American Resources Corporation and ReElement Technologies' Kentucky Lithium Plant Expands to Produce Separated Rare Earth Oxides from Mine and Coal Waste
Rhea-AI Summary
American Resources (NASDAQ: AREC) and its holding company ReElement Technologies announced an expansion of their Kentucky Lithium plant to produce ultra-pure rare earth oxides from coal and mining waste. This development follows ReElement's recent $150 million financing closure.
The company will process material from its Oceana, West Virginia site, which contains over 550 ppm of rare earth elements along with aluminum and silicon suitable for semiconductor and battery industries. ReElement's Noblesville, Indiana facility is already producing and selling rare earth oxides to multiple U.S. customers, with demand exceeding current capacity.
The initiative leverages ReElement's exclusive worldwide patents for rare earth and critical mineral processing, developed in partnership with Purdue University. The company has developed economically viable refining solutions for processing coal mine waste concentrate in the United States, creating value across multiple stages of the process chain.
Positive
- Secured $150 million in financing for Kentucky-based refinery
- Current demand exceeds production capacity at Noblesville facility
- Holds exclusive worldwide patents for rare earth processing technology
- Oceana site contains valuable 550 ppm concentration of rare earth elements
- Successfully released $37 million of environmental liabilities
Negative
- Carries remaining $21 million in environmental obligations from acquired mining operations
Insights
This strategic expansion represents a significant technological and commercial breakthrough in critical minerals processing. The ability to economically extract rare earth elements (REEs) from mining waste addresses three important market challenges: cost-effective domestic production, environmental remediation and supply chain security.
The economic model is particularly compelling. By processing existing mining waste, the company eliminates expensive mining operations while simultaneously converting environmental liabilities into assets. Their success in releasing
The market timing is optimal, given increasing global demand for REEs and the strategic push to reduce dependence on Chinese supply chains. Their proprietary chromatographic separation technique appears to offer significant advantages over traditional solvent extraction methods, particularly in terms of cost structure and environmental impact.
Key competitive advantages include:
- Multi-feedstock processing capability
- Lower capital intensity compared to traditional mining
- Environmental liability conversion to assets
- Existing commercial production and sales
- Strategic domestic production capacity
The expansion from their Noblesville facility to Marion and Knott County locations, driven by excess demand, indicates strong market validation. Their focus on high-margin, low-cost processing positions them competitively against Chinese producers, while their environmental benefits and domestic production capability align with current regulatory and policy priorities.
Company establishes an economically viable process to produce ultra-pure rare earth elements and valuable byproducts from coal and other mining waste
American Resources will collect and concentrate feedstock from mining waste streams to supply ReElement creating revenue streams for both entities
FISHERS, IN / ACCESS Newswire / January 29, 2025 / American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: AREC ) ("American Resources" or the "Company"), through its holding company, ReElement Technologies Corporation ("ReElement"), a leading provider of high-performance refining capacity of rare earth and critical battery elements, announced the expanded initiative at its Kentucky Lithium refinery to enable production of ultra-pure rare earth oxides and other byproducts from coal tailings and other types of mine waste in addition to battery-grade lithium products from spodumene-bearing ores.
ReElement Technologies previously announced the closing of
American Resources Corporation will utilize its process flow expertise to maximize synergies with ReElement to supply an optimal rare earth concentrated feedstock, initially sourced from its property in Oceana, West Virginia. Previously reported data shows that the Oceana site's pre-concentration contains over 550 ppm of rare earth elements and high levels of aluminum and silicon suitable for the semiconductor and battery industries.
Additionally, American Resources plans to expand operations to other controlled regional sites and partner with industry players to provide economically viable processing and environmental solutions for the abundance of mineral-rich mine waste produced.
Mark Jensen, Chairman and CEO of ReElement Technologies, states "This development marks a significant milestone in American Resources and ReElement Technologies evolution showcasing the versatility, flexibility and scalability of our refining technology on the global stage. We are excited to share that in our Noblesville, Indiana Commercial Qualification Plant is producing and selling rare earth oxides (Nd, NdPr, Dy and Tb) to multiple U.S. customers. Demand has already exceeded current capacity, but we are excited about the expansion into our Marion, Indiana and Knott County, Kentucky sites. These expansions will enable us to efficiently respond to this demand as global markets diversify away from China's supply dominance, providing domestic solutions for both the commercial and defense industries in United States and allied nations. The ability to economically produce purified rare earth and critical minerals from coal and mine waste needed to be further development, and thanks to the efforts of our team, we are now transforming mining industry liabilities into valuable assets. By leveraging ReElement's technical innovation and cost-effective methods, we are creating value across multiple stages of the process chain and delivering benefits to shareholders of both ReElement and American Resources. Our commercial facilities in the U.S. are designed to be high margin, with a low processing cost and highly competitive with Chinese-based production."
American Resources Corporation Origins of Critical and Rare Earth Element Processing Came From Coal Waste:
American Resources acquired eight coal mining operations, including five were purchased out of bankruptcy. The only liabilities assumed were approximately
$58 million in environmental obligations, which were undertaken to safeguard the environment, support the communities, and fulfill commitments to surety bond companies.To date, the Company has successfully had approximately
$37 million of these environmental liabilities released, benefiting all stakeholders. In addressing these liabilities, the traditional method of treating acid mine drainage in waterways involved neutralizing the water by adding chemicals.Beginning in 2016, the American Resources team pursued innovative methods to capture, process and purify high-value minerals from these waste streams, leading to the creation of ReElement Technologies.
Using a commodity processing approach, the American Resources team evaluated various separation and purification methods and technologies. Most of these relied on modified forms of liquid-to-liquid separation and purification technologies using solvent extraction. However, it was determined then - and remains true today - that these methods are not economically viable in the United States or other developed nations.
ReElement Technologies established a partnership with Purdue University due to the innovative processing designs and computing power developed by Dr. Linda Wang and Dr. Yi Ding. The team developed exclusive worldwide patents for rare earth and critical mineral processing, which build upon the foundational chromatographic separation techniques introduced by the rare earth industry in 1965.
ReElement Technologies has the exclusive worldwide license to the technology across all feedstocks. Over the years, the Company has developed flow sheets and commercial processes for rare earth magnet recycling, battery material recycling, rare earth and battery mineral ore processing and mine waste / tailings processing.
Developments over the last twelve months, and utilizing byproduct economics, has resulted in a high value and economically viable refining solution for processing coal mine waste concentrate in the United States.
About American Resources Corporation
American Resources Corporation is a leader in the critical mineral supply chain, developing innovative solutions both upstream and downstream of the refining process. The company and its affiliates focus on the extraction and processing of metallurgical carbon and iron ore, essential ingredients in steelmaking, as well as critical and rare earth minerals for the electrification market and recycled metals.
Leveraging its affiliation and former parent status of ReElement Technologies Corporation, a leading provider of high-performance refining capacity for rare earth and critical battery elements, American Resources is investing in and developing efficient upstream and downstream critical mineral operations. These operations include mining interests in conventional and unconventional sources, recycling, and manufacturing.
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.
About ReElement Technologies Corporation
ReElement Technologies Corporation, a portfolio company of American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC), is a leading provider of high-performance refining capacity for rare earth and critical battery elements. Its multi-mineral, multi-feedstock platform technology focuses on the refining of recycled material from rare earth permanent magnets and lithium-ion batteries, concentrated ores and brines, as well as coal-based waste streams and byproducts to create a cost effective and environmentally-safe, circular supply chain. ReElement has developed its innovative and scalable "Powered by ReElement" process which collaboratively utilizes its exclusively licensed intellectual property within its partners' material processing flow sheets to more efficiently support the global supply chain's growing demand for magnet and battery-grade products. For more information visit reelementtech.com or connect with the Company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
Learn more about ReElement Technologies' process and technology here - Video.
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.
Investor Contact:
JTC Team, LLC
Jenene Thomas
(908) 824 - 0775
arec@jtcir.com
Media Inquiries:
Marjorie Weisskohl
703-587-1532
mweisskohl@allseasonspr.com
Company Contact:
Mark LaVerghetta
317-855-9926 ext. 0
investor@americanresourcescorp.com
SOURCE: American Resources Corporation
View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire
FAQ
What is the significance of AREC's Kentucky Lithium plant expansion?
How much financing did ReElement Technologies secure for its Kentucky refinery?
What is the rare earth element concentration at AREC's Oceana, West Virginia site?
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Where are AREC's current rare earth oxide production facilities located?
