Q1 2022 Comstock Mining Inc Earnings Call
Executive Chairman and CEO, Mr. Corrado to gas Bruce Good morning, everyone and welcome to our first quarter update I'll provide a business update including the information in our press release from this morning and from our quarterly report filed on Form 10-Q last night.
You don't have a copy of todays press release Youll find a copy on our website.
Ww Dot Comstock Dot Inc. At the top of the Investor page in the newsroom section. Our Form 10-Q is also available on the website on the Investor page under SEC filings and also via Edgar on Www Dot FCC Dot Gov.
Please let me remind you that we will make forward looking statements on this call.
Including specific outlooks for our by OEM, and <unk> businesses and the progress on our asset sales.
Please understand that any statements related to matters that are not historical facts may constitute forward. Looking statements are statements are based on the current expectations and are subject to the same risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially.
These risks and uncertainties are detailed in the previous reports filed by the company and 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 can't identify.
Once we complete the prepared remarks, Zach will accept indirect all questions.
Let me briefly start with our financial position.
Our recently reported asset totaled over $115 million, which includes the full consolidation of our <unk> business that we just acquired the substantial majority of in late December and our balance sheet represents the foundation of our Decarbonising assets and our deep portfolio of intellectual property.
This includes our IP for producing carbon neutral cellulosic fuels, and especially our breakthrough by OEM products with multiple granted patents and pending patent applications. It also includes our cellulosic fuels pilot and demonstration facility located in Wisconsin.
And currently being expanded to further demonstrate the production of carbon neutral pulps paper, cellulosic sugar ethanol and by OEM.
It includes our IP for lithium ion battery crushing separating and extraction, where we have now filed several provisional patent application.
And clinical state of the art 137000 square foot battery metal recycling facility here in Nevada, now cleaned upgraded prepared and deeply into the permitting process.
And also when it goes actual battery crushing and separating system currently being commissioned in Wisconsin and scheduled to be in Nevada later this year.
Our balance sheet also includes our strategic investments.
All of them are cost like quantum generative materials and our equity in the Sierra Springs opportunity Fund.
It includes our mineral properties also at cost.
And now, including Lucerne properties again, along with the rest of the 10000 acre mineral district for which we are evaluating monetization options as well as our other real estate that we have already contracted for sale.
As you'll have noticed in the 10-Q. These numbers now exclude MCU, reflecting the disappointment in the Philippines that we discussed just last month.
Our real estate assets contracted for sale and our Sierra Springs investment together represent nearly $30 million in fair value with $15 million in proceeds expected here in the near term.
At the end of April we had $69 9 million shares outstanding with our current market value trading below our adjusted book value.
And well well below what we see as our fair value, we're working very hard and our near term and intermediate objectives that I'm going to outline today are designed to unlock this value.
In fact, we're focused on delivering billions of dollars in future value from our renewable energy businesses.
With our fuels battery metal and engineering integration is now complete our entire organization is operating under one goal, which is to accelerate these high growth Decarbonising technologies, while unlocking the value of our other assets by monetizing that.
Our newly integrated assets and teams represent decades of experience commercializing biofuels, where now physically demonstrating our technology and building the capacity to rapidly enable continued product development for our customer.
Our teams have already designed and built our breakthrough crushing and separating solution for advanced pure highly mineralized black mass from lithium ion batteries and we are currently advancing our existing extraction technology for lithium.
When we prove just last year that we were capable of producing carbon neutral equivalent petroleum. In addition to the ethanol. We immediately filed a trademark for the named by audio and we're continuing to expand an already significant patent portfolio to cover these breakthroughs.
As I mentioned on our last call our senior leadership team will all be on hand later this month at our annual meeting in just a few weeks on May 26, and Reno. Please do registering attend registration ends on Friday, where you can meet speak and discuss our capabilities further detail our processes our technologies enter.
Products and discuss our technology in near term commercialization plans directly with our team firsthand face to face.
Let me expand a bit on renewable fuels as I just mentioned, we have already created and trademarked a breakthrough alternative to fossil crude oil derived from the Woody biomass call my old Liam that can be used in producing dropped in carbon neutral fuels like diesel like sustainable aviation.
<unk> fuel.
Leveraging the existing infrastructure.
We've also established a near term goal to commission, our first 100 plus million owned by OMB bio refineries by 2025.
We have commenced construction on a demonstration facility for production of biodiesel in Wisconsin.
We've commenced site evaluation and selection process prioritizing target sites with ready access to these available feedstocks and we've commenced direct discussions for renewable fuel offtake agreements to support our further bio refinery and well beyond.
A broader portfolio of these technologies efficiently converts waste in the form of widely available Woody biomass into these advanced Cellulosic fuels. We can do this today operating under existing incentive programs and existing regulations very profitable.
When we see waste, we mean sadat's mill residuals slash that no one else is using for high value fuels that worked perfectly for US. There is an abundance of this feedstock generated annually in the United States alone.
There is twice as launch in Canada.
So our plans are to rapidly build deploy own and operate a fleet of these advanced carbon neutral extraction refining facilities. Using these widely available feedstocks are two major near term objectives.
Crude operationalize, Inc, and the demonstration system for buying only in Wisconsin.
And announcing our first offtake contracts, both which will occur in the second half of this year.
Our differences position, our fuels business for billions in enterprise value.
Just based on current comps in public companies with less capable technology, much less carbon impact and absence of feedstocks to sustain exponential growth.
Plus we have the team.
Our engineering technology and management teams have extensive experience exploring solutions in the renewable fuels industry, having now designed and built over 20 of emerge in dust renewable fuel facilities over the past 15 years and also having commercialized breakthrough extracted oils that are widely.
And the biofuel industry today.
Remembering that just one of our bio refineries alone can produce over 100 million downloads of bio fuel per year, including over 80 million gallons of Cellulosic ethanol and 30 million gallons of renewable diesel again premier.
From just 1 million metric tons of wood biomass.
Each refinery is expected to produce well over half a billion dollars in annual revenue our first off take agreements will clearly demonstrate our capability and potential.
And more.
Certainly prove the value protection.
Let me now turn the Linacre, where we've made tremendous progress in the past few months where.
We're we've hired a new president <unk>, who has hit the ground running and is already living here in Reno working from the clinical utility everyday.
We've also received and installed our proprietary lithium ion battery crushing and separating system that we're now commissioning and our R&D facility in Wisconsin, and we have already crushed batteries a huge milestone.
And we secured a new 200 acre storage facility in immediate proximity and already commenced the local permitting process on that storage facility.
We're on schedule to be producing highly pure black mass in our Nevada facility and we have just commenced construction of our prototype lithium first extraction system and our R&D facility.
And we are scheduled to be producing marketable battery grade lithium carbonate and our battery metals facility in Nevada by the end of Q2 2023.
And lastly, we have continued.
And commence new ongoing discussion with feedstock sources, especially with our storage site now secured.
Things are moving fast as everyone can see EV registrations continue to explode, having more than doubled in 2021, even the most conservative estimates for increases in EV demand will likely require about five times more lithium carbonate and the entire lithium mining industry produces today the conventional recycling process that we.
We are seeing deployed suffer from extremely high if not total losses of lithium.
Our technologies meet the reality of this demand shortfall by extracting lithium early and profitably we will extract with them immediately after freshman and separating in a manner that maximizes the lithium recovery for reuse in batteries. These market, leading yields and additional revenues allow us to be profitable very low production levels.
By putting lithium FERC.
Our near term outlook and objectives for the next six months here include completing the validation of our crushing and separating system. This quarter completing the validation of our lithium extraction process in the.
Third quarter, receiving a written determination from the battery recycling facility and our conditional use permit for the newly acquired storage facility also in the third quarter, all of which enable us to start announcing our feedstock supply agreements also during that same third quarter as I mentioned, our first commercial prototype to six ton per day crushing incept.
Rating system is being commissioned as we speak.
Already demonstrated our ability to safely crush batteries and will soon be producing high purity backpacks. This position Wynn Macau to also contributed billions in value again based on existing valuations of comparable public companies and are perceived competitive advantages that we're about to start demonstrating.
We are now in the markets speaking with partners feedstock providers customers for off peak and investors with great reception.
Let me just conclude with the monetization of our other assets, we made real progress here as well during the last through the first three months of this year, we completed a material transaction with total wells in the first quarter that paid us over $1 $2 5 million in cash and we have changed the 665 million note due to us.
For all of the Lucerne properties and so we have regained full ownership of all of the mineral assets covering the entire district.
<unk> has an option to repurchase the Sun and we'll continue reimbursing us.
To the tune of approximately $3 million this year for the cost of maintaining the mining platform and certain other mining property payments were.
Our scheduled to close on the Daney ranch this quarter with over $2 5 million in proceeds and we are confident we will close on the $10 million in proceeds from our silver Springs properties later this year.
So in summary, we're commercializing two incredible renewable energy businesses with specific near term just because that I've just outlined here today and they are right in front of us These objectives.
And the systems, we are bringing online will demonstrate credible.
Comparable technology.
Caleb manufacturing capability and be complemented with the market validation from new feedstock and offtake agreements, which we're now ready for <unk>.
Proceeds from the asset sales will support funding, our new operating businesses, while aligning substantially all of our focus towards Cellulosic fuels and lithium ion battery metals. We believe this will unlock the highest and best value to all of our shareholders.
Zach let me stop there and turn to questions. So we have our first question, yes, we have our first question.
There are other companies, claiming bio fuels and the off take agreements how are you really different from them.
Thanks, Zack Thank you for the question.
So first our technology's unique waste wood.
That is funded and inexpensive literally a fraction of what these other companies are using like corn or vegetable oils.
Corn today is over $300 a ton and we are less than a third of that much less.
The carbon impact of these fuels is also much lower so we get maximum revenue credit for our fuels.
Critically our feedstocks are abundant and widely available positioning us for highly profitable and nearly unlimited growth said differently, everyone else's constrained by feedstock, whereas we are not.
All of this was true when we acquired this technology for Cellulosic ethanol.
However, the ethanol only uses half of the feedstock that into the system or.
Our biggest breakthrough is cracking the code on the other half of the wood by OEM takes a profitable model and has another revenue stream from the same feedstock.
Not the same type of feedstock the same ton of wood, we can now extract carbon neutral equivalent to petroleum from the rest of the wood turning another waste stream into diesel aviation fuel and other co products. So we're sitting with a profitable model with a 70 million gallons facility that now can make a 110 million.
With no more feedstock and it drops right into the truck drops right into the plane using the existing infrastructure and it drops right to our bottom line.
Called out pure throughput.
We have a second question Keith.
Yes.
The next question is you said your battery refreshes and separately with them will be online in the second quarter what happened.
Thank you Zack are crushing and separating our crushing and separating system arrived in April and we have already been successful I, just mentioned and crushing with the mining batteries just last month in Wisconsin.
Both systems being commission there as we speak and we will be producing black mass from that very thing system very soon.
We have a very sophisticated crushing technology that can crush charged batteries.
A critically important differentiation.
And purifies, the black mass while preserving the lithium.
Another huge differentiator.
We have now also begun constructing lithium extraction system in Wisconsin.
So what we did was we expanded and resubmitted our primary operating permit to include both this new Crusher. In addition to the systems that were already included in the first permit submission and the lithium extractor.
First the major differentiator and we expect that permit in the third quarter.
And then the air quality permit in the fourth quarter. We'll then plan on moving the crushing and separating systems in Nevada coincident with the permits. So we can operate when all permits are approved.
And as I said earlier will be followed by the lithium extraction in the second quarter of next year.
To be fair will be the first and fastest to crush and separate the pure black masses in the industry and for sure in the first two extracting lithium first.
Okay Corrado.
Yes, there are.
Next question is it seems like.
The media never writes about us what are we doing about marketing.
Thank you for the question that's a very good question. So we spend.
Most of the last eight or nine months not only.
Integrating the operations.
Integrating the key which is now complete but.
But also in some analyzing the plans for marketing and communicating all of this information it took a major change in our public disclosures, which are now complete and it allowed us to put up our new web site, which which has been put up and the law.
And as beginning of now the channel for much more expensive.
Expansion, including information about linacre, including information about Cellulosic fuels.
And now we are just over the last few weeks peaks commenced outreach into the market that outreach.
No.
It includes investors and includes customers and includes feedstock providers and we've got everything in place now to back that up. So we are actually very excited about what that's now coming forward in the context of marketing and communications and just to give further insight.
We've got a dedicated team.
That is now working daily on just the notion of communicating these technologies of communicating our capabilities and making sure that people understand not only what we have but how different it really is.
Corrado. Our next question is about Dayton and spring Valley.
It is a new reserve report coming out now that you have Lucerne back.
Good question. Thank you. So so we saw.
Saw that total gold published the results of their technical report, which is for the certain properties.
We're very happy that that information is fully current and abated and that Theres a mineral resource there.
In.
We are planning to publish the technical report for Dayton and Spring Valley.
Sometime here in the second quarter were confident the processes advanced.
It's gone much slower than we expected, but the third party.
Hmm.
<unk> consultant is fully engaged and we expect that here in the second quarter. So we would have the technical reports that are essentially.
In combination cover the entire district.
Okay.
How our supplier agreements coming with the battery recycling business.
And are there any more regulatory or permitting processes to be completed.
Our regulatory process I'll hit the second part of the question first we filed a written determination, which is the primary operating permit I just mentioned that we expanded it meaningfully to not only include expanding and more sophisticated crushing and separating but also lithium extraction. So that one is.
We think it's a head and <unk>.
Terms of the substance and timing we had expected here during the third quarter, we have an air quality permit at the facility that we are modifying now for those changes and we expect that in the fourth quarter.
The storage facility that we just acquired we've already submitted the pre application that kicks off the local permitting process that process is only local and has much shorter lead times. So we would expect that also in the third quarter.
So from a permitting process things are excellent from.
From an engagement of the market process.
From a feedstock perspective, it's critically important that you can demonstrate that you have a facility that is.
In the process of being permanent and it's even more important that you have a storage site. That's in the process of being permitted so to answer. The question. We've had a tremendous number of extremely positive conversations very very receptive, we don't see any disadvantages in there on the contrary we see.
Some huge advantages given our platform that we now have in position and now we have the specificity.
To be able to start entering into formal agreements and immediately thereafter start receiving feedstock. So we're very excited about where we've come it was a long time coming we frankly feel like we're ahead of most everyone out.
And we always wish it could go faster.
Corrado. Our next question is what are your top three deliverable in the next three to six months to increase shareholder value.
So I think we mentioned more than three I can I can just relate three let's say with Linda go obviously the ability to do.
To demonstrate the crushing in separating and highly pure black math, that's coming this quarter.
With when it goes to be able to demonstrate lithium extraction, that's coming and then the permits that will follow it will allow us to fully demonstrate those capabilities in Nevada, So all of that.
Except for lithium extraction, which we will demonstrate our capability, but not deploy the final system in Nevada until next year all of that is happening in this year. Okay. So so those are the most immediate and and really.
Demonstrating.
Demonstrating the manufacturing and technology capability.
Is there and by OEM.
Our ability to.
Two things.
To commission the system.
That will occur this year. So we already have the ability to take with biomass and produce.
Cellulosic sugar and ultimately ethanol, but we're expanding that capability to be able to also demonstrate by OEM that will be done by the end of this year and just as importantly, if not maybe more importantly to the market.
Our first off take agreement for those fuels.
Okay. Following up on the by Oems is there any residual waste from the Cellulosic fuels business is it hazardous or sellable material likes for fertilizer, yes no.
They are getting initial model. There is there was a residual waste that was basically targeted for Bernie as cleaner fuel as a replacement to natural gas with the bio in breakthrough we will use a substantial majority of that material for even high.
<unk> value and pronto.
So that's remarkable.
There are any of the residual woody biomass waste has productive use in high and low end.
Product uses so it's an extraordinarily circular zero waste operation.
After paying off our previous debt, we are now back up to $5 million and that why is that so we took advantage of the opportunity to get some very good.
So promissory notes in place it provided a nice.
Bridge for us as we were kicking off some of these activities.
Those amounts are very very low relative to some of the asset sales that are about to occur and we've committed as part of that that when some of those asset sales occur are those that will be paid off so just with the day, a ranch alone you'd seen more than half of that debt reduced.
We like that profile, we like the profile today of having little to no debt prior to launching and commercializing new businesses.
Your $12 a share price target do you still feel comfortable with that number and is your timeline still intact. So are the $12 a share target is low for $12 a share target was obviously communicated before the launching of.
These businesses so.
We not only feel confident with that target and the timeline, we're looking way way past it.
Just with the commercialization of <unk> and Cellulosic fuels. So.
We're going to break out of this year as soon as we start demonstrating in the market appreciates not only what our real capability is but how different it is from our competitors.
With regard to the selling of non mining assets, such as the <unk> ramps and the property in silver Springs.
So how are the sales prices compared to what you paid for those properties.
And in all cases, we in every case of our balance sheet and the properties in our balance sheet. Their stated at very very low cost.
Very low cost so.
I think in the worst case scenario, we're getting twice the value that we paid and the other cases much much more than that.
And the ranch case much much more than that.
Can you please describe Kevin Chrysler's position adds president and CFO and how he became a major shareholder at over 5% of the company absolutely So Kevin.
Is absolutely a critical part of our senior team as President and CFO , but I will tell you. We have we have a lot of bench strength now.
So the specific answer is when we.
Choir plain sight innovations, which had all of the Cellulosic technology embedded and included in our Wisconsin, R&D and pilot and demonstration facility.
Kevin came onboard as part of that acquisition.
But the real the real answer of the question is when I mentioned this on the last call between Kevin Mccarthy Railroad Bob.
David weakness.
We have a senior team with decades of experience in commercializing. These types of technologies. So Kevin was involved in commercializing, our new extraction technology and cost and entire biofuel industry of which has over 99, 5% penetration as we talk today.
<unk> led the effort in building over 20 bio refineries at large scale over the last 15 years and the team's ability to not only scale up but operate these businesses is were flat.
And what we've accomplished in just over the last three or four months. So there was a lot of acquisition and integration activity in 2021, but I think youre just starting to see the beginning from the results. We announced this morning of how fast things are moving and how much we are achieving we're going to be.
Much more pedantic in terms of outlook you've already seen it in this press release, we're going to be talking to you about the next three to six months right. We're going to build the credibility of this technology, we're going to build the credibility of this manufacturing capability and we're going to build the credibility of the scheme based on delivering what we say we're going to do.
Deliver.
We'll let the market start to figure out how big the potential is clearly done it for some of the other companies that we believe have inferior technology an inferior capabilities.
And we just think it's a matter of time before they use it out for us to the earlier question Tomorrow marketing and communications has just started in that regard.
Recently, you were at the Noble conference.
Are we seeing any new investor interest and could we potentially see any partnerships in the future.
Seeing tremendous new investor interest and we're seeing tremendous partnership opportunities and we're going to be very selective.
In that context right. So so it's very good news out telling me personally it's taken.
I've gone from it taking in 10% to 15% of my time to taking more than 50% of my time and I expect that to continue as we engage the market.
More and more here going forward.
Do you have any update on the consulting contract discussions previously mentioned and the biomass business space.
We are engaged I'm not sure exactly what that references here, but we are engaged right both on the feedstock.
And the partner levels in that space, and I think thats consistent with our new guidance that we'll be announcing off pace here.
Here in the second half of this year.
Okay.
Our.
The next question is what is your plan to increase more analyst exposure with a stock that just follows right onto my last point, we're getting a lot of interest.
We are engaging.
Numerous discussions from from investors and banking communities lie.
And we'll be very selective as we move forward and expanding our coverage.
With relevant knowledgeable.
<unk>.
<unk> in the space.
Yeah.
Okay. The next question several gold and silver companies are using load in their company names.
Do we have any rights to the load name and if.
So are we pursuing legal remedies.
We have the NYSE listing.
That's all right nobody else has that.
Yeah.
I guess I would say lightly.
That.
There's only one Comstock lode.
What they say.
Everyone else as opposed or.
And our next question.
Does your asset value include your tax credits.
Our intellectual property.
The gold equivalent value of any proven reserves.
It's a great question. So none of our mineral resources recently that have been now disclosed and the Lucerne one hundreds of thousands.
Launches of gold and.
And silver nor are the ones that were about to disclose.
For the day.
Those are resource estimates not reserves to be clear.
It's one step removed from a from a full reserve, but it's but it's very very strong resource estimates those are not.
Those are not present on our balance sheet in any way shape or form even the underlying land that houses in situ those mineral resources are fractionally reflected on our balance sheet at very very very low original costs.
Can you repeat just the other part of the question Im sorry.
Yeah, let me get to the intellectual property.
The intellectual property.
<unk> is also recorded on the balance sheet in the form of intangibles.
But you are talking about.
$12 million to $14 million $15 million.
Something with billions of dollars of value. So it's a good comment we have $115 million of assets on our balance sheet, representing just a tiny fraction in our opinion of the real fair value of what we're about to do here.
And I mentioned, there right that we have patents deep portfolio of patents, we have new patents pending on the breakthroughs that we've had just over the last 12 months.
And we have a tremendous amount of know how embedded in our team to deploy these processes.
None of that would be reflected on the balance sheet.
Okay.
And we're still getting a few questions about MCU and so people would like to know what the current status is.
And.
How the process works, yes, so two things right. The current status is we're fully winding down.
The operation in the Philippines, we were very disappointed at the lack of the Mercury Slash gold content.
That we expected in the river to be true and to be fair. Every every sample hole that we drilled all of the along the river had mercury Angola content. It was just much much lower than we thought it was going to be.
And that was indicated previously that it could have been so that was a big disappointment.
Our joint venture partner in the Philippines.
Sectional and so all of our equipment is being safely contained and stored on his campus and our new site and so that's.
That's all in progress actually expect it will be done by the end of this week, but the systems are sophisticated alluvial mining systems. If they were operating in.
Where there was no mercury contamination they can still.
Extract and Retrievable.
There's value to the assets.
And we are assessing now the best way to fully wind down and monetize that but we're moving forward like we just have to be very Frank with this I have never ever in my career in confronted with an opportunity like Cellulosic fuels I've never in my career.
Confronted with an explosive market like what's happening.
We are very focused on our fiduciary responsibility to deliver the highest shareholder value and we think these two lines of businesses are just incredible in terms of their potential and we want to ensure that this bigger broader deeper management team is fully dedicated to the renewable energy.
Okay. The next question is about total gold.
Will they be able to meet their obligations to Comstock tunnel has today met their obligations.
They never seem to be ahead of schedule quite frankly, they're not hardly ever on schedule, but they do get there and they've just gone through a major restructuring they've gone through a major management change and from what we're understanding a highly professional reconfigured.
<unk> of their board. So we're optimistic that all of these positive developments will allow them to get back on track and progress the drilling and development.
And we will see the good news is we have monetize a tremendous amount of value from those mineral properties to date, almost $30 million and we have 100% ownership and control of the entire district that it puts us in a position to have the most marketable monetize able asset.
With full control sitting in our hands I'm happy about that we're working with them, we want them to be successful they have the potential to be successful, let's see how it goes.
Okay and the next question is for Investor confidence, how are the new ventures being handled differently.
MCU so they don't run the same course, that's an excellent question first let me highlight and this is not a deflection of responsibility I personally take full responsibility for MCU, but we only had a 25% interest in mcl, we were not in the management of <unk>.
Okay.
We very much love, the social impact and financial impact that it could have deliver but it didn't say.
With with Comstock, We Havent management team I mean, I've never seen anything like this and it's going to be much more visible to you starting at the annual meeting.
And I say at least five certainly by people that have been Ceos that have run businesses and I have never worked with a team of people on such a peer level.
So productively.
Brutal honesty, the passion the intellectual horsepower.
<unk> commitment to Decarbonising profitably right is something that I can't.
I can't express to you well enough, which is why I really would love you to come to the annual meeting.
To see for yourself, but that's the difference by 119, one common goal working 24 seven to achieve something meaningful meaningful in terms of de carbonization meaningful in terms of financial impact meaningful in terms of social impact, let me say that we have.
Great pains, and elegantly designed the system, whereas the rate that we generate cash is synonymous with the rate that we decarbonize every gallon that we produce helps the environment and makes money I don't know how to say it a simpler there's no conflict in our organization between doing good.
And decarbonising and making money, it's a very unique thing and when people realize it and they see the speed at which it does throughput is a right when they see the speed at which it does it.
They're not going to be able to calculate fast enough the impact and thats. When we will have that we have something special and that's when people will start to really realize it.
Corrado you referenced our annual meeting in a few weeks on Thursday may 26.
In Reno at the Atlantis Hotel.
Can you please provide us with some more details about the annual meeting.
If it will be online or web.
Webcast via two happily. Thank you that question. So the meeting starts first thing in the morning on the 26th we will all be there that means our expanded board.
<unk>, Kristen <unk> and Kevin Chrysler that mean.
Our full management team. Okay. So we will all be there we will spend the entire morning going through yes.
Normal protocols have an annual meeting, but also an update and an insight to what these amazing businesses are about to do we have our models of the business processes. We have samples of our products very very tangible where you can engage in touch and we would expect to the formal part of the meeting is typically about three out.
Let's say nine to 12, and we would expect to be engaged.
East.
Mid afternoon to 230.
Then we will have some other business activities to follow so we would look.
Very much forward to.
Speaking directly to our shareholders.
For all of that activity in.
In terms of the.
Virtual versus live.
We will certainly be live that's the whole basis of what we're doing and we will take the opportunity in that meeting to videotape the presentations and the proceedings. So that it will be available to all others thereafter, it won't live stream because there's just so many acts.
<unk> is going on it would be like a reality TV show that we can't handle that so.
We'll be available afterwards, but not bearing.
Okay. Thank you for that.
And then.
Don't know if you can speak to this correctly, but in a general sense.
Has there been any dialogue with companies like Tesla or Panasonic.
There has been dialogues with <unk>.
Companies in the EV industry absolutely.
So I can't we can't disclose which ones until or we won't disclose with lines until we have agreements in Merck.
People specifics.
And then we've had a few questions about.
And see you, possibly being used in the states or an American flat here on the Comstock load our systems can operate anywhere where there is a little volume anywhere where there's materials that can be processed either to remove the metals or two.
We have the contamination.
The system that was that is here on the Comstock was designed as a pilot system not as a full production system system in the Philippines was the production system.
Production system. So so there is no prohibition.
To where those systems could operate.
Designed to be mobile.
So yeah.
Okay.
The next question can you tell us a little more information about Jim map.
So.
And that's part of our R&D, it's a hard core longer term part of our R&D.
Really don't have.
We have a policy not to discuss things at our pre development and in development.
As I stated earlier, we're going to talk specifically about the things that we're going to be delivering in the next three to six months.
We won't be talking about the R&D, that's going on in Warsaw.
Other than that and we won't be talking about the developments that are happening with genmab other than that.
Okay and the next question is about our commemorative silver medallion.
They would like to know.
How many of those remain.
So there's not many that are remaining.
<unk>.
It's remarkable how.
Literally someone's asking for them all the time, so it's not huge quantities and requests but there is just continued request. So they are dwindling down I mean, I don't I haven't looked at the inventory, but if there was 100 I would be surprised.
Yeah that sounds like about the right quantity remaining.
Okay. The next question.
Personally like to know if we have any technical papers that can show what the prototypes. We have can produce such as the black mass or biofuels.
Something that.
It can be shown to the market.
Yes, I think that we have a tremendous amount of technical information and we will have to assess once once our broader patents are filed.
How.
<unk> that would be to us to publish information I think.
That.
Most likely will occur in some form but I would focus the most important thing which is our ability to demonstrate at scale. What these systems can there right when people can touch hidden ticket theyre going to know that it works.
Okay.
And.
This investor would like to know how.
How the new ventures will be handled.
Differently than MCU.
No.
I think an answer to that I'm, just going to reemphasize that rather than being once removed in a governor.
Uh-huh business, we're fully engaged.
And in controlling operating the businesses.
We don't have we don't have any other passes.
Business interest rate Cellulosic fuels, 100% own then it go almost 90% owned we.
<unk> plan.
Communicate and execute every single day.
It's our job.
That wasn't our job at MCU.
But it's our job with Cellulosic fuels and battery metals.
Okay. The next question why did the Manta agreement.
<unk> sorry.
Manav.
It didn't it did right because a big part of our management team, including our Chief operating officer.
Head of business development, and quite a bit of our marketing communication team.
We're joined to us via that acquisition, what Didnt work out is the agreement.
To produce some.
Biomass in.
In Idaho, and frankly, we diligence the heck out of it and it just was nowhere near as effective and nowhere near as powerful as the two business that we're operating in.
Disappointing that that happens, but it was also joyful right that we made the right decision.
And it's enabled us to accelerate what we're doing in our two core businesses now. So every every decision we've made in the last eight months has been to enhance and strengthen our focus on the businesses that bringing the shareholders. The largest valleys I think frankly, the ability to say we made a mistake.
Alrighty.
To not spend or allocate capital to.
Things that are best for our shareholders is a strong ability and I think it should be reflected not just of my leadership of the entire management team who challenges each other for what's best for our shareholders and what's best.
For our value and that was an example of it was a hard decision.
It wasn't a devastating decision it was.
We were evaluating it we started moving into it.
And we just couldn't prove what we needed to prove to ensure we can deliver to our shareholders and we very efficiently moved away from it we got all of our shares back right.
And we were thrilled by that right. So we're moving forward fast.
Pivoting back to mining are you going to try to market the mining operations.
We're going to right there is.
There is a high level of interest in the entire district.
There is a lot of value supported by the technical reports.
And we're going to do look at capital allocation decision. If you can deliver hundreds of billions of value and cellulosic fuels.
<unk>.
Where do you want to put your capital where you want to put your resources will do you want to put your team. So we've made that decision.
Okay.
And the next question can you. Please describe the races that were recently awarded.
Look when we did the acquisition.
We brought the team on we came in.
Below market values that was done by necessity right we needed to get started right away, we didn't have necessarily the resources right away and we did something out of necessity.
I don't think anybody would benchmark any of our salaries or any of our compensation today or over the last five years as being anything other than below market. Okay. So what I love about this team has that.
Their passion their commitment their dedication to decarbonize.
And second to none right. These are these are these are incredibly experienced incredibly knowledge, but also incredibly dedicated people we have something special here right from the annual meeting you'll see how special it is it's just remarkable.
Is it possible to get pictures of the current crushing system.
This investor believes that would help the share price and also updates to investors.
That arent aware of everything that the company is doing yeah, we will expand the visual revpar TWA [laughter], we will absolutely.
Start to show visuals as it's appropriate okay. So when the system is up when it's fully visible.
Testing parts of it now and very soon to test the full integrated when those things are available we'll show them when you.
Do you see the.
Inside of the facility, both the main crushing and separating areas as well as the refining areas.
There'll be very impressive okay and so.
When appropriate as due over the next six months as these things start coming online and we're announcing their completions.
<unk> will add some visual AIDS to that equation and we're happy to do that.
Okay and the next question.
John Winfield used to be.
A large shareholder in load.
What is his position now.
As John remains a large shareholder John is an excellent shareholder.
John and supportive shareholder.
John is an example of.
Probably a dozen shareholders that have been with the company for over five years and in his case over time.
Okay and a quick follow up question on the silver medallions.
Would those be full before but what's the price so [laughter].
[laughter] those medallions were commemorate the sesquicentennial right the 150 year anniversary.
Nevada.
The state, which was founded based on the silver and strengthened.
Financial Comstock alone so we charge $100 50.
To commemorate the 150 years.
Okay.
Yeah, and you made those back in 2014 2014 that was our sesquicentennial base now like the 115 yourself okay.
Let's see.
The shareholder would like to know if we have a backup funding plan.
And how close are we to selling our non mining assets.
So our non our non mining assets are as I mentioned, the Daney ranch.
Second quarter.
The rest of it by the end of this year, we're highly confident about that and the competence is in superficial theres been a tremendous amount of activity in silver Springs, Theres been a tremendous amount of value appreciation in silver springs, but more importantly, there are large capital pools.
Coming into silver Springs that'll enable.
US too to complete what we've contracted for and we're very happy about that and we do have.
Funding alternatives that are in place.
Capital needed.
To get through these.
Our pilot and scale facilities.
As all in our plan.
It's all laid out over the next nine months and we're we're capital fine to get through all of this.
Our our plans frankly are to move as fast as possible the market opportunities are there for US immediately so we want to make sure that we get to the market immediately.
Okay Corrado, we're approaching the top of the hour.
Yes, one more question first the statement.
Nice presentation that was the statement.
Then this person would like you to tell us when.
When we are going to be driving a semi truck fueled by by OEM across the country.
Oh, that's great question so.
Look we said that.
We are targeting our first facility by 2025, right that sounds like a far away, but it's not that far away.
We will we will have full demonstration capabilities by the end of this year that will ultimately translate into announcing our first site.
Then.
Once that's arranged and everything's in place, it's two years from that point right.
What what will be even more.
<unk> is that most of these aviation companies most of these transportation companies all of the sweeping mobility I've committed to carbon targets that they mathematically cannot achieve and so we will be signing off take arrangements that we have.
No.
That will support and enable.
The first facility in many facilities beyond and so the real answer to that question is very very soon because our fuels are dropped in.
So in case anybody is not clear.
We're talking about fuels that work and existing infrastructure, we're talking about fuels that run trucks that run planes, we see the explosion devine with even in the most aggressive EV projections if.
If you get to 10% of the market that means the 150 million electronic vehicles on the road.
It also means $1 5 billion fuel burning vehicles on the road.
So we couldnt be better positioned to grab the growth of EV, but the big game isn't liquid fuels.
We have the carbon neutral solution.
Thank you everyone. We look forward to not only seeing you at the annual meeting, but the communications that will come out of that meeting we're very excited about thank you.
Yeah.