Continuous operations are set to commence in August, according to Comstock Metals president.
Posted by Tess Kazdin, Digital Editor
Comstock Metals, a subsidiary of Virginia City, Nevada-based Comstock Inc., has announced it has integrated, tested and operated the robotic loading and initial conveyance system, representing the front-end stages of its production process as part of the overall commissioning of its industry-scale solar recycling facility in Silver Springs, Nevada.
Comstock says the operating system has three major operating stages that are currently being integrated, individually stress tested and commissioned, representing another step toward the full commissioning, start up and continuous operation of the 100,000-ton per year solar panel recycling production line. The robotic arms and continuous loading and conveyance systems that feed the initial crushers are now fully integrated and operational.
“We are pleased to report that, as of [the first week of July], we completed the wiring, interconnection of the PLC systems, integration and testing of the first third of the plant,” Comstock CEO Corrado De Gasperis says. “Specifically, the robotic loading arms and that the initial tests all resulted in effective and expedient loading of the panels into the system. In fact, the loading systems capacity test exceeded our estimated capacity design maximums by 10 percent. The team will now stress test the particle size reduction stage of the system and continue forward into our proprietary process integration and testing. We remain on track for stress testing those components over the next two weeks.”
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“We are now well into the process of bringing the industry-scale production plant online while taking great care to make sure each stage is working as designed and to specification and then stress-testing these processes at volumes representing the equipment’s stated capacities,” Comstock Metals President Fortunato Villamagna says. “The front end is now actually working better than initial designs and has been tested and operating, and we will continue moving through the rest of the production system in that same sequence, such that by next month, the nine distinct unit operations will all be operational together. We are also now leveraging the modular nature of the start-up process to train and develop the operating crews to move from a 24/5 to a 24/7 on a 12-hour rotating shift basis.”
According to Comstock, the start-up sequence is largely dictated by the engineering requirements and the responses to continued requests for materials and samples from a reportedly growing population of potential offtake customers.
Comstock says it also continues to stress test the secondary upgrading processes for the offtake products, especially glass, to ensure compliance with customer specifications.
“The operating team and the personnel development that resulted from a multiyear demonstration facility is now proving extremely beneficial,” Villamagna says. “These developmental and commissioning activities, along with all aspects of integration, testing, tuning and staged stress testing will continue throughout July, while continuous operations should commence this August.”
At the end of June, the company announced that all industry-scale facility precision equipment and unit operations had arrived and were assembled at the plant.

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