American Resources Corporation Receives West Virginia State Preliminary Approval for the Issuance of $45 million of Tax-Exempt Industrial Development Bond for Advanced Carbon and Rare Earth Processing Facility

Rhea-AI Summary

American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) has received preliminary approval from the West Virginia Economic Development Authority for the issuance of $45 million in Tax-Exempt Industrial Development Bonds. This funding will facilitate technological advancements and expand the processing capabilities at their Wyoming County Coal complex. The complex is set to modernize operations and increase carbon processing capacity from 350 tons to 700 tons per hour, while also capturing critical and rare earth elements. The project is expected to create over 100 jobs in the region.

Positive

• Preliminary approval for $45 million in Tax-Exempt Industrial Development Bonds boosts funding for expansion.
• Modernization expected to increase processing capacity from 350 tons to 700 tons per hour.
• Project anticipated to create over 100 well-paying jobs in the region.

Negative

• None.

$45 million Tax-Exempt Industrial Development Bonds will fund the expansion and technological improvements to the existing processing facility as well as the new construction of the rare earth processing facility

Company has engaged Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. to underwrite bonds

Company owns 1,100 acres of surface and premium mineral of mid-volatile metallurgical carbon for the steel industry

FISHERS, IN / ACCESSWIRE / December 20, 2021 / American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) ("American Resources" or the "Company"), a next generation and socially responsible supplier of raw materials to the new infrastructure and electrification marketplace, today announced the West Virginia Economic Development Authority ("WVEDA") preliminarily approved the issuance of, and a volume cap allocation for $45,000,000 of private activity, Solid Waste Disposal Facility Revenue Bonds, Series 2022 for the Company's Wyoming County Coal ("WCC") complex located near the town of Oceana, West Virginia.

The State of West Virginia has the authority to annually authorize the issuance of certain specified private activity bonds up to an annual amount determined under federal law. Such amounts for West Virginia for calendar year 2021 is $324,995,000. On December 16, 2021, the WVEDA approved a resolution preliminarily approving the issuance of up to $45,000,000 of Tax-Exempt Solid Waste Disposal Facility Revenue Bonds, Series 2022 on behalf of the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Wyoming County Coal LLC, and allocated $45,000,000 of West Virginia's 2021 volume cap to such bonds. This allocation will be carried forward to 2022 by the WVEDA and are expected to be issued by the WVEDA during the first half of 2022. The Company has engaged Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. to underwrite the bonds.

Mark Jensen, CEO of American Resources Corporation commented, "We're excited to have achieved this important milestone for our Wyoming County complex and our American Rare Earth division. The state of West Virginia has been great to work with and has been very supportive of the development of our advanced carbon and rare earth initiatives in the state. This proposed funding source will enable us to efficiently modernize and transform the complex to be the first in the industry process for both carbon and rare earth concentrates. The planned transformation will expand the complex's footprint to incorporate higher-efficiency carbon processing and logistics infrastructure while also broadening its resource potential to capture and process critical and rare earth elements. These improvements, which utilize our innovative suite of intellectual property, will allow us to produce the raw materials that support modern infrastructure and the growth of electrification and clean technologies in the most environmentally safe ways. These technological improvements will provide us the capabilities to improve the environmental standards in the region by reprocessing certain carbon-based waste sources for their critical and rare earth elements, while offsetting costs through the overall operations. We expect our Wyoming County complex to support well over 100 well-paying jobs in the region once reopened and with our exclusive IP will transform how operations are built in the future."

The WCC complex is strategically located within one of the last substantial mid-volatile metallurgical carbon deposits and, with direct access to the Norfolk Southern Railway, provides favorable transportation logistics to the United States' east coast ports. Additionally, WCC is surrounded by a number of high-value metallurgical carbon reserves and remining sites that would otherwise be considered "stranded" without access to the WCC processing and logistics complex. The Company's focus will initially be to bring the two new underground mines into production via a "walking super section" mine plan which will produce an estimated 55,000 tons of carbon per month, with further expansion potential as the mines are developed. American Resources will also look to upgrade and expand WCC's carbon processing plant's capacity, from its current 350 tons per hour rate, to approximately 700 ton per hour, while also incorporating the Company's innovative "capture" and "process" technology which will enable the facility to capture and process critical and rare earth elements from new carbon production and carbon-based waste sources to produce rare earth and critical element concentrates. The REE and CE concentrates produced will be transported to the Company's Indiana facility for further purification and isolation.

American Resources continues to focus on running efficient streamlined operations in being a new-aged supplier of raw materials to the infrastructure and electrification marketplace in the most sustainable of ways, while also helping the world achieve its goals of carbon neutrality. By operating with low or no legacy costs and having one of the largest and most innovative growth pipelines in the industry, American Resources Corporation works to maximize value for its investors by positioning its large asset base to best fit a new-aged economy, while being able to scale its operations to meet the growth of the markets it serves.

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.

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

SOURCE: American Resources Corporation

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FAQ

What is the significance of the $45 million bonds for AREC?

The $45 million in Tax-Exempt Industrial Development Bonds will fund the expansion and technological improvements at AREC's Wyoming County Coal complex.

When are the bonds expected to be issued?

The bonds are expected to be issued during the first half of 2022.

How will the Wyoming County complex operations change?

The operations will modernize and increase carbon processing capacity, while also incorporating technology to capture rare earth elements.

What impact will the expansion have on local employment?

The project is expected to support the creation of over 100 well-paying jobs in the region.