Aclara Appoints Dr. Kurt Forrester as Lead Advisor to Its Heavy Rare Earths Separation Project

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / May 20, 2024 / Aclara Resources Inc. ("Aclara" or the "Company") (TSX:ARA) is pleased to announce the appointment Dr. Kurt Forrester as lead advisor for the technical development of its heavy rare earths separation project. Dr. Forrester is an international renowned chemical engineer with more than 20 years of experience in solvent extraction and other separation technologies across commodities including rare earth elements, base metals and industrial minerals.

Aclara CEO, Ramon Barua, commented:

"We are thrilled to announce the incorporation of Dr. Kurt Forrester to Aclara´s vertical integration team as Lead Advisor to our new heavy rare earths separation project. With the recent announcement of Aclara´s vertical integration strategy, the Company is strengthening its technical capabilities to establish the first heavy rare earths separation facility outside of China.

As the world accelerates to sustainable energy sources, we are focused on developing a robust supply chain to provide decarbonization technologies with critical heavy rare earths produced in an environmentally and socially responsible way.

At Aclara, we leverage on the industrial experience and track record of our major shareholder, the Hochschild Group, with a century-long legacy in mining and cement businesses across the Americas. Our recent alliance with CAP S.A., a highly reputed Chilean conglomerate with over seven decades of diversified operations spanning mining, steel, ports, and desalination plants, further enhances Aclara's financial and technical ability to face such important challenge.

The addition of Kurt marks a significant step in fortifying Aclara's capabilities and advancing our vertical integration strategy with great confidence."

Dr. Forrester's Background

Dr. Forrester has more than a decade of hands-on technical leadership experience with the development of primary rare earth projects in Europe and North America.

Most recently he was Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of Medallion Resources where he was responsible for the technical development of their proprietary monazite processing technology as well as their REE separation technology based on a novel chromatography method. He is also the former Chief Operating Officer (COO) and Chief Metallurgist of Innovation Metals Corp. and was responsible for the development of their proprietary solvent extraction platform targeting REE separation.