ReElement, Novare to build Africa’s first critical elements refinery

Staff Writer | February 10, 2025 | 11:40 am Battery Metals Suppliers & Equipment Africa USA Rare Earth

Image supplied by ReElement Technologies.

ReElement Technologies, a subsidiary of American Resources (NASDAQ: AREC), has partnered with South Africa-based investment firm Novare to build a $100 million critical and rare earth elements refinery.

Under the partnership, ReElement will contribute its proprietary technology to produce high-purity lithium carbonate, rare earth oxides and other critical minerals, along with project management expertise, while Novare will provide the necessary capital investment along with operational management. Development of the facility is expected to begin in the second half of 2025.

The partnership represents a “pivotal step toward” establishing Africa’s first critical and rare earth elements refining facility, focused on producing high-purity elements essential for advanced technologies in both the commercial and defense sectors, ReElement said in a news release dated Feb. 5, 2025.

“This partnership reflects our commitment to innovation in the critical minerals sector,” ReElement Technologies’ African unit CEO Ben Kincaid said in a news release.

“Together with Novare, we are bringing innovative refining technology to the region, enabling nations to enhance and capture the value of their natural resources and catalyze industrial economic development on the continent.”

Novare Group CEO Ola Leepile added that the partnership ‘”aligns seamlessly with our vision of being an impactful investor by establishing Sub-Saharan Africa’s first battery and critical minerals manufacturing facility.”

ReElement has developed a chromatographic, multi-mineral, multi-feedstock technology solution, which it says can separate, purify and refine rare earth and critical elements in a manner that is scalable, cost effective and environmentally friendly.

Mark Jensen, CEO of American Resources Corporation and ReElement Technologies, considers this to be one of only two foundational technologies capable of separating and purifying complex mixtures of critical and rare-earth elements at scale in the US.