RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS |
6 Months Ended |
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Jun. 30, 2023 | |
Related Party Transactions [Abstract] | |
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS | RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS The following related party transactions occurred during the six-months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022. AMENDMENT TO ASSET PURCHASE AGREEMENT On September 7, 2021, the Company entered and closed under an Asset Purchase Agreement with Flux Photon Corporation (“FPC”), to acquire certain intellectual property and related photovoltaic and photocatalysis laboratory equipment (the “FPC Assets”). The purchase price payable for the FPC Assets is $18,000,000 payable in cash to FPC at a rate equal to 20% of the future monthly consolidated sales, less total variable costs, less operating expenses, maintenance, tax payments, and debt service payments of the Company and its now and hereafter-existing subsidiaries, until the purchase price of $18,000,000 has been fully paid. The Company assigned the FPC Assets to its wholly-owned Comstock IP Holdings subsidiary immediately after closing. On December 10, 2021, the Asset Purchase Agreement was amended to provide for the payment by the Company of a $350,000 down payment against the purchase price, corresponding to a potential performance-based cash payment of $17,650,000 required under the Asset Purchase Agreement. The Company’s chief technology officer and the president of the Company's Comstock Fuels subsidiary are indirect beneficiaries of all payments made to FPC under the Asset Purchase Agreement. The Company additionally agreed to appoint the Company's chief technology officer to the Company’s Board of Directors in connection with the Company’s acquisition of Comstock Innovations Corporation on September 7, 2021. We recognized an impairment loss of $338,034 on the FPC Assets in other income (expense) in the condensed consolidated statement of operations during the six-months ended June 30, 2022 in the renewable energy segment. LEASE AND PURCHASE AGREEMENT FOR BATTERY RECYCLING FACILITY On March 1, 2023, the Company sold $782,500 in equipment purchased from AQMS in 2022 and classified as assets held for sale at December 31, 2022. AQMS has a noncontrolling interest of LINICO and through April 5, 2023, the chief financial officer of AQMS was on the Company's board of directors. On April 26, 2023, the Company closed on the purchase of Aqua Metals Transfer LLC, a subsidiary of AQMS, including land, buildings and related improvements therein and paid the $12 million due to AQMS, effectively taking full ownership of the land, buildings and related improvements and the previously existing lease with LINICO was terminated. As of June 30, 2023, assets held for sale include the land, buildings and related improvements with a balance of $20,638,942 (see Note 8, Assets Held For Sale). TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING SIERRA SPRINGS OPPORTUNITY FUND As of June 30, 2023, the Company has provided SSOF and one of its subsidiary with a total of $5,925,000 in Advances ("SSOF Advances"). SSOF was required to use the corresponding proceeds to pay deposits and other payments on land and other facilities and general corporate purposes related to investments in qualified businesses in the opportunity zone. The SSOF Advances are non-interest-bearing and are expected to be repaid on or before the closing of the Company’s sale of the Silver Springs Properties to SSE (see Note 3, Notes Receivable and Advances, Net). SSOF has assigned all assignable rights, title and interest in SSOF’s property purchases until such time as the SSOF Advances are repaid. The Company's executive chairman and chief executive officer co-founded SSOF and SSE, and serves as the chief executive officer of SSOF and as an executive of SSE along with a diverse team of qualified financial, capital markets, real estate and operational professionals that together govern, lead and manage SSOF and SSE. The $525,000 investment and 9,164,333 voting shares of our CEO and two of our directors represent 15.92% of total as converted SSOF common shares. The Company's chief executive officer has not received compensation from either SSOF or SSE.
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