Talcahuano – – October 07, 2026 -- Aclara Resources Inc. (TSX: ARA) and steelmaker CAP S.A. have inaugurated a demonstration plant designed to produce up to 175 kilograms of rare earth metal per day at 99.5% purity, targeting the permanent magnet supply chain for electromobility, robotics and wind power.
Joint venture taps decades of steelworks metallurgy
The facility was launched by Aclara Metals SpA, a 50/50 joint venture between Aclara and CAP, drawing on metallurgical expertise accumulated at CAP's Huachipato steelworks in Talcahuano, Chile. The start-up ceremony was attended by Sergio Giacaman, Governor of the Biobío Region, alongside executives from CAP and Aclara.
Molten salt electrolysis converts NdPr oxides into metal alloys
Using molten salt electrolysis, the plant will convert neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr) oxides into metals and alloys. Aclara Metals is also evaluating a second demonstration stage that would add dysprosium oxide to produce an NdPrDy alloy, expanding into heavy rare earth processing.
Data will feed engineering for Louisiana industrial project
Production campaigns at the demonstration plant are expected to validate stable, continuous industrial output meeting international customer specifications. Results will feed basic engineering for Aclara Metals' planned industrial facility in Louisiana, United States, and support predictive digital models to optimize electrolysis cell operation. The company states the detailed design of its industrial-scale electrolysis cell was developed entirely in-house by Aclara Metals and Huachipato teams, constituting proprietary technology in a field with no established industrial standards in the West.
Project links Chilean mining to US magnet alloy production
The demonstration plant forms part of a broader integrated rare earth value chain strategy spanning extraction at Chile's Penco Module -- the country's first rare earth deposit -- through concentration pilot plants in Chile and Brazil, a separation pilot plant in Virginia, and now metallization and alloy production.
"Rare earth metallization is a scarce, almost nonexistent technology in the West," said Álvaro Castellón, General Manager of Aclara Metals, adding that the facility will generate learnings to complement engineering already underway for the planned US plant.
CAP Chairman Jorge Salvatierra framed the project as part of Huachipato's industrial transition, redirecting existing steelworks capabilities toward critical minerals tied to the energy transition. Aclara CEO Ramón Barúa said the plant completes a value chain integrating mining, concentration, separation, metallization and alloy production, aimed at establishing a secure Western source of both heavy and light rare earths.