09:54 AM EDT, 03/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Aclara Resources ( ARAAF ) announced Thursday the inauguration of its rare earth separation pilot plant located at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia.

The company said the pilot plant has been designed to validate and optimize its proprietary rare earth separation technology using high-purity mixed rare earth carbonates, with high concentration of heavy rare earths, that will be produced from the company's ionic clay deposits in Brazil and Chile.

Aclara also said it intends to sell, on a non-brokered private placement basis, in two tranches, 24.2-million common shares for US$50 million at C$2.83 apiece. The company entered into a subscription agreement with each of CAP S.A. (CAP), Hochschild Mining Holdings and New Hartsdale Capital, wherein each of CAP, Hochschild Mining and New Hartsdale has agreed to subscribe for and purchase from the company 9.7-million, 4.8-million and 9.7-million common shares, respectively.

The company said that currently, CAP holds 9.97%, Hochschild Mining holds 19.24% and New Hartsdale holds 36.13% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the company. Following completion of the private placement, each of CAP, Hochschild Mining and New Hartsdale are expected to hold 31.8-million, 47.6-million and 90-million common shares of the company, respectively, representing about 12.92%, 19.32% and 36.51% of the company's issued and outstanding common shares, on a post-closing basis.

Proceeds will be used to fund the continued development of its Carina Project in Brazil, to advance its integrated supply chain strategy, including the development of its heavy rare earths facility in Louisiana, the expansion of its rare earth value chain through Aclara Metals Inc. and other related initiatives, and for general corporate needs. Aclara also intends to allocate a smaller portion of the net proceeds, along with potential government funding, to advance the development of its heavy rare earths facility in the United States.

Shares of the company were last seen down 6.8% at C$3.0 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Price: 3.00, Change: -0.22, Percent Change: -6.83