Comstock Releases Shareholder Letter; Embarks on Transformational Green Shift with Climate Smart Mining and Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) Projects

VIRGINIA CITY, Nev., April 13, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comstock Mining Inc. (NYSE: LODE) (“Comstock” and the “Company”) today announced that its executive chairman and chief executive officer issued the following letter to Comstock’s shareholders in advance of the Annual General Shareholders Meeting.

Dear Shareholders:

On behalf of our Board of Directors, employees and partners, we would like to thank all of you for participating in a pivotal, exciting and successful year. We have repositioned our assets by acquiring new technologies, launching new businesses, liquidating non-core and non-performing assets, and eliminating our debt. We have now positioned our existing platform for extraordinary growth and high-impact value creation with clean innovations, climate smart mining, and ESG driven projects.

This transformational “green shift” began years ago and gained traction with our global mercury remediation and lithium-ion battery recycling projects. Those efforts recently culminated in the commissioning of our first commercial Mercury Clean-Up LLC (“MCU”) project in the Philippines, and the acquisition of a controlling stake in LiNiCo Corporation (“LiNiCo”), and its 20,000 ton per year lithium-ion battery recycling and 10,000 ton per year of 99.9% pure cathode production in the Tahoe Reno Industrial (“TRI”) Center located in Storey County, NV.

Each MCU system has the potential to produce more than $12 million in pre-tax operating income per year (depending on site conditions, mineral content and spot price). The LiNiCo facility, at just 33% of its capacity and 60% of applicable commodity prices, has the potential to generate more than $100 million in sales with estimated pre-tax operating income margins exceeding 30%. We’re also actively exploring expansions and acquisitions that support and accelerate LiNiCo’s growth with a hub-and-spoke model.

Comstock has historically focused on the extraction of precious and strategic metals, where the words “precious” and “strategic” were conventionally defined by magnitude of impact and relative scarcity. We now believe that the global clean energy transition, escalating population growth, and accelerating natural resource scarcity is converging into a “perfect storm” of global demand for a broader array of strategic materials, beyond metals, including anything involving carbon, energy, and water – without the corresponding global capacity to sustainably or reliably meet escalating demand. Our strategic focus is consequently expanding to include the extraction and valorization of a portfolio of critical and inevitably scarce materials, with an initial preference for high cash throughput generators that complement our existing competencies and operations. We are evaluating several potential transactions and investment opportunities, the first of which we hope to close this during this quarter.

Our employee incentive compensation is 100% linked to specific performance objectives designed to deliver $500 million in shareholder value and more than $12.00 per share by 2023. Our team is focused on achieving and exceeding those targets because the “perfect storm” of current demand isn’t the only thing on our horizon. A renaissance of green innovation is upon us and the pace is increasing worldwide.

We will be a leader in those efforts, with a focus on the systemic development and commercialization of new technologies and robust new lines-of-businesses, such as MCU and LiNiCo, among others, that have the potential to sustainably contribute to humanity’s rapidly-escalating demand for increasingly scarce natural resources, including the strategic metals and other resources needed to fuel the world-wide quantum surge in, and transition to, clean energy, carbon-neutrality, and natural products.

We are systematically strengthening our organization and positioning for continuous throughput growth. We will scale our MCU footprint, enhancing efficacy and targeting new deployments in qualified geographies. We will build our LiNiCo recycling and battery production business. We will acquire and build accretive technologies, projects, and businesses. We will measure the wealth we create comprehensively, with throughput as our primary financial measure, and by measuring and reporting the positive natural and social impacts of all of our activities. By sustainably delivering more than $500 million in shareholder value, we will have built an innovative, continuously growing, throughput-generating, ESG-based enterprise with diverse lines of businesses that rise above the scarcity challenges.

We are at the dawn of a new era. This tragic pandemic is nearing its end and it taught us how closely we are all connected. Not just to each other and the natural world that sustains us, but to the financial, natural, and social systems that have the power to save us. We will contribute to that end by positively impacting the existing systems, and building and integrating new systems and shareholder value along the way.

We look forward to our next communication and seeing those of you that can attend this year’s AGM, where we plan on showcasing our existing lines of businesses, employees and partners, including the results of our planned near-term transactions. Thank you always for your continued interest and support.

Kindest regards,

Corrado De Gasperis

Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Comstock Mining Inc.

About Comstock Mining Inc.

Comstock Mining Inc. (NYSE: LODE) (the “Company”) is an emerging leader in the sustainable extraction, valorization, and production of innovation-based, clean, renewable natural resources, with a focus on high-value, cash-generating, strategic materials that are essential to meeting the rapidly increasing global demand for clean energy, carbon-neutrality, and natural products. To learn more, please visit .

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: consummation of all pending transactions; project, asset or Company valuations; 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 estimated mineral resources; 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; asset sales 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: counterparty risks; capital markets’ valuation and pricing risks; 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, leases, options 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.