Aclara is now looking VERY smarta few notes here:
Aclara's proposed REE chilean mining project bombed. Bulletin board chatter, etc., suggests they ignored locals and took a 'don't give a sh*t' attitude in assumptions made in the process of initiating environmental studies.
Separate from the mining project, Aclara built an REE pilot processing nearby that apparently functions well and demonstrates that their proprietary technology works.
Aclara picked up a great REE project in eastern Brazil, another ionic clay project, suitable for the technology at its chilean processing plant - and shipped test ore from Brazil to the plant.
Someone in Chile has forgiven Aclara, as evidenced by the big, recent financing. However, I haven't read the details, maybe the chilean party gets a conditional and critical 'hold' on the pilot plant or ore or projects that will be run through it.
Yesterday (?) Aclara announced its intention to build an REE refinery in the USA. That's SUPER strategic because the US is "onshoring" the mining and processing of critical minerals, and because Aclara now has a proven technology and pilot plant, lending strong credibility.
We've all seen the massive herd of 'battery metals' explorations juniors who all claim they'll vertically integrate. Very very few will succeed.
I think Aclara is one of the very few that has both a good project (Brazil) and a proven pilot plant, proprietary technology to process ore.
To me Aclara is now putting its foot into the big time races, competing with the likes of Lynas, which has a problematic processing operation in SE asia, a mine in Australia, and some starter money from the US government to help it build an REE processing plant in Texas.
I hope the US feds will look at Aclara and drop them some seed money, too.