Johannesburg/ Indiana February 10, 2025, Novare, the South African based multi-disciplinary asset manager and ReElement Technologies Corporation, a subsidiary of American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) and a leading provider of rare earth minerals refining solutions, have announced $ 100 million (R1,8 billion) rare earth and critical battery elements refining facility in Africa. Development of the facility is expected to begin in the second half of 2025.
This milestone agreement representsa pivotal step toward establishing Africa's first critical and rare earth element refining facility, focused on producing high-purity elements essential for advanced technologies in both the commercial and defense sectors.
The facility will useReElement’stechnology to produce high-purity lithium carbonate, rare earth oxides, and other critical minerals. The facility will use locally sourced feedstock and skillsto support the growing demand in the battery and defense industries within both Africa and North America.
ReElement Technologies Africa will contribute its advanced chromatographic separation and purification platform technology along with project management expertise, while Novare will provide the necessary capital investmentalong with operational management.
ReElement has successfully developed its versatile chromatographic, multi-mineral, multi-feedstock technology solution which can separate, purify and refine rare earth and critical elements in a manner that is scalable, cost effective and environmentally friendly.
Ola Leepile, the CEO of Novare Group, commented “Novare is excited about this collaboration's potential for securing reliable and quality critical mineral supplies. It aligns seamlessly with our vision of being an impactful investor by establishing Sub-Saharan Africa’s first battery and critical minerals manufacturing facility. Through this partnership, we are confident that value addition and resource beneficiation can be achieved locally.”
Ben Kincaid, CEO of ReElement Technologies Africa added, "This partnership reflects our commitment toinnovation in the critical minerals sector. Together with Novare, we are bringing innovative refining technology to the region, enabling nations toenhance and capture the value of their natural resourcesandcatalyseindustrial economic development on the continent. Novare will lead the way forward, modelling how African nations can and must serve as primary stakeholders in the global supply chain for critical minerals.”
ReElement Technologies Africa and Novare look forward to collaborating to leverage opportunities which make a positive impact on the industries they serve.
ReElements says as it expands and scales production across its own and partner facilities, it will play a key role in reducing U.S. dependence on foreign sources of critical raw materials while also fostering a true circular life-cycle solution.
Learn more about ReElement Technologies’ process and technology here - Video.
ReElement Technologies Corporationis a leading provider of high-performance refining capacity for rare earth and critical battery elements. Its multi-mineral, multi-feedstock platform technology focuses on the refining of recycled material from rare earth permanent magnets and lithium-ion batteries, concentrated ores and brines, as well as coal-based waste streams and byproducts to create a cost effective and environmentally-safe, circular supply chain. ReElement has developed its innovative and scalable “Powered by ReElement” process which collaboratively utilizes its exclusively licensed intellectual property within its partners’ material processing flow sheets to more efficiently support the global supply chain’s growing demand for magnet and battery-grade products.
Novare is multi-disciplinary investment holding company headquartered in South Africa. The company is a leading provider of investment solutions to predominantly institutional clients on the African continent. The group’s investment solutions which are provided through fully owned subsidiaries encompasses Real Estate Funds, Impact Investing Funds, Multi Managed Funds and Implemented Investment Consulting across a range of asset classes. The group has physical operations in five African countries namely South Africa, Nigeria, Mozambique, Mauritus and Zambia.
American Resources Corporation is a leader in the critical mineral supply chain, developing innovative solutions both upstream and downstream of the refining process. The company and its affiliates focus on the extraction and processing of metallurgical carbon and iron ore, essential ingredients in steelmaking, as well as critical and rare earth minerals for the electrification market and recycled metals.
Leveraging its affiliation and former parent status of ReElement Technologies Corporation, a leading provider of high-performance refining capacity for rare earth and critical battery elements, American Resources is investing in and developing efficient upstream and downstream critical mineral operations. These operations include mining interests in conventional and unconventional sources, recycling, and manufacturing.
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 ableto maximize margins while reducing costs