Louisiana lands a rare earth milestone

The nation’s first U.S. heavy rare earth separation facility is coming to Louisiana.

Louisiana Economic Development officials this morning announced a $277 million investment by Aclara Resources Inc. to build the facility at the Port of Vinton in Calcasieu Parish.

LED characterizes the deal as one that will “establish Louisiana as a leader in sustainable rare earth production and strengthen the nation’s advanced technology supply chain.” With the new facility comes an anticipated 140 new direct new jobs.

LED Secretary Susan Bourgeois says the investment “underscores the importance of development-ready sites and strong local partnerships that give global companies the confidence to choose Louisiana,” also noting that it reinforces the central role Louisiana plays in energy and defense security.

Bloomberg reports that Aclara, in which the Hochschild Group owns a majority stake, has a $1 billion-plus plan to mine rare earths in Latin America and develop processing facilities.

The Louisiana project comes as President Donald Trump is focused on enhancing critical mineral-supply chains, currently dominated by China. The media outlet reported this morning that the Louisiana plant’s capacity for minerals dysprosium and terbium would represent about 14% of China’s official output.

The new facility will use Aclara’s proprietary sustainable extraction technology to produce the heavy rare earth elements essential for electric vehicles, wind turbines, drones and robotics, which rely on advanced permanent magnets. By processing material from Aclara’s mineral deposits in Brazil and Chile, the Louisiana operation is expected to create a “reliable and sustainable” U.S. supply of these materials, LED says.

Last month, Aclara secured funding from the U.S. government for a Brazilian mining project.

In a statement, Gov. Jeff Landry said that in choosing Louisiana for its first U.S. facility, “Aclara is recognizing what we already know: Our state is leading the next generation of energy and technology innovation.”

Aclara Resources CEO Ramón Barúa noted in the announcement that Louisiana’s access to key reagents made the location preferable, ensuring operational reliability and lower transportation costs.

“The state’s world-class chemical industry and highly skilled workforce made the decision even more compelling,” Barúa added. “Simply put, Louisiana has everything we were looking for.

Construction is expected to begin in 2026 and be completed in 2027. The facility will be built in phases, beginning with the rare earth separation plant, followed by potential future expansions to support downstream processing and alloy production as part of Aclara’s long-term growth strategy.

The state incentives package includes LED FastStart workforce development solutions and a $3 million performance-based grant for utility and infrastructure improvements. The company is also expected to participate in the state’s High Impact Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption program.