Aclara Secures Tax Exemption Approval of Over US$20 Million For Its U.S. Heavy Rare Earth Separation Facility in Louisiana

Aclara Resources Inc. ("Aclara" or the "Company") (TSX:ARA) is pleased to announce that the State of Louisiana has granted final approval under the Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP) for the Company's planned heavy rare earth separation facility at the Port of Vinton, Louisiana. The approval follows the execution of the Industrial Tax Exemption Contract by Governor Jeff Landry, providing an 80% exemption from ad valorem property taxes for an initial five-year period Based on the Company's current estimates, the exemption is expected to generate approximately US$4.2 million in annual property tax savings, representing approximately US$20.8 million during the initial five-year term and has the opportunity to renew the exemption for five additional years.

The facility will process mixed rare earth carbonates produced from Aclara's ionic clay deposits in Chile and Brazil into high-purity separated rare earth oxides. Once operational, the facility is expected to strengthen critical mineral supply chain resilience across the Western Hemisphere by enabling the large-scale production of heavy rare earths-including dysprosium, terbium, yttrium, gadolinium and samarium-which are essential for permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, robotics, wind turbines, and other advanced technologies.

"The final approval of the ITEP incentive marks another important milestone for Project Dynamo and reflects the outstanding partnership we have built with the State of Louisiana,"said Ramón Barúa, Chief Executive Officer of Aclara Resources. "We are grateful for the strong support from Governor Jeff Landry, Louisiana Economic Development and our local partners, who share our vision of establishing Louisiana as a strategic hub for rare earth processing and strengthening resilient critical mineral supply chains for the United States."

Aclara continues to advance engineering, permitting and financing activities for the Louisiana facility and is targeting to break ground during the fourth quarter of 2026. In parallel, the Company continues operating its rare earth separation pilot plant at Virginia Tech, where its proprietary solvent extraction technology is being demonstrated. The pilot plant is expected to provide approximately two years of operational data before the commercial facility enters production, further reducing scale-up risk and supporting an efficient commissioning process. Once its separation technology is fully validated, Aclara plans to apply, in the medium term, its separation technology in Brazil and other countries where it operates.

The project represents a cornerstone of Aclara's vertically integrated mine-to-alloys strategy, combining sustainable rare earth mining in Chile and Brazil with downstream separation and metals production in North America to establish a resilient, independent supply chain for permanent magnets and other critical heavy rare earths.

Aclara Resources I https://aclara-re.com/