American Resources Corporation

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for joining this American Resources Corporation first quarter 2022 conference call. As a reminder, all phone participants are in a listen-only mode, but later you will have the opportunity to ask questions. Also, please be aware today's session is being recorded. And now to get us started with opening remarks and introductions, I am pleased to turn the floor over to VP of Corporate Finance and Communications, Mr. Mark LaVarghetta. Welcome, sir.

Thank you, Jim. Good afternoon, everyone. On behalf of American Resources Corporation, I'd like to welcome everyone to our first quarter of 2022 conference call and business update. We welcome this opportunity to not only provide an update and discuss our accomplishments since our last update, which was only just about six weeks ago, but also on how we've positioned ourselves and where we have our sights set as we embark on this exciting time. Also on the call with me today is Mark Jensen, American Resources Chairman and CEO, Kirk Taylor, our Chief Financial Officer, and Tom Salve, our President. Before we kick it off, I'd like to remind everyone of our normal cautionary statement. Certain statements discussed on today's call constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Security Litigation Reform Act. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which would cause the actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statement. When considering forward-looking statements, you should keep in mind the risk factors, uncertainties, and other cautionary statements which are laid out in our press releases and SEC filings. We also do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Lastly, we will be holding a question and answer session today following our prepared remarks. And for anyone waiting to ask a question, you'll need to dial in by phone to get in the queue. Because we recently held our last update call just about six weeks ago, we'll try to streamline today's call the best that we can and then get to the question and answers. We're going to begin today's call with a few comments from Kirk Taylor, our Chief Financial Officer. Kirk?

Thank you, Mark. And thank you, everyone, for joining us. Again, we all appreciate everyone's time and interest in American Resources Corporation. The first quarter of 2022 has signified the beginning of our production ramp during one of the most strong carbon and infrastructure markets you've ever experienced. For the quarter, our total revenues of $9.8 million is just over 100% sequential increase from our fourth quarter 2021 revenues of $4.53 million. and are not really comparable to revenues during the closures of 2020 and 2021. We marked the beginning of an inflection point for our company. Given the supply disruptions, labor shortages, and supply constraints, our team has forged forward in monetizing the investments we have made over the past year and a half. On our last call, we communicated that the majority of our Q1 revenue was generated during the March month when we provided the range of $5.5 million to $6 million of revenue for the month of March. While mining is not completely linear, today we are seeing our carbon operations produced more consistently in a market where our current realized pricing is very strong. Also, for the first quarter of 2022, we were able to generate adjusted EBITDA of $5.8 million compared to a positive $1.3 million adjusted EBITDA in the fourth quarter of 2021 and an adjusted EBITDA loss of $2.8 million in the prior year period. Again, this signifies the beginning of a significant inflection point for our company and our operations. Based on our broader and more consistent production level and a strong pricing environment, as well as a strong team execution, we believe this is a foundation point for future growth in 2022. Our unique platform of assets is in a great position to deliver what we believe is attractive returns of value to all of our shareholders. This includes our mining assets, which we are currently operating, as well as dozens of idle permits within our portfolio, including the permits for our Dean complex, which we had idled in 2019, but we have recently leased to a new operator, which will enable us to further leverage the strong carbon market without expending our own capital. This also includes our ancillary value-creating assets, such as our sponsored SPAC, American Acquisition Opportunity, as well as our ownership in Novastera. I would ask you both to look at those companies' public documents for future updates. Over the past year, we've been able to eliminate $15.6 million of debt in payables. as well as investing over $23 million in expense development costs to position both our American Carbon and American Railroad platforms for strong growth in high-demand markets, both the current infrastructure as well as electrification economies, where we are currently and expecting to maintain a certain degree of pricing power in both markets. Our debt balance currently sits at approximately $13.1 million in total dollars, of which $2.6 million is equipment financing $8.9 million is in the form of convertible notes with our long-term partners, as well as $1.6 million remaining on our outstanding PPP loan. At the end of the quarter, our shares outstanding currently sit at 66.2 million Class A common shares. Again, at the end of the quarter, our cash on hand is approximately $5.2 million, allowing us to fully execute on our business plan. I can now turn the call over to Mark Labrador for some comments on our American Rare Earths Division. Mark?