Initial production is ahead of schedule with committed offtake, resulting in near-term revenue growth

New metallurgical carbon mine provides steel industry with much-needed supply of raw materials for worldwide infrastructure growth

FISHERS, IN / ACCESSWIRE / July 22, 2022 / American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: AREC) ("American Resources" or the "Company"), a next generation and socially responsible supplier of rare earth and critical elements, carbon and advanced carbon materials to the new infrastructure and electrification marketplace, today announced that it has commenced initial production at its greenfield Carnegie 2 metallurgical carbon operation ahead of schedule. Following the mine's initial development production, the Company will increase the output of its Carnegie 2 mine over the next several months to fully expand and maximize production, revenues and cashflow.

Mark Jensen, CEO of American Resources commented, "We are proud of our team, led by Tarlis Thompson, to get the Carnegie 2 mine into production ahead of schedule and within budget. Supply chain issues and inflationary pressures continue to present challenges for many industries, however our extensive asset base and the efforts of our team has enabled us to utilize internal resources to get this mine into a great position to produce for our customers and shareholders. Our McCoy Elkhorn complex will be an area of growth for our business given the quality of the carbon and the ability to bring on a meaningful amount of incremental new mine production, or expand our existing mines, to feed the global growth in the steel industry. Our focus is to bring a low-cost, low-risk and high-quality supply of metallurgical carbon to the market as we believe there are a substantial number of high-cost, end-of-life mines that will decline over the next five years. Our platform puts us in a great position to feed the global demand from these new opportunities yet maintain a low environmental impact on operations while still achieving our negative net acres impact commitment due to our continued land reclamation efforts to further reduce the overall cost for the business."

The Carnegie 2 mine is a new operation that has 20+ years of low-cost, safe mining due to no old works and favorable mining conditions. This operation produces high vol metallurgical carbon from the same carbon seam as the Company's Carnegie 1 mine that will feed the global market for new steel production. The mine plan utilizes room and pillar mining and a completely rebuilt Joy 14cm15 continuous miners with shuttle cars. The mine is set up to run one working section until such a time as it can expand to two working sections accessed from one mining portal to optimize the mine's efficiency and asset base.

High Vol metallurgical carbon is not burned for energy use. Instead, specific characteristics allow it to be blended with iron to make new steel. This specific quality of carbon is in high demand in the current market environment given many producers in the U.S. are producing from older mines that are expensive to operate and coming to end-of-life. American Resources is focused on mine plans and operations that are built to be low cost once ramped and ranging from 20 to 40+ years of mine life while also making them safer and more productive operations. Post initial development production and based on current index pricing, Carnegie 2 is anticipated to add approximately $25 to $35 million in additional annual revenue to the Company with attractive margins.

American Resources continues to focus on running efficient streamlined operations in being a new-aged supplier of raw materials to the infrastructure and electrification marketplace in the most sustainable of ways, while also helping the world achieve its goals of carbon neutrality. By operating with low or no legacy costs and having one of the largest and most innovative growth pipelines in the industry, American Resources Corporation works to maximize value for its investors by positioning its large asset base to best fit a new-aged economy, while being able to scale its operations to meet the growth of the markets it serves.

About American Resources Corporation
American Resources Corporation 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.

PR Contact
Precision Public Relations
Matt Sheldon
917-280-7329
matt@precisionpr.co

Investor Contact:
JTC Team, LLC
Jenene Thomas
833-475-8247
arec@jtcir.com

RedChip Companies Inc.
Todd McKnight
1-800-RED-CHIP (733-2447)
Info@redchip.com

Company Contact:
Mark LaVerghetta
Vice President of Corporate Finance and Communications
317-855-9926 ext. 0
investor@americanresourcescorp.com

SOURCE: American Resources Corporation