ReElement Technologies Corporation Receives $150 Million Letter of Interest from United States EXIM Bank to Advance the Nation’s Largest Critical Mineral Refinery

Rhea-AI Summary

ReElement Technologies Corporation, a subsidiary of American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC), has secured a $150 million Letter of Interest from the U.S. EXIM Bank to develop the nation's largest critical mineral refinery at the Marion Advanced Technology Center. The company's innovative chromatography-based refining technology produces ultra-high-purity (99.5%+) rare earth oxides and compounds essential for defense and commercial applications. This financing aligns with the March 2025 Executive Order on American Mineral Production and supports ReElement's mission to establish U.S. mineral independence. The company's proprietary platform offers advantages including aqueous chemistry, lower capital expenditures, high versatility, and modular scalability, positioning it to compete with Chinese refineries in both cost and production capacity.

Positive

• Secured $150 million Letter of Interest from EXIM Bank for facility expansion
• Technology produces ultra-high-purity (99.5%+) rare earth oxides and compounds
• Process claims to match or undercut Chinese industrial base costs
• Platform requires lower capital expenditures compared to traditional methods
• Technology eliminates need for toxic solvents and generates minimal waste
• Aligns with federal mandate and March 2025 Executive Order for mineral independence

Negative

• Project still requires final funding approval and execution
• Significant capital investment needed for facility expansion
• Faces established competition from Chinese refineries in global market

Insights

Industrial Economist

EXIM's $150M letter of interest significantly advances ReElement's critical minerals refinery, reducing U.S. dependency on Chinese supply chains.

The $150 million Letter of Interest from EXIM Bank represents a pivotal development for ReElement Technologies' Marion Advanced Technology Center. This federal backing substantially de-risks the capital funding plan for what's positioned to become America's largest multi-mineral refining facility, addressing a critical national security vulnerability.

ReElement's chromatographic separation technology offers several competitive advantages over traditional solvent extraction methods that have historically been dominated by Chinese operators. Their aqueous chemistry approach eliminates toxic organic solvents, requires lower capital expenditures, and enables modular scaling that can be deployed rapidly. These innovations directly address the economics that have prevented domestic rare earth processing from gaining traction previously.

The timing aligns strategically with the March 2025 Executive Order on American Mineral Production, which mandates federal agencies to streamline permitting and unlock financing for domestic critical mineral processing. This political tailwind combined with ReElement's commercial momentum at their Noblesville facility creates a powerful catalyst for execution.

Most significantly, the company claims they can produce these materials at cost structures that rival or undercut Chinese production. If achievable at scale, this would represent a fundamental shift in global critical mineral economics, which have been dominated by Chinese processing capacity operating at substantially lower costs than Western competitors. The 42-acre Marion campus provides ample expansion capacity to meet both defense and commercial market demands.

Marion Advanced Technology Center positioned to become the largest multi-mineral, multi-feedstock rare earth and critical mineral refinery in the United States

EXIM's support of the proposed capital funding plan for the Marion Advanced Technology Center advances the "Make More In America" initiative amid rising competition from China in critical mineral supply chains

FISHERS, IN / ACCESS Newswire / June 9, 2025 / American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) ("American Resources"), through its holding in ReElement Technologies Corporation ("ReElement" or "RTC"), a leading U.S. innovator in rare earth element (REE) and critical mineral refining, announced today that it has received support for the proposed capital funding plan by ReElement Technologies Corporation for the Marion Advanced Technology through a Letter of Interest (LOI) from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) for up to $150 million in financing. This financing will support the expansion of ReElement's state-of the-art rare earth, critical mineral and defense mineral refining project that is set to become the nation's largest multi-mineral, multi-feedstock rare earth and critical mineral refinery. The Marion facility builds on ReElement's successful commercial operations in its Noblesville, Indiana facility supplying highly refined critical mineral products to both the commercial and defense markets.

ReElement's Advanced Separation Platform Aligned with National Mandate for Mineral Independence

ReElement Technologies' rare earth element (REE) separation process - based on its patented and proprietary chromatography-based refining methods - represents a transformative leap forward in strengthening the U.S. industrial base for critical minerals. This innovative platform directly supports Presidential Executive Orders focused on restoring mineral independence and securing national supply chains. ReElement's process consistently produces ultra-high-purity (99.5%+) rare earth oxides and compounds such as neodymium, dysprosium, terbium, gallium, antimony, samarium, yttrium, gadolinium, and others - key materials required for metallization, magnet production, and advanced technologies across defense and commercial applications.

Mark Jensen, CEO of ReElement Technologies commented, "We're honored to receive positive support from the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Our team has worked tirelessly to validate our next-generation refining platform and strategically scale production to meet the growing needs of both commercial and defense sectors. From day one, our vision has been clear: the U.S. must regain control of the midstream segment of the critical mineral supply chain if we are to compete globally. Support from the federal government significantly accelerates the buildout of additional refining capacity at our 42-acre Marion campus and beyond. We are laser-focused on scaling up production of refined rare earth oxides and defense-grade mineral compounds that are urgently needed here at home. As we see it, ReElement is among the only - if not the only - commercial entity in the United States capable of producing these materials at quantities and cost structures that rival or even undercut the Chinese industrial base. We're excited to expand our footprint domestically and internationally, delivering long-term supply chain resilience and a diversified source of critical and rare earth elements."

Federal Support Aligned with New Executive Action on U.S. Mineral Production

The issuance of this Letter of Interest aligns with the March 20, 2025, Executive Order titled "Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production". The order directs federal agencies, including EXIM, to streamline permitting, unlock financing, and establish offtake agreements for U.S.-based critical mineral processing facilities. It also sets near-term mandates for fast-tracking approvals, mobilizing capital, and stockpiling strategic materials vital to national defense, clean energy, and next-generation technology infrastructure.

ReElement's Technological Edge: Chromatographic Separation and Purification

ReElement employs continuous chromatography, a breakthrough in rare earth separation and purification that delivers:

• Aqueous Chemistry - Eliminates the need for toxic and hazardous organic solvents, making the process safer and more environmentally friendly.

• Lower Capital Expenditures - A few chromatography units can replace hundreds or even thousands of mixer-settlers to achieve the same throughput and product requirements.

• High Versatility - An intrinsic-parameter-based design and predictive simulation tools allow for rapid, adaptable refining across various feedstocks and production scales.

• Modular and Scalable Capacity - Easily expands processing volumes in alignment with growing feedstock availability.

• Localized Processing - Reduces the need for raw ore transportation across the globe, strengthening supply chain security and efficiency.

ReElement's refining platform - originally developed by Purdue University for pharmaceutical purification - has been reengineered to separate rare earths and critical minerals with exceptional efficiency, scalability, and purity. Their patented, programmable platform handles multiple feedstocks and minerals, enabling rapid modular deployment across locations and resource types. Unlike legacy solvent extraction methods, it uses far fewer chemicals, requires less space, and generates minimal waste - making it faster to permit and simpler to co-locate near feedstock or end-use customers. This breakthrough eliminates a major chokepoint in global critical mineral supply chains, which has been dominated by single-source processing, no longer tenable as the U.S. must forge critical mineral supply chain independence, both through refining in the U.S. and in partnership with allies abroad.

About ReElement Technologies Corporation

ReElement Technologies Corporation 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.

About American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC)

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.

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 EXIM Bank's $150 million Letter of Interest to ReElement Technologies (AREC)?

The Letter of Interest supports ReElement's capital funding plan to build the nation's largest multi-mineral refinery, advancing U.S. critical mineral independence and competing with Chinese supply chains.

What competitive advantages does ReElement's (AREC) refining technology offer?

Their chromatography-based technology offers lower capital costs, eliminates toxic solvents, provides high versatility across feedstocks, and achieves 99.5%+ purity levels while matching or undercutting Chinese production costs.

How does ReElement's (AREC) technology align with U.S. government initiatives?

The technology aligns with the March 2025 Executive Order on American Mineral Production, supporting mineral independence and securing national supply chains through domestic refining capabilities.

What types of minerals can ReElement Technologies (AREC) process at its facilities?

ReElement can process and refine various rare earth elements including neodymium, dysprosium, terbium, gallium, antimony, samarium, yttrium, and gadolinium for defense and commercial applications.

Where will ReElement Technologies' (AREC) new refining facility be located?

The new refining facility will be located at the 42-acre Marion Advanced Technology Center campus in Indiana, expanding upon their existing operations in Noblesville.