Comstock Mining Inc. (NYSE: LODE) (“Comstock” and the “Company”)
today announced its 2021 results, summary of transactions completed
in 2021, and our new business outlook.
Selected Strategic
Highlights
- Approved a new
strategy with a mission of enabling systemic decarbonization and a
vision of a net zero carbon world.
- Acquired
Comstock Innovations, formerly Plain Sight Innovations, with a
portfolio of intellectual property that contributes to global
decarbonization by efficiently converting massive supplies of
unused and under-utilized woody-biomass resources into cellulosic
ethanol, renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel, and other
drop-in fuels.
- Acquired LINICO
Corporation and a developing portfolio of technologies that
contribute to global decarbonization by efficiently converting a
diverse array of lithium-ion batteries (“LIBs”) into
electrification products, including lithium, graphite, nickel,
cobalt, copper, and cathode active materials (“CAMs”).
- Acquired
Comstock Engineering, formerly Renewable Process Solutions, whose
principals built twenty six biofuel refineries in the last fifteen
years and managed multiple industrial-scale projects from
construction to commissioning.
- Established and
integrated new leadership, including Kevin Kreisler, President and
Chief Financial Officer, William McCarthy, Chief Operating Officer,
David Winsness, Chief Technology Officer, and Rahul Bobbili, Chief
Engineer.
- Advanced
Cellulosic Technology. Our cellulosic technologies can convert
woody biomass into renewable fuels at extraordinary yields,
including cellulosic ethanol and Bioleum™ – a remarkable new form
of carbon neutral crude oil capable of replacing fossil crude for
use in producing renewable diesel, aviation, and other drop-in
fuels.
- Advanced
Electrification Technology. Our electrification technologies crush,
separate, and condition every class of lithium-ion battery (“LIB”)
feedstock together with their host devices and other
electrification residues for unrivaled throughput and flexibility,
and then – in contrast to any known competing process, immediately
extract lithium to produce unique “black mass” metal powders that
are cleaner and far more concentrated than competing products.
- Advanced
Monetizing Non-Strategic Assets. Our announced transactions for
certain mineral and other properties now total over $25 million,
including expected 2022 proceeds from Tonogold, Sierra Springs and
others.
Selected Financial Results
- Total assets
nearly tripled to $126,954,632 during 2021, as compared to
$43,123,562, at December 31, 2020. Net equity also nearly tripled
to $92,970,522 during 2021, as compared to $31,779,206 at December
31, 2020.
- Operating loss
of $6,405,921 as compared to an operating loss of $5,474,261 for
2020, primarily resulting from increased administrative expense
from acquisitions, increased personnel, and higher research and
development costs.
- Full year 2021
net loss of $24,583,620 and $(0.49) per share, as compared to full
year 2020 net income of $14,931,970 and $0.49 per share. The
results in each year were driven by non-routine transactions,
including goodwill impairments, changes in fair values of
derivatives, and gains on sales of non-strategic assets.
- Debt was
$4,486,256 million on December 31, 2021, representing unsecured
promissory notes.
- Cash and
equivalents were $5,912,188 on December 31, 2021.
- Outstanding
common shares were 67,707,832 at March 28, 2022, and 71,207,832 at
December 31, 2021.
“Our operating results reflect our investments
in technology, people, and the increased research and development
focus during the year, as we integrated the transactions necessary
to build the foundation for growth,” said Corrado De Gasperis,
Comstock’s executive chairman and chief executive officer. “Our
investments during the year are already yielding breakthrough
advancements in technology, and our team is making remarkable
progress.”
Enabling Systemic Decarbonization –
Cellulosic Fuels
The Company previously announced its plans to
build, own, and operate a fleet of advanced carbon neutral
extraction and refining facilities, with the goal of generating
over $16 billion in revenue on an annualized basis by 2030. The
Company has now formed a renewable fuels subsidiary, Comstock
Fuels, that will efficiently convert wasted, unused, widely
available, and rapidly replenishable woody biomass into
advanced cellulosic fuels, unlocking vast quantities of
historically underutilized feedstocks. These fuels work in existing
infrastructure, depots, fueling stations, vehicles, and anything
that burns fossil fuels. Just one of our biorefineries can produce
over 100 million gallons of biofuel per year, including over 70
million gallons of cellulosic ethanol and 30 million gallons of
renewable diesel from just 1 million metric tons of woody biomass
per year.
“The scale of the financial and environmental
impact that we can enable with our technologies is staggering,”
continued De Gasperis. “There isn’t a technology on Earth that can
absorb carbon from the atmosphere as quickly as trees, or that can
offset as much fossil emissions from the 1.5 billion cars and
trucks on today’s roads faster than by burning renewable fuels
instead of fossil fuels. In this context, we have struck massive
untapped supplies of carbon neutral oil that are hidden in plain
sight.”
Enabling Systemic Decarbonization –
Electrification Products
Electrification and continued advancements in
energy storage are vitally necessary to reduce reliance on fossil
fuels while shifting to and increasing use of renewable fuels.
LiNiCo holds the rights to a portfolio of innovative processes that
efficiently crush and separate LIBs, extract lithium, nickel,
cobalt, and graphite, and reuse the recovered metals to produce 99%
pure CAMs. These technologies give LiNiCo and its existing 137,000
square foot battery metal recycling facility differentiating
competitive advantages, including the ability to process upwards of
100,000 tons of LIBs per year into an array of new products.
According to International Energy
Agency (“IEA”), there were more than 10 million electric
vehicles (“EVs”) on the road in 2020, with new EV registrations
increasing by 41% over 2019 and another 140% during the first
quarter of 2021. Meeting the increased EV demand is estimated to
require about five times more lithium carbonate
equivalent (“LCE”) than the entire lithium mining industry produces
today. The world is clearly focused on further accelerating
electrification to reduce reliance on fossil fuels, creating and
driving this extraordinary demand for lithium, as well as nickel,
cobalt, and other critical electrification resources. The push to
electrify is so urgent that the Biden Administration recently
invoked the Defense Production Act to develop increased lithium
production capabilities in the United States.
“Our technologies are meeting the realities of
this demand shortfall by extracting lithium first, immediately and
efficiently, thereby enabling profitability at the earliest stages
of production. The combination of that capability with the breadth
of our feedstock acceptance capabilities positions our LIB
recycling business to contribute billions to our enterprise value
just based on the existing valuations of comparable public
companies,” continued De Gasperis.
The Company is currently building commercial
pilot scale facilities for LIBs and is preparing to commence
operations at its state-of-the-art battery metal recycling facility
later this year. The Company has already made significant strides
in forging new cellulosic revenue and licensing streams, and is
currently finalizing definitive agreements and timeframes, which
will be shared soon. The Company has also made meaningful progress
towards completing the monetization of its non-strategic assets as
quickly as possible, while funding its businesses and limiting
management’s focus to the renewable objectives outlined above.
De Gasperis concluded: “We look forward to our
next communication and seeing those of you who can attend this
year’s Annual General Meeting on May 26, 2022, where we plan on
presenting our business plans and near-term revenues. We are
extraordinarily focused on the renewable energy businesses that
most impact our stakeholders in 2022 and beyond.”
About Comstock Mining Inc.
Comstock Mining Inc. (NYSE: LODE) innovates technologies that
contribute to global decarbonization and circularity by efficiently
converting massive supplies of under-utilized natural resources
into renewable fuels and electrification products that contribute
to balancing global uses and emissions of carbon. The Company
intends to achieve exponential growth and extraordinary financial,
natural, and social gains by building, owning, and operating a
fleet of advanced carbon neutral extraction and refining
facilities, by selling an array of complimentary process solutions
and related services, and by licensing selected technologies to
qualified strategic partners. To learn more, please visit
www.comstock.inc.
Forward-Looking Statements This
press release and any related calls or discussions may include
forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other
than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking
statements. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,”
“estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “should,” “intend,” “may,” “will,”
“would,” “potential” and similar expressions identify
forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of doing
so. Forward-looking statements include statements about matters
such as: future industry market conditions; future explorations or
acquisitions; future changes in our exploration activities; future
changes in our research and development; future prices and sales
of, and demand for, our products and services; land entitlements
and uses; permits; production capacity and operations; operating
and overhead costs; future capital expenditures and their impact on
us; operational and management changes (including changes in the
Board of Directors); changes in business strategies, planning and
tactics; future employment and contributions of personnel,
including consultants; future land sales; investments,
acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, business
combinations, operational, tax, financial and restructuring
initiatives, including the nature, timing and accounting for
restructuring charges, derivative assets and liabilities and the
impact thereof; contingencies; litigation, administrative or
arbitration proceedings; environmental compliance and changes in
the regulatory environment; offerings, limitations on sales or
offering of equity or debt securities, including asset sales and
associated costs; and future working capital, costs, revenues,
business opportunities, debt levels, cash flows, margins, taxes,
earnings and growth. These statements are based on assumptions and
assessments made by our management in light of their experience and
their perception of historical and current trends, current
conditions, possible future developments and other factors they
believe to be appropriate. Forward-looking statements are not
guarantees, representations or warranties and are subject to risks
and uncertainties, many of which are unforeseeable and beyond our
control and could cause actual results, developments and business
decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by such
forward-looking statements. Some of those risks and uncertainties
include the risk factors set forth in reports that we file with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including Item 1A, “Risk
Factors” in our most recently-filed Annual Report on Form 10-K
and/or Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, and the following: adverse
effects of climate changes or natural disasters; adverse effects of
global or regional pandemic disease spread or other crises; global
economic and capital market uncertainties; the speculative nature
of gold or mineral exploration, mercury remediation and lithium,
nickel and cobalt recycling, including risks of diminishing
quantities or grades of qualified resources; operational or
technical difficulties in connection with exploration or mercury
remediation, metal recycling, processing or mining activities;
costs, hazards and uncertainties associated with precious metal
based activities, including environmentally friendly and
economically enhancing clean mining and processing technologies,
precious metal exploration, resource development, economic
feasibility assessment and cash generating mineral production;
costs, hazards and uncertainties associated with mercury
remediation, metal recycling, processing or mining activities;
contests over our title to properties; potential dilution to our
stockholders from our stock issuances, recapitalization and balance
sheet restructuring activities; potential inability to comply with
applicable government regulations or law; adoption of or changes in
legislation or regulations adversely affecting our businesses;
permitting constraints or delays; ability to achieve the benefits
of business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by,
us, including those involving battery technology, mercury
remediation technology and efficacy, quantum computing and advanced
materials development, and development of cellulosic technology in
bio-fuels and related carbon-based material production; ability to
successfully identify, finance, complete and integrate
acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, business
combinations, asset sales, and investments that we may be party to
in the future; changes in the United States or other monetary or
fiscal policies or regulations; interruptions in our production
capabilities due to capital constraints; equipment failures;
fluctuation of prices for gold or certain other commodities (such
as silver, zinc, lithium, nickel, cobalt, cyanide, water, diesel,
gasoline and alternative fuels and electricity); changes in
generally accepted accounting principles; adverse effects of war,
mass shooting, terrorism and geopolitical events; potential
inability to implement our business strategies; potential inability
to grow revenues; potential inability to attract and retain key
personnel; interruptions in delivery of critical supplies,
equipment and raw materials due to credit or other limitations
imposed by vendors; assertion of claims, lawsuits and proceedings
against us; potential inability to satisfy debt and lease
obligations; potential inability to maintain an effective system of
internal controls over financial reporting; potential inability or
failure to timely file periodic reports with the Securities and
Exchange Commission; potential inability to list our securities on
any securities exchange or market or maintain the listing of our
securities; and work stoppages or other labor difficulties.
Occurrence of such events or circumstances could have a material
adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of
operations or cash flows, or the market price of our securities.
All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements by or
attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly
qualified in their entirety by these factors. Except as may be
required by securities or other law, we undertake no obligation to
publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether
as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Neither this press release nor any related call
or discussion constitutes an offer to sell, the solicitation of an
offer to buy or a recommendation with respect to any securities of
the Company, the fund or any other issuer.
Contact
information: |
|
|
Comstock Mining Inc.P.O. Box
1118 Virginia City, NV 89440www.comstock.inc |
Corrado De GasperisExecutive
Chairman & CEOTel (775)
847-4755degasperis@comstockmining.com |
Zach SpencerDirector of
External RelationsTel (775) 847-5272
Ext.151questions@comstockmining.com |
Comstock (AMEX:LODE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
Comstock (AMEX:LODE)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024