• Mr. Higgins has 30 years of distinguished service with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as Chief of Staff to the Director and Assistant Director for Africa
• Founder of KSTK Enterprises, LLC, an organization driven to opportunities to close the divide between private industry and the US national security domain

FISHERS, IN / ACCESSWIRE / January 2, 2024 / American Resources Corporation's (NASDAQ:AREC) ("American Resources" or the "Company") ReElement Technologies Corporation, ("ReElement") a leading provider of high performance refining capacity of rare earth and critical battery elements, announced today the appointment of Kevin Higgins, a national security expert and former intelligence community senior executive who retired from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after 30 years of distinguished service, to its Board of Directors.

Mark Jensen, CEO of ReElement Technologies Corporation commented, "We could not be more grateful to have Kevin join our ReElement board at a crucial moment of our business expansion. Kevin's experience, knowledge, and passion is impossible to replicate, let alone his dedication to our country. We have bold ambitions at ReElement Technologies to shift the paradigm on the critical and rare earth element industry, and we know we need to continue to build upon our world class team to achieve our objectives. Furthermore, our goal as an organization expands well beyond the borders of the United States, and Kevin's experience in Africa and throughout the world will be invaluable to helping us accomplish our mission."

Mr. Higgins, added, "Having the opportunity to learn and better understand the solutions that ReElement is bringing to this critical sector of the economy and national security space has been an eye-opening experience. ReElement is at the forefront of innovation necessary to address the urgent imperative to shore up and secure our strategic minerals supply chain. The Company's technology is a gamechanger within the industry and for the world, reducing dangerous dependencies on single-source refining of critical minerals and rare earth elements. ReElement's approach in Africa and worldwide will strengthen key alliances and presents a template for American companies' success in markets abroad. I am excited to collaborate with the ReElement team as they grow and expand their operations both domestically and internationally."

Mr. Higgins is a former intelligence community senior executive who retired from the CIA after 30 years of distinguished service. In his last assignment at the CIA, he served as Chief of Staff to CIA Director William J. Burns, where he assisted the Director with executing the Agency's global intelligence mission and confronting our nation's most intractable national security challenges and emerging threats. Mr. Higgins also served as the Assistant Director of CIA for Africa, leading a cross-functional intelligence center responsible for the African continent. His other executive leadership roles at CIA headquarters and the foreign field included Chief of Operations of the Counterterrorism Center, several Chief of Station assignments, and Chief of Base of an expeditionary site in Afghanistan. During Mr. Higgins' three decades of service, he has received several honors-including the Distinguished Career Intelligence Medal, CIA's Excellence in Leadership Award, the George W. Bush Award for Excellence in Counterterrorism, the CIA Director's Award, the CIA Director's Award for Distinguished Service, and is a three-time recipient of the most prestigious honor in federal civilian service, the Presidential Rank Award.

Mr. Higgins is also a senior advisor at WestExec, a strategic advisory firm, and serves on several boards and advisory boards across the tech industry, venture capital community, and non-profit space, including Sayari, TRM Labs, New North Ventures, and the Third Option Foundation. He was previously the Senior Vice President and General Manager for US Operations and Global Opportunities at Silicon Valley drone manufacturer and instant logistics start-up Zipline International. In 2022, Zipline was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the year's best inventions and further acclaimed in 2023 on CNBC's Disruptor 50 list of innovative companies.

After leaving public service, Mr. Higgins founded KSTK Enterprises, a boutique advisory firm that specializes in guiding clients through strategic planning and organizational leadership, comprehensive risk management, venture capital investments, and the integration of emerging technologies. The firm also specializes in mergers and acquisitions, particularly for companies at the intersection of national security. He is particularly drawn to opportunities to close the divide between private industry and the national security domain, as America's challenges ahead will require whole-of-nation solutions.

ReElement Technologies is committed to leading the domestic supply chain for rare earth and battery elements in the electrified economy. The Company has proven that its patented chromatographic separation and purification is a low cost, scalable, flexible and environmentally safe replacement to the existing environmentally and socially toxic alternatives used around the globe for rare earth and critical element separation and purification. As the Company executes and scales the production at its facilities, it will significantly reduce the United States' dependency on foreign nations for the supply of these critical raw materials while also creating a true circular life-cycle solution.

About American Resources Corporation
American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ: AREC) 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 ReElement Technologies Corporation
ReElement Technologies Corporation 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. ReElement 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 reelementtech.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.

Investor Contact:
JTC Team, LLC
Jenene Thomas
833-475-8247
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

RedChip Companies Inc.
Robert Foley
1-800-RED-CHIP (733-2447)
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Company Contact:
Mark LaVerghetta
Vice President of Corporate Finance and Communications
317-855-9926 ext. 0
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.