The Combined Relationship Establishes the First Complete Domestic Lifecycle for Rare Earth Magnet Manufacturing in the United States

FISHERS, IN / ACCESSWIRE / September 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 its majority owned subsidiary, ReElement Technologies LLC, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") for offtake with USA Rare Earth Magnets, LLC ("USA Rare Earth Magnets"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of USA Rare Earth, LLC ("USARE"), to supply them with recycled, high-purity rare earth oxides for their Stillwater, Oklahoma magnet manufacturing facility. Once fully-commissioned, the Stillwater facility is expected to be the first fully domestic rare earth magnet manufacturer in the United States. USARE initially acquired the neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) permanent magnet manufacturing equipment in April of 2020. The equipment is the only scalable, sintered neo-magnet manufacturing system in the Western Hemisphere. USA Rare Earth Magnets plans to commence production in 2023. This partnership will restore the domestic supply chain for permanent magnets and will help drive the nation and electrified economy to a growth-focused and more secure supply chain.

Mark Jensen, Chief Executive Officer of American Resources Corporation commented, "We couldn't be more pleased to enter into this MOU for offtake with USA Rare Earth Magnets and their passionate team to reestablish the United States' rare earth magnet manufacturing capacity and supply chain. Over the last year, we were able to meet with the USA Rare Earth Magnets team on several occasions, including at our rare earth and critical battery element purification facility in Noblesville, IN. It was very apparent that there were strong synergies between our two companies, and an opportunity to collaboratively bring efficient solutions to our domestic market. We look forward to building on this relationship to ensure that our combined process remains the most cost effective, environmentally safe and highly scalable to take advantage of such growth domestically and throughout the world."

Thayer Smith, President of USARE, commented, "We are looking forward to this relationship with ReElement Technologies, a market leader in innovative, environmentally-friendly recovery solutions. ReElement's innovative rare earth recovery technology will allow us to incorporate recycled materials into our process, making for a greener, more sustainable supply chain. This is an opportunity to expand our domestic permanent magnet manufacturing capabilities while furthering our commitment to ESG best practices at all levels of the supply chain."

Upon commencement, ReElement Technologies will supply USA Rare Earth Magnets separated and purified rare earth oxides from its current and future facilities based out of Noblesville, Indiana. The rare earth oxides will be produced from fully domestic sources from recycled, end-of-life products such as wind turbines, electric vehicle motors, medical devices and e-waste. ReElement will handle the full logistics and recovery process of such products to separate and purify the elements back to an isolated 99.5%+ purity in an oxide format. Furthermore, ReElement will work with USA Rare Earth Magnets to capture any magnet waste material from their manufacturing process to be recovered and re-purified to go directly back into their magnet manufacturing process.

USA Rare Earth Magnets will purchase such oxides from ReElement on a delivered basis to their Stillwater, Oklahoma facility, where they are currently installing and constructing their magnet technology and equipment. At the facility, they will convert the oxides to alloys and utilize such alloys in the magnet manufacturing process. The magnet equipment enables USA Rare Earth Magnets to produce magnets at commercial scale for the automotive, defense, medical and industrial applications that are in high demand in North America.

As of 2021, the $22 billion-a-year rare earth magnet market was dominated by China, which, under "Made in China 2025", is increasingly using rare earth magnets in its own finished and semi-finished products, rather than exporting them. Industry sources estimate the global rare earth magnet market will nearly double 2020 levels by 2027. At present, no other NdFeB commercial scale permanent magnet manufacturing plants are operational in the Americas. "Currently, the United States, European Union, Japan, and much of the developed world is largely reliant on China for critical rare earth element production," said Mr. Smith. "Our goal with this project is to advance U.S. manufacturing capacity by establishing the first vertically integrated domestic supply chain for rare earth elements. Engaging in a strategic partner with ReElement Technologies to provide high-purity, recycled materials will significantly accelerate this effort."

About ReElement Technologies LLC

ReElement Technologies LLC, a majority owned subsidiary of American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) 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. ReElement 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 reelementtech.com or connect with the Company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

About USA Rare Earth Magnets, LLC
USA Rare Earth Magnets, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of USARE, owns the only neodymium iron boron (NdFeB) permanent magnet manufacturing equipment in the Western Hemisphere and is in the commissioning phase of its permanent magnet manufacturing facility in Stillwater, Oklahoma. USARE plans to invest more than $100 million in developing the manufacturing facility and will utilize its owned facilities and technology to convert rare earth oxides into metals, magnets and other specialty materials. The company plans to commence initial production in 2023.

About USA Rare Earth, LLC
USA Rare Earth, LLC controls and operates the Round Top Heavy Rare Earth, Lithium and Critical Minerals Project in Hudspeth County, Texas, and has developed the first rare earth and critical minerals processing facility in the US (Colorado). Its mission is to create a fully integrated, US-based "mine-to-magnet" critical mineral supply chain supporting the ongoing green revolution, with no dependence on China. USARE is poised to become the leading domestic supplier of critical raw materials required for the electric vehicle, green energy, consumer electronics, and defense industries, as well as battery-grade lithium and tech metals needed for chipsets, semiconductors, and 5G. For more information, visit usare.com or connect with the Company on LinkedIn.

About American Resources Corporation
American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) 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

USA Rare Earth Magnets Contact:
Josh Hawes
Chief Strategy Officer
813-335-8183
info@usare.com

SOURCE: American Resources Corporation