Comstock Mining Announces Positive Net Income for Second Quarter; Readies Transport of Mercury Remediation Systems to the Comstock Lode and the Philippines

VIRGINIA CITY, Nev., July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Comstock Mining Inc. (the “Company”) (NYSE American: LODE) announced selected strategic and financial updates (unaudited) for the second quarter and year to date:
Selected Strategic Highlights Investments in Mercury Clean Up LLC (“MCU”) increased to $1.75 million in cash and stock to date with the Comstock mercury remediation system completed (pictures below) and shipping this week;Committed to investing in MCU Philippines Inc. after MCU agreed to a definitive joint venture agreement with Clean Ore Solutions OPC, to partner in a landmark mercury remediation project in the Philippines;Committed up to $3 million in debt and equity investments, for 62.5% of the newly created MCU Philippines Inc., with the new mercury remediation system ready for shipment (pictures below); andConsummated the April acquisition of 25% of PELEN LLC, owner of the historic Sutro Tunnel Company.Selected Financial Highlights (Unaudited)Recorded a gain of $1.6 million on the increased value of our equity investment in Tonogold, now valued at over $10.4 million at June 30, 2020, as compared to $8.8 million at March 31, 2020;Recorded positive net income for the three months ended June 30, 2020, primarily driven by the gains resulting from the increased value of Tonogold assets owned by us;Received a $0.5 million early payment in June 2020, on obligations owed from Tonogold and reduced our Senior Debt principal down to $4.1 million in mid-July, down from $4.5 million at June 30, 2020;Raised $1.25 million for the initial mercury remediation growth investment in the Philippines; andCash and cash equivalents at June 30, 2020, were approximately $1.0 million.Mr. Corrado DeGasperis, Executive Chairman and CEO stated, “We are now growing our productive assets as we deploy our first two mercury remediation operating systems.  We look forward to landing the MCU – Comstock system within a week, to commence testing within the boundaries of the Carson River Mercury Superfund Site (“CRMSS”) and shipping the first international unit to the Philippines later this month for deployment in the Davao D’Oro Province, on the Naboc River.  A second mercury remediation system is scheduled for delivery later this year. Overall, our costs are down, our profit is up and we are investing in real, clean, precious-metal based growth.”
Comstock Mining’s Corporate GrowthOur realignment repositions the Company for clean, sustainable growth, and we are now growing.A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8c16d548-fffa-4688-84cc-5b944af659f0Comstock Processing LLC owns the American Flat processing facility and represents the main platform for commercializing environmentally friendly, and economically enhancing mining technologies, including mercury. Comstock Northern Exploration LLC owns or controls the remaining Storey County exploration targets, primarily east of and north of the Lucerne properties. Comstock Exploration & Development LLC owns or controls the Lyon County mining claims and exploration targets, including the Dayton and Spring Valley development targets. We are also reorganizing our growing portfolio of precious metal royalties into Comstock Royalty Holdings LLC.Mr.  DeGasperis continued, “The realignment allows a more systemic and focused, partnered approach, enabling transactions that increase value-creating opportunities and accelerate our growth. Since the realignment, we have expanded our partnership with Tonogold and MCU.  The MCU investments are accretive, with fast return of invested capital and faster, long-lived cash flows.  We are working closely with all our partners to grow value.”Comstock Mercury Remediation System and the American Flat Processing PlatformOur American Flat processing platform is fully permitted, and the infrastructure has been prepared for the delivery of the brand new MCU mercury remediation system. The system is scheduled to ship this week.  The Company is collaborating with U.S. and Nevada regulators and policy makers for maximum social and environmental impact.A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f01e62e2-f5fd-49cf-91d4-aeadba32743fThe Company and MCU have prepared the site for delivery of this impressive aggregation of state-of-the-art alluvial mining technologies, operating as one, fully-integrated mercury-remediation system. The system, which is mobile, stands almost twenty feet high and comes with a specialized, mobile, metallurgic laboratory and an integrated Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) system, one of the most effective, mobile wastewater reuse operations.
MCU’s State-of-the-Art Mercury Remediation System manufactured by Oro Industries ready for the PhilippinesA photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/18700134-7779-4d1d-9488-ae255d851b7eOro Industries has manufactured this second, state-of-the-art mercury remediation system for our newly created MCU Philippines Inc. (“MCU-P”) entity, in partnership with our partner Clean Ore Solutions (“COS”), who we have a Joint Venture with to establish Clean Mineral Recovery Technologies (“CMRT”) for remediation and rehabilitation of the mercury contaminated Naboc River on Mt. Diwata, in Davao D’Oro, Philippines. CMRT will work in direct collaboration with the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the provincial government of Davao D’Oro for the intensified rehabilitation of this mine-waste contaminated river.Our non-mining assets are now valued at over $25 million, net of debt. We have agreements to sell the Industrial and Commercial lands plus the senior water rights in Silver Springs, for over $10 million, and now expect those sales to close in Q3. These proceeds will extinguish approximately $5.2 million in debt obligations (including our $4.1 million Debenture). Our $6.1 investment in Tonogold Convertible Preferred Stock (CPS) is now valued at $10.4 million based on shares that we have already converted and Tonogold’s current share price.  We are also owed approximately $4.9 million from Tonogold through a 12%, cash interest paying debt instrument, with principal payments of $0.4 million still due this October 2020, and $4.475 million due September 2021. Mr. DeGasperis concluded, “We expect that our efforts to monetize the non-strategic assets and eliminate the remaining debt to be completed in the third quarter. We are accelerating the commercialization of the mercury remediation system, with our outstanding industry partners, and moving faster toward the intermediate $125 million valuation throughout the remainder of this year and position us to grow those businesses and valuations toward our $500+ million target over the next 2-3 years and beyond.  We look forward to an active and productive third quarter and for the remainder of this year as we re-establish mineral revenues later this year.”Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call Tuesday July 28, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time/11:00 a.m. Eastern Time.  The live call will include a moderated Q&A, after the prepared comments by the Company.  Please join the event 5-10 minutes prior to scheduled start time. When prompted, provide the confirmation code. The dial-in telephone numbers for the live audio are as follows:Toll Free: 800-367-2403
Direct: 1-334-777-6978
Confirmation Code: 6733226
The audio will be available, usually within 24 hours of the call, on the Company’s new website:
http://www.comstockmining.com/investors/investor-libraryAbout Comstock Mining Inc.
Comstock Mining Inc. is a Nevada-based, gold and silver mining company with extensive, contiguous property in the Comstock District and is an emerging leader in sustainable, responsible mining that is currently commercializing environment-enhancing, precious-metal-based technologies, products and processes for precious metal recovery. The Company began acquiring properties in the Comstock District in 2003. Since then, the Company has consolidated a significant portion of the Comstock District, amassed the single largest known repository of historical and current geological data on the Comstock region, secured permits, built an infrastructure and completed its first phase of production. The Company continues evaluating and acquiring properties inside and outside the district expanding its footprint and exploring all of our existing and prospective opportunities for further exploration, development and mining. The Company’s goal is to grow per-share value by commercializing environment-enhancing, precious-metal-based products and processes that generate predictable cash flow (throughput) and increase the long-term enterprise value of our northern Nevada based platform.