Aclara advances on environmental permitting for Chilean rare earth project
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2024-09-24
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Rare earths developer Aclara Resources (TSX: ARA) has advanced further in the permitting process for its Penco module project in the Bio-Bio region of Chile, for which an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is being evaluated by various government agencies.On Wednesday, Aclara announced it has received the consolidated report from Chile’s Environmental Service Assessment (SEA) containing observations and questions from the agencies involved in the evaluation process.The company said it is aiming to file a response addressing the matters raised in the report by the end of the first quarter of 2025, while it works the Chilean environmental agency through the assessment and review process.The news comes a day after the Chilean government unveiled a comprehensive “Industrial Strengthening Plan” for the Biobío region, highlighting the Penco module as one of the key projects selected to bolster the region’s future economic growth. For the region, the Penco project represents a combined potential investment of $6.8 billion and the creation of up to 5,000 jobs during the operational phases, the government said.“This announcement reaffirms the strategic nature of our Penco Module project for the Biobío region and the Chilean government,” Aclara CEO Ramon Barua said in Tuesday’s news release.In June, Aclara filed an updated EIA for the Penco project to address issues brought up by the SEA in its first EIA submitted over two years ago. The new report included improved technical design addressing environmental and social requirements, in particular the exclusion of the Jupiter deposition zone to minimize impact on a native tree species called naranjillo.The new EIA essentially divided the Penco module into two parts without affecting the initial capital payback period, which was estimated at about five years in a preliminary economic assessment from 2021. The PEA gave the initial Penco project an after-tax net present value (at 5% discount) of $178 million and an internal rate of return of 23%.The Penco module covers a 6-sq.-km area hosting an ionic clay deposit rich in heavy rare earths, with measured and indicated resources totalling 27.5 million tonnes grading 2,292 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO), for 62,900 tonnes of contained TREO.The planned project does not accompany a tailings facility for waste. Instead, Aclara plans to place the washed clays into deposition zones and revegetate them. As part of the modified project, the company also launched a reforestation program.Following the new EIA submission, analysts from Canaccord Genuity noted that that assuming Chile’s environmental agency requests more information after the new EIA is submitted, and after a project construction period of about 12 months, first production could start at Penco as soon as 2027.
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