Aclara seeks US backing for Chilean rare earth project

The company seeking to build Chile’s first rare earth mine is in talks with US International Development Finance Corporation as the Trump administration moves to loosen China’s grip on critical minerals.

Aclara Resources Inc. received positive initial feedback from the US institution after recent rule changes expanded funding eligibility to higher-income countries like Chile, chief executive officer Ramon Barua said Monday in an interview. Aclara is looking to replicate an initial $5 million arrangement with the DFC for its project in Brazil.

“We’ve proposed it,” Barua said. “Conceptually, I think they like it.”

DFC chief policy officer Caroline Vik met with government officials and private-sector representatives in Santiago last week — including a business federation meeting in which Aclara representatives attended. Vik’s visit follows the signing of a US-Chile critical minerals agreement in April.

Aclara, partly owned by the Hochschild Group and Chile’s CAP SA, is advancing a $1.5 billion strategy that links Latin American mines with US processing capacity. Besides the DFC contact, discussions with potential buyers of magnets made from rare earths have accelerated as the company moves closer to securing approvals. Automakers from the US Europe, Japan and South Korea are among prospective buyers of future supply.

In Chile, the company aims to begin extracting heavy rare earths from a clay deposit in 2028, contingent on permits, funding and customer agreements. On Monday, Chilean regulators issued final environmental approval for the project, Barua said.

In Brazil, the DFC provided support through the feasibility stage in exchange for an option to invest in the project at a later date. A similar arrangement “is replicable” in Chile, the CEO said.

The DFC declined to comment on any specific projects that may or may not be in its pipeline, citing commercial sensitivities.

(By James Attwood and Carolina Gonzalez)