Marion, Indiana has approved $46 million of local incentives for Company's 42-acre critical mineral refining campus for battery-grade lithium and magnet-grade rare earth elements

First fully integrated domestic refinery producing ultra-pure battery elements (lithium, cobalt and nickel) and rare earth elements (neodymium, dysprosium and praseodymium) for EV battery and permanent magnet supply chains

FISHERS, IN / ACCESSWIRE / September 21, 2023 / American Resources Corporation's (NASDAQ: AREC) ("American Resources" or the "Company") wholly owned subsidiary, ReElement Technologies LLC ("ReElement"), a leading provider of high performance refining capacity of rare earth and critical battery elements, today announced that it has received final approval for $46 million of local incentives from the City of Marion, Indiana in the form of an Economic Development Revenue Bond. This bond is being issued by the city as incentive for ReElement Technologies LLC to construct a state-of-the-art, commercial scale lithium, critical minerals, and rare earth elements refining facility utilizing ReElement Technologies' proprietary and patented chromatography technologies at the Company's recently announced 42-acre campus in Marion, Indiana.

Mark Jensen, CEO of American Resources commented, "We are extremely thankful to have the support of the City of Marion, its administration, and all the members of the Common Council as we continue our progress at the facility to not only expand our business but also bring additional value stack partners to this campus and the region by establishing the entire rare earth and battery refining industry back to the United States. The scalable and efficient nature of our technology, including its ultra-low environmental impact, enables us to recycle and refine all chemistries of batteries as well as both light and heavy rare earth elements to ultra-high purity in a low-cost process here in the United States. The need for domestic critical mineral refining has never been more urgent for the United States and we are excited to lead the country in the ability to produce these critical, ultra-pure elements that can be used by any battery manufacture or rare earth magnet producers. The City of Marion is a perfect site for our refining hub as it is in the heart of the battery belt and possesses an amazing workforce that has the needed skillsets to power our Company, the facility, and the larger campus to be successful."

As previously announced, Marion, Indiana was selected by ReElement Technologies for this next phase of expansion after several months of careful analysis and examination of several potential sites throughout the Midwestern United States.

The ReElement Technologies Marion Refining Campus will provide for:

• 42 acres with ample areas for operations and future development;
• 425,000 square feet of existing production facility space, office, and support structures;
• 250,000 square feet of additional foundation-ready space to expand production facilities or structures for further growth;
• The production of rare earth elements with a targeted initial capacity of 2 metric tons per day of ultra-pure (>99.5%) rare earth oxides sourced from end-of-life magnets, such as those found in high-efficiency motors, electric vehicles, wind turbines, power tools, and hard drives, and establishing the largest such producer of heavy rare earth elements outside of China;
• The production of critical battery materials with a initial refining capacity of 50 metric tons per day of lithium-ion battery input material ("black mass") sourced from end-of-life batteries and manufacturing waste, with the ability to process a wide range of lithium-ion battery chemistries including Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) and Nickle Manganese Cobalt (NMC);
• An onsite fully integrated domestic solution of the battery and magnet supply chains: The campus is being designed to drive collaboration with battery and magnet industry partners by creating co-located partners within the electrified value chain; reducing costs, maximizing productivity, and significantly reducing the carbon footprint of products produced;
• Rail loadout onsite along with 37 truck bays for enhanced transportation logistics, including access to major highways and interstate travel, with a central location to many potential customers within the automobile, battery and magnet industries in the US battery belt;
• Exceptional community support for ReElement Technologies, along with access to several important educational institutions, such as Indiana Wesleyan University, Ivy Tech Community College, Taylor University and Purdue University which can provide skilled personnel to ReElement Technologies' expanding workforce; and

The Marion Refining Campus will scale up to an initially targeted production capacity of 5,000 metric tons of ultra-pure (>99.9%) lithium hydroxide or carbonate per year, and 750 metric tons per year of rare earth oxides, with the ability to strategically and efficiently expand production capacity by adding modular production trains as the market matures. The incentives are subject to final closing documentation which is expected by late October 2023.

Learn more about ReElement Technologies' process and technology here - Video.

About ReElement Technologies LLC
ReElement Technologies LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: AREC) is redefining how critical and rare earth elements are both sourced and processed while focusing on the recycling of end-of-life products such as rare earth permanent magnets and lithium-ion batteries, as well as coal-based waste streams and byproducts to create a low-cost and environmentally-safe, circular supply chain. ReElement has developed its innovative and scalable "Capture-Process-Purify" process chain in conjunction with its licensed intellectual property including 16 patents and technologies and sponsored research partnerships with three leading universities to support the domestic supply chain's growing demand for magnet and battery metals. For more information visit reelementtech.com or connect with the Company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

About American Resources Corporation
American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: AREC) is a next-generation, environmentally and socially responsible supplier of high-quality raw materials to the new infrastructure market. The Company is focused on the extraction and processing of metallurgical carbon, an essential ingredient used in steelmaking, critical and rare earth minerals for the electrification market, and reprocessed metal to be recycled. American Resources has a growing portfolio of operations located in the Central Appalachian basin of eastern Kentucky and southern West Virginia where premium quality metallurgical carbon and rare earth mineral deposits are concentrated.

American Resources has established a nimble, low-cost business model centered on growth, which provides a significant opportunity to scale its portfolio of assets to meet the growing global infrastructure and electrification markets while also continuing to acquire operations and significantly reduce their legacy industry risks. Its streamlined and efficient operations are able to maximize margins while reducing costs. For more information visit americanresourcescorp.com or connect with the Company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond American Resources Corporation's control. The words "believes", "may", "will", "should", "would", "could", "continue", "seeks", "anticipates", "plans", "expects", "intends", "estimates", or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Any forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. The Company cannot assure you that the projected results or events will be achieved.

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SOURCE: American Resources Corporation