Fishers-based American Resources is in the running for a serious federal boost. The company was tapped Wednesday as one of five projects the U.S. Department of Energy selected for negotiations over funding to recover rare-earth elements and other critical minerals from coal and coal-based feedstocks. The potential award is part of a $75 million DOE package aimed at pilot-scale recovery and refining work that could feed domestic supply chains. For central Indiana, it is the latest sign that a growing cluster of operations in Fishers, Noblesville and Marion is trying to stake its claim in the rare-earth game.
DOE Backs Coal Byproduct Pilots To Feed Critical Minerals Supply
According to the Department of Energy, the funding opportunity, Mines & Metals Capacity Expansion: Piloting Byproduct Critical Minerals and Materials Recovery at Domestic Industrial Facilities, will support pilot-scale facilities to produce market-ready rare earths and other value-added minerals such as germanium and gallium. DOE listed the five selections as the University of North Dakota, Valor Metals, CONSOL Innovations, American Resources Corporation, headquartered in Fishers, and Peabody Energy.
The agency stressed that each selection is entering negotiations over an award and "is not a commitment" until those talks are complete. In other words, the spotlight is on, but the checks are not written yet.
Indiana Footprint Draws Local Attention
Local business coverage quickly zeroed in on the Fishers connection, highlighting American Resources' headquarters and its ties to ReElement Technologies, the refining and separation arm working in central Indiana. As reported by Indianapolis Business Journal, the selection folds into a recent run of company updates and local investments that have pushed the region onto the map for rare-earth processing.
Industry observers, cited in that coverage, suggest the area’s existing facilities could serve as staging grounds for pilot operations if federal awards are ultimately finalized, potentially tightening the link between national policy priorities and what is happening in Hamilton and Grant counties.
ReElement’s Marion Supersite And Noblesville Plant
American Resources' affiliated firm ReElement Technologies operates a commercialization plant in Noblesville and is developing the Marion Advanced Technology Center, described by the company as a large industrial campus intended to produce both rare-earth oxides and battery materials. According to ReElement Technologies and a progress release on Nasdaq, the Marion site includes substantial production and laboratory space designed to scale refining capacity to meet domestic demand.
DOE says the National Energy Technology Laboratory will manage the selected projects and that each one will move into a negotiation phase before any awards are issued. That leaves timelines and award amounts very much in flux, even as American Resources and its partners continue readying plants and workforce programs for potential pilot runs.
The move fits into a broader federal effort to onshore rare-earth and magnet supply chains. Recent actions under CHIPS and related programs have paired grants, conditional loans and incentive packages with domestic mine-to-magnet and refining projects. NIST documentation and Commerce-era releases outline multiple channels of support that share one goal, reducing reliance on overseas processors.
For Fishers and neighboring Marion, the immediate impact is largely reputational, federal attention that can help attract suppliers, training dollars and more private investment interest, while any concrete job or construction lift still hinges on negotiated awards. Mark Jensen, American Resources’ CEO, has said the company is "optimally positioned to scale" its critical-mineral platform, and company materials indicate the Fishers hub will play a coordinating role if pilot funding is finalized.
