Published: November 11, 2021 |

[Click image to enlarge]

American Resources Corporation has commenced engineering and planning for the restart of its wholly owned Wyoming County Coal (WCC) mining complex in West Virginia.

The complex, the company noted, is unique in that it is one of the last fully permitted complexes accessing premium “mid vol” metallurgical carbon for steel production.

“We acquired Wyoming County Coal in late 2018 for approximately $20 million due to its access to the world’s most premium steelmaking carbon and potential for attractive growth and substantial margin,” said American Resources President Thomas Sauve in a statement.

“Now that we have re-activated two of our Kentucky complexes, McCoy Elkhorn and Perry County Resources, it makes complete sense to now focus on planning and development of our Wyoming County complex, given the substantial price appreciation of this product in the market since our acquisition,” added Sauve.

Sauve said the company has recently been approached by several parties who want to work with it on carbon production from the WCC complex given the growing demand of the market as well as the expectations of prolonged, constrained supply and the fundamental long-term horizon for this quality of metallurgical carbon.

“Additionally, we feel this complex offers significant value for us based on our owned assets and controlled premium reserves, but it also offers substantial potential value given the vast number of nearby, stranded reserves that could be acquired or strategically folded into the complex given its processing and logistics capabilities,” said Sauve.

The WCC complex is strategically located within one of the last substantial mid vol carbon deposits and, with direct access to the Norfolk Southern Railway, provides favorable transportation logistics to the US’ east coast ports.

Additionally, WCC is surrounded by a number of high-value metallurgical carbon reserves that would otherwise be considered “stranded” without access to its processing and logistics complex.

The company said its focus will initially be to bring the two underground mines into production via a “walking super section” mine plan which will produce an estimated 55,000 tons of carbon per month, with further expansion potential as the mines are developed.

American Resources will also look to upgrade and expand WCC’s carbon processing plant’s capacity, from its current 350 tons per hour rate, to approximately 700 tons per hour, while also repurposing certain infrastructure from its Kentucky-based assets to keep the capital expenditures to a minimum and to expedite this restart.

LOOKING AHEAD

The company said it intends to finance the planning, development, and expansion of the complex from the operating cash flows of its current operations.

Based on current market prices and demand, it is anticipated that after commencing production in the estimated second half of 2022, the company said it could achieve payback of its investment into the complex in less than 12 months.

Post-WCC’s restart, American Resources will then evaluate and focus on restarting production at its Kentucky-based Knott County Coal complex, given its substantial access to high-quality (PCI) carbon resources.

Source: Proactive Investors

About American Resources Corporation
American Resources Corporation 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.

To stop by American Resources’ website, CLICK HERE

Be in-the-know when you’re on-the-go!