Aclara Secures 100% Ownership of the Carina Module Mining Rights

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 26, 2024 / Aclara Resources Inc. ("Aclara" or "the Company") (TSX:ARA) is pleased to announce that the second tranche of the earn-in agreement has been fulfilled, thus securing 100% ownership of the 8,490 hectares of mining rights comprising the Carina Module. On November 6, 2023, the Company had previously executed the first tranche of the earn-in agreement securing an initial 51% ownership interest.

Ramon Barua, CEO, commented:
"We are pleased to report that we have earned 100% interest of the Carina Module mining rights. This significant milestone is a result of how quickly we have been able to drill the property and obtain favorable results. After only five months of announcing the discovery of the Carina Module, we have reported a material mineral resource estimate, a robust Preliminary Economic Assessment, and are in the middle of a piloting program using Brazilian clays at our pilot plant in Concepción, Chile.

In addition, we continue to advance the project in several fronts, including an ongoing reverse-circulation drilling campaign to increase mineral resources at depth, the initiation of the environmental and social baseline studies and the evaluation of several proposals from world-class engineering companies to prepare a pre-feasibility study. We remain fully committed to deliver a robust project in a fast-track schedule, aiming to produce sustainable rare earths at a time when the demand is expected to significantly outpace the supply."

Earn-in Agreement
The Company has exercised the option to earn 100% interest of the Carina Module mining rights. In order to earn the remaining 49%, Aclara fulfilled the following conditions:

• Drilled 2,000 meters within the mining rights that constitute the Project, in addition to the first 2,000 meters drilled to earn the first tranche in 2023;
• Invested US$2.0 million in exploration expenses, in addition to the US$1.0 million previously invested in exploration expenses to earn the first tranche; and
• Paid the owner of the mining rights a total US$300,000, in addition to the US$200,000 previously paid to the mining rights owner to earn the first tranche.

The earn-in agreement also considers a royalty payment to the previous owner of the mining rights when the project is in commercial production. Aclara has an option to acquire 100% of the royalty for US$6.5 million during the first year of commercial production. The purchase of the royalty is included in the financial model that underpins the Carina Module Preliminary Economic Assessment released by the Company on January 23, 2024.