Aclara Resources Inc (TSX:ARA, OTC:ARAAF) has announced a maiden mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its regolith-hosted ion adsorption clay project in Brazil, known as the Carina Module, which showed an initial Inferred mineral resource of 168 million tonnes with a grade of 1,510 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxide (TREO) and 477 ppm desorbable rare earth oxide (DREO).
The heavy rare earth resource project developer said the average net smelter return (NSR) value of the resource is US$32.3 per tonne when using a cut-off value of US$7.4 per tonne.
"The combination of its large size and attractive grades makes the Carina Module an outstanding deposit of ionic clays and significantly increases Aclara's total resource base," Aclara Resources CEO Ramon Barua said in a statement.
"The fact that we can apply our patented metallurgical recovery process, which combines competitive costs with superior environmental qualities, provides a promising backdrop for the upcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment," he added.
Aclara noted the deposit contains significant quantities of dysprosium (Dy), terbium (Tb), neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr), which are the rare earth elements critical to the production of permanent magnets used in electric vehicles and wind turbines.
It added that the near-surface location of the deposit results in a low strip ratio (less than 0.4), providing a positive backdrop for a low-cost mining operation.
As well, the company stated it is targeting completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) in January 2024, while production of samples by processing the project's ionic clays at Aclara's pilot plant in Chile is expected during December 2023 and January 2024.
Aclara also said it is pursuing additional resources through the completion of a reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign, which is already underway and scheduled to be completed in the second quarter of 2024.
Aclara Resources is a development-stage company that focuses on heavy rare earth mineral resources hosted in ion-adsorption clay deposits.
Its primary project is known as the Penco Module and is located in the BioBio Region of southern Chile. It is also evaluating a second module, the Carina Module, located in the State of Goiás in central Brazil.