Benzinga | May 11, 2021 08:23AM EDT

American Resources Corporation Says Secures Project Manager For 2kW Mobile Electrolytic Cell Rare Earth Processing Plant, Opens Texas Office

merican 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 Company has secured a project manager to oversee the build phase and implementation of its previously announced 2kW mobile electrolytic cell rare earth element (REE) processing plant. This represents the another step forward in the commercialization of its previously announced acquired technology and patents from Ohio University in addition to its partnership with Texas Tech University and sponsored research programs alongside the leadership of Dr. Gerardine Botte, Professor and the Whitacre Department Chair in Chemical Engineering at Texas Tech University.

To bolster the Company's technology and operating wherewithal, American Resources also entered into a sponsored research program with Texas Tech regarding the implementation and cell development of its electrolysis facility. The sponsored research program is focused on not only building an electrolysis facility, but also maximize the scalability and efficiency of the REE electrolysis processing facility. The sponsored research program is currently focused on cell development and expanding the size of the electrolytic cells to approximately one cubic meter, which will enable operating scalability and functionality of feedstocks. As part of its expansion, American Resources has also secured office space in Lubbock, Texas at the Texas Tech University Innovation Hub at Research Park, which is a facility that nurtures smart ideas and entrepreneurs to create a social or commercial value resulting in impact. The project manager will work directly with Dr. Botte at the Innovation Hub and work in conjunction with the Company's sponsored research program at Texas Tech.

Mark Jensen, CEO of American Resources Corporation commented, "We are excited to have secured a great project manager to oversee the buildout and implementation of our mobile REE electrolysis processing facility and advance our sponsored research program with Texas Tech University. Our project manager has a lot of familiarity and experience with working with Dr. Botte and her team. Over the last five years he has had very relevant experience in Colombia working on two small chemical engineering scale facilities and one commercial facility. Additionally, procuring office space at Texas Tech's Innovation Hub was obviously important for us to create a strong work flow as we remain committed to being efficient and effective in driving this ground-breaking technology, and its application with REEs to commercialization. We are excited to complete this stage and now turn to further execution of building our mobile facility to begin full scale expansion and development of fly ash sites in the United States."

The facility is expected to be built over the next six months with the goal of deploying into the field in the fourth quarter of 2021. The Company will provide transparency on specific phases and milestones of the build and analysis process in conjunction with the Company's sponsored research and its fly ash sampling programs.

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. 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.