American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) closed the book on its largest financing to date, a $45 million revenue bond for its Wyoming County Coal complex in West Virginia.
The bond, issued by the West Virginia Development Authority Solid Waste Disposal Facility Revenue Bonds, Series 2023, carry an interest rate of 9% and mature on June 8, 2038.
In a statement, Fishers, Indiana-based American Resources told investors that the financing “marks a significant milestone” for the company.
“This is a monumental event for our business, which represents the largest financing we have closed to date, enabling the implementation of high value innovation around the critical and rare earth element marketplace,” CEO Mark Jensen told shareholders.
Proceeds from the offering will go towards driving innovation in the critical and rare earth element marketplace, American Resources said.
Crucial processing and logistics hub
The WCC complex is strategically located within a substantial metallurgical carbon deposit and boasts access to to east coast ports via direct rail access. American Resources is hoping to leverage its proximity to high-value metallurgical carbon reserves and mining sites to become a crucial processing and logistics hub.
The initial focus for American Resources will be the development of two new underground mines, estimated to produce 55,000 tons of carbon per month, with potential for further expansion. The company also plans to upgrade and expand the carbon processing plant's capacity to approximately 700 tons per hour.
As well, incorporating the company's innovative capture and process technology will enable the extraction of critical and rare earth elements from carbon-based waste sources, supporting the production of rare earth and critical element concentrates, according to American Resources.
Once operational, the technology around producing rare earth and critical mineral concentrates can be licensed out to third parties all throughout the world to cost effectively produce feedstock concentrates that can be refined at the ReElement facilities to produce battery and magnet grade feedstocks, CEO Jensen said.
“We are thankful for the hard work of the Hilltop Securities team, the state of West Virginia and the overall deal team that worked diligently to get this financing completed to be a part of the supply chain for high demand elements that can be used for national security purposes and high value applications,” the CEO added.
Contact Angela at angela@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter @AHarmantas