply more than 65% of Europe's annual consumption of a list of designated materials that includes rare earths. After opening a pilot plant to perfect the refinement process near Goiânia, Aclara plans to invest some $600 million to complete work on a larger plant next to the mine in Nova Roma to start full production in 2028. The plant will partially process the rare earths, creating rare-earth carbonates: white rocks containing all the elements that will be separated into individual elements in the U.S. While Aclara can't compete with China on price, it markets its mining practices as more environmentally friendly. Brazil's record on mining is far from perfect. The collapse of a tailings dam owned by iron-ore miner Vale killed 272 people in 2019, four years after another dam it owned jointly with BHP Group ruptured. Even so, Brazilian regulations are tighter than regulations are in China. Aclara's mining process also poses fewer risks, analysts said. China typically mines rare earths by drilling holes into clay and flushing out rare earths with ammonium sulfate solution, a common fertilizer. The process is relatively cheap, but risks contaminating surrounding soils and the water supply. Instead of following suit, Aclara plans to excavate its clays from depths of up to some 30 meters, or nearly 100 feet, and transport them to the plant for treatment. 'Their clay is right at the surface, so you don't have to dig deep,' said Erik Eschen, CEO of VAC, the company planning to buy rare earths from Aclara. The residual clay is washed and returned to the ground, eliminating the need for tailings dams. Lugging truckloads of earth that typically contain less than 3 pounds of rare earths in each ton is expensive. But it reduces contamination at the site of the mine. 'The attention to environmental concerns is the biggest difference between what is done in China and what Aclara plans to do in Brazil,' said Jon Hykawy, a rare-earths expert who recently inspected Aclara's pilot plant and mine. Write to Samantha Pearson at and Jon Emont at Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Aclara inaugurates heavy rare earths pilot plant in Brazil
Rare earths company Aclara Resources has officially inaugurated its semi-industrial heavy rare earths pilot plant facility in Aparecida de Goiania, Goias, Brazil. The plant is expected to process around 200 tonnes (t) of clays to produce an estimated 150kg of heavy rare earth carbonates including dysprosium and terbium. The pilot plant showcases Aclara's circular mineral harvesting technology, which is at the core of the company's Carina project in Brazil. This technology is designed to optimise processes, reduce operating costs and increase the purity of the final product. It includes shallow excavation without blasting, elimination of energy-intensive crushing or milling, zero liquid discharge, no tailings dam requirement, more than 95% water recirculation and 99% recovery of primary reagents. The pilot plant builds on previous piloting efforts in Chile, where 25t of clays from the Carina project were processed. It aims to validate the optimised closed-circuit flowsheet at a semi-industrial scale. These efforts support the upcoming pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, both led by Hatch. The plant also aims to produce high-purity heavy rare earth carbonate for future separation plants in the US and to support offtake agreements. The environmental sustainability of the process design will be demonstrated to stakeholders, with the processed clays being chemically stable for full reforestation. Aclara CEO Ramón Barúa said: 'We extend our most sincere gratitude to the Brazilian authorities and the community of Nova Roma for their extensive support and shared commitment to accelerating the implementation of the Carina project. During the inauguration, they experienced firsthand our unique proprietary technology, witnessing how clean and simple our process is for producing critical heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium. 'The Carina project's future production of these key elements will enable the fabrication of approximately five million electric vehicles per year, positioning Goias at the forefront in the global energy transition." The proposed process flowsheet is protected by two patents, with the first granted in Chile, Brazil, the US and China, and the second patent pending approval. State of Goiás Vice-Governor Daniel Vilela said: 'With an estimated investment of $2.8bn reais ($500m), the project will create thousands of jobs and position our state as a leader in the production of rare earths – strategic minerals for the future of clean technologies such as electric vehicles and wind energy.' Last year, in December, the company secured $25m (23.36bn pesos) through a non-brokered private placement to fund its Carina project. "Aclara inaugurates heavy rare earths pilot plant in Brazil" was originally created and published by Mining Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
