Business
Aclara Announces Discovery of 168 Mt Ionic Clay Mineral Resource at Its Carina Module in Goias, Brazil
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / December 12, 2023 / Aclara Resources Inc. ("Aclara" or the "Company")...
About this update from Aclara Resources, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Aclara Announces Discovery of 168 Mt Ionic Clay Mineral Resource at Its Carina Module in Goias, BrazilTORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / December 12, 2023 / Aclara Resources Inc. (\"Aclara\" or the \"Company\") (TSX:ARA) is pleased to announce the maiden mineral resource estimate (\"MRE\") for its regolith-hosted ion adsorption clay project located in the State of Goias, Brazil, known as the Carina Module (the \"Project\").HighlightsThe initial inferred mineral resource for the Project is estimated at 168 Mt with a grade of 1,510 ppm total rare earth oxide (\"TREO\") and 477 ppm desorbable rare earth oxide (\"DREO\"1)The average net smelter return (\"NSR\"2) value of the resource is US$32.3/t when using a cut-off value of US$7.4/tThe 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 turbinesRecovery of rare earths from the Project is fully compatible with the technology patented and successfully demonstrated on a pilot scale by Aclara in Chile, designed to minimize both cost and environmental footprintThe near-surface location of the deposit results in a very low strip ratio (<0.4) providing a positive backdrop for a low-cost mining operationThe 168Mt of inferred mineral resources at the Carina Module complements the 27.5 Mt of measured and indicated mineral resources, and 1.7 Mt of inferred mineral resources at Aclara's Penco Module in ChileNext StepsProduction of samples by processing the Project's ionic clays at Aclara's pilot plant in Chile during December 2023 and January 2024Completion of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (\"PEA\") in January 2024Pursuit of additional resources through the completion of a reverse circulation (\"RC\") drilling campaign, which is already underway and scheduled to be completed in Q2 2024Aclara CEO, Ramon Barua, commented:\"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. 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. We are...