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Original article: Mientras busca expandirse en Chile, Aclara capitaliza su cercanía con el trumpismo y logra millonario ahorro fiscal en EE.UU.

As the Canadian multinational Aclara intensifies its efforts to solidify its controversial mining operations in Chile, its U.S. division has secured a significant tax benefit in Louisiana. The state’s Republican governor, Jeff Landry, known for his close ties to Donald Trump, signed a contract granting an 80% exemption on property taxes for the future heavy rare earths separation plant that the company plans to establish at the Vinton Port.

This financial backing is expected to alleviate approximately $20.8 million in costs during the first five years of operation, with the option to extend the benefit for an additional five years.

According to Resumen.Cl., Aclara’s move in U.S. territory is not coincidental as since mid-October 2025, the company has begun direct negotiations with Governor Landry to explore areas of collaboration, culminating now in this substantial tax exemption.

The governor’s profile is crucial for understanding the success of this negotiation: he is a military veteran, former police officer, and staunch Republican, recently appointed as the special envoy to Greenland during the Trump administration. This high-level political connection offers Aclara privileged access to the power circles defining U.S. energy and mining policy.

While the mining company looks to expand its operations in Chile with the disputed rare earth project in the Penco-Lirquén hills, its corporate strategy in North America focuses on building an integrated value chain connecting raw material deposits with industrial processing capabilities.

The 80% property tax exemption represents a significant boost that drastically reduces the initial operational burden of the Vinton Port plant, enabling the company to redirect those resources toward technological development and expanding its installed capacity.

The approval of this fiscal contract by a governor aligned with Trump not only signifies tangible savings but also sends a strategic signal regarding Aclara’s positioning in the global rare earth market.

The exempted amount, totaling $20.8 million, will allow the company to stabilize its cash flow during the most vulnerable phase of the project. The potential five-year renewal could further increase the fiscal benefit.

Kast Opens the Door to Extractivism and Approves Rare Earths Despite Decade of Territorial Opposition

Meanwhile, in Chile, the government of José Antonio Kast has greenlit extractivism in the Biobío Region by approving on June 8 the controversial rare earth extraction project that Aclara Resources aims to establish in the hills of Penco-Lirquén, despite a decade of opposition from local communities and organizations, due to the environmental threat it poses to biodiversity, the ecosystem, and water bodies.

Amid civic protests, the Environmental Evaluation Commission (COEVA) of the Biobío Region unanimously supported the initiative by the Canadian mining company, which plans to intervene over 170 hectares of ecologically and socially sensitive areas located in critical hydrological regulation zones that are part of the natural drainage system feeding the Estero Penco.

Following this endorsement, the Environmental Evaluation Commission will proceed to issue the Environmental Qualification Resolution (RCA), and once published, a period of 30 business days will open for the filing of legal resources against it.

Environmental defenders and social organizations made it clear that they will continue deploying institutional and legal actions to prevent the mining company’s establishment in the area.

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