VIRGINIA CITY, Nev., Nov. 20, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Comstock Mining Inc. (“Comstock”) (NYSE American: LODE) and Mercury Clean Up (“MCU”) today announced that Comstock recently received approval for an Engineering Design Change (“EDC”) from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (“NDEP”) approving the Mercury Remediation Pilot Test Plant located within Comstock’s existing leach pad.
Comstock Processing LLC and Mercury Clean Up LLCDuring 2019, Comstock Processing LLC, Comstock’s wholly-owned subsidiary that owns all of the property, plant, equipment and permits at 1200 American Flat Rd., near Virginia City, NV, entered into a definitive agreement with Mercury Clean Up LLC (“MCU”), in collaboration with Oro Industries Inc. (“Oro”), for the manufacture and global deployment of mercury remediation systems with proprietary mechanical, hydro, electro-chemical and oxidation processes to reclaim, treat and remediate mercury, and the entrapped precious metals, from soils, waste and tailings. Comstock recently received approval for the EDC from NDEP approving the Mercury Remediation Pilot Test Plant that will be located within Comstock’s existing heap leach pad under Comstock’s existing Water Pollution Control Permit (NV-2000109). The mercury treatment and recovery test location will be at the north end of Comstock’s existing double lined Heap Leach Pad and the treatment plant will be a zero-discharge, closed-loop system. This NDEP and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) based approvals for sampling, analysis, and management of historically-contaminated soils on Comstock properties enables MCU to commence sampling and testing materials over the next two weeks, with the objective of identifying the best target areas for mercury remediation. Comstock provides the platform for testing and MCU conducts the sampling and trials that prove efficacy, scalability and feasibility.Sampling will begin with using a portable, gasoline-powered auger drill mounted on a hand-truck dolly that extracts samples from 4-6 inch diameter holes from the material in a grid fashion and the samples will be analyzed for mercury and precious metals. The sampling auger drill is scheduled for delivery onto Comstock’s site this week and MCU will begin obtaining samples of possible mercury-contaminated soils, historic mine and mill materials, historic tailings, and mine waste samples using previously approved protocols for the Comstock’s Carson River Mercury Superfund Site (CRMSS). The Company will operate under NDEP’s and the EPA protocols, guidance and goals for sampling, characterizing, transporting and managing mercury within the CRMSS. The CRMSS Material Management Plan was previously approved by NDEP’s Bureau of Corrective Action (“BCA”). Larger scale excavation of materials will start within a few months and the materials will be stockpiled near the Pilot Test Plant. The Pilot Test Plant will start operating small batches, likely in January, 2020. All material and process water from the MCU test plant will remain on the heap leach pad. All mercury recovered during testing will be collected into EPA, United Nations, Department of Transportation approved liquid mercury flasks or containers, and remain on the existing heap leach pad until shipped offsite to an appropriate mercury storage or management facility.Mr. Corrado De Gasperis, Executive Chairman and CEO stated, “Our focus on realigning and transforming the Company is accelerating. Our team has secured permits and we are mobilizing our drilling and sampling equipment to commence drilling and sampling. The platform is in place for developing a world-class, state of the art global mercury remediation system in 2020.”About 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.Forward-Looking StatementsThis 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, acquisitions, investments and asset sales; future performance of and closings under various agreements; future changes in our exploration activities; future prices and sales of, and demand for, our products; future impacts of land entitlements and uses; future permitting activities and needs therefor; future production capacity and operations; future operating and overhead costs; future capital expenditures and their impact on us; future impacts of operational and management changes (including changes in the board of directors); future changes in business strategies, planning and tactics and impacts of recent or future changes; 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; the nature and timing of and accounting for restructuring charges and derivative liabilities and the impact thereof; contingencies; future environmental compliance and changes in the regulatory environment; future offerings of equity or debt securities; the possible redemption of debentures and associated costs; future working capital, costs, revenues, business opportunities, debt levels, cash flows, margins, 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 our filings with the SEC and the following: adverse effects of climate changes or natural disasters; global economic and capital market uncertainties; the speculative nature of gold or mineral exploration, including risks of diminishing quantities or grades of qualified resources; operational or technical difficulties in connection with exploration or mining activities; contests over title to properties; potential dilution to our stockholders from our stock issuances and 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 businesses; permitting constraints or delays; decisions regarding business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, us or others; the impact of, or the non-performance by parties under agreements relating to, acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, business combinations, asset sales, and investments to which we may be party; changes in the United States or other monetary or fiscal policies or regulations; interruptions in production capabilities due to capital constraints; equipment failures; fluctuation of prices for gold or certain other commodities (such as silver, zinc, cyanide, water, diesel fuel and electricity); changes in generally accepted accounting principles; adverse effects of terrorism and geopolitical events; potential inability to implement 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 or others; assertion of claims, lawsuits and proceedings; 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 SEC; potential inability to list our securities on any securities exchange or market; inability to 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 calls or discussions 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.
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