Q3 2021 Comstock Mining Inc Earnings Call
I'm actually very excited.
About this update there's been a tremendous amount of activity over the last six months for sure and I will provide a brief summary of the information that was included in our press release from this morning and from our quarterly report filed on Form 10-Q last night.
Of those updates will include our progress on recent breakthroughs in lithium ion battery recycling, and especially lithium extraction cellulosic extraction for producing Biofuels and also comment on the effective restart of our Mercury remediation remediation operations in the Philippines and also some promise.
<unk> developments coming online with total goal.
I'll try to be brief in my prepared remarks, and I'm really looking forward to the Q&A. If you don't have a copy of today's press release, you'll find a copy on our website at www Dot Comstock mining dot com.
Clicking on the press release tab on the menu bar.
Our Form 10-Q is also available via Edgar.
Www Dot SEC dot Gov.
Please let me remind you that we will be making forward looking statements on this call, including our prototype deployments.
Crushing and lithium extraction technology, and cellulose and carbon extraction technology and how this impacts our core revenues and values any statements relating to matters that are not historical facts may constitute forward. Looking statements are statements are based on current expectations and are subject to the same risks and uncertainties that could cause actual result.
To differ materially.
These risks and uncertainties are detailed in previous to the reports filed by the company with the SEC and in this morning's press release and all forward looking statements made during this call are subject to those same and other risks that we cannot identify.
Once we complete the prepared remarks, Zach will direct our questions zooming into us and I'll be happy to answer that if.
If you're not using zoom you can follow up with us after the call directly or via our website with any additional questions.
So we've honestly been very active this year in building, both an asset portfolio and an exceptional exceptional senior management team.
Thirdly, killing two birds with one stone our balance sheet has increased to $100 million and net assets tripling from last year end, and importantly, adding lithium extraction cellulosic carbon fuel extraction, and global engineering and manufacturing capabilities.
That places us in a leading position in each of our businesses, we've increased insider ownership as well it's over 20% fully aligning our team with all of our shareholders of course, it's not the size of the assets. It's what we can do with them. We spent the last six months accelerating our plans for lithium recycling and cellulosic fuels with.
Capabilities of each activity coming online and fully operational prototypes and the first and second quarters of 2022, we're going to talk more about that in a little bit.
I'm going to take a few minutes to give you insights on each of these businesses and their developments, including some remarkable revenue and profit opportunities that are coming faster in 2022, let me start with lithium ion battery metal recycling.
You already know that our engineering team led by Comstock Chief processing engineer designed and we are now deploying a crushing and separating technology that will ultimately represent a 100000 ton per annum state of the art battery metal recycling facility in the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center.
Right here in Nevada, right here in storey County, Nevada, where you may not know is that we believe we have the only system that can safely crush charged batteries, meaning we do not need to discharge the batteries prior to crushing and safely oxidize is out of those materials contaminants while.
Preserving the lithium and minerals and producing the highest purity black mass. This system is scheduled to be operational in Nevada in the second quarter of 2022. However, we have a full prototypes of the same system.
Arriving in Rps Sai labs in Wisconsin.
Next month.
This is a fully integrated 18 foot tall replica capable of crushing six tons per day and fully demonstrating this unique technology. We believe this will produce the highest purity drive black math in the world in just a few months for Odyssey and differentiating us in the market for what we can do much.
More importantly, we are integrating our supercritical intellectual property.
A process that will extract lithium lithium extraction system. If you will that will follow right on from this pressure and separating system.
That's B C.
Schedule to arrive in March again in Wisconsin.
That can extract substantially all of the lithium.
From the black mass at the front end of the process.
When a pause at this point, because we don't see anybody in the market.
Even attempting to do this.
This enables an extremely profitable business, even at low volumes and a highly profitable one at higher volumes as we can sell lithium carbonate later this man. This year just from this capability can exaggerate importance and the impact of this technology and how unique it is most of the process processes that we see in the market.
Today, most of the processes, we see being proposed to come online in the market Tomorrow.
Troy most if not all looking content from this recycling process for us it's a remarkable breakthrough.
Yeah.
We also believe we'll be able to extract graphite at the front end of this process. Another breakthrough in another immediate revenue stream that would further purify the concentrated black mass.
We haven't.
We're not as far along on the graphite extraction as we are with lithium extraction, but it's coming from a known process that we feel very confident we'll be able to put in place.
This exam will result in much more or much more concentrated black mass, which we may actually need something other than black mask, maybe brown mass or gold mass or something I don't know, but it's going to be extremely valuable we.
We've also physicians ourselves downstream from there with both Green line as everybody knows already and just recently entering into a collaboration agreement with Aqua metals using this highly pure mass for developing clean high quality metals downstream like cobalt and nickel that strengthens and expands our downstream product line <unk>.
<unk> and ultimately.
We'll include all of lithium carbonate graphite nickel cobalt manganese et cetera, and hopefully soon with Green line co precipitated cathode materials I do not see anybody better positioned technologically or operationally than we are and the battery metal recycling space. Lastly, we've also secured a nearly two.
208 storage site for our batteries in close proximity.
To the clinical facility that opens the door for us to finalize agreements and start receiving and storing.
With me my own battery materials in Nevada, we're already receiving lithium ion battery materials in Wisconsin on a smaller scale of course to operate in our prototype, but this was an important step in our plan and it's getting done.
There's still a lot of work to do and we're fully dedicated and we're getting it done.
Let me just close on lithium battery recycling by saying that we can showcase crushing and separating in Q1, we can showcase lithium extraction in Q2 and everyone's going to take notice and it's going to be very different for us. It's the most meaning for milestone for you all to track in terms of this business is progress.
Secondly, let me turn to Cellulosic fuels and I. Appreciate that this is a new discussion and that we just fully acquired clean site innovation less than two months ago, but we already have our first biofuel facility target and expected to scale up with an initial capacity exceeding.
330000 tons per year of forestry waste over its first years of operation as it extracts and refined carbon neutral woody biomass into ethanol biodiesel and marine fuel pulse I need to pause on this and explain that this business will be the biggest business in our portfolio is what.
I've personally been spending the last 90 days immersing myself in and it will be by far the largest business in our portfolio and in the most nearest term.
As big as when it goes potential is and it is cellulosic fuels and the associated byproducts that come from it are significantly bigger are carbon neutral biofuel designs are remarkably scalable we can make very small facilities, we could make 16 million gallon per year facilities, we can make.
100 million gallon per year of facilities.
The tech is proven.
However, we recently had a breakthrough in the speed of the extraction process literally tripling the speed of converting woody biomass and for cellulose and ethanol, we literally take deadwood like sawdust and chips and produce an entire suite of bio products incredibly for every gallon of ethanol that we can produce we can also produce.
Have a gallon of alternative biofuels coming from lignin lignin in the wood like biodiesel or marine fuels or biogas elite.
Meaning that a 16 million Allen facility would actually produced 24 million gallons.
Salable materials at 32 million gallons facility would produce 48 million gallon since available materials. This breakthrough in speed at which we can process is being extrapolated in engineered out through the entire representative footprint of our first facility, which is planned to be located in Minnesota. This.
Is the business, where the feedstock is abundant it's cheap and the Decarbonising impact is massive.
The market is seemingly unlimited, although we've defined the market together 16 billion gallons of cellulosic fuel per year.
We're in no one is providing a single gallon today.
Remarkably we've now actually been approached by two major counterparties to purchase from US engineering and construction services for deployment in the same cellulosic extraction technology for paper products pulp and paper products and also ethanol production, where it's already proven for <unk>.
Significant revenues and profits for Comstock.
More will be coming in this area of I guess, what I'll call clean technology based sales and services from our model, but it's come in.
Soon it's coming.
Early in 2022, and all of this was enabled by the acquisition of a plane side innovations in its intellectual property and the engineering and manufacturing capabilities.
Rps renewable process solutions.
The fact that we can engineer and manufacture this attack.
That.
We'll both be showcasing Wisconsin next quarter, let me make a clarification clarifying point on that.
I already mentioned that we're going to have.
Lithium crushing within battery crushing within various separating from lithium carbonate extraction.
Okay in Wisconsin.
I didn't mention that we're also going to be able to showcase <unk>.
<unk> the same extraction capabilities of Woody biomass cellulose in both cases with large scale prototypes.
So we will be able to do that next quarter.
And it's foundational to creating these revenue and profit streams that I'm talking about were nearly complete and integrating all of these businesses and plans into one Comstock system, where one company Comstock with all of these capabilities and that's really what we've been doing for the past six months.
And unfortunately, and I am sorry, why we've been so quiet.
For the last three or four.
Let me spend a few minutes on the mining activities before we go to Q&A first.
First with MCU and then with Comstock.
Yeah.
With MCU.
We were paused due to requiring an additional permit for selling the sand and gravel. So we got up and running in the Philippines. We had all of our permits for for setting up the camp and deploying the equipment and processing.
But unfortunately, we didn't have the permit to actually allow us to sell a sand and gravel and that resulted in downtime for us between April and August, but our JV has secured that permit we are now fully resumed operations. We are processing clean materials and we're starting to sell the result in sand and gravel the believes that.
Very disappointing.
As we are still resident and established in the lower part of the debacle River in Philippines, where we've been seeing very low mercury and gold content. The good news is that machine is operating and the good news is the government is testing daily the mercury content in the materials the good news.
Uses the contents are de Minimis and clean so that we're able to sell the sand and gravel and our fully permitted to do so system works the operations up and running.
And we're moving forward. We're also testing up river, where we expect to see more mercury ingold content from all the artisan on small scale mining that occurred up river and hopefully.
Finally establish a meaningful revenue stream that will grow as we see the increases in the Mercury in the go operationally as I said everything's in place and operating we have extracted goals.
Not very much and we're now starting to sell sand and gravel government fully supporting us and we have an extremely low overhead.
Profile. So the business is very efficient.
We just need to see more mercury embargo, so the prospects for the future.
Outstanding because we see it let me touch base on the Comstock and in that context total gold toe is clearly going through some changes.
There's probably not too many specifics that we can share now, but what I can tell you is they are deeply into an internal transition that's going to result in a remarkably stronger and highly qualified and very reputable mining.
Mining and leadership team, both directors and officers with strong capital commitments coming together.
And the ability to advance all of their exploration and development plans. They have drafted a technical report in the northern part of the district. It is in final draft form.
We are reviewing it including the Lucerne mine and they're also finishing up their financial audits all of which should result in getting their plan very very strongly back on track and I would say, even even better than originally anticipated we are working with them towards a very positive outcome and we expect it to all be completed before the end of the year.
Year.
Yeah.
Yeah.
We are also advancing our technical reporting for the Dayton and spring Valley complex.
We have had two dedicated geologists, including our chief geologist Larry Martin Junior geologist and then our chief and achieve mining engineer, Mike Norred and we look forward to.
Both Tony and Comstock technical reports coming together being available.
My goodness, it's like with inflation surging Angola up a $100 an ounce in just the past 30 days shooting up last I checked past $18 50. This morning and climbing these are very important and I would say.
Although delayed very timely indicators of our assets and their underlying gold and silver value.
Yeah.
The bottom line is that our money and our commitments are where our mouths are as we are directly link all of our performance targets as you know with the goal of delivering the first half of $1 billion in share value, we're saying at least $12 a share to all of our performance objectives.
Now obviously recessing.
Those values as each one of our businesses can exceed multiples of these amounts as we build and grow them.
Looking at something exponentially larger.
In terms of growth in terms of any of the targets that we sent.
Regardless.
Because of our significant insider ownership greater than 20% and because our comp other than that is structured such that if the shareholders are not rewarded that neither are we it's 100% performance base.
We're really positioned.
For everyone to succeed here as we go forward.
I am not.
Those to any questions in the Q&A.
Related to any of the activities Jen Matt or otherwise.
I'll turn it over to Zach to.
Start feeding me in those questions.
Alright, thank and Corrado our first question.
There seems to be other firms working on lithium extraction in the Nevada area as well.
And probably recycling too.
They seem to be trying to source used batteries at this time.
How does comstock compare in the time to significant commercialization.
Other than timing what other differentiating factors are there.
Relative to these competitors.
And then in <unk>, so in terms of differentiation.
Let me say first that we have a fully up.
Fully state of the R 136000 square foot battery and battery recycling facility.
As far as we understand it where is the most advanced.
In terms of the existing facilities that are in the ground and the permit applications that have been submitted.
Number one number two we don't see anybody in the industry looking to crush.
Materials.
That are charged and in a dry state that results in the purest lease contaminated black mass with the highest value of minerals residual including lithium.
Thirdly, we have the ability to extract lithium almost instantaneously using our super critical.
Intellectual property in process at the very front end of the process. We don't believe anyone's even talking about exactly with him at the front end of the process. Most of the processes are designed to produce minerals such as cobalt.
As nickel such as manganese.
With meaningful losses in lithium and graphite or.
Our ability to extract lithium and hopeful graph right at the front end process totally differentiates us not just in terms of process, but in terms of value in the market. What it also enables this is very important.
Is.
A profitable endeavor, even with very low volume of lithium ion batteries. There is no expert in the market that is predicting anything other than a tsunami of lithium ion batteries coming out of the market. It's obvious what's not as obvious is the timing right.
The tsunami is not coming in 2022 or 2023.
It's coming much later, but it's coming.
If you have the ability to produce a relatively low amount of battery feedstock profitably enabled by attracting lithium in our case then you have a sustainable business, that's going to explode at some point.
If you talk to any of the experts Mckinsey.
The mineral industry as a whole the association.
The explosion is coming and we're going to be best positioned for it.
Alright, Thank you Corrado.
Our next question is about our see our AG, whereas we referred to it I read it right that of course, that's down for a resource conservation and recovery Act, which was adopted in 1970 that.
The question is do you have a confidence to meet Red Cross timelines in your battery recycling operation is.
Is your storage site approval.
Approved excellent questions. So Rick Wright as the leading authority for hazardous waste management.
And here in Nevada.
The permitting process for processing hazardous materials is done through the Nevada Department of environmental protection using.
A permanent called the written determination and the determination is that we're allowed to operate under Rick with guidelines as long as we don't store.
Batteries onsite so a very important distinction none other recyclers are gonna store batteries on site. That's not allowed in that context, we're highly confident that we will have all the authorities and permits by the first quarter of next year and.
And that will be up and operating on the timeline that we indicated secondly with store pitch.
We're allowed to store lithium ion batteries up to one year at a dedicated storage site, we just secured a two.
200 acre.
Site in very immediate proximity of our operating facility and all of that really requires since we're not processing materials there.
As a record I'd.
So it's.
<unk> permanently.
And that is different than if you had a fully permitted.
Universal large quantity waste recycling facility that would require full retro permitting which often takes many years.
I hope that answers the question okay. Thanks Corrado.
Next question is.
For each of your new businesses could.
Could you reiterate a brief commercialization map.
That is date of first commercial activity and plan, let me do that so for lithium.
We are going to have a prototype operating in Wisconsin in January.
Going to have lithium extraction add it on to that prototype in March April timeframe.
That will produce.
Sample quantities of material, but also provide a showcase to the market of our full capability through with the extraction.
Immediately following that we will have the crushing and separating system coming online.
In Nevada.
That is the May June timeframe, and then we will have favorable materials coming from Matt following the lithium extraction will be added on in.
The most likely early fourth quarter or fourth quarter of 2022 of which then we will have lithium extraction revenues.
<unk> had a very low volume projected profitability.
That's number one cellulosic fuels is very interesting we will similarly have a full cellulosic extraction prototype up and running in Wisconsin in the March April timeframe.
We have already started and scheduled our first facility, which would be scheduled to come online in 2023 in Minnesota.
The breakthrough that we had in processing time has resulted in us reengineering updating if you will the engineering of that facility for much much higher throughput.
Which I cannot it's the most exciting thing that's happened.
For the company in the last six months it's remarkable.
However, there is an accelerator happening here, we've been approached by very recognizable companies.
Two.
Purchase engineering and manufacturing services and equipment to use the same cellulosic extraction technology for pulp and paper.
And we expect.
Revenue.
Meaningful revenue.
Tens of millions of revenue.
In 2022.
From this and even recently approached by different counterparty for a much much bigger project using the same technology once we can show in Wisconsin.
Yes.
Cellulosic fuel capability.
It would be shocking.
Every major petroleum producer.
And every large user of these fuels, who have stated carbon targets by 2025 and 2032.
Be shocking if there.
They werent.
Lining up if you will to use this technology to meet their carbon goals. So we have an opportunity to create a huge cash producing business of our own we own 100% of the company, we own 100% technology and we have the ability to accelerate the carbonization in these transportation.
Histories across a widespread from a huge companies by selling our engineering and manufacturing services.
To them as well the services themselves are hugely profitable, but there's also opportunities to profit share royalty share.
Cash share beyond that and so we're just building those models now.
And we will have a lot of discussion about that in the first quarter of 2022.
Let me say one more thing okay, I'm, sorry, with MCU, we're up and running we are selling materials. We did produce some gold it's very very small okay. The important part there is the concepts being prove.
And the operation being established.
No fatal flaw, we're moving forward once we start seeing more revenue from.
Gold.
Continue.
Gold containing mercury mercury containing gold.
We will provide better guidance on that but there clearly will be revenue.
Every quarter here as we go forward. It's just a question of when it gets to the meaningful level.
That will all care more about.
On a positive track there.
Okay. Yeah. Thanks for that update on MCU, a there was a question about that.
The next question is how much capital will be required to implement your growth plan for the next three years.
So the capital requirements as a part of the question right. We've been very careful like in how we've been capitalizing these activities a lot of the capital.
Using when it goes example has been deployed already you know through cash we've made over $5 million of cash investment this year already done.
And over $7 million of investment through stock that was provided.
<unk> is funded.
Through certainly the first half of next year and it's important for us.
Know that we can demonstrate the capabilities that we've talked about here.
The first quarter of next year as we plan that for work there shouldn't be a reason.
Those projects can be debt financed when you look at the cash flows that they are reporting to generate so we're very excited about that with cellulosic fuels, there's a tremendous amount of government support and everybody's been talking about the infrastructure plan.
And the significant materials.
I'm, sorry, the significant mineral and materials subsidies that are being provided the credits the grants et cetera for carbon neutrality. If you made a list of the technologies that are most impactful we'd be at the very top of the list are available.
Access and availability to those funds is tremendous I spent all day Monday in Las Vegas with Senator mass, though who has been one of the primary sponsors for the mineral extraction subsidies to the benefit of Nevada.
She couldnt be more excited we couldnt be more excited.
We're in the sweet spots, but where people are even less cognizant of is that even in Minnesota.
We're getting.
Interest free loans grants and subsidies to establish an operation there is.
In part because of its carbon neutral power absolutely for sure but also in part that the forestry industry has a big dilemma.
The industry has.
Generate hundreds of millions if not up to 1 billion times a week.
<unk> Wood every year.
Killing the carbon footprint carbon.
Detriment carbon.
Hurting right cutting down trees hurts, the carbon footprint Deadwood hurts the carbon footprint, taking dad worked.
And renewing into pure cellulosic pure carbon neutral fuel I mean, there is a scenario where it could be demonstrated carbon negative activity.
Puts us in a position, but even then the cash flow profiles of those projects are are able to be debt financed.
Other side.
Of which the capital sensitive people will be thrilled to hear about is we have proposals ranging from $50 million in revenue.
Two $165 million in revenue.
Profits of 10 plus million to 40 plus million.
That requires no capital.
That's us providing engineering manufacturing construction services to.
To deploy these technologies for Decarbonising impact in other industries that don't compete with what we're using them for and this is going to be the big story for 2022, and this is going to be the big story for common stock.
The conversations that proposals already exchanged.
<unk>. They are progressing we're just not ready to announce definitive agreements and the specifics there too, but it's coming and it's coming so strong.
We've.
Recognize this.
And not only be an entire business in itself.
With low to no capital requirement the returns are infinite.
It's just remarkable so this is new I. Appreciate this is this is a brand new conversation that we had our sights on for 18 months from the first day that we engage plain sight innovations from the first day that David <unk>, who is now our chief Technology Officer demonstrated this too.
Acknowledging to us.
From the first loans that we need to bridge them and.
Ultimately our equity position and in the last 60 to 90 days deep dive planning. So it's gonna come fast we're going to start moving at a different pace.
But I appreciate its new <unk> and <unk>.
Appreciate your patience on this part of the discussion.
Pronto based on your answer to that question you actually asked her quite a few questions that we have in the queue.
So pivoting just a little.
The next question is.
Can you. Please provide an update on the sale of non core assets absolutely. So.
The activities in silver spring.
Our very very.
Very dramatic like they're picking up we've just had announcements.
<unk> nano attack and graphene companies coming into storey County, Tahoe Reno Industrial Center.
Exciting businesses exciting technologies.
We've gotten.
Major retail companies taking cornerstone.
Copper needs in silver Springs.
Convenience stores.
Of which you would recognize the names immediately.
Hotels in key technology remains immediately.
And we in the Sierra Springs opportunity fund specifically.
Was approached by an internationally recognized company to buy an orphan parcel.
On the other side of highway 50.
Which we have no plan and four for almost $9 million.
So so we're seeing a tremendous amount of economic surge, we're seeing companies coming in and submitting permits and expansions in the area were seeing new technologies and new companies growing in and we are now much more actively engaged with.
With them and when I say, we know I mean, Sierra Springs, which Comstock as an investor and is getting an increased amount of activities for investors and the dynamics changing.
It's going from relatively small high net worth people looking to intelligently will capital gains into incredible value opportunity to sophisticated real estate developers sophisticated companies that are looking to invest in a much much larger way.
And so we expect all of that.
Resolved.
In closing the sale of our two properties.
Over $10 million of.
Proceeds.
Within the next few months this has been a longer story.
And we originally we expected, but when you look back and we see the growth curve in the development curve in northern Nevada, adding silver Springs, we can say <unk>.
Unquestionably that the growth in the inflow and the thesis is significantly stronger and even faster than we were expecting to see but fast with a relative term you know theres a lot of infrastructure.
The $4 million expansion with highway 50, all through the Silver Springs properties, just got completed the brand new second round about just got completed.
The intersection of the USA Parkway to the now expanded Super Highway 50.
All just getting connected.
It's happening.
Markedly.
Just being patient and.
And hopefully it will be done within the next two or three months.
But it will certainly be done it's just because it is coming back strongly.
Those are the cores of our asset sales.
We're monetizing the rest of our total stock that will happen in due course, especially with some of the big changes that they're about to announce and then the Daney ranch is already contracted for sale expected to close next may. So you know within the next seven eight months, we should expect to see all of that cleaned up and fully behind us which provides remarket.
<unk> non dilutive funding for us to complement the last question that came up.
In terms of our new initiatives.
Transitioning from non core assets to the management team.
Please provide information on your new president and CFO as well as.
Other members of the management team absolutely. So this is this is the sort of a hidden jewel.
Of the series of acquisitions that we've completed so with the acquisition of plain sight innovations we acquired <unk>.
Kevin Chrysler, who became complex president and Chief Financial Officer, Kevin has an exceptional breadth.
From.
A decade plus.
Loss of hazardous waste management and recycling to a decade plus of solution extraction and clean Tech knowledge, Inc.
And as one of the masterminds.
<unk> scale de carbonization that playing site innovation.
<unk> is going to enable.
With clean site. We also got David wins in this who was the CEO of claims side, but also the leading technologists and all of this.
<unk> fuel development, we have an extraordinary full scale research and development lab in Wisconsin with full scale operating prototype capabilities that we've just talked about our about the expanded.
That that that development capability can be exaggerated from an IP perspective, but I guess, what I may be I'm, not saying clearly analysis from a marketing perspective, that's going to allow us to show the world. What we can do showed capital markets. What we can do and show our customers. What we can do it's going to be the <unk>.
<unk> strongest enabler of our sales going forward.
Following on that we acquired renewable process.
Solutions.
And Raul Bellini became our chief process engineer Raul has built 21 ethanol facilities in the last 15 years, when I say, he's built I mean, Keith engineered.
He is designed.
He is procured the manufacturing of all the equipment.
Commission that.
When we say when we talk about our capabilities between David's inventiveness, and Rauls engineering and deployment and they're both engineers as well by education.
We have this just twin turbo capability of <unk>.
Building, our own facilities and building our own businesses, we do it at faster lead times, we do it at lower capital cost the lowest by far in the industry.
For example, at <unk>, where we were going to acquire a $9 million crushing and separating system that we delivered ourselves for a little over $6 million in half the time with much greater capabilities and capacity then we saw that system that system a drop in the bucket of what our.
Capabilities are and this will be most.
Immediately demonstrated by some of the new sales that we're going to have.
Through.
Through through these technology and manufacturing and engineering capabilities.
We also.
And we also acquired Mana.
And billing Mccarthy as our Chief operating officer.
Who is literally synchronizing and coordinating all of these activities into one series of project schedules. So we operate the company.
Always under approved projects all schedules can all coordinated.
And really it's important here, we're going to talk last youre going to hear less words, like tsi or Rps and youre going to hear more about Comstock contract is one system Comstock is delivering one solution our core competency.
Is this supercritical extraction process.
Imagine my surprise.
When we acquired supercritical extraction process for taking deadwood into bio fuels and the first thing out of David enrolls miles, we can extract lithium from black mask the same way.
But.
Incredible.
We also have another underlying.
Our team of senior people.
That are helping us in terms of all of our.
Our business processes, our project managing.
Our sales and marketing, it's a robust team not just the C suite is a robust team of more than a dozen people managing projects, making sales engineering manufacturing delivering solutions.
It's beyond what we were expecting we haven't marketed it other than just that.
The minimally compliant.
Reporting requirements, but we will be now that we've integrated it all into one system now that we can show clearly.
Simple the one system is down that we can demonstrate our technology.
<unk> live in person.
And we can show off the team, which I'm extremely proud of and I and I'd be remiss, if I didn't say names like Tracey Seville.
Chad Black.
Colby core some I mean, we've got we've got Matt Mcclelland got Zach Stogdill I just wanted to give you guys the impression.
But this is no longer a one man show.
So I couldn't I couldn't feel more aligned.
But what.
What's more exciting is how super confident these people are.
I hope that didn't go overboard, but probably did no. We've had several questions about that so that was perfect. That's what people were looking for and now pivoting to the mining properties.
The southern Comstock properties in our portfolio that can you. Please provide an update on the Dayton consolidated and spring Valley. Yeah. So so two meaningful points. There. Our team has been working very hard on finalizing the new resource model for Dayton Spring Valley complex.
That's going to result in an effective technical report there'll be two technical reports be issued one by total gold on the north one by Comstock on the south.
We are engineering resource model now our junior geologist was just released from the team to do some other work because he finished and completed.
His work Wyatt Cohen.
It's taking longer.
No.
Does.
Of any problems that were running into but with all the integration work that we've been doing in the company as a whole in the last five to six months, Mike <unk>, who is our chief mining engineer.
I have just been pulled into just so many strategic activities that it.
Frankly, it has delayed the Dayton resource.
So it's coming it's going to be exciting for us to get that published its going to be validating and as I said of the soul searching towards 1900, it's going to be timely.
There is another thing like I mentioned that we secured 200 acres for lithium battery.
This property is adjacent.
Two the Dayton Spring Valley complex and really positions the southern part of our district for any and all possibilities.
It also has believe it or not 12 million tons of aggregate material that can be mined out of it. So it's a very multi use.
Property that we've secured that we look to be closing on before you ended the year at support clinical course in terms of battery storage, but it accelerates.
<unk> expands what we're able to do in the southern part of the district, So our commitment to the Comstock has never been stronger.
We're putting a few last pieces of the puzzle in place. It presents an extremely valuable district play that's only going to get more and more valuable when we show. These technical reports and then more and more value as the price of gold and silver.
Continue to move up and this ridiculous.
Irresponsible.
Fiscal government scenario that we're in.
Okay.
The next question.
And looking for any update that you can provide on churn that sure. So.
Yeah, So I wasn't I wasn't going to plan to say a lot about gen match.
In part because it's a little bit of the stealthy operation.
We've invested or we will invest before the end of this year of $5 million.
Dollars in cash and I got to tell you that in a.
A couple of years from now we're going to be looking back, saying Holy crap.
This this is just incredible.
We're talking now.
About the absolute front line.
Material science.
Excuse me.
Right.
Yes.
I can just give you some insight.
Jen Matt.
Specializes in quantum computing and quantum of sensing technologies. These technologies are going to absolutely revolutionize, how we do materials science and engineering.
In the future.
We're literally building and artificial intelligence.
Intelligence capability, that's going to solve the most complex quantum mechanical equations that are prerequisites that are required for breakthrough materials discovery.
It sounds.
Incredible.
I can tell you.
Janet has strategic agreements.
With the most sophisticated the most advanced.
Quantum computing companies in the world.
I can tell you that they operate on a peer scale with those people.
I can tell you that.
The people that we're hiring.
Or on a different scale.
On a different scale.
<unk>.
Anyone that.
Would operate in any technological corridor.
And before your eyes.
A role too far behind your heads the.
<unk> focus of this company is breakthrough materials in quantum sensing as it supply to mining.
In new material discovery as a supplier to batteries.
Since the price of carbon capture and utilization.
And it's as it's applied to aerospace.
And so.
We'll probably have a point in time.
There.
We will have a dedicated call.
You could even be exposed to the leadership and the team is the best people.
That you could ever imagine working with are the smartest people on the planet.
And what we've positioned ourselves for a following on what we're doing and I don't want I don't want to.
Dismiss or understate, the breakthroughs that we're having with materials and engineering.
With lithium extraction with Cellulosic fuel extraction, that's going to be all that we're talking about tomorrow next week and for the next two to three to five years, but somewhere in that continuum.
We're taking it to another level.
That's what Jen Matt represents.
Quite a I believe you addressed this.
Several of your earlier comments.
But several people are asking will there be a need to raise cash from any stock offering next year.
So.
Look we're always sensitive to dilution, we're very very careful with our equity.
I couple that with saying that we've been very aggressive right and the acquisitions that we've made but if you peel the onion and how we've done it right we've created.
A world class leadership team with a world class portfolio of technologies, all that our commercial ready.
And that we're commercializing as we speak with insider ownership exceeding 20%.
And.
Well, we need to use equity at some of the early stages of some of these developments, we will need to use some equity.
Because of their cash generating nature, it should be significantly less.
Cause of our ability to sell products, meaning.
Engineering and manufacturing services, there would be none.
No because we're able to sell these non core assets it will be minimized. So the answer is yes, but an incredibly capital sensitive way with huge appreciation models tied to the use of that capital.
There was a legacy from the US equity just to cover operating expenses that was years ago K that what we're talking about here were deploying capital into a huge exponential growth markets, which I didn't overstate, but let me Shirley state now.
We're going to be the leading decarbonize or.
We may be the leading global decarbonize or the amount of carbon.
That we are stemming the amount of carbon that we're reducing and then a little while we're going to have a very exciting conversation about the amount of carbon we're actually taking out of the environment and converting into solid carbon products in graphite.
It's going to lead the world the capital markets.
Are now laser focused on these kind of investments.
The government has.
Your attacks. These initiatives single most important thing in every major fossil fuel using and carbon.
Horrible enterprise is clamoring to get this technology clamoring to meet targets that they set for 2025 2000 32040, they can't conceivably need we have the technology to do all of that so that's where we're positioning ourselves.
<unk>.
It's where we have positioned ourselves and we're commercializing into.
We're getting near the top of the hours. So we have one final question.
It seems like you are acquiring and building a strong portfolio of intellectual property.
Excluding the human capital such as people how are you protecting the property. These are the patents.
And will it be a license to others.
Yeah.
Can you repeat the question, yes, I would say doing okay.
It seems like you are acquiring and building a strong portfolio of intellectual property, excluding the human capital such as people. How are you protecting the proper property. These are the patents et cetera, and will it be licensed to others. Yeah excellent question sorry.
Doesn't really need to do so.
We have a very very aggressive.
Protection product call. It isn't in my DNA like we inherited as we acquired clean slate innovation, Kevin is a master.
At.
At IP protection, we have a very precise strategy it is biased towards filing patents and protecting.
With technology, we have in house capability Microwavable as one of our chief scientist.
Uh huh.
As a machine in terms of researching evaluating compiling and actually filing for patents I've never seen a company of our size actually have that kind of internal horse power.
And so the answer is yes, we just filed a patent on a breakthrough that we had in Wisconsin, where we're able to actually extract.
Oh graphite.
Io graphite from dead Wood.
Anyone that's in the carbon and graphite industry can.
You can appreciate.
What that would mean to the world. If we can naturally produce carbon and graphite from Deadwood I can't wait for the day, we were talking about producing carbon and graphite from carbon dioxide, that's not correct.
These are game changers, and so yes, we will patent that yes, we will protect it and yes, we will license it in the appropriate circumstances. Our goal is to Decarbonize. Our mission is decarbonize our goal.
Accelerating the rate at which we do that and Jeff Alright cash what's beautiful about the system that we've designed is every time, we reduce carbon we make money. So this is this is the new dialogue, which is the new normal like environmentalist are profit centers.
The speed at which we Decarbonize is synonymous with the speed at which we generate cash I don't know anyone that is able to say that that's what we designed their system to do and Thats what were implementing here in 2022.
We will license our Tac.
If it increases the rate at which the world is decarbonising and simultaneously increase the rate at which we're.
We're making money and so we've eliminated one of the most profound conflicts.
In the World, which is the conflict between doing good and making money for us they are not one and the same once the markets understand this and we haven't we haven't rebranded ourselves.
We have not communicated this message why because we just acquired clean side innovation two months ago. Because we just spent the last six months integrating four acquisitions into one system. We now have an identity. We have a purpose and we are clear on how we're going to the markets.
And we're doing it as one system, we're doing it as one company Comstock Comstock.
So I'm very excited and we will we will again, we will license. It we will enable others to decarbonize as long as it accelerates the rate.
You can do it faster than we can if they can do it in markets that we're not familiar in and if we can make just as much or more money doing it we're doing it yes.
Thank you Corrado and also we would like to thank all the participants who.
Doomed in today and thank you for all of your question and I'll turn it back to you Corrado to close without without I want to thank everyone for your interest I wanted to stay light.
The focus is really consolidating here at Comstock.
We will have a lot more to say.
We will have a lot more frequency.
Clarity on how we say it.
We will have a new website.
It's already built I've already seen it.
Our guys are so fast they didn't want to show it to me, but they showed it to me I love it.
And so and.
And so I appreciate that we have a shareholder base that's long standing.
They love the Comstock and loves the precious metals understand that where custodians of those assets and they're only going to be more valuable I feel remiss that we havent and can't talk more about Jen, Matt, but we're focused so it's all to come and we look forward to tomorrow. Thanks.
Yeah.
Okay.
Yeah.
Yeah.