Arizona Tribune - ReElement Technologies Achieves Historic U.S.-Based Tungsten Separation and Purification Capability Critical to National Defense

FISHERS, IN / ACCESS Newswire / May 26, 2026 / American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC) ("American Resources"), through its affiliated minority holding in ReElement Technologies Corporation ("ReElement"), a leading U.S.-based innovator of high-performance rare earth and critical mineral refining, today announced another landmark technical achievement in the separation and purification of tungsten from mined material supplied by international mining partners.

ReElement successfully processed tungsten concentrate grading approximately 28% tungsten into purified material achieving 99.9% purity, establishing what is believed to be one of the only demonstrated domestic capability in the United States for commercially viable tungsten and demonstrating another important capability within its multi-mineral, multi-feedstock refining platform. The achievement represents a meaningful advancement toward establishing domestic and allied refining optionality for tungsten, one of the most strategically important materials used across the U.S. defense and commercial industrial base.

"This is another defining moment for ReElement and for America's strategic material independence," said Mark Jensen, CEO and Chairman of ReElement Technologies. "Tungsten is essential to the defense industrial base, yet the U.S. remains heavily reliant on foreign-controlled supply chains for refined material. ReElement has now demonstrated that its platform can separate and purify tungsten from mined concentrate to 99.9%+ purity. While tungsten is not part of our initial Phase 1 Marion buildout, this achievement gives us a clear pathway to add tungsten refining capacity as customer demand, prepayments, and commercial commitments justify expansion."

Tungsten is valued for its exceptional hardness, density, high melting point, and heat resistance. It is used across defense and advanced industrial applications, including armor-piercing munitions, missile systems, aerospace components, hypersonic technologies, military electronics, advanced manufacturing, and high-performance tooling. Despite its strategic importance, the United States has limited domestic refining capacity for tungsten, creating a vulnerability in the defense industrial base and broader manufacturing supply chain.

"This is not simply about tungsten," said Mark LaVerghetta, Co-Founder and board executive nominee to ReElement. "This is about ensuring the United States and its allies can access, refine, and control the materials that underpin national defense, technological leadership, advanced manufacturing, and industrial security. ReElement's refining-first model provides a new approach - one that we have already commercialized across critical minerals and is designed to scale with evolving markets, rather than replicating fixed, legacy, single-source systems that have proven unsustainable, high-risk, capital intensive, environmentally burdensome, and difficult to deploy."

ReElement's tungsten campaign further validates the versatility of its proprietary chromatography-based separation and purification platform. The platform is designed to process a broad range of rare earth and critical mineral feedstocks, enabling a more flexible, modular, and scalable approach to domestic refining than conventional methods that often rely on large-scale, fixed infrastructure and significant chemical consumption.

American Resources continues to collaborate with global feedstock partners to identify, source, and aggregate tungsten-bearing materials and other strategic mineral inputs that can be refined through ReElement's platform. This model positions American Resources as a gateway between upstream feedstock supply and downstream demand, while leveraging ReElement's refining capability to help address critical gaps in the U.S. and allied mineral supply chain.

The successful tungsten purification campaign comes at a time when geopolitical instability and concentrated foreign control of critical mineral processing continue to expose vulnerabilities across defense, energy, electronics, and advanced manufacturing markets. ReElement's ability to expand its refining platform into tungsten demonstrates the broader value of a multi-mineral refining-first ecosystem capable of adapting to urgent national security and commercial needs.

ReElement, a privately funded domestic refiner, continues to engage with commercial partners, government stakeholders, and defense industry participants to expand domestic refining capabilities for rare earth elements and critical minerals essential to America's economic and national security priorities.

About ReElement Technologies Corporation

ReElement Technologies Corporation, a minority holding of American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC), is a leading provider of high-performance refining capacity for rare earth elements and critical minerals. Its refining-first, multi-mineral, multi-feedstock platform is designed to process a wide range of inputs - including recycled materials from permanent magnets, lithium-ion batteries, and industrial, defense, and technology waste streams, as well as mined ores, brines, and coal-based byproducts - into high-purity products that support a cost-effective, environmentally responsible, and circular supply chain.

ReElement's innovative and scalable "Powered by ReElement" process leverages its exclusively licensed and internally developed intellectual property, integrating directly into partners' material processing flowsheets to enhance efficiency and adaptability across the global critical mineral supply chain. For more information visit reelementtech.com or connect with the Company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn

About American Resources Corporation (NASDAQ:AREC)

American Resources Corporation has established a comprehensive solution platform across the rare earth and critical mineral supply chain, leveraging its affiliation with, and former parent relationship to, ReElement Technologies Corporation - a leading provider of high-performance refining capacity for rare earth and critical battery elements. The Company is advancing efficient upstream and downstream critical mineral operations.

These operations span conventional and unconventional resource sourcing and development, as well as recycling and manufacturing, enabling American Resources to aggregate and process diverse feedstocks while efficiently aligning supply with end-market demand.

American Resources has established a nimble, low-cost business model focused on scalable growth. Its streamlined approach enables the Company to expand its asset portfolio and meet increasing global demand across infrastructure, defense, technology, and electrification markets - while maximizing margins and maintaining cost discipline. For more information visit americanresourcescorp.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.

Media Inquiries:
[email protected]

Company Contact:
Mark LaVerghetta
317-855-9926 ext. 0
[email protected]

SOURCE: American Resources Corporation

View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire

M.White--AT