New patent advances the Company's chromatography technology and process to more efficiently produce all critical battery materials from all feedstocks including end-of-life batteries

Patented process and technology differentiates American Rare Earth from peers by producing battery-grade quality materials in an environmentally and cost competitive solution

FISHERS, IN / ACCESSWIRE / April 28, 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 it has secured the exclusive worldwide rights for a new provisional patent filed by the Company's technology and research partner, Purdue University, for the isolation and purification of battery-grade materials using multi-mode chromatography for all feedstocks.

Mark LaVerghetta, Head of Corporate Finance and Communications commented, "This is an exciting technology and addition to our existing patent portfolio for producing isolated and high-purity critical and rare earth metals utilizing our low cost, environmentally-safe and sustainable isolation and purification methods. Over the last year, we have had great success working with the amazing team at Purdue University, led by Dr. Linda Wang, to refine and develop these high-value technologies to create and enhance a domestic supply chain of sustainable, battery-grade material such as lithium, cobalt, nickel, manganese, and graphite. This particular patent further enhances our ability to be the lowest cost provider for the final stage of producing isolated and purified, battery-grade materials that can be used to manufacture new lithium-ion batteries. Our second production train, being built at our Noblesville, IN rare earth and battery metals purification facility, will utilize this technology to comprehensively recycle lithium-ion batteries and to showcase the exceptional benefits and scalable nature of our process. The demand and prices for battery-grade materials are showing significant strength, which we anticipate will continue to grow alongside the growth of the electric vehicle marketplace. We look forward to working with black mass producers as well as the battery manufacturers to provide a more comprehensive and sustainable solution for both upstream and downstream materials."

Mung Chiang, Executive Vice President of Purdue University for Strategic Initiatives, the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering, and the Roscoe H. George Distinguished Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, commented, "We are excited about furthering our relationship with American Resources Corporation and its subsidiary American Rare Earth LLC given their passion and efforts to commercialize our high value technologies that are solving complex equations in regard to national security, national supply chain and sustainability challenges for electrified products including electric vehicles. We believe these technologies are both cost effective and environmentally safe to be performed and scaled throughout the domestic market. With American Resources' growth and their broadening relationships, such as with the Heritage Group, we believe they have the team and resources to bring this to scale as a real solution throughout the U.S. and then world. We look forward to working with them on these and other technologies as well as the sponsored research programs currently in place."

The provisional patent was filed on March 25^th, 2022 by the Purdue Research Foundation for the purpose of establishing and protecting the Company's "versatile multi-dimension and multi-mode chromatography methods for producing high-purity lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese salts with high yields from all feedstocks including end-of-life batteries."

Advantages of the patented technology include:

• High purity (>99.5%) products with high yields (~99%) from complex mixtures;
• Impurities effectively removed to below 5 ppm, before further purification;
• Compact processing volume, small footprint, and high productivity;
• Only utilizes safe and mild chemicals in ambient temperature and low-pressure equipment ensuring almost zero wastewater discharge and low hydrocarbon emissions;
• Low capital and energy costs;
• Only sodium salts are generated in the process as waste;
• Ability to produce battery-grade and high-purity, isolated elements or high-purity mixtures of Li, Co, Ni and Mn; and,
• Highly efficient and flexible for processing feedstocks with different compositions at different production scales.

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.

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.

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