Comstock Mining Advances the Dayton Resource Development, Schedules 2018 Dayton NI 43-101
Discovers 3 feet of 0.246 opt Gold and 3.553 opt Silver in Crosscutting MineralizationVIRGINIA CITY, July 19, 2018 - Comstock Mining Inc. (the “Company”) (NYSE American:LODE) today announced its progress towards, and additional plans for, advancing its Dayton project, which contains the Company’s second largest gold and silver mineral resource. The Company has retained the independent mining advisory firm of Behre Dolbear to produce a National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) compliant technical report for the Dayton resource area, followed by a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) during the fourth quarter of 2018. This report is expected to include a robust resource estimate, and to provide a plan to further develop the resource. It will also be the basis for the subsequent PEA, which will assess the preliminary economic feasibility for the project.
Corrado De Gasperis, Executive Chairman and CEO of the Company, commented, “We have always planned for the Dayton to be our second operating mine, and have been working diligently to increase our understanding of this important area. The new technical report and PEA will confirm the value we have placed on the Dayton.”
Behre Dolbear authored the Company’s previous, January 2013 Technical Report for the Comstock Mine Project, which included a resource estimate for the Dayton resource area. The 2013 estimate included 8.33 million tons of Measured and Indicated resources, containing 238,000 ounces of gold and 1,770,000 ounces of silver, at a cutoff grade of 0.007 ounces of gold per ton. The estimate included an additional 8.59 million tons of Inferred resources, containing 206,000 ounces of gold and 1,130,000 ounces of silver. The new report will be the first stand-alone, NI 43-101 compliant report for the Dayton resource area.
Since January 2013, the Company has:
- Increased the property position, both mining claims and private land, including more than 350 acres of contiguous private lands suitable for a dedicated mineral processing site;
- Achieved a landmark, Lyon County Master Plan and zoning change that broadened the potential land uses, and restored mining as an appropriate use for the historic mining patents;
- Restored the historic mine portals for safe exploration in the Dayton project area;
- Completed underground geologic mapping of the accessible, historic Dayton mine workings;
- Completed underground sampling that provided assays and other analysis for furthering the geologic interpretation, including the identification of new mineralized structures;
- Drilled 408 shallow holes totaling 30,819 feet, identifying mineralized structures covered by shallow alluvium that meaningfully improved the geological mapping of the area;
- Expanded trials with Cycladex, Inc., a strategic investee, in part funded by the National Science Foundation, for extensive testing of their patented, cycladextrin lixiviant, a potential alternative to traditional cyanide heap leaching; and
- Advanced screening-level, economic analysis of a pilot-processing facility with Itronics, Inc., (OTC:ITRO) using their KAM-Thio metallurgical recovery processes, a potential alternative to traditional cyanide heap leaching for processing Dayton material.
This new information will support building a completely updated, three-dimensional model of the Dayton project, with a new resource estimate, that will be included in a new NI 43-101 Technical Report, scheduled for the fourth quarter of this year. The new resource model will be used as the basis for a PEA that evaluates multiple economic scenarios for mining and processing the Dayton material.
The ongoing project development has most recently benefitted from updated data and analysis from accessing the restored Dayton Adit. The Dayton Adit was developed from 1938 until 1942. The Company previously reported historic assays that identified a continuous zone of mineralization in the Dayton Adit of more than 205 feet of length with an average grade of 0.054 ounces of gold per ton.
Heavy rainfall during the past two years exposed and revealed a newly recognized, mineralized, cross-cutting shear zone, dominated by black and orange ferro-manganese clays with bronze colored bands. The full extent of the shear zone has not yet been exposed. A one meter (approximately 3 feet) wide sample of the material was collected and analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma – Atomic Emission Spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and fire assayed for gold and silver.
The results showed the following elevated values for a number of elements:
| Gold | Silver | Cadmium | Lead | Selenium | Thallium | Tungsten | Zinc |
| Au | Ag | Cd | Pb | Se | Tl | W | Zn |
| 7.50 ppm | 110.5 ppm | 12.9 ppm | 46 ppm | 32 ppm | 7.8 ppm | 22 ppm | 102 ppm |
| 0.246 opt | 3.553 opt | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Previous multi-element analyses conducted in the Company’s resource areas typically showed very low base metal content (typically between 10-20 ppm) and non-detectable values of Cadmium (Cd), Selenium (Se), Thallium (Tl), and Tungsten (W). This specific zone has a very different geochemistry signature, with much higher values. The Company plans additional sampling and detailed geological mapping to define the full extent of the shear zone.
Corrado De Gasperis concluded, “The discovery of these exceptional precious metal grades (0.25 opt gold and 3.5 opt silver) and now other minerals, in just a portion of the newly exposed zone affirms and enhances our outlook of Dayton’s potential. We are gaining traction using internal resources and partners to assess alternative processing technologies with higher yield, lower waste and, critically, lower cost and clean solutions for mining the Dayton. We look forward to publishing these results in a stand-alone, NI 43-101 technical report.”
About Comstock Mining Inc.
Comstock Mining Inc. is a Nevada-based, gold and silver mining company with extensive, contiguous property in the Comstock District and is an emerging leader in sustainable, responsible mining. The Company began acquiring properties in the Comstock District in 2003. Since then, the Company has consolidated a significant portion of the Comstock District, amassed the single largest known repository of historical and current geological data on the Comstock region, secured permits, built an infrastructure and completed its first phase of production. The Company continues evaluating and acquiring properties inside and outside the district expanding its footprint and exploring all of our existing and prospective opportunities for further exploration, development and mining. The near-term goal of our business plan is to maximize intrinsic stockholder value realized, per share, by continuing to acquire mineralized and potentially mineralized properties, exploring, developing and validating qualified resources and reserves (proven and probable) that enable the commercial development of our operations through extended, long-lived mine plans and developments that are economically feasible and socially responsible.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and any related calls or discussions may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “project,” “plan,” “should,” “intend,” “may,” “will,” “would,” “potential” and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but are not the exclusive means of doing so. Forward-looking statements include statements about matters such as: future industry market conditions; future explorations or acquisitions; future changes in our exploration activities; future prices and sales of, and demand for, our products; land entitlements and uses; production capacity and operations; operating and overhead costs; future capital expenditures and their impact on us; operational and management changes (including changes in the board of directors); changes in business strategies, planning and tactics; future employment and contributions of personnel, including consultants; future land sales investments, acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, business combinations, operational, tax, financial and restructuring initiatives; including the nature and timing and accounting for restructuring charges, derivative liabilities and the impact thereof; contingencies; environmental compliance and changes in the regulatory environment; offerings, limitations on sales or offering of equity or debt securities; including asset sales and the redemption of the debenture and associated costs; future working capital, costs, revenues, business opportunities, debt levels, cash flows, margins, earnings and growth.
These statements are based on assumptions and assessments made by our management in light of their experience and their perception of historical and current trends, current conditions, possible future developments and other factors they believe to be appropriate. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees, representations or warranties and are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are unforeseeable and beyond our control and could cause actual results, developments and business decisions to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Some of those risks and uncertainties include the risk factors set forth in this report and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, and the following: adverse effects of climate changes or natural disasters; global economic and capital market uncertainties; the speculative nature of gold or mineral exploration, including risks of diminishing quantities or grades of qualified resources; operational or technical difficulties in connection with exploration or mining activities; contests over our title to properties; potential dilution to our stockholders from our stock issuances, recapitalization and balance sheet restructuring activities; potential inability to comply with applicable government regulations or law; adoption of or changes in legislation or regulations adversely affecting our businesses; permitting constraints or delays; business opportunities that may be presented to, or pursued by, us; acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances, business combinations, asset sales, and investments that we may be party to in the future; changes in the United States or other monetary or fiscal policies or regulations; interruptions in our production capabilities due to capital constraints; equipment failures; fluctuation of prices for gold or certain other commodities (such as silver, zinc, cyanide, water, diesel fuel and electricity); changes in generally accepted accounting principles; adverse effects of terrorism and geopolitical events; potential inability to implement our business strategies; potential inability to grow revenues; potential inability to attract and retain key personnel; interruptions in delivery of critical supplies, equipment and raw materials due to credit or other limitations imposed by vendors; assertion of claims, lawsuits and proceedings against us; potential inability to satisfy debt and lease obligations; potential inability to maintain an effective system of internal controls over financial reporting; potential inability or failure to timely file periodic reports with the SEC; potential inability to list our securities on any securities exchange or market; inability to maintain the listing of our securities; and work stoppages or other labor difficulties. Occurrence of such events or circumstances could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows or the market price of our securities. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements by or attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Except as may be required by securities or other law, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Neither this press release nor any related calls or discussions constitutes an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the Debenture or any other securities of the Company.
| Contact information for Comstock Mining Inc.: | ||
| PO Box 1118 Virginia City, NV 89440 | ||
| http://www.comstockmining.com | ||
| Corrado De Gasperis | Zach Spencer | |
| Executive Chairman & CEO | Director of External Relations | |
| Tel (775) 847-4755 | Tel (775) 847-5272 ext. 151 | |
| degasperis@comstockmining.com | questions@comstockmining.com | |