Aclara Resources, Stanford University partner on AI-powered rare earths research in Brazil

[Redator]

Aclara Resources (TSX: ARA) announced Wednesday it has formed a strategic collaboration with Stanford University to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence (AI) innovations aimed at securing a sustainable supply chain for heavy rare earth elements (HREE).  

The Brazil-focused rare earths developer has said its Carina deposit, in the state of Goiás, could generate 191 tonnes a year of dysprosium (Dy) and terbium (Tb), heavy rare earths used in electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing. 

Aclara opened in April its semi-industrial heavy rare earth pilot plant, which it will use to test the production of dysprosium and terbium from ionic clay extracted from its Carina project.  

Key objectives 

The partnership has been initiated through a long-term Letter of Intent (LOI) between Aclara Technologies Inc., Aclara’s U.S.-based subsidiary, and Stanford’s Mineral-X initiative, a research initiative focused on transforming the critical minerals´ supply chain through advanced technologies, particularly AI, decision science, and data science.  

The agreement, the company said, establishes the foundation for a strong academic and technological alliance, aimed at leveraging advanced AI solutions to optimize the HREE supply chain from the ground up—starting with exploration and continuing through processing and supply chain integration. 

Aclara said the academic and technical exchange between researchers and professionals from both institutions is focused on joint development of AI-powered predictive models to better understand and target REE mineralization in regolith and ionic clays. 

Aclara, which updated last year the preliminary economic assessment for its regolith-hosted ion adsorption clay project, pegs its net present value at $1.5 billion, using an 8% discount rate, and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 27% over the 22-year mine life. 

The research begins a roadmap for a long-term strategic alliance, including future R&D initiatives and pilot projects, the company said.  

“This partnership with Stanford’s Mineral-X reinforces our commitment to innovation and leadership in the global rare earth supply chain,” Aclara CEO Ramón Barúa said in a news release.  

 “By embedding Aclara into Silicon Valley’s innovation ecosystem and combining our expertise in heavy rare earths with Mineral- X’s advanced AI technologies, we aim to jointly develop smarter, cleaner, and more secure solutions that strengthen the resilience of alternative supply chains.” 

“The world-class data science & geoscience team at Aclara…brings the highest professional experience in REE exploration & resource appraisal and Mineral-X is looking forward to pushing the boundary on the predictive capacity of the human-in-loop data science and AI, thereby making the exploration enterprise more efficient, more targeted and less expensive,“ Jef Caers, founder of Mineral-X and Professor of Earth & Planetary Sciences at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability said in the statement. 

Aclara has said it plans to begin rare earths production in Brazil in 2027.