A new source of heavy rare earths in the Americas

Heavy rare earths are essential for high-performance magnets in electric vehicles, wind turbines, and defense technologies, yet they are scarce and difficult to extract sustainably, making them highly valuable.

The main source of heavy rare earths -particularly dysprosium and terbium- are the ionic clay deposits, a type of deposit rarely found outside of China and southeast Asia. Aclara is developing two of these rare ionic clay deposits in South America. Together, they have the potential to supply a significant amount of heavy rare earths for EVs; 50% of the projected U.S. demand, 70% of the projected EV demand in the EU, and the equivalent of 16% of China’s official 2023 heavy rare earth output.