ReElement Technologies Secures Anchor Investment from South African Firm Novare Holdings to Catalyze Rare Earth Element Refining Expansion in America's Heartland
- Secured approximately $150 million in combined equity and debt financing for expansion
- Patented efficient chromatographic separation technology requires less space and generates minimal waste
- Partnership enables expansion into both US and African markets
- Technology proven at commercial scale, delivering ultra-pure rare earth oxides
- Potential for high-value processing and job creation in both US and Africa
- Large capital requirements for expansion and scaling operations
- Faces competition in established global rare earth processing market
- Early stage of commercial deployment carries execution risks
- Dependent on successful implementation across multiple international locations
Insights
Novare's $150M investment in ReElement significantly advances U.S. rare earth refining capacity, reducing dependence on foreign supply chains.
This $150 million capital commitment represents a pivotal development in America's rare earth element (REE) processing capabilities. The investment in ReElement's Marion facility directly addresses the critical vulnerability in U.S. supply chains – the refining bottleneck that has left Western nations dependent on Chinese processing capacity. ReElement's chromatographic separation technology offers several competitive advantages over traditional solvent extraction: reduced chemical usage, smaller physical footprint, minimal waste generation, and adaptability to various feedstocks. These attributes significantly lower the barriers to domestic REE refining.
The revitalization of the former RCA-Thomson site in Marion strategically positions ReElement in America's manufacturing heartland, potentially creating regional supply chain synergies. Particularly noteworthy is ReElement's demonstrated capability to produce both light and heavy rare earth oxides at high purity levels – the latter being especially challenging to process and critical for advanced defense and technology applications.
This Africa-U.S. partnership model presents a fascinating alternative to China's resource extraction approach in Africa. By enabling value-added processing locally in Africa while simultaneously expanding U.S. domestic capacity, this investment helps build resilient, geographically distributed supply chains for materials essential to electrification and defense. The $150 million infusion should accelerate ReElement's scaling timeline, potentially establishing it as the first major non-Chinese commercial-scale processor of certain critical minerals in the Western hemisphere.
Novare's anchor investment unlocks crucial scale-up capital for ReElement, positioning it as a potential leader in critical mineral refining.
The $150 million financing package represents a transformative capital infusion for ReElement, providing the resources needed to scale from demonstration to commercial production. This funding structure – combining equity and debt – suggests institutional confidence in the company's technology and business model. The repurposing of the 42-acre Marion, Indiana supersite provides ReElement with substantial physical infrastructure for expansion while keeping capital expenditures lower than greenfield development.
This deal structure is particularly notable as it brings African institutional investment into U.S. critical infrastructure – an unusual and innovative capital flow that diversifies ReElement's investor base. The Purdue University technology transfer success story underpinning ReElement's process demonstrates how academic R&D can be commercialized to address strategic industrial gaps.
The bilateral nature of this partnership – with simultaneous development of refining capacity in both the U.S. and Africa – creates potential for significant supply chain advantages. ReElement could benefit from preferential access to African mineral resources while establishing domestic processing capabilities that align with reshoring initiatives and national security priorities. The modularity and adaptability of their refining platform allow for rapid scaling and deployment across diverse locations, potentially creating significant first-mover advantages in what remains a nascent Western critical mineral processing ecosystem.
South African Firm Commits to Driving American Industrial Renewal and Africa-U.S. Commercial Diplomacy
FISHERS, IN / ACCESS Newswire / June 2, 2025 / American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) ("American Resources"), through its holding in ReElement Technologies Corporation ("ReElement"), a leading U.S. innovator in rare earth element (REE) and critical mineral refining, announced today that Novare Holdings Proprietary Limited ("Novare"), a South African-headquartered institutional investment firm, has committed to be the anchor investor in ReElement's private capital raise. This commitment will help unlock approximately
ReElement's patented chromatographic separation platform was developed in partnership with and based on pioneering research from Purdue University, one of America's premier research institutions. ReElement has exclusively commercialized this technology and continues to collaborate actively with Purdue to refine and scale its application for critical mineral separation. The company has proven its capability at small commercial scale, delivering ultra-pure light and heavy rare earth oxides to U.S. and allied magnet manufacturers. This new capital enables ReElement to significantly increase output of high-purity elements essential for advanced technologies in both the commercial and defense sectors.
The announcement marks a powerful example of how strategic foreign investment can accelerate U.S. innovation, industrial revitalization, and supply chain resilience. Novare's commitment to ReElement's domestic scale-up not only supports the growth of advanced American technology, but also demonstrates a forward-looking model for international partnership - one that bridges economic opportunity between Africa and the United States while reinforcing critical sectors tied to national and global security.
The investment also deepens ReElement and Novare's ongoing partnership to deploy the same U.S. refining technology to Africa, announced this past February, where Novare's large capital commitment will fund the continent's first multimineral refining facility. By co-locating value-added processing and refining in Africa, this collaboration reverses the "extract-to-export" mining model, enabling local beneficiation, industrial development, high-skill job growth, and secure offtake of manufacturing-grade minerals by U.S. and allied supply chains.
Mark Jensen, CEO and Chairman of ReElement Technologies, stated: "This is a historic moment. With Novare as our anchor investor, we are not just expanding capacity - we're reshaping the global critical minerals supply chain. Together, we're proving that African capital can invest in America's best technology, and that same technology can deliver lasting value back to Africa. The former RCA factory in Marion will once again power American industry, and Africa will rise as a full participant in high-value mineral processing."
Ola Leepile, CEO of Novare Holdings, added: "Novare is proud to stand behind ReElement as it scales groundbreaking American technology. This investment reflects our belief that African institutional capital has a powerful role to play in global industrial transformation. We are backing U.S. innovation at home and abroad - supporting jobs and growth in Indiana and bringing long-overdue value addition and industrial development to the African continent."
ReElement's refining platform - originally developed by Purdue 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 processing in the US and in partnership with allies abroad.
With this capital infusion, ReElement moves decisively forward on its roadmap to become the world's leading independent processor of rare earth and critical minerals.
Learn more about ReElement Technologies' process and technology here - Video.
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 Novare
Novare is multi-disciplinary investment holding company headquartered in South Africa. The company is a leading provider of investment solutions to predominantly institutional clients on the African continent. The group's investment solutions which are provided through fully owned subsidiaries encompasses Real Estate Funds, Impact Investing Funds, Multi Managed Funds and Implemented Investment Consulting across a range of asset classes. The group has physical operations in five African countries namely South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, Mauritus and Zambia.
For more information visit www.novare.com or connect with the Company on LinkedIn.
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.
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
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