** Shares of rare earth and critical battery elements refining firm American Resources AREC.O rise 6.1% to 67 cents premarket
** South African investment firm Novare Holdings agrees to be anchor investor in co's subsidiary ReElement Technologies' private capital raise
** Novare commits to unlock ~$150 mln in combined equity and debt financing to expand ReElement's refining operations at its 42-acre Marion, Indiana site
** As of last close, AREC down 36.8% YTD
(Reporting by Sumit Saha in Bengaluru)
((Sumit.Saha@thomsonreuters.com;))