LODE - Comstock Announces Third Quarter 2023 Results and Corporate Updates | Benzinga
VIRGINIA CITY, Nev., Oct. 26, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comstock Inc. (NYSE:LODE) ("Comstock" and the "Company") today announced its recent operational highlights, third quarter 2023 results, and updated outlook.
"Substantially all of our activities are focused on commercialization, with recent achievements demonstrating our substantial progress including asset sales, permits, license agreements, patent filings, etc., as well as the completion of all milestones required for the scale-up of our proprietary lignocellulosic biomass refining process," said Corrado De Gasperis, Comstock's executive chairman and chief executive officer.
Strategic Investments
The Company's strategic investments provided non-dilutive cash and profitable gains during the third quarter, as we:
- Sold a battery facility for $28.9 million and recognized a gain of $7.3 million;
- Sold 1,500 Green Li-ion preferred shares for $0.8 million, triggering a realized gain of $0.6 million;
- Recognized additional unrealized gains on the remaining Green Li-ion preferred shares of $14.6 million; and
- Advanced discussion for additional monetization of our investments in Silver Springs and Green Li-ion.
"We completed a number of strategic investment transactions that resulted in meaningful financial gains, including non-dilutive cash inflows, significant accounting gains, and recognition of materially increased asset values. This resulted in a positive net income reflected in our quarterly and year-to-date results," said Mr. De Gasperis. "There has also been a tremendous increase in Silver Springs activity, with many recently-announced, high-profile approvals and transactions in the immediate vicinity of our assets. This established higher comparable values and an increased expectation of higher sale prices for these properties."
Comstock's strategic investment in generative physics-based artificial intelligence through Quantum Generative Materials LLC ("GenMat") is a crucial component of Comstock's technology innovation strategy. GenMat focuses on developing and using its proprietary generative physics-based artificial intelligence ("ZENO") to accelerate the development of materials and the discovery of minerals, with the following achievements during the nine months ended September 30, 2023:
- Received full regulatory approvals and approved the launch of GenMat-1, GenMat's space-based satellite and advanced hyperspectral imaging sensor for mineral discovery applications;
- Advanced material simulation capability to TRL 7 by synthesizing and directly testing ZENO's ability to predict material properties and confirmed the precision and accuracy of those new material simulations;
- Successfully tested its generative physics AI models to create unique nano particle structures which inform downstream synthesis, demonstrating an accelerated capability for materials discovery; and,
- Progressed discussions with potential early adopter enterprise clients for advanced materials simulation and synthesis.
"GenMat is a crucial component of our technology innovation strategy," stated Mr. De Gasperis. "Its ability to simulate and engineer new material solutions, including batteries and semi-conductors, can be employed today for commercial use, while we continue collaborating toward artificial general physics intelligence for more efficient and effective mineral discovery."
Comstock Fuels
The Company completed all validation milestones for its proprietary lignocellulosic biomass refining process, including:
- Biomass conversion yields exceeding 100 gallons per dry tonne on a gasoline gallon equivalent basis ("GGE");
- Confirmed market-leading, extremely low carbon intensity ("CI") scores of 15;
- Executed an exclusive license with RenFuel K2B AB ("RenFuel") to use its patented catalytic esterification process to refine Comstock's proprietary Bioleum™ biointermediates in North America, Central America, and South America;
- Completed our techno-economic analysis for deploying Bioleum™ hub solutions across the Americas; and,
- Advanced discussions with operationally experienced, technologically-sophisticated and well-capitalized customers.
"These achievements significantly raise the bar for the CI-enhanced value of our cellulosic fuel yields while providing meaningful diversification and availability of feedstocks for producers today," stated Mr. De Gasperis. "Our unprecedented low CI and high yields continue to receive confirmation as a major competitive differentiator in our ongoing sales discussions."
Comstock Metals
- Finalized technology readiness for photovoltaic material recycling and ordered all equipment;
- Leased and prepared facility for equipment arrival;
- Received required county operating permit;
- Submitted State operating and air quality permits, with issuance of both expected this year; and,
- Engaged multiple sources of photovoltaic materials toward securing revenue and supply agreements.
We have taken a leadership position in this huge, readily available, and rapidly growing photovoltaic market," stated Mr. De Gasperis. "We have submitted all permits for our manufacturing facility in Silver Springs, NV, and expect permit issuance and deployment of all equipment before the end of 2023, with solar panel recycling operations commencing in early 2024."
Comstock Mining
- Developing next-generation geostatistical digital model of Comstock's most strategic development areas, with plans for an expanded dataset from the launch of space-based hyperspectral imager November 2023;
- Enhanced exploration targets for an excess of 2 million gold equivalent ounces targeted for development; ...