DAYTON, Nev. — Comstock Mining Inc. on July 19 announced progress toward, 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 site. 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 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 a 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 its 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, 3D model of the Dayton project.
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.”
