** Shares of coal miner Core Natural Resources CNR.N rise 2% to $80.80 premarket

** Co says its unit CONSOL Innovations LLC is selected for a multi-million-dollar grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Critical Minerals and Energy Innovation to advance critical mineral recovery

** Co plans to use the funding to develop a pilot-scale facility that extracts rare earth elements and other critical materials from coal waste tailings

** The project targets materials sourced from Core's Pennsylvania Mining Complex and focuses on byproduct recovery within existing industrial operations

** Co says the grant remains contingent on successful completion of negotiations with the DOE, and the final award amount is yet to be determined

** As of last close, CNR was down 10.4% YTD