Building a Vertically Integrated Rare Earth Supply Chain - with Hugh Broadhurst

In this episode we speak to Hugh Broadhurst, COO at Aclara Resources to discuss one of the biggest challenges facing the critical minerals industry: how the West can build a secure and competitive rare earth supply chain outside of China. We’ll explore Aclara’s development of SPREC, its plans to connect South American resources with separation capabilities in the United States, and how AI, pilot plants and strategic partnerships could help accelerate the journey from development into commercial production. We continue to discuss the risks of scaling technology from pilot to commercial operations, what can and can’t be accelerated through AI, and why simply discovering more rare earth deposits isn’t enough to create genuine supply-chain independence. KEY TAKEAWAYS Simply discovering raw mineral deposits does not ensure independence; true supply chain security requires full control over refining, separation, and metallurgical capabilities. Vertical integration reduces commercial and operational risks by allowing upstream mining operations to be balanced specifically for the chemistry and ratios needed downstream. Scaling chemical processes from pilot to commercial production often fails due to basic mechanical material-handling challenges rather than errors in chemical theory. Artificial intelligence and digital twins help convert the complex "art" of multi-stage separation into an exact science by modeling dynamic feedback loops and time variability. BEST MOMENTS "It’s not just the molecule you’re trying to sell, it’s what comes with it." "Having the control means we understand our deposits, we understand the variability, and then it’s just about managing it." "The goal here is to take the art out of it and apply science." "It’s often not the basic process that doesn’t work, it’s these annoying little things that happen... everywhere where there's solids, that's what I like to look for." VALUABLE RESOURCES Mail:        ⁠[email protected]⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ X:              ⁠https://twitter.com/MiningRobTyson⁠  YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/c/DigDeepTheMiningPodcast⁠  Web:        ⁠http://www.mining-international.org⁠ GUEST RESOURCES https://www.aclara-re.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/aclararesources/ https://www.instagram.com/aclara.br/ https://x.com/AclaraResources CONTACT METHOD ⁠[email protected]⁠ ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-tyson-3a26a68/⁠ Podcast Description Rob Tyson is an established recruiter in the mining and quarrying sector and decided to produce the “Dig Deep” The Mining Podcast to provide valuable and informative content around the mining industry. He has a passion and desire to promote the industry and the podcast aims to offer the mining community an insight into people’s experiences and careers covering any mining discipline, giving the listeners helpful advice and guidance on industry topics.  This Podcast has been brought to you by Disruptive Media. https://disruptivemedia.co.uk/