American Resources Corporation announced that it has entered into the first stage of a South African partnership through the signing of an offtake agreement to purchase 6%+ lithium spodumene ores from a series of regional operating mining concessions to be refined to greater than 99.9% pure, battery-grade lithium carbonate or hydroxide using its wholly-owned ReElement Technologies' patented refining and purification processes.
This offtake agreement provides American Resources secure access to lithium spodumene ores at a port city within southern Africa. The ores will be initially transported to the United States to be processed and purified domestically at one of ReElement Technologies' refining facilities using the Company's patented, multi-modal chromatography process, thereby filling a major missing piece within the domestic supply chain for critical and rare earth elements. The offtake is expected to begin at 60,000 metric tons per annum, then scale to greater than 240,000+ metric tons per annum. Based on a 6% lithium spodumene, the Company expects its high-purity lithium carbonate production from ReElement Technologies to be approximately 32,000 to 34,000 metric tons per annum. Additionally, American Resources and its subsidiaries are collaborating with its South African partners on the site selection for a future regional refining facility that will be located at or close to a regional port. This facility will significantly reduce the costs associated with transporting lithium ores and will also add value to the local African communities by bringing new, cutting-edge technologies and facilities to the region. The facility is anticipated to process lithium spodumene ores in a manner that yields ultra-pure, battery-grade lithium carbonate or hydroxide, which can then be used as a commercial grade feedstock for either domestic battery manufacturers in the United States or local battery production in the area.