Aclara Appoints New Director
ACLARA APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR
TORONTO, ON, February 9, 2023 – Aclara Resources Inc. (“Aclara” or the “Company”) (TSX: ARA) is pleased
to announce the appointment of Maria Olivia Recart to Aclara’s board of directors (the “ Board”), following
the unanimous approval by the existing members of the Board . Ms. Recart will also serve as Chair of the
Sustainability Committee of the Board. Following the appointment of Ms. Recart, the Board will be comprised
of 7 directors, 4 of whom are independent.
"We are pleased to welcome Maria Olivia to the Aclara Board," said Eduardo Hochschild, Chairman of Aclara.
"Maria Olivia's extensive ESG experience covering ethical production, sustainable supply chains, community and
government relations, environmental matters and social value , will be invaluable to Aclara as we grow our
business and pursue our mission to be the cleanest heavy rare earths producer in the world."
Ms. Recart is an independent non -executive member of the board of directors of CAP S.A, a Chilean listed
producer of iron ore, which owns a steel refinery and a company that builds iron and steel products (including
housing panels). She also serves as president of the Audit Committee as well as a member of certain other
committees of CAP S.A. She is also a board member of Comunidad Mujer, a Chilean non-profit organization
advocating for women’s issues in public policy.
Previously, Ms. Recart was the Rector of Universidad Santo Tom ás from 2019 to 2023 . Prior to that, she
worked at BHP from 2010 to 2018 as Vice Pre sident Corporate Affairs , where she was responsible for
community engagement, communications, government relations and social value strategy for the Americas.
During that time, she also served as a member of the Owners’ Council of Escondida (the largest copper mine
in the world by production, owned by BHP, Mitsubishi and Rio Tinto ), where she advised on a range of
operational (including safety), financial, commercial, HR and strategy issues. She was also appointed as Vice
President of the board of directors of Fundaci ón Chile, a mixed board composed of Chilean government
officials and BHP appointed professionals ; Vice President of Centro de Entrenamiento Industrial y Minero
(CEIM), an apprentice learning center to promote the skills needed in workf orce for productivity impact in
mining and construction operations ; and Vice President of Fundaci ón Minera Escondida, a non -profit
organization in the region of Antofagasta whose initiatives are focused on making impact in the region’s
human and social capital and target minorities, the indigenous communities and women in particular.
Ms. Recart also has experience in the public sector in Chile, where she served as Vice Minister of Finance
between 2006 and 2010 under President Michelle Bachelet’s first government and was responsible for the
team that led Chile into the OECD.
“I’m honored to welcome Maria Olivia to our Board”, said Ramon Barúa, Chief Executive Officer and director of
Aclara. “As we implement our strategic plan, it is especially important that our Board membership reflects our
commitment to our communities and our environment. We are very pleased that Maria Olivia, who is
from the Biobio Region in Chile, will contribute remarkable in-country experience, a strong business network and
added enthusiasm to our Aclara story.”
About Aclara
Aclara Resources is a Rare Earths company with a development project in Chile and is listed on the TSX
(TSX:ARA). Aclara is initiating the development of its resources through a project called the Penco Module,
which covers a surface area of approximately 600 hectares, and which hosts ionic clays rich in rare earth
elements. Aclara is currently focused on the development and future construction and operation of the Penco
Module, which will aim to produce a rare earth concentrate through a processing plant that will be fed by clays
from nearby deposits. Aclara’s extraction process offers several environmentally positive attributes such as:
no blasting, crushing, or milling; no tailings facility; minimal water consumption due to a high level of water
recirculation; is amenable to leaching with a fertilizer; and contains no radioactivity. In parallel with the
development of the Penco Module, the Company intends to define additional opportunities to increase
potential future rare earth element production via intensive greenfield exploration programmes and the
development of additional project “modules” within the Company’s concessions. 1
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities legislation,
which reflects the Company’s current expectations regarding future events, including statements with regard to,
among other things, management’s expectations as to the accretive value to the Company from the appointment
of Ms. Recart to the Board. Forward-looking information is based on a number of assumptions and is subject to
a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control. Such risks and
uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the factors discussed under “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual
information form dated as of March 30, 2022 filed on the Company’s SEDAR profile. Actual results and timing
could differ materially from those projected herein. Unless otherwise noted or the context otherwise indicates,
the forward-looking information contain ed in this news release is provided as of the date of this news release
and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update such forward -looking information, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as expressly re quired under applicable securities
laws.
For further information, please contact:
Ramon Barúa
Chief Executive Officer