TORONTO, ONTARIO — January 15, 2026 — Leads & Copy — Aclara Resources Inc. (TSX:ARA) announced that its U.S.-based subsidiary, Aclara Technologies Inc., has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) to develop an artificial intelligence-enabled digital twin for Aclara’s heavy rare earth separation process.
Under the agreement, Aclara and Argonne will use Argonne’s SolventX modeling platform, along with Argonne’s expertise in advanced computing, process modeling, and artificial intelligence, and incorporate Aclara’s pilot-scale data to develop a digital representation of Aclara’s separation process. The digital twin will enable advanced simulation, optimization, and predictive control of heavy rare earth solvent extraction operations.
Aclara’s Chief Operating Officer, Hugh Broadhurst, stated that the collaboration with Argonne is a significant step forward in the company’s strategy to deploy a digitally enabled rare earth separation platform in the United States. Broadhurst also stated that by combining Aclara’s separation process and pilot-scale data with Argonne’s capabilities in advanced computing and artificial intelligence, the company expects to accelerate industrial ramp-up, improve efficiency, and de-risk execution.
Argonne’s Chief Science and Technology Officer of Advanced Energy Technologies, Seth Darling, stated that the partnership exemplifies how industry, academia, and national laboratories can accelerate the development and deployment of advanced technologies. He added that it reflects Argonne’s role in translating research and user facilities into capabilities that support U.S. industrial competitiveness and strengthen domestic supply chains for critical materials.
The collaboration builds on Aclara’s ongoing development of a Rare Earth Separation Pilot Plant in partnership with Virginia Tech, which is expected to be inaugurated in March 2026. These initiatives are designed to accelerate the transition from pilot-scale validation to industrial deployment of Aclara’s U.S. rare earth separation platform.
Aclara is advancing a modular and interoperable digital architecture to optimize its rare earth value chain. As a central component of this strategy, the digital twin will allow Aclara to model, analyze, and optimize the separation process across a wide range of operating conditions, improving performance while reducing scale-up risk.
The collaboration aims to improve operational efficiency and recovery rates through model-based control, accelerate ramp-up timelines, and increase process resilience by enabling rapid adaptation to variations in feed composition and operating conditions.
The digital twin will be continuously refined using data generated from pilot campaigns, including those conducted at Aclara’s Virginia Tech pilot facility, enabling ongoing performance improvement as operations advance toward commercialization.
Aclara Resources Inc. is focused on building a vertically integrated supply chain for rare earths alloys used in permanent magnets. This strategy is supported by Aclara’s development of rare earth mineral resources hosted in ionic clay deposits. The Company’s rare earth mineral resource development projects include the Carina Project in the State of Goiás, Brazil and the Penco Module in the Biobío Region of Chile. Both projects feature Aclara’s patented technology named Circular Mineral Harvesting, which offers a sustainable and energy-efficient extraction process for rare earths from ionic clay deposits. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Aclara Technologies Inc., the Company is developing a rare earths separation plant in the United States. Aclara, through a joint venture with CAP, is advancing its alloy-making capabilities to convert these refined oxides into the alloys needed for fabricating permanent magnets.
Argonne National Laboratory drives multidisciplinary innovations in physics, materials science, energy, and national security. Argonne uses advanced computing to model global supply disruptions, reveal molecular mechanisms of lanthanide separation, and develop extraction methods from conventional and unconventional sources, bolstering domestic supply chain resilience.
Contact:
Ramón Barúa Costa
Chief Executive Officer
investorrelations@aclara-re.com
Source: Aclara Resources Inc.
