Aclara Validates Argonne Model for Louisiana Rare Earth Plant
TORONTO – November 02, 2026 -- Aclara Resources (TSX: ARA) has completed its first Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Argonne National Laboratory. The agreement produced a validated steady-state model of the rare earth separation circuit planned for Project Dynamo in Vinton, Louisiana.
The CRADA was signed on January 13, 2026. The model was calibrated against the full set of operating data and chemical assays from Aclara's demonstration plant at the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center in Blacksburg, Virginia.
Model predicts concentrations across 478 coupled stages
Project Dynamo's separation plant is designed as a network of 478 interconnected mixer-settler stages. Solvent extraction separates the individual rare earth elements in counter-current flow. A change at any point, even a minor adjustment to an acid or base flow rate, shifts the equilibrium of surrounding stages and propagates across the circuit.