Comstock (NYSEAMERICAN:LODE) executives used a business update webinar to address investor questions following a recently completed equity offering and to provide progress updates on the company’s solar panel recycling business, permitting status, and longer-term plans to develop a domestic refining solution for recovered metals.
$50M equity raise and balance sheet update
Executive Chairman and CEO Corrado De Gasperis said the company initially set out to raise $30 million to fund three priorities within its metals strategy: permitting and equipment for a second recycling facility, accelerated site selection and permitting for additional locations, and development work toward a domestic refining solution. He said the offering was upsized to $50 million due to demand and resulted in net proceeds of $46.5 million after fees, bringing Comstock to “well over $60 million” in cash when combined with its existing cash position.
On liabilities, De Gasperis said Comstock has “zero debt” and added that the company extinguished several non-debt obligations as part of its balance sheet actions.
Nevada permitting and facility commissioning timeline
De Gasperis said Comstock received all permits from the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection for its first industry-scale solar panel recycling facility in Silver Springs, Nevada. He characterized the state’s permitting standard as stringent, emphasizing that Nevada effectively required the company to demonstrate it would not generate waste in order to qualify for the permit.
He also said Comstock hired Kayla Alm, a former leader in the Nevada agency’s Sustainable Materials Bureau, to strengthen the company’s recycling permitting capabilities as it moves toward additional facilities.
Operationally, De Gasperis said the Silver Springs facility remains on schedule to be commissioned in the first quarter and to be operating in the second quarter. He described the company’s approach as a “zero landfill” solution that recovers aluminum, glass, and metal-rich tailings, with no wastewater and no chemical use, and stated that every sack of recovered material is shipped and sold.
Economics and scaling: tipping fees, throughput, and silver sensitivity
Management highlighted the business model in which customers pay upfront tipping fees to eliminate end-of-life solar panel liabilities. De Gasperis said Comstock is consistently achieving the equivalent of about $500 per ton in tipping fees, and described additional revenue streams from selling recovered materials, including aluminum, glass, and metal-rich tailings.
He outlined a simplified economic framework that had previously assumed roughly $500 per ton of inbound tipping fees plus about $250 per ton of outbound commodity sales, against an all-in cost of about $150 per ton. He also emphasized low variable costs, stating electricity and natural gas costs are less than 7% of revenue, and said the system is designed to process a panel every seven seconds, enabling “millions of panels” per year per production line.
De Gasperis said the company’s original tailings economics were based on silver prices below $40 per ounce and an offtake arrangement in which Comstock receives only a portion of silver value after transportation and refining charges. He said silver price changes materially affect revenue from tailings: at $60 per ounce, he stated the company could realize about $375 per ton from tailings rather than $125 per ton, which he estimated could represent an additional $20 million to $25 million per facility annually. He said Comstock is now placing greater emphasis on a domestic refining solution to capture more of the value from silver and other metals contained in tailings, including copper, gallium, tellurium, and silicon.
Facility expansion plans and domestic refining roadmap
De Gasperis said the proceeds from the offering are intended to accelerate a second facility near Las Vegas and to move faster on identifying and securing additional sites, with the goal of building a broader network without “prematurely” constructing all facilities. He said the company plans to file permits for facility #2 “as soon as next week” and order equipment in March. He also referenced a California “conveyance” or preparation station in response to customer needs and a customer-driven site selection in Ohio.
On refining, President of Comstock Metals Fortunato Villamagna described a proposed domestic process as a series of “unit operations” covering extraction, separation, and conversion into sellable products. He said the underlying technologies are established and being adapted for Comstock’s specific material stream, and characterized the technology readiness as “fairly high” for the extraction step, citing that these processes exist in other U.S. applications. De Gasperis said the company’s objective is to reach a final technical and economic definition for the refining solution by the end of the year, and then consider a demonstration-scale refinery in 2027 or 2028, followed by industrial scale in 2028 or 2029.
Internationally, De Gasperis said Comstock has been approached by parties in Europe, India, Australia, the Middle East, and elsewhere, but indicated the company’s current focus is on the U.S. market. He said Comstock is open to international ventures or licensing-like arrangements, but that any approach would need to include an appropriate level of control.
Customer pipeline visibility and contract structure
In the Q&A, management said pipeline visibility remains limited relative to other parts of the plan, with De Gasperis stating it is difficult to forecast beyond three to five months with high predictability. However, he and Villamagna said visibility is improving as customers build internal teams and budgets to address solar panel end-of-life planning. De Gasperis said the company already has roughly 6,000 tons of material staged and waiting to be processed.
Regarding agreements, management said Comstock typically uses master service agreements with major solar utility companies across the U.S. Villamagna said these agreements are not “take-or-pay” contracts but serve as operational roadmaps that define how the parties work together. De Gasperis added that customers perform extensive diligence, including audits, site visits, checks on offtake channels, and in some cases direct outreach to regulators.
On tipping fees, Villamagna said pricing is negotiated and based on the value of liability removal and related services such as on-site panel removal and logistics. He said tipping fees have remained “virtually unchanged” since the company started, with some variability based on factors such as volume and the scope of the master service agreement, and he did not expect substantial long-term erosion.
Other updates: Bioleum, Sierra Springs, and mining assets
De Gasperis provided a brief update on Bioleum, stating Comstock has now fully acquired RenFuel, has three people in Sweden with a lab, and now directly owns the IP. He also said the Hexas acquisition was a “game changer,” and that Comstock updated its business plan accordingly. He said the company has hired an investment banker and is preparing to relaunch a Series A raise for the fuels initiative, adding that there may be monetization opportunities before full integration and production scaling. He said additional detail is expected around the annual filing timeframe.
On Sierra Springs, De Gasperis said Comstock advanced some money to the opportunity and attributed the decision to progress in securing access to power, which he said had been the bottleneck. He said third parties have engaged due to the improved outlook and stated he expects “something in February” regarding a transaction structure, though he did not provide details.
He also said Comstock has seen increased and higher-quality inquiries regarding its mining assets, which he attributed to higher precious metals prices, and suggested the company is evaluating potential monetization paths rather than prioritizing hard rock mining over its recycling strategy.
Finally, De Gasperis said Comstock recently increased ownership guidelines for directors and officers and indicated that could lead to additional share purchases, subject to blackout and legal constraints. He said the company expects to provide further updates with its annual filing in roughly three weeks and plans an annual meeting in late May that may include tours of the Silver Springs facility.
About Comstock (NYSEAMERICAN:LODE)
Comstock Mining, Inc (NYSE: LODE) is a growth-oriented mineral exploration and production company focused on the historic Comstock Lode in Virginia City, Nevada. The company’s primary business activities include the development, extraction and sale of gold and silver from its flagship Lucerne project. Comstock leverages modern mining techniques and infrastructure to access high-grade ore bodies in one of North America’s most renowned silver-gold districts.
In addition to its core precious metals operations, Comstock Mining maintains a commercial real estate division centered in Virginia City’s historic district.
