- Company utilizing patented electrolysis technology which has shown to increase its concentrates from parts per millions to attractive percentages
- The patent protected technology produces multiple monetizable products (hydrogen, carbon nanostructure slurry, etc.) in the process of utilizing bioproduct economics to make the rare earth and battery metal concentration process profitable
FISHERS, IN / ACCESSWIRE / February 24, 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 the Company's subsidiary, American Rare Earth LLC, is furthering its feasibility study of the lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements that are present in its various deposits among its 20,000 controlled acres. Through its parent company and affiliates, American Rare Earth has been able to secure approximately 20,000 acres of mineral deposits throughout Central Appalachia that has demonstrated the potential to contain lithium and cobalt as part of its overall mix of elements, primarily through coal waste deposits and waste streams that possess other favorable cost attributes when processed with its patented electrolysis technology. American Rare Earth will utilize its "process" technology (electrolysis) to extract the lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements from its controlled feedstocks, and then purify these elements by way of its patented chromatography technology at its initial facility located in Noblesville, Indiana.
Mark Jensen, CEO of American Resources commented, "With the discovery of meaningful concentrations of lithium and cobalt alongside the other rare earth elements present in several of our sites in and around our Central Appalachian operations, we have undertaken the project to better define how many sites out of our 20,000 acre reserve base are worth further exploring and how we can most effectively capture and process these metals using our patented processes from Ohio University and Texas Tech University. Rare earth elements and battery metals such as cobalt and lithium are proven to be present on a parts-per-million basis in carbon-based materials. However, the challenge is being able to economically process them to a concentrate that can be profitable to isolate and purify to a 99.5% purity or greater needed by modern applications. The key for us is utilizing our patented technologies to monetize the process through byproduct economics thereby offsetting the energy and labor cost in the process to a nominal amount."
American Resources, which is currently in the design and implementation phase of its Wyoming County, West Virginia site that was preliminarily approved for a $45 million tax exempt bond offering, is integrating specific mineral spirals and its patented electrolysis technology directly into its high value metallurgical carbon facilities to process waste streams coming out of the processing plant before certain material is landfilled. In the process, the Company will be extracting targeted elements that are present as well as using certain negative particulates that are present in existing landfilled coal waste streams to be used in the Company's electrolysis process. This step further reduces the chemical needs by using natural materials that are a common byproduct of the coal industry.
Jensen added, "With lithium and cobalt being a key resource for the production of batteries for electric vehicles, etc., and with the market prices and demand rapidly rising, our patents pair very well with a resource such as ours that can be used as a commercially viable feedstock for battery manufacturers, especially in combination with our first-of-its-kind chromatography purification facility. During the concentration process, we target properties that not only possess the elements we are targeting, but also looking for sites that have a greater environmental impact as other materials present in these sites help our electrolysis process produce more monetizable byproducts."
American Rare Earth will begin the next steps of the feasibility study program by identifying the controlled sites with the highest concentration of lithium and cobalt as well as other key characteristics that maximizes the value of its electrolysis technology. From there, the Company will commercially develop these deposits to be used as additional feedstock for its Indiana-based rare earth and battery metals isolation and purification facility.
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.
About American Rare Earth LLC
American Rare Earth 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. American Rare Earth 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 arareearthcorp.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