Comstock Mining Further Expands Strategic Operating Permit


VIRGINIA CITY, NV--(Marketwired - January 06, 2015) - Comstock Mining Inc. ("Comstock Mining" or "the Company") (NYSE MKT: LODE) announced today that it received unanimous approval from the Storey County Board of Commissioners to further expand mining and processing capability of the Company's existing, recently expanded, landmark Special Use Permit No. 2000-222-A-4. The full board was present and all voted to approve Comstock Mining's application. This permit incorporates recently acquired strategic land additions, totaling approximately 100 additional acres, into the existing SUP, increasing the overall permitted boundary to over 1,300 acres.

Comstock Mining's Chief Executive Officer, Corrado De Gasperis commented: "These land acquisitions border our planned mine expansions on the East-side of the Lucerne Mine, in close proximity to where current exploration and development drilling is ongoing and also along the northern borders of our existing heap leach operation, making future heap expansions more practical and efficient."

In 2014, Comstock Mining applied for and received amendments to significantly modify and expand permitted and allowable uses throughout its entire Lucerne Resource Area, containing the Company's largest, classified gold and silver resources and throughout its American Flat processing area. The amendment applies to both surface and underground mining; processing and milling; mine definition; exploration; development and other ancillary uses. Some of the more salient features include:

  • Expands the overall permitted boundary to over 1,300 acres (from 180 acres), allowing for substantial expansion of mining and processing operations, including the East-side of Lucerne;
  • Expands the permitted private property boundary to over 425 acres (from 78 acres) for processing to the south and west of the existing processing facility in American Flat; and
  • Enhances ongoing mine planning and exploration for the assessment of mineral deposits, including their location, extent, depth, and grade, for the subsequent phasing of the active mine.

Mr. De Gasperis concluded: "We continue expanding our strategic land position and permitted footprint to improve the efficiency of both near and longer-term expansions while implementing best practices for environmentally responsible mining, including concurrent land reclamation, restoration and preservation of one of the most historically significant and currently progressive mining districts in Nevada."

About Comstock Mining Inc.
Comstock Mining Inc. is a producing, Nevada-based, gold and silver mining company with extensive, contiguous property in the Comstock District. 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 commenced production in 2012. The Company continues acquiring additional properties in the district, expanding its footprint and creating opportunities for further exploration and mining. The near term goal of our business plan is to deliver stockholder value by validating qualified resources (measured and indicated) and reserves (proven and probable) of at least 3,250,000 gold equivalent ounces from our first two resource areas, Lucerne and Dayton, achieve initial commercial mining and processing operations in the Lucerne Mine with annual production rates of approximately 40,000 gold equivalent ounces and significantly grow production through the commercial development and expansions of both the Lucerne and Dayton Mine plans.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and any related calls or discussions may include forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 about Comstock. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include statements about matters such as: mining and processing capability; future heap expansion opportunities; future mine planning and exploration; future efficiency; near and long-term expansion; and future environmental protection practices.
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. 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 that 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 discussed in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" of our annual report on Form 10-K, including operational or technical difficulties in connection with exploration or mining activities. 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. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement.

Neither this press release nor any related calls or discussions constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities.

Contact Information:

Contact information for Comstock Mining Inc.:
PO Box 1118
Virginia City, NV 89440   
questions@comstockmining.com   
http://www.comstockmining.com

Corrado De Gasperis     
President & CEO     
Tel (775) 847-4755     
degasperis@comstockmining.com   

Kimberly Shipley
Manager of Investor Relations
Tel (775) 847-0545
Shipley@comstockmining.com