PART II — OTHER INFORMATION
Item 1. Legal Proceedings.
The Company is a party to an ongoing legal proceeding with the Nez Perce Tribe for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act related to historical mining activities. In August 2019, the Nez Perce Tribe filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho. The Company promptly filed a motion to dismiss and, in the alternative, a motion to stay the litigation. Both motions were denied and the Company later filed an answer generally denying liability for the allegations contained in the complaint. Later, the court allowed the Company to amend its answer and file a third-party complaint and in addition the Company also filed a separate citizen suit against the USFS alleging the point source discharges, as alleged by the Nez Perce Tribe in its complaint, were occurring on lands owned and controlled by the United States. Pursuant to the terms of the CERCLA ASAOC executed with the U.S. EPA and the United States Department of Agriculture, the Company subsequently dismissed its pending actions against USFS. The remaining parties to the ongoing legal proceedings agreed to stay the litigation and explore Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) options. The stay has been extended on subsequent occasions, and a request to extend the stay through January 31, 2023 was filed jointly by the parties on October 27, 2022 and subsequently ordered by the court on October 28, 2022.
Item 1A. Risk Factors.
In addition to other information set forth in this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, you should carefully consider the risk factors and other cautionary statements described under the heading “Risk Factors” included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, which could materially affect our businesses, financial condition, or future results. Additional risks and uncertainties currently unknown to us, or that we currently deem to be immaterial, also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition, or future results. Except as set forth below, there have been no material changes in our risk factors from those described in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021.
Our ability to continue the exploration, permitting, development, and construction of the Project, and to continue as a going concern, will depend in part on our ability to obtain suitable financing.
We have limited financial resources. We will need external financing to develop and construct the Project and to complete the permitting process. The Company’s latest liquidity forecast indicates that available cash resources are expected to be exhausted by early fourth quarter 2023. The Company is actively exploring various financing options, including government funding opportunities. However, if additional financing is not secured prior to the second half of 2023, the Company would no longer be able to meet its ongoing obligations or progress critical permitting efforts. Management has prepared and approved an alternative liquidity forecast that, if necessary and initiated beginning in 2023, would alter the timing of controllable expenditures not related to the Company’s ASAOC obligation or progressing toward the final Record of Decision, which would preserve available liquidity into the first quarter of 2024.
In addition, according to the TRS, the total initial capital cost estimate for the Project is approximately $1,263 million. These cost estimates may change materially and our failure to obtain sufficient financing could result in the delay or indefinite postponement of exploration, permitting, development, construction, or production at the Project. The cost and terms of such financing may significantly reduce the expected benefits from development of the Project and/or render such development uneconomic. There can be no assurance that additional capital or other types of financing will be available when needed or that, if available, the terms of such financing will be favorable. Our failure to obtain financing could have a material adverse effect on our growth strategy and results of operations and financial condition.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities; Issuer’s Purchases of Equity Securities
None.
Use of Proceeds from Registered Securities
On August 16, 2021, we completed an underwritten public offering pursuant to a prospectus supplement to our short form base shelf prospectus dated April 1, 2021, filed pursuant to General Instruction II.L. of Form F-10, and declared effective by the SEC on April 2, 2021 (File No. 333-254517, the “Prospectus Supplement”). The Corporation issued 10,952,382 common shares, which included 1,428,572 common shares issued pursuant to the overallotment option granted to the underwriters, at a public offering price of $5.25 per common share for gross proceeds of approximately $57.5 million before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses. The net proceeds from the issuance were $54.3 million, after deduction of underwriting discounts and commissions