Comstock Metals Recycling Subsidiary Sells Facility for $27 Million

March 7, 2023

3 Min Read
Comstock Metals Recycling Subsidiary Sells Facility for $27 Million
Though lithium-ion batteries were developed in the 1970s, it wasn’t until Sony and Asahi Kasie released the first lithium-ion battery in 1991 that long-lasting portable device batteries -- like this one for a laptop computer -- became a reality. With the

VIRGINIA CITY, Nev.-- Comstock Inc. (NYSE: LODE) (“Comstock” and the “Company”) today announced agreements by LINICO Corporation, Comstock’s 88% owned subsidiary (“LiNiCo”), to sell LiNiCo’s facility at 2500 Peru Drive, McCarran, Nevada, for a gross price of $27 million. The facility was being leased pursuant to an agreement that permitted LiNiCo to purchase the facility for a purchase price of $15.25 million, of which $3.25 million was previously paid. Comstock expects to receive net proceeds of approximately $12.5 million from the sale of the LiNiCo facility, plus any remaining proceeds from a $1.5 million hold-back deposited in escrow, for up to 18 months, to cover the cost of any potential environmental remediation items subsequently identified by the buyer.

“The sale of this asset was both opportunistic and strategic since we secured our permitted 200-acre battery metal storage facility in Mound House, Nevada, and recently freed up our existing Storey County operating platform and facilities with the termination of the lease with Tonogold,” stated Mr. Corrado De Gasperis, Comstock’s executive chairman and chief executive officer. “These locations are ideal for storing, piloting, and recycling electronic devices and batteries for clients throughout the electrification supply chain. We are frankly thrilled to turn a $12 million cash obligation into a $12.5 million net cash inflow, resulting in an immediate and nearly $25 million value swing for Comstock shareholders.”

LiNiCo’s lithium-ion battery (“LIB”) storage facility in Mound House resides in one of the largest industrial parks in Lyon County, Nevada, with ample power, water, and immediate highway access. The facility will receive, sort, and store waste LIBs with capacity for expansion and possible crushing, conditioning, and separating operations. Comstock’s Storey County properties additionally boast a fully permitted mining and metal beneficiation platform that will be ideal for piloting LiNiCo’s crushing, conditioning, and separating infrastructure, and for piloting precursor cathode active material (“PCAM”) recycling and production technology licensed from LiNiCo’s strategic investee and technology partner, Green Li-Ion Pte Ltd.

“The receipt and storage of LIBs represent an essential component of our regional supply chain for recycling these critical metals,” stated Mr. De Gasperis. “We have vast experience operating in both Storey and Lyon County, and their permitting support has been paramount as we continue building a premier, unique, Nevada-based platform necessary for receiving, storing and recycling waste LIBs and electronic devices into the highest quality black mass and high-value electrification products.”

De Gasperis concluded, “Our technologies are designed to meet the practical realities of the existing and rapidly growing LIB recycling demand by enabling profitability at the earliest stages of production. With the highly profitable facility sale behind us, we can now focus on scaling our technologies and pilot operations efficiently, within our existing Nevada infrastructure.”

About Comstock Inc.

Comstock (NYSE: LODE) innovates technologies that contribute to global decarbonization and circularity by efficiently converting 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 complementary process solutions and related services, and by licensing selected technologies to qualified strategic partners. To learn more, please visit www.comstock.inc.

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