Land Betterment Partners With American Resources and Local Leader to Support Identified Historical and Cultural Landmark on Former Mining Property

Apr 27, 2022 10:50 AM ET
Campaign: Land Betterment
  • Historical and cultural artifacts discovered on former mining site during land reclamation process
  • The site has evidence that date this property back to around 7-800 A.D
  • Land Betterment and American Resources committed to help the local nonprofit with the establishment of a historical museum in the area to showcase the discoveries from this site with the added goal of job creation and historical-driven tourism

FISHERS, Ind., April 27, 2022 /3BL Media/ - Land Betterment Corporation (“Land Betterment” or the “Company”), an environmental solutions company fostering positive impact through upcycling former coal mining and industrial sites to create sustainable community development and job creation, today announced that it has partnered with American Resources Corporation (Nasdaq:AREC) to support the development of a historical museum in Kragon, Kentucky lead by local leader and land owner Doug Terry and Kragon Historical Preservation, Inc. The museum will be located near the identified site of historical indigenous burial grounds dating back as far as 7 to 800 A.D. and showcase the history and findings of the site.

Mark Jensen, Executive Chairman of Land Betterment and CEO of American Resources Corporation commented, "We took this non-core property when American Resources acquired Knott County Coal in 2016 during the bankruptcy of Arch Coal with the intent of removing the decaying coal loadout facility and related infrastructure that sat idle for over a decade, then fully reclaim the land to get the $700,000 of environmental surety bonds released. Once 90% of the work was completed and we were approaching the final phase of remediation, the land owner and friend, Doug Terry, asked us to cease work following the discovery of what was believed to be a second ancient burial ground on the property underlying the land that would have been required to be excavated to complete the final stage remediation. This pause allowed Doug, his son Trevor and their team to complete their analysis, which turned out to be beyond expectations. Today, Land Betterment and American Resources are excited and proud to announce their collective support of the formation of Doug and Trevor's 501(c)(3), Kragon Historical Preservation, to help support the building of a museum and commit to support its cause and endeavors at this property in terms of highlighting its historical importance, as well as its related job creation, educational platform and potential to drive historical and cultural tourism to this beautiful region of the country."

Doug and Trevor Terry, founders of Kragon Historical Preservation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit added, "I want to applaud the efforts of all involved here to uncover an amazing find of such historical importance. I want to say thank you to Land Betterment and American Resources for their commitment to environmental and community stewardship in the region while also holding the associated outstanding environmental reclamation bonds for an extended period during this unique and exciting process. I want to also thank them for their desire to support the future causes of the Kragon Historical Preservation project. This site is important to me on so many levels given its my birth place and also the site where blood, sweat and tears have been shed uncovering this amazing historical find. We look forward to the day when this project is fully open to the public so they can come and enjoy and learn the history of this site at our planned museum, as well as the tourism we hope to bring to this region."

Kragon Historical Preservation, Inc is in the final stages of formation of its 501(c)(3) nonprofit with the purpose of preserving and protecting the historical, cultural and sacred grounds of Kragon, Kentucky for the current and future generations to appreciate and protect. Kragon is a Fort Ancient Village located on a sharp bend of the North Fork River in Breathitt County near the town of Jackson. According to the 2008 Kentucky State Archaeological Report, this site meets the eligibility criteria for inclusion in the national record of historic places. Plans are for a museum to be built to display artifacts that have been recovered from this site and to be open for public viewing.

To support the cause and formation of an onsite museum, historical preservation and tourist and educational platform there will be a link available on www.kragon.org once the nonprofit has received their tax-exempt status from the IRS.

About Land Betterment Corporation
Land Betterment, an Indiana Benefit Corporation and Pending B-Corp, is an environmental solutions company focused on fostering a positive impact through upcycling former coal mining sites to create sustainable community development and job creation. The Company utilizes a complete solution-based lifecycle program to restore and rehabilitate the environment and revitalize communities in need of change and opportunity. Land Betterment accomplishes this by identifying un-reclaimed, run-down and neglected coal mining sites, fixing the environment through reclamation and remediation, and then repurposing the land to support a sustainable business that serves the community. Land Betterment firmly believes that with real solutions it is possible for restoration of impacted areas to live side-by-side long term employment, while building sustainable and safe surroundings for communities and our planet. For more information visit landbetterment.com or connect with the Company on LinkedIn Twitter and Facebook.

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. For more information visit americanresourcescorp.com or connect with the Company on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

About American Rare Earth LLC
American Rare Earth 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. American Rare Earth 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 arareearthcorp.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 Land Betterment 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.

Company Contacts:

Mark LaVerghetta
317.537.0492 ext. 0
Chief Governance Officer, Corporate Finance
info@landbetterment.com

Stephanie Conzelman
207.205.0790
Stakeholder Engagement Director
info@landbetterment.com

PR Contact:
Precision Public Relations
Matt Sheldon
917-280-7329
matt@precisionpr.co

Investor Contact:
JTC Team, LLC
Jenene Thomas
833-475-8247
arec@jtcir.com

RedChip Companies Inc.
Todd McKnight
1-800-RED-CHIP (733-2447)
Info@redchip.com

Source: Land Betterment Corporation