ITEM 1. BUSINESS
CORPORATE HISTORY
Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. (formerly known as Western Uranium Corporation) was incorporated in December 2006 under the Ontario Business Corporations Act and was formerly a non-listed reporting issuer subject to the rules and regulations of the Ontario Securities Commission. On November 20, 2014, the Company completed a listing process on the Canadian Securities Exchange (“CSE”). As part of that process, the Company acquired 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Pinon Ridge Mining LLC (“PRM”), a Delaware limited liability company. The transaction constituted a reverse takeover of Western by PRM. After obtaining appropriate shareholder approvals, the Company subsequently reconstituted its Board of Directors and senior management team.
On August 18, 2014, the Company closed on the purchase of certain mining properties in Colorado and Utah from Energy Fuels Holding Corp. Assets purchased included both owned and leased lands in Utah and Colorado and all represent properties that have been previously mined for uranium to varying degrees in the past. The acquisition included the purchase of the Sunday Mine Complex. The Sunday Mine Complex is located in western San Miguel County, Colorado. The complex consists of the following five individual mines: the Sunday mine, the Carnation mine, the Saint Jude mine, the West Sunday mine and the Topaz mine. The operation of each of these mines requires a separate permit and all such permits have been obtained by Western and are currently valid. In addition, each of the mines has good access to a paved highway, electric power to existing mine workings, office/storage/shop and change buildings, and extensive underground haulage development with multiple vent shafts complete with exhaust fans. After the completion of the 2019/2020 project, the Sunday Mine Complex was advanced such that it is operationally ready to re-start mining operations.
On September 16, 2015, Western completed its acquisition of Black Range, an Australian company that was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange until the acquisition was completed. The acquisition terms were pursuant to a definitive Merger Implementation Agreement entered into between Western and Black Range. Pursuant to the agreement, Western acquired all of the issued shares of Black Range by way of Scheme of Arrangement (“the Scheme”) under the Australian Corporation Act 2001 (Cth) (the “Black Range Transaction”), with Black Range shareholders being issued common shares of Western on a 1 for 750 basis. On August 25, 2015, the Scheme was approved by the shareholders of Black Range and on September 4, 2015, Black Range received approval by the Federal Court of Australia. In addition, Western issued to certain employees, directors and consultants options to purchase Western common shares. Such stock options were intended to replace Black Range stock options outstanding prior to the Black Range Transaction on the same 1 for 750 basis.
In connection with the Black Range Transaction, Western acquired the net assets of Black Range. These net assets consist principally of interests in a large uranium resource located in Colorado (the “Hansen-Taylor Complex”) and a 100% interest in a 25 year license for Kinetic Separation (“Kinetic Separation”, formerly known as “Ablation”) and related patents from Ablation Technologies, LLC. The Hansen-Taylor Complex is principally a sandstone-hosted deposit that was discovered in 1977.
Furthermore, related to Kinetic Separation in connection with the acquisition of Black Range Minerals Ltd. (“Black Range”), the Company assumed a call option agreement between Black Range and Mr. George Glasier. Prior to the Black Range Transaction, George Glasier, the Company’s CEO, who is also a director (“Seller”), transferred his interest in a former joint venture with Ablation Technologies, LLC to Black Range. In connection with the transfer, Black Range issued 25 million shares of Black Range common stock to Seller and committed to pay $500,000 AUD ($392,086USD as of December 31, 2020) to Seller within 60 days of the first commercial application of the Kinetic Separation. Western assumed this contingent payment obligation in connection with the Black Range Transaction.
The Kinetic Separation process is dramatically different from conventional mining techniques. Subject to regulatory approvals for the use of Kinetic Separation, the benefits of Kinetic Separation are as follows:
●Mining, crushing, and separation of waste from minerals (uranium and vanadium), used most effectively, occurs underground (inside the mine). Under this approach the costs of moving material to the surface are less as 85%-90% of the mined material remains underground and is never brought outside the mine.
●Less radiometric exposure throughout the process due to reduced waste rock on the surface and after the milling process less tailings. Overall surface waste material is reduced and the time duration of material handling is reduced.
●Lower costs for transportation of post-kinetically separated material because 85-90% of the mined material would not need to be transported.
●Once the kinetically separated material reaches the mill, the acid consumption at the mill and power is much less due to the lower quantity and more concentrated material moving through the milling process.
Kinetic Separation can be used on legacy uranium stockpiles in the western United States. WUC would kinetically separate these stockpiles, removing 85-90% of the uranium. This is an application through which Kinetic Separation could positively contribute to the ‘greening of the environment’. According to a study there are approximately 4,225 legacy uranium mines from the 1940-1970 period throughout the Western United States, most of which have waste stockpiles.
In the estimation of management, Kinetic Separation mining allows the cost of production of uranium to be reduced by 44-53%.
Our common shares are listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange, also known as the “CSE,” under the symbol “WUC”, and are also quoted in the United States on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol “WSTRF.” We are headquartered in Ontario, Canada with mining operations in the two U.S. states of Utah and Colorado. The mailing address of our headquarters is 330 Bay Street, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, M5H2S8, Canada, and the telephone number is (970) 864-2125. Our corporate website is located at http://www.western-uranium.com/.
We are an “emerging growth company” as that term is defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (the “JOBS Act”). The JOBS Act defines an “emerging growth company” as one that had total annual gross revenues of less than $1,000,000,000 during the last fiscal year. Section 102(b) (1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standard. The JOBS Act also provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period provided by Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable.
Our wholly-owned subsidiaries are Western Uranium Corp., Pinon Ridge Mining LLC, Black Range Minerals Limited, Black Range Copper Inc., Ranger Resources Inc., Black Range Minerals Inc., Black Range Minerals Colorado LLC, Black Range Minerals Wyoming LLC, Haggerty Resources LLC, Ranger Alaska LLC, Black Range Minerals Utah LLC, Black Range Minerals Ablation Holdings Inc. and Black Range Development Utah LLC.
OUR COMPANY
Western is in the business of exploring, developing, mining and production of its uranium and vanadium resource properties.
Western is an exploration stage company for purposes of Industry Guide 7 of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Industry Guide 7 states that mining companies like ours can be classified into three stages: exploration, development, or production. Exploration stage includes all companies engaged in the search for mineral deposits, which are not in either the development or production stage. In order to be classified as a development or production stage company, the Company must have already established reserves. The Company has not established reserves for purposes of Industry Guide 7.
National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”) is a rule of the Canadian Securities Administrators that establishes standards for all public disclosure a Canadian issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. All historical mineral resource estimates contained in this annual report have been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum classification system. These standards differ from the mineral property disclosure requirements of Industry Guide 7, which, until December 31, 2020, applied to most SEC reporting issuers. However, on October 31, 2018, the SEC adopted changes to modernize the mineral property disclosure requirements applicable to SEC registrants. New subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K (the “SEC Modernization Rules”) became effective on February 25, 2019 and, for fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2021, replaces Industry Guide 7’s disclosure requirements. Under the SEC Modernization Rules, consistent with global standards as embodied by the Committee for Reserves International Reporting Standards (“CRIRSCO”), SEC registrants will be required to disclose specified information concerning mineral resources that have been identified on their mineral properties. Consistent with CRIRSCO standards, the SEC Modernization Rules have also added definitions to recognize measured mineral resources, indicated mineral resources and inferred mineral resources. Thus, although the SEC Modernization Rules are not identical to Canada’s NI 43-101 standards, they are intended to be more consistent with those standards.
Our mineral properties are located in western Colorado and eastern Utah and adjacent areas of the western United States. Our primary focus is bringing the fully permitted Sunday Mine Complex into production, permitting the San Rafael Project and the commercialization of Kinetic Separation.
The Sunday Mine Complex is located in western San Miguel County, Colorado. The complex consists of the following five individual mines: the Sunday mine, the Carnation mine, the Saint Jude mine, the West Sunday mine and the Topaz mine. The operation of each of these mines requires a separate permit and all such permits have been obtained by Western and are currently valid. In addition, each of the mines has good access to a paved highway, electric power to existing mine workings, office/storage/shop and change buildings, and extensive underground haulage development with multiple vent shafts complete with exhaust fans.
We have acquired a license for Kinetic Separation, which provides a low cost, purely physical, method of separating uranium and vanadium mineralization from waste. No chemicals are added in the process, yet very high mineral recoveries can be achieved with considerable mass reduction; facilitating the separation of a high-value, high-grade ore product from a coarse-grained barren “clean sand” product.
Application of Kinetic Separation is expected to have a very positive effect on the development of not only our Sunday Mine Complex, but also most of our and others’ deposits, because it significantly reduces both capital and operating costs. Extensive test work has shown that from amenable sandstone-hosted ore types, typically more than 90% of the mineralization can be separated into 10-20% of the initial sample mass.
OUR STRATEGY
Our vision is to become a leading uranium and vanadium developer and producer. Our strategy is to build value for stockholders by advancing our projects towards scaled-up production. The increase in vanadium price levels during 2017/2018 increased the relative importance of this resource to the Company. Hence, Western is increasingly able to baseload mine production with vanadium as a co-product. As a result, during 2019 Western implemented a mine re-opening project at the Sunday Mine Complex to identify high-grade vanadium ore, followed by bulk sampling and development drilling. Active mining was conducted and the extracted ore was stockpiled underground in the mines. The project has continued in 2020 as multiple surface infrastructure projects were completed to meet Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (CDRMS) requirements. Completion of the CDRMS prerequisites has enabled the newly mined and stockpiled underground ore to be brought to the surface. Ore pad construction, the last of the surface projects, was completed; however, its final inspection approvals were delayed until May 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The Company holds an exclusive 25-year license to use Kinetic Separation, a proven technology that we anticipate will improve the efficiency of the mining from Western’s sandstone-hosted ore. The license agreement was entered into on March 17, 2015 and expires on March 16, 2040. There are no remaining license fee obligations and there are no future royalties due under the agreement. The Company has the right to sub-license the technology to third parties. The Company may not sell or assign the Kinetic Separation license; however, it could be transferred in the sale of Western or the subsidiary holding the license.
At any time we may have acquisition or partnering opportunities in various stages of active review, including, for example, our engagement of consultants and advisors to analyze particular opportunities, analysis of technical, financial and other confidential information, submission of indications of interest, participation in preliminary discussions and negotiations and involvement as a bidder in competitive processes.
Capital Raising
On April 16, 2019, the Company completed a private placement of 3,914,632 units at a price of CAD $0.98 (USD $0.73) per unit for net proceeds of CAD $3,836,340 (USD $2,856,356). Each unit consisted of one common share and a warrant to purchase one-half of one common share. Each warrant is exercisable at a price of CAD $1.70 and expires three years from the date of issuance.
On June 17, 2019, the Company completed a private placement of 192,278 units at a price of CAD $0.98 (USD $0.73) per unit for gross proceeds of CAD $188,432 (USD $140,555). Each unit consisted of one common share and a warrant to purchase one-half of one common share. Each warrant is exercisable at a price of CAD $1.70 and expires three years from the date of issuance.
During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company issued an aggregate of 4,106,910 common shares in connection with these private placements.
On February 16, 2021, the Company closed on a non-brokered private placement (the “Private Placement”) of 3,250,000 units (the “Units”) at a price of CAD $0.80 per Unit. The aggregate gross proceeds raised in this Private Placement amount to CAD $2,600,000.
Each Unit consists of one common share of Western (a “Share”) plus one common share purchase warrant of Western (a “Warrant”). Each warrant entitled the holder to purchase one Share at a price of CAD $1.20 per Share for a period of three years following the closing date of the Private Placement. A total of 3,250,000 Shares and 3,250,000 Warrants were issued in the Private Placement.
On March 1, 2021, the Company closed on a non-brokered private placement (the “Private Placement”) of 3,125,000 units (the “Units”) at a price of CAD $0.80 per Unit. The aggregate gross proceeds raised in this Private Placement amount to CAD $2,500,000.
Each Unit consists of one common share of Western (a “Share”) plus one common share purchase warrant of Western (a “Warrant”). Each warrant entitled the holder to purchase one Share at a price of CAD $1.20 per Share for a period of three years following the closing date of the Private Placement. A total of 3,125,000 Shares and 3,125,000 Warrants were issued in the Private Placement.
Uranium/Vanadium Production
Western historically positioned itself for operational flexibility with the goal of beginning production as expeditiously as possible once market conditions for uranium and/or vanadium were favorable. The 2018 vanadium price rally brought about those conditions for a period, thus catalyzing the Sunday Mine Complex project. Western reinitiated active mining operations at the Sunday Mine Complex project with its infrastructure and exploratory projects, which culminated in the commencement of production with the mining and stockpiling of the extracted uranium/vanadium ore. The well maintained existing infrastructure from years of previous production allowed the Company to quickly advance the mine to a production ready status. As the mining team refocused on surface infrastructure projects required by the CDRMS, the mines were shut; mining operations and transporting extracted ore to the surface were delayed pending the inspection of the newly constructed ore pads and the completion of a COVID-19 delayed permit hearing. The impact of COVID-19 delayed a re-start beyond 180 days, thus in October 2020 each of the five Sunday mines were put back into Temporary Cessation. With the decline in vanadium prices during calendar year 2019, the economics of the Sunday Mine Complex have shifted from an emphasis on vanadium production back toward co-production of uranium/vanadium. The recent rally in uranium prices has become an increasingly important driver for scaled up production.
Western believes that its mineral resources have a reasonable prospect for economic extraction. However, the Company has not yet completed a Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”).
URANIUM MARKET OUTLOOK
World demand for clean, reliable, and affordable electricity is growing. Given the expected construction of nuclear reactors and the expected growth of nuclear energy, we believe that the future for uranium is positive. Further, 2020 production cuts in response to COVID-19 at peak sidelined approximately 50% of annual global uranium production. In the U.S. implementation of the U.S. Uranium Reserve program and the Biden administration’s emphasis on climate change have the potential to increase U.S. domestic uranium demand and create economic pricing levels for U.S. domestic producers. We believe these factors will provide the price levels needed to support the additional production that will be required. Currently, excess (secondary) inventory supplies are being drawn down, and additional primary production is forecast to be needed to fulfill the nuclear fuel requirements of the growing global nuclear reactor fleet.
Once prices rise, it may be difficult for most suppliers to respond in a timely manner, as it requires many years of permitting and development to bring new mines into production. These lead times will put further upward pressure on prices. Thus, Western has a competitive advantage, as our mining properties are permitted and ready to scale-up production on short notice.
As uranium prices have been depressed for about a decade due to overproduction and reactor shutdowns subsequent to the impact of the 2011 Fukushima earthquake, investors are positioning in response to early signs of a market recovery; the spot uranium price began 2020 at ~$24 and finished the year at ~$30, but had rebounded to a short-term ~$34 high in response to COVID-19 production cuts. Japanese utilities have nuclear reactors in the process of restarting (according to the World Nuclear Association (“WNA”)). According to data from the WNA, Chinese utilities continue to aggressively build new reactors and buy uranium, with the goal of becoming the world leader in nuclear electricity generation. In total, according to the WNA, there are about 50 new reactors under construction in 13 countries and in all there are about 160 reactors on order or being planned, and over 300 more are proposed. It is projected that ~15 new nuclear reactors will be placed into service in 2021.
During the Trump administration, the U.S. government focused on market distortions caused by foreign state-owned enterprises and the economic and geopolitical influence lost by allowing Russia and China to take the lead in nuclear power. In support of the world’s largest nuclear reactor fleet, the U.S. has begun implementing the recommendations of the Nuclear Fuel Working Group and has extended the Russian Suspension Agreement. The national strategic uranium reserve was signed into law to stabilize the U.S. nuclear fuel cycle by supporting front-end domestic uranium mining. The U.S. Department of Energy is establishing program guidelines to initiate 2021 purchases of $75 million of domestic uranium. The U.S. government pursued the goals of energy independence, solidifying critical minerals supply chains and national security. In September 2020, President Trump issued an Executive Order on Addressing the Threat to the Domestic Supply Chain from Reliance on Critical Minerals from Foreign Adversaries. Both uranium and vanadium are among the 35 critical minerals identified as essential to the economic and national security of the United States. This order mandated that multiple government agencies undertake studies to develop solutions.
The Biden Administration’s “Plan to Build a Modern Sustainable Infrastructure and an Equitable Clean Energy Future” emphasizes climate change solutions. Upon taking office, the Biden team immediately rejoined the Paris Climate Accord and continued its pursuit of campaign promises of investments in clean energy, creating jobs producing clean electric power, and achieving carbon-pollution free energy in electricity generation by 2035. Since taking office, Biden has reversed a number of Trump’s pro-fossil fuel energy policies, which is expected to continue as the new administration has given all agencies climate change initiatives and has already started a climate change working group. The existing U.S. nuclear reactor fleet currently produces in excess of 50% of U.S. clean energy, and new advanced nuclear technologies promise to generate additional clean energy; thus, the expectation is that the post-pandemic infrastructure spending will provide a major boost to clean energy and the nuclear industry will be a beneficiary.
A global supply/demand uranium imbalance is coming to the forefront as the world continues to deplete the formerly excess inventories. There are many market and governmental catalysts propelling investor expectations whose capital is flowing into the sector. Investors have taken note of constrained global uranium supplies, improved uranium demand fundamentals, the pace of innovations in nuclear technology, and a global push for climate change solutions.
OVERVIEW OF THE URANIUM INDUSTRY
Spot prices rose from $21 per pound in January 2005 to a high of $136 per pound in June 2007 in anticipation of sharply higher projected demand as a result of a resurgence in nuclear power and the depletion of secondary supplies. Secondary supplies are inventories of uranium not publicly available for sale, they are primarily held by utility companies and governments. The sharp price increase was driven in part by high levels of buying by utility companies, which resulted in most utilities covering their requirements through 2009. A decrease in near-term utility demand coupled with rising levels of supplies from producers and traders have led to downward pressure on uranium prices since the third quarter of 2007. A rebound in uranium prices in conjunction with a recovery in commodities in 2010 was curtailed by the Fukushima disaster in Japan.
Since the Fukushima disaster in 2011, uranium spot prices entered a steady decline until June 2014, when they rebounded slightly and peaked again in March 2015 at $39 per pound. After that peak, prices again began to fall steadily reaching their lowest point of $18 per pound in November 2016. In May 2020, spot prices hit a $34 per pound price before declining to close the year at $30 per pound.
The only significant commercial use for uranium is as a fuel for nuclear power plants for the generation of electricity. According to the WNA, at the end of June 2020, there were 440 nuclear reactors operable worldwide, with annual requirements of about 143.3 million pounds of uranium.
From the reports of leading investment banks, the macroeconomic conditions driving uranium prices are as follows:
●Advanced nuclear power reactors, small modular reactors, microreactors, a versatile test reactor, accidental tolerant fuels, and byproduct production of hydrogen were all extended by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and Department of Energy,
●Decrease in primary supply due to global producers shutting down mining operations that weren’t profitable at current pricing levels, depleted mines closing, and large COVID-19 related production shutdowns,
●Lowest uranium production in over a decade, creating a global supply deficit where production was only about two-thirds of consumption,
●WNA reports there are about 50 large-scale nuclear reactors under construction with 15 projected to be put into service in 2021,
●The announced infrastructure plan by the Biden Administration will provide a major boost to clean energy and the nuclear industry will be a beneficiary.
Across the ten banks and analysts most active in the sector, a term structure of rising uranium spot prices which are significantly above today’s prices are forecast almost across the board from 2020 to 2024. These projected increases are primarily due to the projected supply / demand imbalance. There has been a uranium supply reduction from both low prices, closures, and COVID-19. Nuclear energy is a growth industry, fueled primarily by new plants with the greatest number located in China, Russia, and India over the next 5 years. Further, small modular reactors and advanced reactors are expected to begin coming online during the next decade. This should lead to additional demand, causing a contracting shortage, in the coming years, as historical contracts roll-off. Recently, due to mine closures in response to COVID-19, the market price of uranium has increased sharply, in contrast to other commodities.
Based upon these pricing factors specific to the uranium industry, we believe that uranium prices will improve over the coming years for Western to initiate full-scale production in its best properties.
Vanadium
With the exception of the Hansen/Taylor Deposit, most of the Company’s mining assets, including the Sunday Mine Complex, contain vanadium either as a stand-alone product or a co-product to uranium.
Conventional and new vanadium applications include steelmaking, aerospace, stationary energy storage, batteries, and chemicals.
When a very small amount of vanadium is added to steel the hardening effect greatly increases its strength. And while steelmaking accounts for roughly 90% of all vanadium currently consumed, it’s estimated that vanadium is only used in about 9% of all steels today.
In a research report, BMO Capital Markets identified a structural change in the vanadium markets. China, the largest vanadium producer in the world, has seen supply disrupted by environmental monitoring and rules while domestic demand was increasing. During 2017, BMO observed ferrovanadium exports falling by 30% year over year and projected that China would become a net importer of ferrovanadium. In 2018, this forecast was validated as China which had been a net vanadium exporter became a net vanadium importer. On the demand side, China announced a new high strength rebar standard to increase earthquake resistance in February 2018 that became effective on November 1, 2018. On the supply side in its efforts to fight pollution, Chinese environmental inspections resulted in the closing of dirty processes in which vanadium was recovered as a byproduct. These policy changes were very positive for vanadium prices. As a result of these structural changes, vanadium demand exceeded vanadium supply putting the market into a deficit and pushing the prices to all-time highs during the fourth quarter of 2018.
The substantial appreciation in vanadium price during 2018 catalyzed the Company to pursue the Sunday Mine Complex Vanadium Project during 2019.
After steelmaking, the second largest market for vanadium is that of catalysts and chemical applications. Significant new sources of demand for vanadium are also expected to originate from vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB).
Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Vanadium investigation was undertaken by the U.S. Department of Commerce during 2020. After a 270 day study period the investigation was concluded and a report submitted to President Biden on February 22, 2021. The President has 90 days to decide if he concurs with the findings and recommendations and determine whether to take an action to mitigate the impairment of national security.
The current vanadium market price is $7.10 per pound as of December 31, 2020 which is an increase from the December 31, 2019 price when the price was $6.10 per pound.
COMPETITION
There is global competition for uranium properties, capital, customers and the employment and retention of qualified personnel. We compete with multiple exploration companies for both properties as well as skilled personnel. In the production and marketing of uranium, there are a number of producing entities globally, some of which are government controlled and several of which are significantly larger and better capitalized than we are. Several of these organizations also have substantially greater financial, technical, manufacturing and distribution resources than we have.
Our future uranium production may also compete with uranium from secondary supplies, including the sale of uranium inventory held by the U.S. Department of Energy. At the current time, DOE uranium sales have been suspended. In addition, there are numerous entities in the market that compete with us for properties and operate in situ recovery (“ISR”) facilities. If we are unable to successfully compete for properties, capital, customers or employees or with alternative uranium sources, it could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
With respect to sales of uranium, the Company competes primarily based on price. We will market uranium to utilities and commodity brokers. We are in direct competition with supplies available from various sources worldwide. We believe we compete with multiple operating uranium companies.
With respect to sales of vanadium, the Company will compete primarily based upon availability and secondarily on price. There will be direct competition with primary production, secondary production, and co-production from various companies and processors worldwide as individual entities come online or increase production to address the supply deficit.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS AND PERMITTING
United States
Uranium extraction is regulated by the federal government, states and, in some cases, by Indian tribes. Compliance with such regulation has a material effect on the economics of our operations and the timing of project development. Our primary regulatory costs have been related to obtaining licenses and permits from federal and state agencies before the commencement of production activities. The environmental regulatory requirements for the ISR industry are well established. Many ISR projects have gone a full life cycle without any significant environmental impact. However, the process can make environmental permitting difficult and timing unpredictable. Western does not plan to utilize an ISR mining process on its properties.
Mining Permits are disclosed on a per mine basis in the “Properties” section, below.
Reclamation and Restoration Costs and Bonding Requirements
At the conclusion of conventional mining, a site is decommissioned and reclaimed. Reclamation involves removing evidence of surface disturbance. The reclamation liabilities of the US mines are subject to legal and regulatory requirements. Estimates of the costs of reclamation are reviewed periodically by the applicable regulatory authorities. The reclamation liability represents the Company’s best estimate of the present value of future reclamation costs in connection with the mineral properties. The Company determined the gross reclamation liabilities at December 31, 2020 of the mineral properties to be approximately $906,811.
The Company is required by State regulatory agencies to obtain financial surety relating to certain of its future restoration and reclamation obligations. The Company has provided performance bonds issued for the benefit of the Company in the amount of $906,811 to satisfy such regulatory requirements.
ITEM 1A.
ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
Risks Related to Our Business
Our business activities are subject to significant risks, including those described below. Every investor or potential investor in our securities should carefully consider these risks. If any of the described risks actually occurs, our business, financial position and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. Such risks are not the only ones we face and additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our business.
Our ability to become a successful operating mining company is contingent on whether we can continue to access adequate operating capital and can ultimately mine our properties at a profit sufficient to finance further mining activities and to acquire and finance additional reserves, all in spite of potentially significant fluctuations in the market prices of uranium and vanadium.
The uranium/vanadium ore that we have mined remains stockpiled underground at the Sunday Mine Complex. As a result, we have no saleable product and currently have no sources of operating cash. If we cannot access additional sources of private or public capital, partner with another company that has cash resources and/or find other means of generating revenue other than uranium or vanadium sales, we may not be able to remain in business.
Until we begin either uranium or vanadium sales, we have no way to generate cash inflows unless we monetize certain of our assets or obtain additional financing. We can provide no assurance that our properties will produce saleable production or that we will be able to continue to find, develop, acquire and finance additional reserves. If we cannot monetize certain existing assets, partner with another company that has cash resources, find other means of generating revenue other than uranium or vanadium production and/or access additional sources of private or public capital, we may not be able to remain in business and our stockholders may lose their entire investment.
Our ability to function as an operating mining company will be dependent on our ability to mine our properties at a profit sufficient to finance further mining activities and for the acquisition and development of additional properties. The volatility of uranium prices makes long-range planning uncertain and raising capital difficult.
Our ability to operate on a positive cash flow basis will be dependent on mining sufficient quantities of uranium or vanadium at a profit sufficient to finance our operations and for the acquisition and development of additional mining properties. Any profit will necessarily be dependent upon, and affected by, the long and short term market prices of uranium and vanadium, which are subject to significant fluctuation. Uranium prices have been and will continue to be affected by numerous factors beyond our control. These factors include the demand for nuclear power, political and economic conditions in uranium producing and consuming countries, uranium supply from secondary sources and uranium production levels and costs of production. A significant, sustained drop in uranium prices may make it impossible to operate our business at a level that will permit us to cover our fixed costs or to remain in operation.
Evaluating our future performance may be difficult since we have a limited financial and operating history, with significant negative cash flow and an accumulated deficit to date. Furthermore, there is no assurance that we will be successful in securing any form of additional financing in the future, therefore substantial doubt exists as to whether our cash resources and working capital will be sufficient to enable the Company to continue its operations over the next twelve months. Our long-term success will depend ultimately on our ability to achieve and maintain profitability and to develop positive cash flow from our mining activities.
As more fully described within this annual report, we acquired our first mineral properties in November of 2014. To date, we have been acquiring additional mineral properties and raising capital. We hold uranium projects in various stages of exploration in the States of Colorado and Utah.
As more fully described under “Liquidity and Capital Resources” of Item 7. “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Result of Operations”, we have a history of significant negative cash flow and net losses, with an accumulated deficit balance of $11.1 million and $8.7 million at December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. We have been reliant on equity financings from the sale of our common shares and on debt financing in order to fund our operations. We do not expect to achieve profitability or develop positive cash flow from operations in the near term. As a result of our limited financial and operating history, including our significant negative cash flow and net losses to date, it may be difficult to evaluate our future performance.
At December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, we had working capital of $162,375 and $1,678,747, respectively. The continuation of the Company as a going concern is dependent upon our ability to obtain adequate additional financing which we have successfully secured since inception. However, there is no assurance that we will be successful in securing any form of additional financing in the future, therefore substantial doubt exists as to whether our cash resources and working capital will be sufficient to enable the Company to continue its operations over the next twelve months. The consolidated financial statements for the two years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were prepared assuming that the Company would continue as a going concern. The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. The Company has incurred continuing losses from operations and is dependent upon future sources of equity or debt financing in order to fund its operations. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Our reliance on equity and debt financings is expected to continue for the foreseeable future, and their availability whenever such additional financing is required, will be dependent on many factors beyond our control including, but not limited to, the market price of uranium, the continuing public support of nuclear power as a viable source of electricity generation, the volatility in the global financial markets affecting our stock price and the status of the worldwide economy, any one of which may cause significant challenges in our ability to access additional financing, including access to the equity and credit markets. We may also be required to seek other forms of financing, such as asset divestitures or joint venture arrangements to continue advancing our uranium projects, which would depend entirely on finding a suitable third party willing to enter into such an arrangement, typically involving an assignment of a percentage interest in the mineral project.
Our long-term success, including the recoverability of the carrying values of our assets and our ability to acquire additional uranium projects and continue with exploration and pre-extraction activities and mining activities on our existing uranium projects, will depend ultimately on our ability to achieve and maintain profitability and positive cash flow from our operations by establishing ore bodies that contain commercially recoverable uranium and to develop these into profitable mining activities. The economic viability of our mining activities has many risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to: (i) a significant, prolonged decrease in the market price of uranium; (ii) difficulty in marketing and/or selling uranium concentrates; (iii) significantly higher than expected capital costs to construct the mine and/or processing plant; (iv) significantly higher than expected extraction costs; (v) significantly lower than expected uranium extraction; (vi) significant delays, reductions or stoppages of uranium extraction activities; and (vi) the introduction of significantly more stringent regulatory laws and regulations. Our mining activities may change as a result of any one or more of these risks and uncertainties and there is no assurance that any ore body that we extract mineralized materials from will result in achieving and maintaining profitability and developing positive cash flow.
Our operations are capital intensive, and we will require significant additional financing to acquire additional uranium/vanadium projects, continue with our exploration and begin pre-extraction activities on our existing uranium/vanadium projects.
Our operations are capital intensive and future capital expenditures are expected to be substantial. We will require significant additional financing to fund our operations, including acquiring additional uranium/vanadium projects, continuing with our exploration and beginning pre-extraction activities which include assaying, drilling, geological and geochemical analysis and mine construction costs. In the absence of such additional financing, we would not be able to fund our operations, including continuing with our exploration and pre-extraction activities, which may result in delays, curtailment or abandonment of any one or all of our uranium projects.
Uranium/vanadium exploration and pre-extraction programs and mining activities are inherently subject to numerous significant risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ significantly from expectations or anticipated amounts. Furthermore, exploration programs conducted on our uranium/vanadium projects may not result in the establishment of ore bodies that contain commercially recoverable uranium/vanadium.
Uranium/vanadium exploration and pre-extraction programs and mining activities are inherently subject to numerous significant risks and uncertainties, many beyond our control, including, but not limited to: (i) unanticipated ground and water conditions and adverse claims to water rights; (ii) unusual or unexpected geological formations; (iii) metallurgical and other processing problems; (iv) the occurrence of unusual weather or operating conditions and other force majeure events; (v) lower than expected ore grades; (vi) industrial accidents; (vii) delays in the receipt of or failure to receive necessary government permits; (viii) delays in transportation; (ix) availability of contractors and labor; (x) government permit restrictions and regulation restrictions; (xi) unavailability of materials and equipment; and (xii) the failure of equipment or processes to operate in accordance with specifications or expectations. These risks and uncertainties could result in delays, reductions or stoppages in our mining activities; increased capital and/or extraction costs; damage to, or destruction of, our mineral projects, extraction facilities or other properties; personal injuries; environmental damage; monetary losses; and legal claims.
Success in uranium/vanadium exploration is dependent on many factors, including, without limitation, the experience and capabilities of a company’s management, the availability of geological expertise and the availability of sufficient funds to conduct the exploration program. Even if an exploration program is successful and commercially recoverable uranium/vanadium is established, it may take a number of years from the initial phases of drilling and identification of the mineralization until extraction is possible, during which time the economic feasibility of extraction may change such that the uranium ceases to be economically recoverable. Uranium/vanadium exploration is frequently non-productive due, for example, to poor exploration results or the inability to establish ore bodies that contain commercially recoverable uranium, in which case the uranium project may be abandoned and written-off. Furthermore, we will not be able to benefit from our exploration efforts and recover the expenditures that we incur on our exploration programs if we do not establish ore bodies that contain commercially recoverable uranium/vanadium and develop these uranium/vanadium projects into profitable mining activities, and there is no assurance that we will be successful in doing so for any of our uranium/vanadium projects.
Whether an ore body contains commercially recoverable uranium/vanadium depends on many factors including, without limitation: (i) the particular attributes, including material changes to those attributes, of the ore body such as size, grade, recovery rates and proximity to infrastructure; (ii) the market price of uranium, which may be volatile; and (iii) government regulations and regulatory requirements including, without limitation, those relating to environmental protection, permitting and land use, taxes, land tenure and transportation.
We have established the existence of mineralized materials for uranium properties. We have not established proven or probable reserves, as defined by the SEC under Industry Guide 7, through the completion of a “final” or “bankable” feasibility study for any of our uranium properties. Furthermore, we have no current plans to establish proven or probable reserves for any of our uranium properties as it doesn’t serve a business purpose at the present time.
We may not be able to realize anticipated benefits of the Kinetic Separation process due to uncertainties associated with that process.
In order to utilize Kinetic Separation to process uranium/vanadium bearing ore there are uncertainties that must be overcome which include the uncertainty as to the evolution of the regulatory framework and technological considerations. Either may cause delays in start-up, and/or increase costs, and may preclude the realization of the anticipated benefits of the Kinetic Separation process. Use of Kinetic Separation represents an additional processing step, requiring additional equipment, support, material handling and a potential increase in water usage requirements.
We do not insure against all of the risks we face in our operations.
In general, where coverage is available and not prohibitively expensive relative to the perceived risk, we will maintain insurance against such risk, subject to exclusions and limitations. We currently maintain insurance against certain risks including securities and general commercial liability claims and certain physical assets used in our operations, subject to exclusions and limitations; however, we do not maintain insurance to cover all of the potential risks and hazards associated with our operations. We may be subject to liability for environmental, pollution or other hazards associated with our exploration, pre-extraction and extraction activities, which we may not be insured against, which may exceed the limits of our insurance coverage or which we may elect not to insure against because of high premiums or other reasons. Furthermore, we cannot provide assurance that any insurance coverage we currently have will continue to be available at reasonable premiums or that such insurance will adequately cover any resulting liability.
Our inability to obtain financial surety would threaten our ability to continue in business.
Future financial surety requirements to comply with federal and state environmental and remediation requirements and to secure necessary licenses and approvals may increase significantly as future development and production occurs at certain of our sites in the United States. The amount of the financial surety for each producing property is subject to annual review and revision by regulators. We expect that the issuer of the financial surety instruments will require us to provide cash collateral for a significant amount of the face amount of the bond to secure the obligation. In the event we are not able to raise, secure or generate sufficient funds necessary to satisfy these requirements, we will be unable to develop our sites and bring them into production, which inability will have a material adverse impact on our business and may negatively affect our ability to continue to operate.
Acquisitions that we may make from time to time could have an adverse impact on us.
From time to time, we examine opportunities to acquire additional mining assets and businesses. Any acquisition that we may choose to complete may be of a significant size, may change the scale of our business and operations, and may expose us to new geographic, political, operating, financial and geological risks. Our success in our acquisition activities depends on our ability to identify suitable acquisition candidates, negotiate acceptable terms for any such acquisition, and integrate the acquired operations successfully with those of our Company. Any acquisitions would be accompanied by risks which could have a material adverse effect on our business. For example, there may be a significant change in commodity prices after we have committed to complete the transaction and established the purchase price or exchange ratio; a material ore body may prove to be below expectations; we may have difficulty integrating and assimilating the operations and personnel of any acquired companies, realizing anticipated synergies and maximizing the financial and strategic position of the combined enterprise, and maintaining uniform standards, policies and controls across the organization; the integration of the acquired business or assets may disrupt our ongoing business and our relationships with employees, customers, suppliers and contractors; and the acquired business or assets may have unknown liabilities which may be significant. In the event that we choose to raise debt capital to finance any such acquisition, our leverage will be increased. If we choose to use equity as consideration for such acquisition, existing shareholders may suffer dilution. Alternatively, we may choose to finance any such acquisition with our existing resources. There can be no assurance that we would be successful in overcoming these risks or any other problems encountered in connection with such acquisitions.
The uranium industry is subject to numerous stringent laws, regulations and standards, including environmental protection laws and regulations. If any changes occur that would make these laws, regulations and standards more stringent, it may require capital outlays in excess of those anticipated or cause substantial delays, which would have a material adverse effect on our operations.
Uranium exploration and pre-extraction programs and mining activities are subject to numerous stringent laws, regulations and standards at the federal, state, and local levels governing permitting, pre-extraction, extraction, exports, taxes, labor standards, occupational health, waste disposal, protection and reclamation of the environment, protection of endangered and protected species, mine safety, hazardous substances and other matters. Our compliance with these requirements requires significant financial and personnel resources.
The laws, regulations, policies or current administrative practices of any government body, organization or regulatory agency in the United States or any other applicable jurisdiction, may change or be applied or interpreted in a manner which may also have a material adverse effect on our operations. The actions, policies or regulations, or changes thereto, of any government body or regulatory agency or special interest group, may also have a material adverse effect on our operations.
Uranium exploration and pre-extraction programs and mining activities are subject to stringent environmental protection laws and regulations at the federal, state, and local levels. These laws and regulations, which include permitting and reclamation requirements, regulate emissions, water storage and discharges and disposal of hazardous wastes. Uranium mining activities are also subject to laws and regulations which seek to maintain health and safety standards by regulating the design and use of mining methods. Various permits from governmental and regulatory bodies are required for mining to commence or continue, and no assurance can be provided that required permits will be received in a timely manner.
Our compliance costs including the posting of surety bonds associated with environmental protection laws and regulations and health and safety standards have been significant to date, and are expected to increase in scale and scope as we expand our operations in the future. Furthermore, environmental protection laws and regulations may become more stringent in the future, and compliance with such changes may require capital outlays in excess of those anticipated or cause substantial delays, which would have a material adverse effect on our operations.
To the best of our knowledge, our operations are in compliance, in all material respects, with all applicable laws, regulations and standards. We may not be able or may elect not to insure against the risk of liability for violations of such laws, regulations and standards, due to high insurance premiums or other reasons. Where coverage is available and not prohibitively expensive relative to the perceived risk, we will maintain insurance against such risk, subject to exclusions and limitations. However, we cannot provide any assurance that such insurance will continue to be available at reasonable premiums or that such insurance will be adequate to cover any resulting liability.
We may not be able to obtain, maintain or amend rights, authorizations, licenses, permits or consents required for our operations.
Our exploration and mining activities are dependent upon the grant of appropriate rights, authorizations, licenses, permits and consents, as well as continuation and amendment of these rights, authorizations, licenses, permits and consents already granted, which may be granted for a defined period of time, or may not be granted or may be withdrawn or made subject to limitations. There can be no assurance that all necessary rights, authorizations, licenses, permits and consents will be granted to us, or that authorizations, licenses, permits and consents already granted will not be withdrawn or made subject to limitations.
Closure and remediation costs for environmental liabilities may exceed the provisions we have made.
Natural resource companies are required to close their operations and rehabilitate the lands in accordance with a variety of environmental laws and regulations. Estimates of the total ultimate closure and rehabilitation costs for uranium operations are significant and based principally on current legal and regulatory requirements and closure plans that may change materially. Any underestimated or unanticipated rehabilitation costs could materially affect our financial position, results of operations and cash flows. Environmental liabilities are accrued when they become known, are probable and can be reasonably estimated. Whenever a previously unrecognized remediation liability becomes known, or a previously estimated reclamation cost is increased, the amount of that liability and additional cost will be recorded at that time and could materially reduce our consolidated net income in the related period.
The laws and regulations governing closure and remediation in a particular jurisdiction are subject to review at any time and may be amended to impose additional requirements and conditions which may cause our provisions for environmental liabilities to be underestimated and could materially affect our financial position or results of operations.
Major nuclear incidents may have adverse effects on the nuclear and uranium industries.
The nuclear incident that occurred in Japan in March 2011 had significant and adverse effects on both the nuclear and uranium industries. If another nuclear incident were to occur, it may have further adverse effects for both industries. Public opinion of nuclear power as a source of electricity generation may be adversely affected, which may cause governments of certain countries to further increase regulation for the nuclear industry, reduce or abandon current reliance on nuclear power or reduce or abandon existing plans for nuclear power expansion. Any one of these occurrences has the potential to reduce current and/or future demand for nuclear power, resulting in lower demand for uranium and lower market prices for uranium, adversely affecting the Company’s operations and prospects. Furthermore, the growth of the nuclear and uranium industries is dependent on continuing and growing public support of nuclear power as a viable source of electricity generation.
The marketability of uranium concentrates will be affected by numerous factors beyond our control which may result in our inability to receive an adequate return on our invested capital.
The marketability of uranium concentrates extracted by us will be affected by numerous factors beyond our control. These factors include macroeconomic factors, fluctuations in the market price of uranium, governmental regulations, land tenure and use, regulations concerning the importing and exporting of uranium and environmental protection regulations. The future effects of these factors cannot be accurately predicted, but any one or a combination of these factors may result in our inability to receive an adequate return on our invested capital.
The only significant market for uranium is nuclear power plants world-wide, and there are a limited number of customers.
We are dependent on a limited number of electric utilities that buy uranium for nuclear power plants. Because of the limited market for uranium, a reduction in purchases of newly produced uranium by electric utilities for any reason (such as plant closings) would adversely affect the viability of our business.
The price of alternative energy sources affects the demand for and price of uranium.
The attractiveness of uranium as an alternative fuel to generate electricity may be dependent on the relative prices of oil, gas, wind, solar, coal and hydro-electricity and the possibility of developing other low-cost sources of energy. If the prices of alternative energy sources decrease or new low-cost alternative energy sources are developed, the demand for uranium could decrease, which may result in a decrease in the price of uranium.
The title to our mineral property interests may be challenged.
Although we have taken reasonable measures to ensure proper title to our interests in mineral properties and other assets, there is no guarantee that the title to any of such interests will not be challenged. No assurance can be given that we will be able to secure the grant or the renewal of existing mineral rights and tenures on terms satisfactory to us, or that governments in the jurisdictions in which we operate will not revoke or significantly alter such rights or tenures or that such rights or tenures will not be challenged or impugned by third parties, including local governments, aboriginal peoples or other claimants. Our mineral properties may be subject to prior unregistered agreements, transfers or claims, and title may be affected by, among other things, undetected defects. A successful challenge to the precise area and location of our claims could result in us being unable to operate on our properties as permitted or being unable to enforce our rights with respect to our properties.
Due to the nature of our business, we may be subject to legal proceedings which may divert management’s time and attention from our business and result in substantial damage awards.
Due to the nature of our business, we may be subject to numerous regulatory investigations, securities claims, civil claims, lawsuits and other proceedings in the ordinary course of our business. The outcome of these lawsuits is uncertain and subject to inherent uncertainties, and the actual costs to be incurred will depend upon many unknown factors. We may be forced to expend significant resources in the defense of these suits, and we may not prevail. Defending against these and other lawsuits in the future may not only require us to incur significant legal fees and expenses, but may become time-consuming for us and detract from our ability to fully focus our internal resources on our business activities. The results of any legal proceeding cannot be predicted with certainty due to the uncertainty inherent in litigation, the difficulty of predicting decisions of regulators, judges and juries and the possibility that decisions may be reversed on appeal. There can be no assurances that these matters will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position or operating results.
Competition from better-capitalized companies affects prices and our ability to acquire both properties and personnel.
There is global competition for uranium properties, capital, customers and the employment and retention of qualified personnel. In the production and marketing of uranium, there are a number of producing entities, some of which are government controlled and all of which are significantly larger and better capitalized than we are. Many of these organizations also have substantially greater financial, technical, manufacturing and distribution resources than we have.
Our future uranium production will also compete with uranium recovered from the de-enrichment of highly enriched uranium obtained from the dismantling of United States and Russian nuclear weapons and imports to the United States of uranium from the former Soviet Union and from the sale of uranium inventory held by the United States Department of Energy. In addition, there are numerous entities in the market that compete with us for properties and are attempting to become licensed to operate ISR and/or underground mining facilities. If we are unable to successfully compete for properties, capital, customers or employees or with alternative uranium sources, it could have a materially adverse effect on our results of operations.
Because we have limited capital, inherent mining risks pose a significant threat to us compared with our larger competitors.
Because we have limited capital we may be unable to withstand significant losses that can result from inherent risks associated with mining, including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, flooding, earthquake, interruptions due to weather conditions and other acts of nature which larger competitors could withstand. Such risks could result in damage to or destruction of our infrastructure and production facilities, as well as to adjacent properties, personal injury, environmental damage and processing and production delays, causing monetary losses and possible legal liability. Our business could be harmed if we lose the services of our key personnel.
Our business and mineral exploration programs depend upon our ability to employ the services of geologists, engineers and other experts. In operating our business and in order to continue our programs, we compete for the services of professionals with other mineral exploration companies and businesses. In addition, several entities have expressed an interest in hiring certain of our employees. Our ability to maintain and expand our business and continue our exploration programs may be impaired if we are unable to continue to employ or engage those parties currently providing services and expertise to us or identify and engage other qualified personnel to do so in their place. To retain key employees, we may face increased compensation costs, including potential new stock incentive grants and there can be no assurance that the incentive measures we implement will be successful in helping us retain our key personnel.
If we fail to maintain proper and effective internal controls, our ability to produce accurate and timely consolidated financial statements could be impaired, which could harm our operating results, our ability to operate our business and investors’ views of us.
Ensuring that we have adequate internal financial and accounting controls and procedures in place so that we can produce accurate consolidated financial statements on a timely basis is a costly and time-consuming effort that will need to be evaluated frequently. Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires public companies to conduct an annual review and evaluation of their internal controls. The Company is in the process of reviewing its internal control over financial reporting in the interest of complying with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Our failure to maintain the effectiveness of our internal controls in accordance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act could have a material adverse effect on our business. We could lose investor confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, which could have an adverse effect on the price of our common shares.
The Company may be subject to certain tax consequences in its business, which may increase the cost of doing business.
The Company may not be able to structure its acquisitions to result in tax-free treatment for the companies or their stockholders, which could deter third parties from entering into certain business combinations with the Company or result in being taxed on consideration received in a transaction.
The COVID-19 coronavirus could adversely impact our business, including our mine development plans.
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China. Since then, the COVID-19 coronavirus has spread to multiple countries, including the United States. As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread in the United States, we may experience disruptions that could severely impact our business, including:
●interruption of key mining activities due to limitations on travel, gathering, or business operations imposed or recommended by federal or state governments, employers and others.
●limitations in employee resources, including because of sickness of employees or their families or the desire of employees to avoid contact with large groups of people.
●delays in financial reporting and filings due to the impact of mitigation efforts on staff and service providers
●changes in local regulations as part of a response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak which may require us to change the ways in which mining is conducted, which may result in unexpected costs.
●delays in necessary interactions with regulators and other important agencies and contractors due to limitations in employee resources or new procedures due to limitations imposed by COVID-19.
●reduction in the global demand for uranium and vanadium due to reduced production levels in the primary applications of uranium and vanadium. Restrictions for COVID-19 could cause a decline in energy consumption or indirectly reduced oil prices could lessen the demand for nuclear power.
●COVID-19 has globally resulted in uranium mine closures that have taken substantial uranium supply offline and increased the spot price of uranium to date during this crisis, there is no guarantee that this relationship will continue as the COVID-19 crisis is ongoing and the dynamic of the mine closure/spot price relationship may change.
The global outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to rapidly evolve. The extent to which the COVID-19 coronavirus may impact our business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, such as the ultimate geographic spread of the disease, the duration of the outbreak, travel restrictions and social distancing in the United States and other countries, business closures or business disruptions and the effectiveness of actions taken in the United States and other countries to contain and treat the disease.
Risks Related to Our Stock
If we are unable to raise additional capital, our business may fail and stockholders may lose their entire investment.
We had $565,250 and $2,084,782 in cash at December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain additional capital after we exhaust our current cash. To the extent that we raise additional capital through the sale of equity or convertible debt securities, the issuance of such securities would likely result in substantial dilution to existing stockholders. If we borrow money, we will have to pay interest and may also have to agree to restrictions that limit our operating flexibility.
If additional capital is not available in sufficient amounts or on a timely basis, we will experience liquidity problems, and we could face the need to significantly curtail current operations, change our planned business strategies and pursue other remedial measures. Any curtailment of business operations would have a material negative effect on operating results, the value of our outstanding stock is likely to fall, and our business may fail, causing our stockholders to lose their entire investment.
Shareholders could be diluted if we were to use common shares to raise capital.
We may need to seek additional capital to carry our business plan. This financing could involve one or more types of securities including common shares, convertible debt or warrants to acquire common shares. These securities could be issued at or below the then prevailing market price for our common shares. Any issuance of additional common shares could be dilutive to existing stockholders and could adversely affect the market price of our common shares.
The Company’s common shares may be traded infrequently and in low volumes, which may negatively affect the ability to sell shares.
The Company’s common shares may trade infrequently and in low volumes on both the CSE and OTCQX, meaning that the number of persons interested in purchasing our common shares at or near bid prices at any given time may be relatively small or non-existent. This situation may be attributable to a number of factors, including the fact that we are a small company that is relatively unknown to stock analysts, stock brokers, institutional investors and others in the investment community who can generate or influence sales volume, and that even if we came to the attention of such institutionally oriented persons, they tend to be risk-averse in this environment and would be reluctant to follow an early stage company such as ours or purchase or recommend the purchase of our shares until such time as we became more advanced and viable. As a consequence, there may be periods of several days or more when trading activity in the Company’s shares is minimal or non-existent, as compared to a seasoned issuer which has a large and steady volume of trading activity that will generally support continuous sales without an adverse effect on share price. The Company cannot give you any assurance that a broader or more active public trading market for our common shares will develop or be sustained. Due to these conditions, we can give you no assurance that you will be able to sell your shares at or near bid prices or at all if you need money or otherwise desire to liquidate your shares. Further, institutional and other investors may have investment guidelines that restrict or prohibit investing in securities traded in the over-the-counter market. These factors may have an adverse impact on the trading and price of our securities, and could result in the loss by investors of all or part of their investment.
The Company’s common share price may be volatile.
The future trading price of the Company’s common shares may be volatile and may fluctuate substantially. The price of the common shares may be higher or lower than the price you pay for your shares, depending on many factors, some of which are beyond the Company’s control and may not be directly related to its operating performance. These factors include the following:
● price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time;
● significant volatility in the market price and trading volume of securities of mineral exploration and mining companies;
● changes in government regulations or regulatory policies with respect to mineral exploration and mining companies or in the status of our regulatory approvals;
● actual or anticipated changes in earnings or fluctuations in operating results;
● announcements by us or by our competitors of acquisitions or of new products, commercial relationships or capital commitments;
● disruption to our operations or those of other contractors critical to our operations;
● the emergence of new competitors;
● commencement of, or our involvement in, litigation;
● dilutive issuances of our common shares or the incurrence of additional debt;
● adoption of new or different accounting standards;
● general economic conditions and trends and slow or negative growth of related markets;
● loss of a major funding source; or
● departures of key personnel.
Due to the continued potential volatility of its stock price, the Company may be the target of securities litigation in the future. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources from the business.
The sale of shares by our directors and officers may adversely affect the market price for our shares.
Sales of significant amounts of common shares held by our officers and directors, or the prospect of these sales, could adversely affect the market price of our common shares. Management’s stock ownership may discourage a potential acquirer from making a tender offer or otherwise attempting to obtain control of us, which in turn could reduce our stock price or prevent our stockholders from realizing a premium over our stock price.
We have never paid or declared any dividends on our common shares.
We have never paid or declared any dividends on our common shares or preferred stock. Likewise, we do not anticipate paying, in the near future, dividends or distributions on our common shares. Any future dividends on common shares will be declared at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend, among other things, on our earnings, our financial requirements for future operations and growth, and other facts as we may then deem appropriate.
Our Chief Executive Officer is one of our largest stockholders, and as a result he can exert control over us and have actual or potential interests that may diverge from yours.
George Glasier, our CEO, beneficially owns, in the aggregate, about 14.2% of our common shares. As a result, Mr. Glasier might be able to influence many matters requiring stockholder approval, including the election of directors and approval of mergers and other significant corporate transactions. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change in control, and could deprive our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common shares as part of a sale of our company and may affect the market price of our stock.
Furthermore, Mr. Glasier may have interests that diverge from those of other holders of our common shares. As a result, Mr. Glasier may vote the shares he owns or controls or otherwise cause us to take actions that may conflict with your best interests as a stockholder, which could adversely affect our results of operations and the trading price of our common shares. Through this control, Mr. Glasier can control our management, affairs and all matters requiring stockholder approval, including the approval of significant corporate transactions, a sale of our company, decisions about our capital structure and the composition of our Board of Directors.
ITEM 1B.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None
ITEM 2.
ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Company headquarters is maintained through a lease at 330 Bay Street, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5H 2S8.
An operations facility is rented at 31617 Hwy 90 Road, Nucla, Colorado, USA 81424 which houses the Kinetic Separation units and an office.
1.Sunday Mine Complex
2.San Rafael
3.Sage
4.Dunn
5.Van 4
6.Hansen/Taylor Ranch
7.Bullen Property
PROPERTIES
We have no proven or probable reserves. However, as a company incorporated in Canada we have provided below resources qualifying under National Instrument 43-101, for our Sunday Mines Complex and our San Rafael Uranium Project.
On September 16, 2015, in connection with the Black Range Transaction, the Company acquired additional mineral properties. The mining assets acquired through Black Range included assets in the states of Colorado, Wyoming and Alaska. None of these mining assets are operational at this time. As these properties have not formally established proven or probable reserves, there may be greater inherent uncertainty as to whether or not any mineralized material can be economically extracted as originally planned and anticipated.
The Company’s mining properties acquired on August 18, 2014 that the Company retains as of December 31, 2019, include: San Rafael Uranium Project located in Emery County, Utah; The Sunday Mine Complex located in western San Miguel County, Colorado; The Van 4 Mine located in western Montrose County, Colorado; The Sage Mine project located in San Juan County, Utah, and San Miguel County, Colorado USA, and the Dunn Project located in San Juan County, Utah.
The Company’s mining properties acquired on September 16, 2015 that the Company retains as of December 31, 2019, include Hansen, North Hansen, Hansen Picnic Tree, and Taylor Ranch, located in Fremont and Teller Counties, Colorado. The Company also acquired the Keota project located in Weld County, Colorado, and Ferris Haggerty located in Carbon County, Wyoming.
The near term plan for the Company’s resources is to mine initially at the Sunday Complex. The Sunday Mine Complex is an advanced stage property with a significant drilling and production history. Mining and drilling occurred contemporaneously from the 1950’s through the mid 1980’s. From the 1980’s to the present, mining and drilling occurred only sporadically, typically when uranium or vanadium prices were high. The last provious mining interval was from 2006 to 2009, and based on the available records, only in 2009 did surface any drilling take place since mid-1980. Past operators have generated abundant geologic and mining data and there are open faces underground that show mineralized zones.
Near term exploration is not needed because the underground infrastructure has been already developed.
1. Sunday Mines Complex
The Property
The Sunday Mine Complex is located in western San Miguel County and is part of the Uravan Mineral Belt. The property is situated 25 miles north of Dove Creek, Colorado, on the north flank of Disappointment Valley and portions of Big Gypsum Valley. Energy Fuels Resources (USA) Inc. (“EFR”) acquired the property in June 2012 from Denison Mines Corp. The complex consists of five individual mines with mine workings located along a two mile stretch of the southern side of Big Gypsum Valley, with underground workings extending generally south, with associated vents and surface facilities. The mines are, from east to west: Sunday, Carnation, Saint Jude, West Sunday, and Topaz. The mines were last previously actively mined from 2007 to 2009.
The property consists of 221 unpatented claims on public land managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) Tres Rios Field Office, covering approximately 3,800 acres. The area covers parts of sections 10, 13, 14, 15, 23, 24, and 26 T44N R18W, and sections 18, 19, 20, and 30 T44N R17W. Total annual BLM claim maintenance fee are approximately $34,255 due September 1st each year. The property has access to grid power and has a natural underground source of water due to an aquifer. As a mine that has produced in the recent past, the Sunday Mine Complex has a robust infrastructure. The roads are all-weather, electric power is grid-tied, surface facility structures that meet Colorado State standards exist, and water is present. During 2019, a mine re-opening project was implemented at the Sunday Mine Complex to identify high-grade vanadium ore, followed by bulk sampling and development drilling. Active mining was conducted and the extracted ore was stock piled underground in the mine. Each of the five associated mining permits are in Temporary Cessation status.
GMG, Sunshine, and Patsun claims (totaling twenty claims in the northeast portion of the property) carry a 12.5% royalty on all ore produced.
Accessibility
The property is best accessed from Colorado. Access from Colorado is via State Highway 141 east out of Naturita, CO for about 3.7 mi (6 km) until the 141/145 Highway junction, then about 22.4 mi (36 km) south on Hwy 141, then about 6.2 mi (10 km) northwest on County Road 20R (Gypsum Valley Road). The State Highway 141 is a paved all-weather road and the County Road 20R is a gravel road passable in all but the worst weather.
History
The Sunday Mine Complex consists of six different mines. These are the Topaz, West Sunday, Sunday, St. Jude, Carnation, and the GMG. The mines have had a number of owners and operators. Maps and documents made available to the author show that the following companies have been involved in the all or parts of the property prior to WUC acquisition of the SMC in April 2014: Matterhorn Mining (1950’s-1960’s, Climax Uranium 1960’s, Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) 1970’s-1980’s, Atlas Minerals (1980’s), Energy Fuels Nuclear (early 1990’s), International Uranium Corp. (1990’s-2000’s), Denison Mines (USA) (2000’s), and Energy Fuels (2010’s). The documents are incomplete as so this list may be as well. Since UCC days, the ownership has been clear. In 1983 Union Carbide transferred its mineral interests to UMETCO, a wholly-owned subsidiary. For the sake of consistency, the name Union Carbide will be used even if technically the ownership was UMETCO at the time.
Records made available by the Company and a search of public documents on-line indicates exploration drilling starting on the property in the early 1950’s. Two Defense Minerals Exploration Administration (DMEA) reports, one on the Sunday area and the other on the Topaz area, indicated some drilling and minor surface extraction had occurred by the mid 1950’s (DMEA, 1953 & 1956). Additionally, historic maps of the area show the Sunday mines in operation in the 1950’s (Denison Mines, 2008).
The records & anecdotal evidence indicate that from the mid-1960’s until the early 1980’s, the SMC produced material from relatively steady ongoing mining operations. These ceased in 1984 when Union Carbide closed their Uravan mill. Since then, the property has been idle, with the exception of brief periods in the late 1980’s when UCC mined for a short time during a spike in vanadium prices, in the mid-1990’s with International Uranium Corporation and another one in 2006-2009 when Denison Mines extracted ore from the mine. During all three periods, the ore was processed at the White Mesa Mill located just south of Blanding, UT.
Exploration and development drilling on the property was contemporaneous with the mining. The available database records show that at least 1,419 holes have been drilled on the property. This is an incomplete list, as an examination of the available maps and cross-sections show a number of holes that are not in the database. A best estimate for total distance drilled is about 850,100 ft (259,175 m). Anecdotal evidence and some maps also give evidence that underground long holes (test holes drilled from the mine workings anywhere from 50 ft (15 m) to 300 ft (91 m) long) were used extensively throughout the mined areas.
The 2-D digitized mine workings, done by Denison Mines show extensive stopping and drifting within parts of the SMC. Generational mine maps indicate that more mine workings exist than are shown in the digital database. A very conservative rough estimate of the linear mine workings based on the digital database is in excess of 50,000 ft (15,244 m) with many stopes. Figure 6.2.1 shows the known drill hole and mine working locations.
Based on the records and on field inspection, it is evident that the Property has a significant history of drill exploration and mine development.
Anthony R. Adkins, P. Geol., LLC was commissioned by Western Uranium & Vanadium to prepare an Independent Technical Report compliant with the Canadian National Instrument 43-101 on the Sunday Mine Complex Uranium (SMC) Project, an advanced-stage uranium property. The report was finalized on July 7, 2015 and filed on sedar.com on July 16, 2015.
The report states that the Sunday Mine Complex has Measured and Indicated Resources of 203,217 tons grading at 0.25% U3O8 containing 1,007,803 lbs U3O8 and Inferred Resources of 264,604 tons grading at 0.36% containing 1,906,081 lbs U3O8. This Technical Report resource is an historic estimate under NI 43-101. The historic mineral resource estimate was calculated by the area of influence method, which is a common way for resources in the Uravan Mineral Belt to be estimated.
The Sunday Mine Complex Technical Report filed by Western Uranium & Vanadium estimates mineral resources and not reserves. That report does not use categories other than “mineral resources” and “mineral reserves”, and the Sunday Mine Complex property was reported as having no reserve quality mineralization. There is no more recent or available data on the Sunday Mine Complex project resource than that of the Western Uranium & Vanadium Technical Report from 2015. In order to disclose the historic resource as current, the Company needs to have completed and filed an NI 43-101 technical report on sedar.com which includes discussion on the reasonable prospect for economic extraction of the mineral resource. A qualified person (as understood under NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves, and the Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. In order to upgrade or verify the historical estimate provided by the Western Uranium & Vanadium Technical Report, the Company would have to engage a qualified person to, among other things, take account of any exploration or other work on the Sunday Mine Complex since the date of the historical estimate and otherwise produce a report under NI 43-101.
Project Geology
Geologically, the main hosts for uranium-vanadium mineralization in the Sunday Mine Complex are fluvial sandstone beds assigned to the upper part of the Salt Wash Member of the Jurassic Morrison Formation, with minor production coming from conglomeratic sandstones assigned to the lower portion of the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation. Mineralization from both members is present at the property, with the mine production coming from the Salt Wash Member. Beds generally strike NW-SE and dip SW, with some exceptions within fault bounded blocks adjacent to Big Gypsum Valley.
Restoration and Reclamation
Each of the mines are permitted separately with the DRMS and are considered to be in temporary cessation status. The mines and their permitted acres and financial warranties are, from east to west, the Sunday (60 acres, $330,242), Carnation (9.8 acres, $40,245), Saint Jude (9.8 acres, $69,828	), West Sunday (12.1 acres, $85,036), and Topaz (30 acres, $99,893).
Permitting Status
The air permits for the site are currently being renewed with APCD. A Stormwater permit is in place with the WQCD and a Stormwater Management Plan is in effect. However, a mine water treatment plant will need to be permitted for treating mine water, as there is currently 55 million gallons of water in the lower portion of the mine where most of the remaining resource is located. This will require a discharge permit with the DWQC and revisions to the Plan of Operations, EPP, and one of the DRMS mine permits. Special Use Permits are also in place with San Miguel County, which mainly address road maintenance and transportation issues with some limitations in effect on when and how many trucks may be used for ore haulage to the mill. On February 4, 2020, the Colorado DRMS sent a Notice of Hearing to Declare Termination of Mining Operations to Western for the Sunday Mine Complex. At issue is the application of an unchallenged Colorado Court of Appeals Opinion for a separate mine, with very different facts that is retroactively modifying DRMS rules and regulations. The Company maintains that it was timely in meeting existing rules and regulations. A permit hearing was scheduled for October 21, 2020 to determine temporary cessation status. In a unanimous vote, the MLRB approved temporary cessation status for each of the five Sunday Mine Complex permits (Sunday, West Sunday, St. Jude, Carnation, and Topaz). On October 9, 2020, the MLRB issued a board order which finalized the findings of the July 22, 2020 permit hearing. On November 12, 2020, a coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the MLRB seeking a partial appeal of the July 22, 2020 decision by requesting termination of the Topaz Mine permit. The Company anticipates joining with the MLRB in defense of their July 22, 2020 decision.
Major permits currently in place at the Sunday Complex include:
● Sunday 112d Mine Permit M-1977-285 (DRMS)
● St. Jude 110d Mine Permit M-1978-039-HR (DRMS)
● West Sunday 112d Mine Permit M-1981-021 (DRMS)
● Carnation 110d Mine Permit M-1977-416 (DRMS)
● Topaz 112d Mine Permit M-1980-055-HR (DRMS)
● West Sunday Plan of Operations COC 52049 (BLM)
● Sunday, St. Jude and Carnation Plan of Operations COC-53227 (BLM)
● Resolution #1997-18 Mine Permit (San Miguel County)
● Resolution 2007-34 Topaz and Sunday Expansion (San Miguel County)
● Resolution 2008-41 Increased Ore Haulage (San Miguel County)
● Road & Bridge Special Construction Permit (SCP) 06-14 (San Miguel County)
2. San Rafael
The Property
The San Rafael Uranium Project land position is comprised of a contiguous claim block covered by 136 BM unpatented federal lode mining claims and 10 Hollie unpatented federal lode mining claims.
The San Rafael Project is located in the historic Tidwell District about 10 miles west of Green River, Utah. Most of the property is north of Interstate Highway 70 at the Hanksville exit.
Energy Fuels became operator of the San Rafael Project when it acquired Magnum Minerals in June 2009. It consisted of two core uranium deposits, the Deep Gold and the Down Yonder. In January 2011, EFR acquired the 10 Hollie claims from Titan Uranium. These claims covered the eastern portion of the Deep Gold deposit, greatly increasing resources. WUC acquired the property from Energy Fuels and currently holds the 146 claims in the project area.
The San Rafael Uranium Project is currently being held as a property that is exploratory in nature with no identified reserves. Exploration and mining plans have not been prepared for the project. Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. has not yet undertaken any development work at the property. Power and water sources have not yet been formally assessed.
Magnum’s acquisition of the claims and some of the data Magnum purchased encumbers the claims. This includes a 2% Net Smelter Return royalty to Uranium One, successor to Energy Metals for claims acquired by Magnum as earn-in to a JV, and a 2% net sales price royalty to Kelly Dearth on the BM claims. There is no royalty on the Hollie claims.
The unpatented claims are located on approximately 2,900 acres of land administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in sections 13, 14, 23, 24, 25, 26, and 35, T21S, R14E, SLPM, Emery County, Utah. Holding cost $22,630 due to BLM for claim maintenance fees prior to September 1 each year.
Accessibility
The property is located on the eastern side of the San Rafael Swell in east-central Utah, approximately 140 air miles southeast of Salt Lake City. The little desert community of Green River, Utah is located about ten miles to the east. In a general sense the San Rafael Uranium Project property position lies within a wedge shaped area, roughly bound along its northeast edge by US Highway 6-50 and along its southeast edge by Interstate 70.
Concerning additional local access features, U.S. Highway 6-50 crosses just north of the greater San Rafael Uranium Project area in a northwesterly direction and is roughly paralleled by the regional railroad line. Access to the property is generally good year around, except for periods of heavy snowstorms during December through February and increased monsoon rains and summer cloudburst storms during August through October. Access for drilling and other exploration activity is excellent, except during occasional heavy rainy periods which can create heavy flash flooding and roads mudding-up and becoming impassable.
History
The Deep Gold deposit was originally discovered by Continental Oil Company (Conoco) and Pioneer Uravan geologists in the late 1960s and 1970s to early 1980s, respectively. Exploration drilling was conducted just east of the core of the Tidwell Mineral Belt and north-northeast of the Acerson Mineral Belt. The area containing the deposits was considered to contain highly prospective paleo trunk stream channel trends. Some of the larger historic producing mines in the area were Atlas Minerals’ Snow, Probe, and Lucky Mines. The deposit in the San Rafael Project is an open concordant, channel-controlled, sandstone-hosted, trend type, with mineralization hosted in the upper sandstone sequence of the Salt Wash Member of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation.
In addition to Conoco, Pioneer Uravan, and Atlas Minerals, the US Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) and other companies (Union Carbide, Energy Fuels Nuclear, and others) conducted exploration drilling and mining in the area. Some of these companies performed historic resource estimates on the Deep Gold deposits, but, they are not considered compliant with NI 43-101 standards. These resource estimates are of historical importance, were generated by senior mining companies with significant uranium exploration and production experience and are considered as relevant checks to this updated Technical Report.
Depth to mineralization at the Deep Gold deposit in Section 23 averages 800 feet, with hole depths averaging approximately 1,000 feet. Magnum purchased and otherwise acquired most of the available historic exploration data produced by the previous operators. A 100 hole, 100,000 foot drilling program is warranted to discover and define additional uranium resources. Total cost for this work would be $US 1.3 million to $US 1.5 million, based on an all-inclusive cost of $US 15/foot.
The Tidwell Mineral Belt and the San Rafael Uranium District have been the sites of considerable historic exploration drilling and production, with over 4 million pounds of uranium and 5.4 million pounds of vanadium produced. Production from the Snow, immediately up dip of the Deep Gold deposit, which produced for nine years, starting in March 1973 and ending in January, 1982 consisted of 650,292 pounds of U3O8 contained in 173,330 tons of material at an average grade of 0.188% U3O8 (Wilbanks, 1982).
O. Jay Gatten, P. Geol., LLC was commissioned by Western Uranium & Vanadium to prepare an Independent Technical Report compliant with the Canadian National Instrument 43-101 on the San Rafael Uranium Project (including the: Deep Gold Uranium Deposit and the Down Yonder Uranium Deposit), an advanced-stage uranium property. The report was finalized on November 19, 2014 and filed on sedar.com on November 20, 2015.
The filed Technical Report states that the Deep Gold deposit of the San Rafael Project comprises a historic indicated uranium resource of 475,000 tons grading at 0.25% U3O8 containing 2,415,300 lbs U3O8 and a historic inferred Mineral Resource of 92,350 tons grading at 0.32% U3O8 containing 587,800 lbs U3O8. This Technical Report resource is an historic estimate under NI 43-101. The historic mineral resource estimate was calculated by using polygonal and statistical methods. Both methods have been successfully applied in the evaluation of resources at many prospects and operating mines within the Salt Wash sandstone uranium deposits.
The San Rafael Uranium Project Technical Report filed by Western Uranium & Vanadium estimates mineral resources and not reserves. That report does not use categories other than “mineral resources” and “mineral reserves”, and the San Rafael Uranium Project property was reported as having no reserve quality mineralization. There is no more recent or available data on the San Rafael Uranium Project resource than that of the Western Uranium & Vanadium Technical Report from 2014. In order to disclose the historic resource as current, the Company needs to have completed and filed an NI 43-101 technical report on sedar.com which includes discussion on the reasonable prospect for economic extraction of the mineral resource. A qualified person (as understood under NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves, and the Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. In order to upgrade or verify the historical estimate provided by the Western Uranium & Vanadium Technical Report, the Company would have to engage a qualified person to, among other things, take account of any exploration or other work on the San Rafael Uranium Project since the date of the historical estimate and otherwise produce a report under NI 43-101.
Project Geology
Geologically, the main hosts for uranium-vanadium mineralization in the San Rafael Project are the fluvial sandstone beds assigned to the upper part of the Salt Wash Member of the Jurassic Morrison Formation.
Restoration and Reclamation
All exploration permits have been terminated and all bonds released. An EA was completed by BLM in 2008 for drilling up to 150 holes. A large area has been surveyed for cultural and paleontological resources which would expedite future exploration permits. No mine permitting activities have yet occurred.
Permitting Status
All exploration permits have been terminated and all bonds released. An EA was completed by BLM in 2008 for drilling up to 150 holes. A large area has been surveyed for cultural and paleontological resources which would expedite future exploration permits. No mine permitting activities have yet occurred.
3. Sage
The Property
On July 1, 2014 PRM concluded a deal with EFR to acquire 44 contiguous unpatented mining claims on the Utah side of the Colorado-Utah state line at the head of Summit Canyon at the south end of the Uravan Mineral Belt.
The 94 unpatented claims are located on approximately 1,942 acres land administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in sections 34 and 35, T32S, R26E, SLPM, San Juan County, Utah and sections 25 and 26, T43N, R20W, NMPM, and sections 19, 29, 30, 31, and 32, T43N, R19W, NMPM San Miguel County, Colorado. Holding cost is $14,370 due to BLM for claim maintenance fees prior to September 1 each year. The property has access to grid power, however, no source of industrial water has yet been identified. The Sage Mine Project is currently being held as a property that is exploratory in nature with no identified reserves. Exploration and mining plans have not been prepared for the project. Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. has not yet undertaken any development work at the property.
Accessibility
The Sage Plain Project property can be accessed from the north, south, and east on paved, all-weather county roads. The nearest towns with stores, restaurants, lodging, and small industrial supply retailers are Monticello, Utah, 26 road miles to the west, and Dove Creek, Colorado, 20 road miles to the southeast. Larger population centers with more supplies and services are available farther away at Moab, Utah (61 road miles to the north) and Cortez, Colorado (54 road miles to the southeast).
U.S. Highway 491 connects Monticello, Utah to Dove Creek and Cortez, Colorado. There are two routes north from this highway to the project. At one mile west of the Colorado/Utah state line (16 miles east of Monticello or 10 miles west of Dove Creek), San Juan County Road 370 goes north for 10 miles to the Calliham Mine portal site drive way. The mine portal is one-half mile east of Road 370, on a private road. An alternate route is to turn north on Colorado Highway 141(2 miles west of Dove Creek) for 9.5 miles to Egnar, Colorado, then turn west on San Miguel County. Road H1 for 1.2 miles before intersecting San Juan County Road 370. Road 370 would be taken north for 4 miles to the Calliham Mine portal site driveway. Road H1 from Egnar would also be used if one was traveling to the project on Highway 141 from farther north in Colorado, such as Naturita, Colorado (a total of 62 miles away).
History
The property includes the historic producing Sage Mine and boarders the famous Deremo Mine and the Calliham Mine (combined historic production of over 8 million lbs. U3O8 and 70 million lbs. V2O5). The uranium-vanadium deposits occur in the upper and middle sandstones of the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation.
WUC is in possession of historic mine and drill maps. About 200 historic holes were drilled on the claims at the Sage Mine. A considerable, but unknown amount of drilling occurred historically on the eastern (Colorado) part of the claims along the benches of Summit and Bishop Canyons. Historic production from several small mines occurred on the Colorado claims (Red Ant, Black Spider, etc.).
The Sage Mine was developed, operated, and permitted by Atlas Minerals in the 1970s. It closed in 1982 and was ultimately sold and the permit transferred to Butt Mining Company under a Small Mine NOI. Jim Butt operated the mine for a short time in the early 1990s when vanadium prices were high; however, the mine has been idle since that time.
In the fall of 2011, Colorado Plateau Partners drilled seven holes totaling 4,873 feet at the Sage Mine property to confirm historic map data and explore for a possible east-west channel connecting the mine to a mineralized body to the west. The drilling was successful in meeting the objectives of confirming the accuracy of the historic data and verifying a historically defined mineralized body. One hole exploring a possible mineralized trend connecting the mine to the western mineralized body intercepted 2.0 feet of 0.407% eU3O8. Another hole intercepted mineralization greater than 1.0 foot of 0.16% eU3O8.
Prior to the Company’s acquisition of the Sage Mine property, Energy Fuels, Colorado Plateau Partners (a Joint Venture between Energy Fuels and Lynx-Royal) completed a NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Sage Plain Project (Technical Report on Colorado Plateau Partners LLC (Energy Fuel Resources Corporation/Lynx-Royal JV) Sage Plain Project, San Juan County, Utah and San Miguel County, Colorado by Douglas C. Peters, Certified Professional Geologist, Peters Geosciences Golden, Colorado December 16, 2011) (the “Sage Mine Energy Fuels Technical Report”).
The Sage Mine Energy Fuels Technical Report resource is an historic estimate under NI 43-101.
The historic mineral resource estimate was calculated by a modified polygonal method. The Sage Mine area had drill spacing of 50-150 feet. At locations where drifting or stopping has removed portions of polygons, appropriate reductions to the resources assigned in those polygons were made. Mining assumptions were used in determining a cutoff grade for the resource estimates. The minimum mining thickness for this type of deposit is considered to be 2 feet. Uranium resource grades of 0.00% were used to dilute any intercept less than 1 foot of to meet the 2 feet minimum.
The Sage Mine Energy Fuels Technical Report filed by Colorado Plateau Partners estimates mineral resources and not reserves. That report does not use categories other than “mineral resources” and “mineral reserves”, and the Sage Mine property was reported as having no reserve quality mineralization. There is no more recent or available data on the Sage Mine project resource than that of the Energy Fuels Technical Report from Colorado Plateau Partners. In order to disclose the historic resource as current, the Company needs to have completed and filed an NI 43-101 technical report to sedar.com. A qualified person (as understood under NI 43-101) has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves, and the Company is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. In order to upgrade or verify the historical estimate provided by the Sage Mine Energy Fuels Technical Report, the Company would have to engage a qualified person to, among other things, take account of any exploration or other work on the Sage Mine since the date of the historical estimate and otherwise produce a report under NI 43-101.
Energy Fuels submitted an Exploration NOI to the BLM in March 2013 for the site thereby establishing a nominal permit for the facility. Permitting for mine expansion was started in 2012, but was discontinued due to other priorities. This work included installing 3 monitoring wells around a proposed portable water treatment plant (exploration permit E/037/0188; bond $16,020) and conducting baseline studies (archeology, biology, groundwater). Eight baseline groundwater sampling events have been completed, which will allow for submittal of a complete groundwater discharge permit application to DWQ. The Sage Mine Energy Fuels Technical Report resource provides an historic estimate. The Company has a high degree of confidence in the referenced NI 43-101 Technical Report which references the Company’s Sage Project.
Other than offsetting some of the historic drill holes and use of gamma logs where available, no verification of the historical data has been conducted. No core is available at the present time from the earlier exploration or production work.
It was Douglas C. Peter’s (author of the referenced NI 43-101 Technical Report) opinion that the uranium and vanadium data from drilling in 2011 and from historical information on analyses and down hole probing were adequate for the purposes of that technical report and for basic resource estimation using those data.
Project Geology
The Sage Plain and nearby Slick Rock and Dry Valley/East Canyon districts uranium vanadium deposits are a similar type to those elsewhere in the Uravan Mineral Belt. The location and shape of mineralized deposits are largely controlled by the permeability of the host sandstone. Most mineralization is in trends where Top Rim sandstones are thick, usually 40 feet or greater.
The Sage Plain District appears to be a large channel of Top Rim sandstone which trends northeast, as one of the major trunk channels that is fanning into distributaries in the southern portion of the Uravan Mineral Belt. The Calliham/Crain/Skidmore (Calliham Mine) and Sage Mine deposits, as well as nearby Deremo and Wilson/Silverbell mines appear to be controlled by meandering within this main channel.
The Morrison sediments accumulated as oxidized detritus in the fluvial environment. During early burial and diagenesis, the through-flowing ground water within the large, saturated pile of Salt Wash and Brushy Basin material remained oxidized, thereby transporting uranium in solution. When the uranium-rich waters encountered the zones of trapped reduced waters, the uranium precipitated. Vanadium may have been leached from the detrital iron-titanium mineral grains and subsequently deposited along with or prior to the uranium.
The thickness, the gray color, and pyrite and carbon contents of sandstones, along with gray or green mudstone, were recognized by early workers as significant and still serve as exploration guides. Much of the Top Rim sandstone in the Sage Plain Project area exhibits these favorable features; therefore, portions of the property with only widely spaced drill holes hold potential. However, without the historic drill data, it cannot be determined where sedimentary facies are located (e.g., channel sandstones thin and pinch-out, or sandstone grades and interfingers into pink and red oxidized sandstone and overbank mudstones). Furthermore, locations of interface zones of the oxidized and reduced environments are hard to predict. Until more historic data are obtained and/or more drilling occurs on the property away from the historic mines, these outlying areas remain exploration targets.
Restoration and Reclamation
A financial warrant is posted with the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board for the amount of $40,124.
Permitting Status
Although the mine is permitted (S/037/0058) and bonded ($40,124) for reclamation, it is not permitted for mining. Because of its location on BLM managed land, an Environmental Assessment will need to be prepared for the site by a third-party contractor once a Plan of Operations is submitted for the mine operation. An amendment to the Small Mine Reclamation NOI will also be needed with Utah Division of Oil Gas and Mining to allow for mine expansion.
Existing permits include:
Small Mine Reclamation permit with the Utah Division of Oil Gas and Mining.
Basis of Disclosure
The scientific and technical information provided in this Form 10-K on the Sage Mine, as well all data and exploration information reported in this Form 10-K on the Sage Mine, is based on the information reported in the Sage Mine Energy Fuels Technical Report.
4. Dunn
The Property
The 11 unpatented claims are located on approximately 220 acres of land administered by the BLM in sections 14 and 15, T32S, R25E, SLPM, San Juan County, Utah. Holding costs of the 11 claims will be $1,705 due to BLM before September 1 each year.
The Dunn Project is currently being held as a property that is exploratory in nature with no identified reserves. Exploration and mining plans have not been prepared for the project. Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. has not yet undertaken any development work at the property. Power and water sources have not yet been formally assessed.
Accessibility
The property lies in Bear Trap Canyon, a tributary at the head of East Canyon. This is midway between the EFR Rim Mine and the Calliham/Sage mine area. Access to the Dunn project is from West Summit Road (San Juan County Road 313), 10.8 miles north of the junction with U.S. Highway 491. West Summit Road is a two-lane paved road that is well maintained year round. At 10.8 miles, a graveled Class D County Road (unnamed), spurs off of West Summit Road, passes through the leased lands and terminates at the Dunn Portal at approximately 2.1 miles from the spur. The nearest town to the Dunn project is Monticello, Utah which is approximately 65 miles away. The closest commercial airport facilities are located in Cortez, Colorado, approximately 65 miles to the southeast, and Moab, Utah approximately 65 miles to the northwest; both airports have daily commercial flights to-and-from Denver International Airport.
History
The first discovery of uranium-vanadium mineralization within close proximity to the Dunn project was by Homestake Mining Company in the late 1960s at what would eventually become the Wilson Mine 4 miles to the east. Mineralization associated with the Dunn mine was discovered by Gulf Oil Corporation in the late 1960s, which was subsequently acquired by Homestake, followed by Atlas Minerals in the 1970’s. Between 1975 and 1983 Atlas completed 243 drill holes at the Dunn project with an average total depth of 724 feet. By 1981, Atlas had delineated a resource that could justify the construction of a 3,825 foot decline. The decline successfully reached the perimeter of delineated mineralization, but before any production-mining, Atlas ceased operations in 1983 when faced with financial setbacks that required them to divert funds.
In July, 2013, Energy Fuels Resources acquired the Dunn Mine property from American Strategic Minerals Corporation and Kyle Kimmerle.
Project Geology
The Dunn project occurs on structurally unaffected terrain between the gently folded Boulder Knoll anticline to the southwest and the more prominent salt-cored Lisbon Valley anticline to the northeast. The strata beneath the project are relatively flat, and no major faults or folds are expected to disrupt bedding or unit contacts.
Uranium-vanadium mineralization at the Dunn is hosted in the Salt Wash Member of the Jurassic Morrison formation which occurs at approximately 500 to 750 feet below the surface. The average depth to the mineralized sandstones within the Salt Wash Member is 650 feet from the surface.
The primary uranium mineral is uraninite with minor amounts of coffinite. The primary vanadium mineral is Montroseite.
Restoration and Reclamation.
No liabilities currently exist.
Permitting Status
No permits currently exist.
Basis of Disclosure
The scientific and technical information provided in this Form 10-K on the Dunn Project American Strategic Mineral Corporation is based on information provided in a NI 43-101 Technical Report prepared by American Strategic Minerals Corporation (the previous owner of the Dunn Project) entitled Technical Report on American Strategic Minerals Corporation’s Dunn Project, San Juan County, Utah by Dr. David A. Gonzales, PhD, PG, Durango, Colorado March 23, 2012. Mr. Gonzales is a qualified person for purposes of NI 43-101. However, none of the data, other exploration information or other results reported in that report are being incorporated into this Form 10-K.
5. Van #4
The Property
The Van#4 is located in the Uravan Mineral Belt on Monogram Mesa in Montrose County, Colorado. The property had been held by Denison and its predecessors for many years. The property consists of 80 unpatented mining claims covering the mine site and long-known deposit to the east, plus two large claim groups to the north, east, and south with exploration potential.
The 80 unpatented claims are located on approximately 1,900 acres land administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in sections 27, 28, 29, 33, and 34, T48N, R17W, NMPM, and some in section 3, T47N, R17W, Montrose County, Colorado. The Holding costs of the 80 claims will be $12,400 due to BLM before September 1 each year. There are no royalties encumbering these claims.
The property includes the Van #4 shaft and associated surface facilities, which need renovation. The mine is connected to the Ura decline on claims in Bull Canyon to the southwest, not owned by WUC. It has been on standby for many years. Denison completed reclamation of two of the ventilation holes in 2008 and 2010. The property has access to grid power; however, no source of industrial water has been identified yet. The Van 4 mine is currently being held as a property that is exploratory in nature. Exploration and mining plans have not been prepared for the project. Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. has not yet undertaken any development work at the property. Power and water sources have not yet been assessed.
A prior owner of the Van 4 Mine had been granted a first Temporary Cessation from reclamation of the mine by the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board (“MLRB”) which was set to expire June 23, 2017. Prior to its expiration, PRM formally requested an extension through a second Temporary Cessation. PRM subsequently participated in a public process which culminated in a hearing on July 26, 2017. Prior to the hearing, three non-profit organizations who pursue environmental and conservation objectives filed a brief objecting to the extension. The MLRB board members voted to grant a second five-year Temporary Cessation for the Van 4 Mine. Thereafter, the three objecting parties filed a lawsuit on September 18, 2017. The MLRB was named as the defendant and PRM was named as a party to the case due to the Colorado law requirement that any lawsuit filed after a hearing must include all of the parties in the proceeding. The plaintiff organizations are seeking for the court to set aside the board order granting a second five-year Temporary Cessation period to PRM for the Van 4 Mine. The Colorado state Attorney General was defending this action in the Denver Colorado District Court. On May 8, 2018, the Denver Colorado District Court ruled in favor, whereby the additional five-year temporary cessation period was granted. The Plaintiffs appealed this ruling to the Colorado Court of Appeals and on July 25, 2019 the ruling was reversed, ruling that the additional five-year temporary cessation period should not have been granted.
The MLRB and the Colorado Attorney General advised Western that it will not make an additional appeal of the ruling. Further, the time period for an appeal has passed. The Judge has subsequently issued an instruction for the MLRB to issue an order revoking the permit and putting the Van 4 Mine into reclamation. On January 22, 2020, the MLRB held a hearing and on March 2, 2020, the MLRB issued an order vacating the Van 4 Temporary Cessation, revoking the permit and ordered commencement of final reclamation, which must be completed within five (5) years. The Company commenced reclamation of the Van 4 Mine but progress has been delayed both by COVID-19 restrictions and countywide fire and open flame restrictions. The reclamation cost is fully covered by the reclamation bonds posted upon acquisition of the property.
Accessibility
The Van #4 mine is accessible via Montrose County Roads year-round.
History
The Van#4 was initially permitted in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Union Carbide as part of a number of small mines named the Thunderbolt Group. Energy Fuels Nuclear, Inc. (EFN) acquired the mine in 1984 and then transferred the mine and permits to International Uranium Corporation (IUC) in 1997. IUC re-permitted the mine with DRMS (then known as the Division of Minerals and Geology) in 1999 because the previous permit had included other mines in the area that were not acquired by IUC. Mine Permit M-1997-032 with DRMS is currently in good standing and bonded for $75,057. Amendment AM-1, which incorporated the approved EPP, was issued on May 30, 2012. The permit has been transferred over the years from IUC to Denison Mines (USA) Corp. to Energy Fuels Resources (USA) Inc. and now to WUC by way of PRM.
Project Geology
The uranium-vanadium deposits occur in the upper and middle sandstones of the Salt Wash Member of the Morrison Formation. Deposits in this part of the Uravan Mineral Belt have a moderate V2O5: U3O8 ratio. The Company is in possession of much historic mine and drill data (former Union Carbide/Umetco property), as well as up-to-date mine maps. Denison drilled most recently (summer 2008) 21 wide-spaced exploration holes in sections 27 and 34. All have been reclaimed and the permit terminated.
Restoration and Reclamation.
There is a reclamation bond held by the Colorado DRMS for $75,057.
Permitting Status
Permit compliance is currently limited to an annual stormwater inspection; stormwater improvement work was completed in 2010 and 2012. The air permit with APCD was recently allowed to lapse, as the company does not have any immediate development or operation plans for the mine. The mine does not have EPA approval for radon emissions; however, this approval may not be needed to restart mining, as the life-of-mine production will likely be less than 100,000 tons. The DRMS mining permit was put into Temporary Cessation in February, 2014. Existing major permits at the mine include:
● BLM Plan of Operations COC-62522 (same as DRMS Permit M-97-032)
● DRMS 110d (Small Mine, DMO) Mine Permit M-97-032
6. Hansen/Taylor
The Property
Within the Project area, Black Range has mining agreements, owns fee minerals, holds options to purchase fee mineral rights, holds federal unpatented mining claims and mineral leases with the State of Colorado, and has in place surface access agreements, including:
- 1 x private Mineral Lease
- 1 x State Mineral Lease (UR3324)
- 1 x option to purchase 100% of the Hansen and Picnic Tree Deposits
- 108 Federal unpatented mining claims
The Hansen/Taylor Ranch Project is currently being held as a property that is exploratory in nature with no identified reserves. Neither exploration plans nor a mining plan exist for the project. Black Range Minerals has not undertaken development work at the property since groundwater well installation in 2013. Power and water sources have not yet been formally assessed.
Notably a portion of the Hansen/Taylor deposit was in dispute during 2017. On September 16, 2015, in connection with the Company’s acquisition of Black Range, the Company assumed an option and exploration agreement (the “Option and Exploration Agreement”) with STB Minerals, LLC, a Colorado limited liability company (“STB”). The Option and Exploration Agreement gives the Company the right to purchase 51% of the mineral rights of specific areas of the Hansen and Picnic Tree deposits (for which the Company already holds 49% of the rights). If the Company were to exercise its option under the Option and Exploration Agreement, it would require the Company to (a) make a cash payment of $2,500,000 immediately upon exercise; (b) issue common shares to STB amounting to a value of $3,750,000 immediately upon exercise; and (c) issue common shares to STB amounting to a value of $3,750,000 on the date that is 180 days following exercise. The Option and Exploration Agreement was scheduled to expire by its terms on July 28, 2017 if not exercised.
The Option and Exploration Agreement provided an extension for an “event of force majeure”. Under this clause, the Company would receive an extension of the period during which it could exercise its option if it experiences an unreasonable delay outside its control that prevents it from exercising the option. On May 10, 2017, the Company provided to STB a notice that it was exercising the force majeure clause due to the delay by government regulators in licensing the Company’s Kinetic Separation and permitting mining at the Hansen property. STB has contested the Company’s finding that an event of force majeure has occurred. Ongoing negotiations continued until September 21, 2017 when the Company and STB agreed to settle the matter through the pre-established arbitration mechanism. Prior to the commencement of arbitration, a settlement was agreed to on February 28, 2018 through the execution of an Amendment of Option and Exploration Agreement. As consideration, the Company paid STB a $20,000 extension payment and granted STB the right to seek a bona fide written offer over the remaining term, and agreed to the removal of the force majeure clause from the agreement. The Company received an extension until July 28, 2019 and a right of first refusal to match any bona fide written offer. Hence the Company already owned 49% of the resource property and retained an option to purchase the 51% of the resource property that the Company did not already own for the duration of the agreement. Further the Company believes the execution of this agreement was without financial implications, and as such, the Company has not made any adjustment to these consolidated financials related to this matter.
Prior to July 28, 2019, the Company decided not to exercise the option to purchase the remaining 51% of the mineral rights of specific areas of the Hansen and Picnic Tree deposits, and thus the option has expired unexercised.
Accessibility
The Project is located in Fremont County, in South Central Colorado approximately 30 miles northwest of the city of Canon City. Canon City is the closest population center, and had a population of 16,400 in 2010. The largest metropolitan area in close proximity to the Project is Colorado Springs which is located approximately 46 miles northeast of Canon City and has a population of approximately 416,000. Figure 1 shows the locations of these population centers with respect to the Project.
For ground travel, Canon City is best accessed from Denver/Colorado Springs via I-25 south to State Highway 115 which intersects Highway 50 just east of Canon City. For air travel, alternatives include the Colorado Springs Municipal Airport (COS), which is a 16-gate facility served by 14 airlines and Denver’s International Airport (DEN), which is 149 miles from Canon City. There is a small airport, Fremont County Airport (CNE), located in Canon City, which is open to private flights. The property has access to grid power; however, no source of industrial water has been identified yet.
History
Uranium mineralization was discovered in the Tallahassee Creek District in 1954 by two groups of prospectors. Between 1954 and 1972, 16 small open pit and underground mines were operated in the district. Discoveries, and most producing mines and production were in the Tallahassee Creek Conglomerate, with one mine, the Smaller Mine, producing from the Echo Park Formation. Exploration efforts were minimal until Rampart Exploration Company (Rampart), under contract to Cyprus, explored the Taylor Ranch area beginning in 1974 and discovered the Hansen Uranium Deposit along with other uranium deposits in the district. Cyprus took the Hansen and Picnic Tree deposits through a positive final feasibility analysis in 1980 for an open-pit mining and conventional uranium milling operation, and secured all necessary operating permits in 1981. The collapse of the uranium market led to Cyprus abandoning the project which lay dormant until Black Range Minerals began activities in late 2006.
Black Range Mineral’s Taylor Ranch Project, CO, consists of a combination of private, BLM and State Section minerals, and private, BLM and State Section surface rights. Ownership of the private minerals and surface has mainly been by local ranchers. Western Nuclear held a portion of the property briefly in 1968. Cyprus gained control of mineral and surface rights during the period 1975-1978.
In 1993, Cyprus sold their Tallahassee Creek holdings to Noah (Buddy) and Diane Taylor who had managed ranching activities on the property. The Taylors were not able to make the final payment to Cyprus and sold the southern portion of their holdings which included the Hansen and Picnic Tree deposits to New Mexico and Arizona Land (now NZ Minerals) in 1996 who, in 1998, sold the property to South T-Bar Ranch, a subsidiary of Colorado developer Land Properties, while reserving a 49% interest in the minerals.
This part of Cyprus’ prior holdings was subdivided, mainly into 35-acre parcels. Beginning in December 2006, through various purchases, leases and option agreements, Black Range Minerals has obtained mineral rights to most of the original Cyprus holdings.
Prior to the Hansen/Taylor Project being acquired by WUC, a mineral resource for the Hansen/Taylor Ranch Project for Black Range Minerals Limited. Black Range Reported a JORC compliant indicated uranium resources. This historic resource estimate was originally reported to Black Range Minerals Limited by Tetra Tech in four resource memos (collectively, the Tetra Tech Reports): 1) High Park Kriging Resources - Taylor Ranch Uranium Project, April 25, 2008; 2) North Hansen, Boyer Kriging Resources - Taylor Ranch Uranium Project, April 29, 2009; 3) Technical Memorandum - Boyer, Hansen and Picnic Tree Area Kriging Resources - Taylor Ranch Uranium Project, August 24, 2009; and 4) Technical Memorandum - Boyer, Hansen and Picnic Tree Area Kriging Resources - Taylor Ranch Uranium Project (Updated 2010), August 12, 2010. These memos were originally prepared by Rex Bryan of Tetra Tech, a qualified person under NI 43-101. The results reported in the Tetra Tech Reports are historical estimates under NI 43-101.
There is high confidence in the geologic interpretation of the historic Black Range Minerals resource provided in the Tetra Tech Reports. The deposit is stratified and laterally consistent drill hole logging and surface mapping supports this conclusion. The data source for geologic interpretation is primarily drill hole logs and surface mapping. The model currently assumes minimal post mineralization faulting. Deposit domains were confined by corresponding geologic units. Continuity of geology is on a regional sedimentary scale and is regular. Grade continuity is subject to deposition of carbonaceous material and oxidation reduction interfaces of palaeo-groundwater carrying mobilized uranium. Commonly accepted multi-pass kriging methods were used to estimate the mineral resources. Uranium domains were modeled using wireframe solids, resources were quantified outside the solids with drastically reduced search ranges. Estimates were checked and compared to historic estimates. Blocks were sized as a tradeoff between mineralized shapes and general mining selectivity. The block heights are four to six times the half foot sample collection but block lengths and widths are several times smaller than the drill spacing in order to adequately fit the mineralized shapes. It is assumed that due to the soft sedimentary nature of the mineral zone, good selectivity can be achieved.
The historic Black Range Minerals resource reported in the Tetra Tech Reports uses JORC indicated and inferred resource categories and does not contain reserves. That report does not use categories other than “mineral resources” and “mineral reserves”. There are no more recent estimates or data available to WUC or Black Range Minerals. In order to verify this estimate, the Company would need to prepare a NI 43-101 Technical Report to disclose the mineral resources as current. This would involve, among other things verifying the results under NI 43-101 standards and potentially conducted new or additional analyses under NI 43-101 standards, as well as taking into account any exploration or other work conducted on this property since the latest of the Tetra Tech Reports. A qualified person (as defined under NI 43-101) has not completed sufficient work to classify this historical estimate as current under that rule, and the Company is not treating this historical estimate as current.
Project Geology
The deposits that make up the Project are tabular sandstone deposits associated with redox interfaces. The mineralisation is hosted in Tertiary sandstones and/or clay bearing conglomerates within an extinct braided stream, fluvial system or palaeo channel. Mineralisation occurred post sediment deposition when oxygenated uraniferous groundwater moving through the host rocks came into contact with redox interfaces, the resultant chemical change caused the precipitation of uranium oxides. The most common cause of redox interfaces is the presence of carbonaceous material that was deposited simultaneously with the host sediments. In parts of the Project the palaeochannel has been covered by Tertiary volcanic rocks and throughout the Project basement consists of Pre-Cambrian plutonics and metamorphic rocks. The volcanic and Pre-Cambrian rocks are believed to be the source of the uranium.
Restoration and Reclamation
BRM has a bond of $154,927 with the DRMS covering exploration activities for the project.
Permitting Status
The project currently has an exploration permit through the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety as well as a Conditional Use Permit with the Fremont County Planning and Zoning Department.
Basis of Disclosure
The scientific and technical information provided in this Form 10-K on the Hansen/Taylor Ranch Project, as well all data and exploration information reported in this Form 10-K on the Hansen/Taylor Ranch Project, is based on the information reported in the Tetra Tech Reports.
7. Bullen Property (Weld County)
The Property
The Bullen Property is a private land parcel located in Weld County Colorado and is inclusive of 139 surface acres and 160 mineral acres. The property location is Township 9 North, Range 60 West, 6th P.M., Section 34:NW/4.
Accessibility
The Bullen Property is accessible via Weld County roads year-round.
History
The Bullen Property is an oil and gas property located in Weld County Colorado. The Company acquired this non-core property in 2015 in the Black Range Minerals Limited acquisition. Black Range purchased the property in 2008 for its Keota Uranium Project. This project ran from 2008 to 2013, and at its peak there were five strategic interests which comprised approximately 3,300 acres in the Keota Uranium District. After the project ceased, the Bullen Property was the only acreage retained in Weld County by virtue of its outright ownership.
In 2017, the Company signed a three year oil and gas lease which in 2020 was extended for an additional three year term or the end of continuous operations. The consideration was in the form of upfront bonus payments and backend production royalty payments. Additional right-of-way easement agreements were signed which allowed for the development of a pipeline. The lease agreement allows the Company to retain property rights to vanadium, uranium, and other mineral resources.
In early 2020 Bison Oil & Gas traded this lease to Mallard Exploration (“Mallard”), Mallard subsequently filed an application with the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) to update the permitting to create a new pooled unit.
In late 2020 Mallard began development of the pooled unit. By March 31, 2021, the drilling portion of the project had been completed for the eight horizontal wells named Blue Teal Fed. Seven wells were drilled to a 2.5 miles lateral length and one well was drilled to a 3.0 mile lateral length. These DJ-Basin wells target the Niobrara formation. During May 2021, Mallard will commence the well completion stage, fracking, and flow back. Despite some weather delays over the winter, the Operations Plan remains close to schedule and production is projected to commence during the third quarter.
Project Geology
The Bullen Property is located within the Denver-Julesburg Basin (“D-J Basin”) which is inclusive of multiple oil and gas formations.
Permitting Status
Mallard’s application with the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) created a new order to establish a drilling and spacing unit and set the maximum number of horizontal wells that may be drilled. The field rules were approved on August 24, 2020 (COGCC Order No. 535-1325). This order pooled five adjoining parcels into a 3,200 acre pooled unit (“Unit”) and set the maximum number of wells at 24. A total of 16 wells have been permitted in the Unit.
OTHER
Ferris Haggerty
The Property
A reclamation liability remains at this Wyoming copper project. No leases or land use remain. The Ferris Haggarty project is a reclamation-only project.
Accessibility
The reclamation project is accessible 4 to 6 months out of the year due to snow and closed access. Take Wyoming Highway west from Encampment, Wyoming for approximately 11 miles. Once across the divide, to the northeast there is a pullout for Medicine Bow National Forest recreation. Follow 4 wheel drive route 412 (Continental Divide Trail) for approximately 5 miles to the Haggerty creek watershed. Turn southwest onto a steep 4 wheel drive rout and travel for approximately 1.5 miles until you are at the property.
History
The Ferris-Haggerty Mine Site was one of the richest components of the Grand Encampment Mining District in Carbon County, Wyoming. The site was first exploited by Ed Haggerty, a prospector from Whitehaven, England, in 1897, when he established the Rudefeha Mine on a rich deposit of copper ore. Haggerty was backed by George Ferris and other investors, of whom all but Ferris dropped out. The partners sold an interest to Willis George Emerson, who raised investment funding for improvements to the mine. These facilities included a 16-mile (26 km) aerial tramway from Grand Encampment over the Continental Divide to the smelter in Encampment and a 4-mile (6.4 km) pipeline to the mine. The mine’s assets were eventually acquired by the North American Copper Company for $1 million. By 1904 the mine had produced $1.4 million in copper ore, and was sold to the Penn-Wyoming Copper Company. However, even with copper prices peaking in 1907, the company had difficulty making a profit from the remove mine site. The company was over-capitalized and under-insured, and was suffered devastating fires at the mine site in March 1906 and May 1907 which halted production. Business disputes and a fall in copper prices prevented re-opening of the mine even after it was rebuilt. Machinery was salvaged after a foreclosure in 1913. A total of $2 million in copper ore was extracted from the mine during its life.
Project Geology
The Deposit is a tabular injection of magmatic metal differentiation product at the margins of an ultramafic intrusive of early Archean age (2.2 billion years ago). This intrusive was injected into pre-existing high siliceous sandstones and shales of massive thickness (+2,000 ft). Mineralization at the Ferris-Haggarty mine consists of disseminated pyrite and chalcopyrite grains that occur along bedding planes of the host quartzite. However, the massive ore body mined at the Ferris-Haggarty was described by Spencer (1904) to lie along quartzite-Schist contacts and to cross cut foliation. Based on the historic description, the ore may have been remobilized from the host quartzite during regional metamorphism and emplaced along the quartzite-schist contact by way of permeable fractures. The impermeable hanging wall schist may have formed a natural barrier to the ore solutions and produced an unusually rich ore body.
Restoration and Reclamation
Grass must grow on the drill pad disturbance areas from drilling which took place in 2007. These drill pads are located at 10,000 feet above sea level on the north face of a mountain on the Continental Divide.
A $10,000 reclamation bond remains with the Wyoming DEQ. Upon completing reclamation, the Company will receive the bond money back.
INFRASTRUCTURE
The Company’s carrying value of property, plant and equipment is as follows:
IP - Kinetic Separation - $9,488,051 The Company holds a license to use Kinetic Separation, a proven technology that we anticipate will improve the efficiency of the sandstone hosted uranium mining process, although there are some uncertainties about whether the anticipated benefits will be realized. See Item 1, “Business - The Kinetic Separation Process.” Kinetic Separation is a low cost, purely physical method of uranium and vanadium ore extraction. Kinetic Separation has been initially tested in order to understand the hydro and mechanical separation processes. The Company used a prototype Kinetic Separation test system to test several different samples of uranium ore from the Sunday Mine Complex and the Hansen/Taylor Ranch properties. In all cases, uranium ore that was entered into the Kinetic Separation pilot test system appeared to concentrate most of the uranium into the post kinetically separated material consisting of a fraction of the original mass, leaving most of the post kinetically separated materials which did not contain any uranium. The results of these tests have not yet been validated by a Competent Person.
During 2016, the Company submitted documentation to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (“CDPHE”) for a determination ruling regarding the type of license which may be required for the application of Kinetic Separation at the Sunday Mine Complex within the state of Colorado. During May and June of 2016, CDPHE held four public meetings in several cities in Colorado as part of the process. On July 22, 2016 CDPHE closed the comment period. In connection with this matter, the CDPHE consulted with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”). In response, the CDPHE received an advisory opinion dated October 16, 2016, which did not contain support for the NRC’s opinion and with which the Company’s regulatory counsel does not agree. NRC’s advisory opinion recommended that Kinetic Separation should be regulated as a milling operation but did recognize that there may be exemptions to certain milling regulatory requirements because of the benign nature of the non-uranium bearing sands produced after Kinetic Separation is completed on uranium-bearing ores. On December 1, 2016, the CDPHE issued a determination that the proposed Kinetic Separation operations at the Sunday Mine must be regulated by the CDPHE through a milling license. The 2018 increase in the blended uranium/vanadium price has brought the Company closer to production. Beginning in 2017, the Company’s regulatory counsel has prepared significant documentation in preparation for a prospective submission. On September 13, 2019, the Company’s regulatory counsel submitted a white paper to the NRC entitled Recommendations on the Proper Legal and Policy Interpretation for Using Kinetic Separation Processes at Uranium Mine Sites. On July 24, 2020, the NRC staff responded with a letter in support of the original conclusion; Western’s regulatory counsel is evaluating alternatives.
Mineral Properties $11,735,522 - The Company holds mineral properties as outlined below.
Pinon Ridge Properties
On August 18, 2014, the Company purchased mining assets from Energy Fuels Holding Corp. in an arm’s length transaction. The mining assets include both owned and leased land in the states of Utah and Colorado. All of the mining assets represent properties which have previously been mined to different degrees for uranium. As some of the properties have not formally established proven or probable reserves, there may be greater inherent uncertainty as to whether or not any mineralized material can be economically extracted as originally planned and anticipated.
The Company’s mining properties acquired on August 18, 2014 which the Company still retains as of December 31, 2020, include: San Rafael Uranium Project located in Emery County, Utah; The Sunday Mine Complex located in western San Miguel County, Colorado; The Van 4 Mine located in western Montrose County, Colorado; The Sage Mine project located in San Juan County, Utah; and the Dunn project located in San Juan and San Miguel counties, Colorado.
Black Range Properties
On September 16, 2015, in connection with the Black Range Transaction, the Company acquired additional mineral properties. The mining assets acquired through Black Range include leased land in the states of Colorado, Wyoming and Alaska. None of these mining assets were operational at the date of acquisition. As these properties have not formally established proven or probable reserves, there may be greater inherent uncertainty as to whether or not any mineralized material can be economically extracted as originally planned and anticipated.
The Company’s mining properties acquired on September 16, 2015 which the Company still retains as of December 31, 2020, include Hansen, North Hansen, Hansen Picnic Tree, Taylor Ranch, located in Fremont County, Colorado. The Company also acquired Keota located in Weld County, Wyoming.
In connection with the Black Range Transaction, Western assumed a mortgage secured by land, building and improvements at 1450 North 7 Mile Road, Casper, Wyoming, with interest payable at 8.00% and payable in monthly payments of $11,085 with the final balance of $1,044,015 due as a balloon payment on January 16, 2016. The Company did not pay the mortgage on its due date. On May 26, 2016, the Company executed agreements with the mortgage holder whereby in an equal exchange the mortgage was exchanged for the land, building and improvements on which it was secured, pursuant to which no further financial consideration is required.
During the second quarter of 2016, the Company initiated actions to cancel its coal mining leases in Alaska. In connection therewith, the Company notified the state of Alaska of its intent to forfeit the posted bond in satisfaction of the reclamation liabilities at the site. In response to the Company’s notification, the Company received notification that the state of Alaska was initiating forfeiture of the Company’s performance bond for reclamation. However, the notice indicated an additional surety bond of $150,000 in excess of the $210,500 cash bond, which had been posted by the Company upon purchase of the property. The Company and its advisors do not believe that it is obligated for this additional amount of claimed reclamation obligation. The Company is working with its legal counsel and the State of Alaska to resolve this matter. The Company has not recorded an additional $150,000 obligation as the Company does not expect, based on the advice of legal counsel, to be obligated to an amount greater than that presently reflected in the reclamation liability. During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company adjusted the fair value of its reclamation obligation and for the Alaska mine, accreted $183,510 to bring its reclamation liability to face value. The portion of the reclamation liability related to the Alaska mine, and its related restricted cash are included in current liabilities, and current assets, respectively, at a value of $215,976 and $215,976. On January 20, 2017, the State of Alaska notified the Company that its reclamation bond had been forfeited to be used to satisfy the reclamation obligation. However, no amount had yet been determined in respect to the final cost of the reclamation obligation.
As the properties are not in production, they are not covered by various types of insurance including property and casualty, liability and umbrella coverage. We have not experienced any material uninsured or under insured losses related to our properties in the past and believe our approach sufficient given the inactivity.
On September 16, 2015, in connection with the Company’s acquisition of Black Range, the Company assumed an option and exploration agreement (the “Option and Exploration Agreement”) with STB Minerals, LLC, a Colorado limited liability company (“STB”). The Option and Exploration Agreement gives the Company the right to purchase 51% of the mineral rights of specific areas of the Hansen and Picnic Tree deposits (for which the Company already holds 49% of the rights). If the Company were to exercise its option under the Option and Exploration Agreement, it would require the Company to (a) make a cash payment of $2,500,000 immediately upon exercise; (b) issue common shares to STB amounting to a value of $3,750,000 immediately upon exercise; and (c) issue common shares to STB amounting to a value of $3,750,000 on the date that is 180 days following exercise. The Option and Exploration Agreement was scheduled to expire by its terms on July 28, 2017 if not exercised.
The Option and Exploration Agreement provided an extension for an “event of force majeure”. Under this clause, the Company would receive an extension of the period during which it could exercise its option if it experiences an unreasonable delay outside its control that prevents it from exercising the option. On May 10, 2017, the Company provided to STB a notice that it was exercising the force majeure clause due to the delay by government regulators in licensing the Company’s Kinetic Separation and permitting mining at the Hansen property. STB has contested the Company’s finding that an event of force majeure has occurred. Ongoing negotiations continued until September 21, 2017 when the Company and STB agreed to settle the matter through the pre-established arbitration mechanism. Prior to the commencement of arbitration, a settlement was agreed to on February 28, 2018 through the execution of an Amendment of Option and Exploration Agreement. As consideration, the Company paid STB a $20,000 extension payment and granted STB the right to seek a bona fide written offer over the remaining term, and agreed to the removal of the force majeure clause from the agreement. The Company received an extension until July 28, 2019 and a right of first refusal to match any bona fide written offer. Hence the Company already owned 49% of the resource property and retained an option to purchase the 51% of the resource property that the Company did not already own for the duration of the agreement. Further the Company believes the execution of this agreement was without financial implications, and as such, the Company has not made any adjustment to these consolidated financials related to this matter.
Prior to July 28, 2019, the Company decided not to exercise the option to purchase the remaining 51% of the mineral rights of specific areas of the Hansen and Picnic Tree deposits, and thus the option has expired unexercised.
Disposal of Mining Properties
In July and October 2016, the Company elected not to renew leases relating to four projects that were obtained through either the August 2014 acquisition from Energy Fuels Holding Corp. or the acquisition of Black Range Minerals. The decision to not renew the four leases was based upon a number of factors, the most significant of which were the location of the projects, the development stage of each product, and the amount of uranium and vanadium resources within each project. The forfeiture of these leases has no material adverse impact on the fair value of the Company’s mining assets.
On January 1, 2018, the Company’s Taylor Ranch Lease reached its expiration date and the Company elected not to negotiate a renewal.
ITEM 3.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Other than described below, management is not aware of any material legal proceedings that are pending or that have been threatened against us or our subsidiaries or any of our respective properties, and none of our directors, officers, affiliates or record or beneficial owners of more than 5% of our common shares, or any associate of any such director, officer, affiliate or shareholder, is (i) a party adverse to us or any of our subsidiaries in any legal proceeding or (ii) has an adverse interest to us or any of our subsidiaries in any legal proceeding.
The Company is subject to periodic inspection by certain regulatory agencies for the purpose of determining compliance by the Company with the conditions of its licenses. In the ordinary course of business, minor violations may occur; however, these are not expected to result in material expenditures or have any other material adverse effect on the Company.
A prior owner of the Van 4 Mine had been granted a first Temporary Cessation from reclamation of the mine by the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board (“MLRB”) which was set to expire June 23, 2017. Prior to its expiration, PRM formally requested an extension through a second Temporary Cessation. PRM subsequently participated in a public process which culminated in a hearing on July 26, 2017. Prior to the hearing, three non-profit organizations who pursue environmental and conservation objectives filed a brief objecting to the extension. The MLRB board members voted to grant a second five-year Temporary Cessation for the Van 4 Mine. Thereafter, the three objecting parties filed a lawsuit on September 18, 2017. The MLRB was named as the defendant and PRM was named as a party to the case due to the Colorado law requirement that any lawsuit filed after a hearing must include all of the parties in the proceeding. The plaintiff organizations are seeking for the court to set aside the board order granting a second five-year Temporary Cessation period to PRM for the Van 4 Mine. The Colorado state Attorney General was defending this action in the Denver Colorado District Court. On May 8, 2018, the Denver Colorado District Court ruled in favor, whereby the additional five-year temporary cessation period was granted. The Plaintiffs appealed this ruling to the Colorado Court of Appeals and on July 25, 2019 the ruling was reversed, ruling that the additional five-year temporary cessation period should not have been granted.
The MLRB and the Colorado Attorney General advised Western that it will not make an additional appeal of the ruling. Further, the time period for an appeal has passed. The Judge has subsequently issued an instruction for the MLRB to issue an order revoking the permit and putting the Van 4 Mine into reclamation. On January 22, 2020, the MLRB held a hearing and on March 2, 2020, the MLRB issued an order vacating the Van 4 Temporary Cessation, revoking the permit and ordered commencement of final reclamation, which must be completed within five (5) years. The Company commenced reclamation of the Van 4 Mine but progress has been delayed both by COVID-19 restrictions and countywide fire and open flame restrictions. The reclamation cost is fully covered by the reclamation bonds posted upon acquisition of the property.
On February 4, 2020, the Colorado DRMS sent a Notice of Hearing to Declare Termination of Mining Operations related to the status of the mining permits issued by the state of Colorado for the Sunday Mine Complex. At issue is the application of an unchallenged Colorado Court of Appeals Opinion for a separate mine (Van 4,) with very different facts that are retroactively modifying DRMS rules and regulations. The Company maintains that it was timely in meeting existing rules and regulations. The hearing was scheduled to be held during several monthly MLRB Board meetings, but this matter has been delayed several times. The permit hearing was held during the MLRB Board monthly meeting on July 22, 2020. At issue was the status of the five existing permits which comprise the Sunday Mine Complex. Due to COVID restrictions, the hearing took place utilizing a virtual-only format. The Company prevailed in a 3 to 1 decision which acknowledged that the work completed at the Sunday Mines under DRMS oversight was timely and sufficient for Western to maintain these permits. In a subsequent July 30, 2020 letter, the DRMS notified the Company that the status of the five permits (Sunday, West Sunday, St. Jude, Carnation, and Topaz) had been changed to Active status effective June 10, 2019, the original date on which the change of the status was approved. On August 23, 2020, the Company initiated a request for temporary cessation status for the Sunday Mine Complex as the mines had not be restarted within a 180-day window due to the direct and indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, a permit hearing was scheduled for October 21, 2020 to determine temporary cessation status. In a unanimous vote, the MLRB approved temporary cessation status for each of the five Sunday Mine Complex permits (Sunday, West Sunday, St. Jude, Carnation, and Topaz). On October 9, 2020, the MLRB issued a board order which finalized the findings of the July 22, 2020 permit hearing. On November 12, 2020, a coalition of environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the MLRB seeking a partial appeal of the July 22, 2020 decision by requesting termination of the Topaz Mine permit. Management anticipates joining with the MLRB in defense of their July 22, 2020 decision.
ITEM 4.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
For Western, safety is a core value, and we strive for superior performance. Our health and safety management system, which includes detailed standards and procedures for safe production, addresses topics such as employee training, risk management, workplace inspection, emergency response, accident investigation, and program auditing. In addition to strong leadership and involvement from all levels of the organization, these programs and procedures form the cornerstone of safety at Western, ensuring that employees are provided a safe and healthy environment and are intended to reduce workplace accidents, incidents and losses, comply with all mining-related regulations and provide support for both regulators and the industry to improve mine safety.
The operation of our U.S. based mine is subject to regulation by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the “Mine Act”). MSHA inspects our mine on a regular basis and issues various citations and orders when it believes a violation has occurred under the Mine Act Following passage of The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006, MSHA significantly increased the number of citations and orders charged against mining operations. The dollar penalties assessed for citations issued has also increased in recent years.
Western is required to report certain mine safety violations or other regulatory matters required by Section 1503(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and Item 104 of Regulation S-K, and that required information is included in Exhibit 95 and is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report.
PART IV
ITEM 5.
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES
Market Information
Our common shares trade on the OTCQX Market under the “WSTRF” trading symbol.
Our common shares are listed for trading in Canada on the CSE under the symbol “WUC”.
Stockholders
According to our transfer agent, as of April 15, 2021 there were approximately 3,431 holders of record of our common shares.
ITEM 6.
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
Not Applicable
ITEM 7.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
Forward-Looking Statements
The information disclosed in this annual report, and the information incorporated by reference herein, include “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”). Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our or our management’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. In addition, any statements that refer to projections, forecasts or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions, are forward-looking statements. The words “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
The forward-looking statements contained or incorporated by reference in this quarterly report are based on our current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us and speak only as of the date of each such statement. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting us will be those that we have anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described in Item 1A, “Risk Factors,” and this Item 7 of this annual report. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated annual financial statements and footnotes thereto contained in this annual report.
Overview
General
Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. (“Western” or the “Company”, formerly Western Uranium Corporation) was incorporated in December 2006 under the Ontario Business Corporations Act. On November 20, 2014, the Company completed a listing process on the Canadian Securities Exchange (“CSE”). As part of that process, the Company acquired 100% of the members’ interests of Pinon Ridge Mining LLC (“PRM”), a Delaware limited liability company. The transaction constituted a reverse takeover (“RTO”) of Western by PRM. Subsequent to obtaining appropriate shareholder approvals, the Company reconstituted its Board of Directors and senior management team. Effective September 16, 2015, Western completed its acquisition of Black Range Minerals Limited (“Black Range”).
On August 18, 2014, the Company closed on the purchase of certain mining properties in Colorado and Utah from Energy Fuels Holding Corp. Assets purchased included both owned and leased lands in Utah and Colorado and all represent properties that have been previously mined for uranium to varying degrees in the past. The acquisition included the purchase of the Sunday Mine Complex. The Sunday Mine Complex is located in western San Miguel County, Colorado. The complex consists of the following five individual mines: the Sunday mine, the Carnation mine, the Saint Jude mine, the West Sunday mine and the Topaz mine. The operation of each of these mines requires a separate permit and all such permits have been obtained by Western and are currently valid. In addition, each of the mines has good access to a paved highway, electric power to existing declines, office/storage/shop and change buildings, and extensive underground haulage development with several vent shafts complete with exhaust fans. These properties were formerly secured by a first priority interest collateralizing a $500,000 promissory note which was paid in full on August 31, 2018 and thus the properties are now held free and clear of encumbrances. The Sunday Mine Complex is the Company’s core resource property and was assigned active status effective June 2019.
On September 16, 2015, Western completed its acquisition of Black Range, an Australian company that was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange until the acquisition was completed. The acquisition terms were pursuant to a definitive Merger Implementation Agreement entered into between Western and Black Range. Pursuant to the agreement, Western acquired all of the issued shares of Black Range by way of Scheme of Arrangement (“the Scheme”) under the Australian Corporation Act 2001 (Cth) (the “Black Range Transaction”), with Black Range shareholders being issued common shares of Western on a 1 for 750 basis. On August 25, 2015, the Scheme was approved by the shareholders of Black Range and on September 4, 2015, Black Range received approval by the Federal Court of Australia. In addition, Western issued to certain employees, directors and consultants options to purchase Western common shares. Such stock options were intended to replace Black Range stock options outstanding prior to the Black Range Transaction on the same 1 for 750 basis.
The Company has registered offices at 330 Bay Street, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5H 2S8 and its common shares are listed on the CSE under the symbol “WUC” and are traded on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol “WSTRF”. Its principal business activity is the acquisition and development of uranium and vanadium resource properties in the states of Utah and Colorado in the United States of America (“United States”).
Recent Developments
Kinetic Separation Licensing
During 2016, the Company submitted documentation to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (“CDPHE”) for a determination ruling regarding the type of license which may be required for the application of Kinetic Separation at the Sunday Mine Complex within the state of Colorado. During May and June of 2016, CDPHE held four public meetings in several cities in Colorado as part of the process. On July 22, 2016 CDPHE closed the comment period. In connection with this matter, the CDPHE consulted with the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission (“NRC”). In response, the CDPHE received an advisory opinion dated October 16, 2016, which did not contain support for the NRC’s opinion and with which the Company’s regulatory counsel does not agree. NRC’s advisory opinion recommended that Kinetic Separation should be regulated as a milling operation but did recognize that there may be exemptions to certain milling regulatory requirements because of the benign nature of the non-uranium bearing sands produced after Kinetic Separation is completed on uranium-bearing ores. On December 1, 2016, the CDPHE issued a determination that the proposed Kinetic Separation operations at the Sunday Mine must be regulated by the CDPHE through a milling license. The 2018 increase in the blended uranium/vanadium price has brought the Company closer to production. Beginning in 2017, the Company’s regulatory counsel has prepared significant documentation in preparation for a prospective submission. On September 13, 2019, the Company’s regulatory counsel submitted a white paper to the NRC entitled Recommendations on the Proper Legal and Policy Interpretation for Using Kinetic Separation Processes at Uranium Mine Sites. On July 24, 2020, the NRC staff responded with a letter in support of the original conclusion; Western’s regulatory counsel is evaluating alternatives.
Letter of Intent with Pinon Ridge Mill
The Company entered into a letter of intent with Pinon Ridge Corporation for use of its Kinetic Separation at the permitted uranium recovery facilities at the Pinon Ridge Mill site. The letter of intent provided for the processing of all of Western’s ore produced by its mines in the region at the mill site to produce U308 and vanadium utilizing both the application of Kinetic Separation and traditional milling techniques, at a cost to be determined in a definitive agreement. The Pinon Ridge Mill license is held by Pinon Ridge Resources Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pinon Ridge Corporation, which is owned by Mr. George Glasier, our Chief Executive Officer and a director, Mr. Andrew Wilder, a director, and Mr. Russell Fryer, a former executive chairman and director. On February 22, 2019, the Company and Pinon Ridge Corporation cancelled and released each other from obligations under the letter of intent.
Incentive Stock Option Plan
The Company maintains an Incentive Stock Plan (the “Plan”) which permits the granting of stock options as incentive compensation. See Item 12, “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters - Equity Compensation Plan Information,” for more detailed information about the Plan.
Sunday Mine Complex Vanadium Project Supplementary Requirements
On June 18, 2019, The Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety (CDRMS) issued a letter indicating limited supplementary requirements prior to the removal of material (ore) from the Sunday Mine Complex underground workings and further offsite handling. In a follow-up meeting on Monday, August 5, 2019, the Company agreed to construct an ore pad on the surface before stockpiling or storing ore outside the mine and acquire certification that the storm drainage system was constructed in accordance with the existing plan prior to the removal of ore from the SMC. On August 15, 2019, the Company sent a response letter to CDRMS providing the requested additional information regarding the reopening of the Sunday Mine Complex mines. On September 18, 2019, the CDRMS issued a letter indicating that activities at the Sunday Mines did not meet the definition of a “Mining Operation” and thus at that time, the Division did not consider the permits in active status. In the letter, CDRMS reiterated that prior to the removal of ore material from the mines and upgrading to an active status, the CDRMS surface requirements needed to be completed, inspected and accepted by CDRMS. The CDRMS further noted requirements that would apply to Western’s proposed off-site kinetic separation test facility. On April 9, 2020, CDRMS issued a letter acknowledging that the Construction Completion Reports and As-Built Certifications for the ore storage pads have been reviewed and accepted. It was further noted that prior to ore being removed and placed on the ore pad an inspection would still need to be completed, but due to COVID-19 the CDRMS staff were subject to a no-travel policy under the Governor’s Stay-at-Home Order. Hence, CDRMS offered an alternative remote procedure requiring extensive photo documentation and a signed affidavit from both the manufacturer and installation crew certifying that the ore pad liner was installed in accordance with the approved Environmental Protection Plan. Additional requirements included the submission of a comprehensive hydrogeology report and completion of the Sunday Mine Complex MLRB permit hearing process. With this approval, Western has now completed every project, study, and submission stipulated as required under the existing Environmental Protection Plan by CDMRS, and all submissions have been made. The hydrogeology report is currently being reviewed by CDMRS and approval is needed to conduct mining activities below the static groundwater level or to affect ground or surface waters. The Company is working toward the completion of an updated Plan of Operations, which is required for resumption of mining activities at the Topaz Mine.
Sunday Mine Complex Permitting Status
On February 4, 2020, the Colorado DRMS sent a Notice of Hearing to Declare Termination of Mining Operations related to the status of the mining permits issued by the state of Colorado for the Sunday Mine Complex. At issue is the application of an unchallenged Colorado Court of Appeals Opinion for a separate mine (Van 4) with very different facts that are retroactively modifying DRMS rules and regulations. The Company maintains that it was timely in meeting existing rules and regulations. The hearing was scheduled to be held during several monthly MLRB Board meetings, but this matter has been delayed several times. The permit hearing was held during the MLRB Board monthly meeting on July 22, 2020. At issue was the status of the five existing permits which comprise the Sunday Mine Complex. Due to COVID restrictions, the hearing took place utilizing a virtual-only format. The Company prevailed in a 3 to 1 decision which acknowledged that the work completed at the Sunday Mines under DRMS oversight was timely and sufficient for Western to maintain these permits. In a subsequent July 30, 2020 letter, the DRMS notified the Company that the status of the five permits (Sunday, West Sunday, St. Jude, Carnation, and Topaz) had been changed to Active status effective June 10, 2019, the original date on which the change of the status was approved. On August 23, 2020, the Company initiated a request for temporary cessation status for the Sunday Mine Complex as the mines had not be restarted within a 180-day window due to the direct and indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, a permit hearing was scheduled for October 21, 2020 to determine temporary cessation status. In a unanimous vote, the MLRB approved temporary cessation status for each of the five Sunday Mine Complex permits (Sunday, West Sunday, St. Jude, Carnation, and Topaz). On October 9, 2020, the MLRB issued a board order which finalized the findings of the July 22, 2020 permit hearing. On November 10, 2020, the MLRB issued a board order which finalized the findings of the October 21, 2020 permit hearing. On November 6, 2020, the MLRB signed an order placing the five Sunday Mine Complex mine permits into Temporary Cessation. On November 12, 2020, a coalition of environmental groups filed a complaint against the MLRB seeking a partial appeal of the July 22, 2020 decision by requesting termination of the Topaz Mine permit. On December 15, 2020, the same coalition of environmental groups amended their complaint against the MLRB seeking a partial appeal of the October 21, 2020 decision requesting termination of the Topaz Mine permit. The Company has joined with the MLRB in defense of their July 22, 2020 and October 21, 2020 decisions. According to the judicial review timetable, an opening brief and answer brief will be filed with the Denver District Court during second quarter 2021.
Van 4 Mine Permitting Status
A prior owner of the Van 4 Mine had been granted a first Temporary Cessation from reclamation of the mine by the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board (“MLRB”) which was set to expire June 23, 2017. Prior to its expiration, PRM formally requested an extension through a second Temporary Cessation. PRM subsequently participated in a public process which culminated in a hearing on July 26, 2017. Prior to the hearing, three non-profit organizations who pursue environmental and conservation objectives filed a brief objecting to the extension. The MLRB board members voted to grant a second five-year Temporary Cessation for the Van 4 Mine. Thereafter, the three objecting parties filed a lawsuit on September 18, 2017. The MLRB was named as the defendant and PRM was named as a party to the case due to the Colorado law requirement that any lawsuit filed after a hearing must include all of the parties in the proceeding. The plaintiff organizations are seeking for the court to set aside the board order granting a second five-year Temporary Cessation period to PRM for the Van 4 Mine. The Colorado state Attorney General was defending this action in the Denver Colorado District Court. On May 8, 2018, the Denver Colorado District Court ruled in favor, whereby the additional five-year temporary cessation period was granted. The Plaintiffs appealed this ruling to the Colorado Court of Appeals and on July 25, 2019 the ruling was reversed, ruling that the additional five-year temporary cessation period should not have been granted.
The MLRB and the Colorado Attorney General advised Western that it will not make an additional appeal of the ruling. Further, the time period for an appeal has passed. The Judge has subsequently issued an instruction for the MLRB to issue an order revoking the permit and putting the Van 4 Mine into reclamation. On January 22, 2020, the MLRB held a hearing and on March 2, 2020, the MLRB issued an order vacating the Van 4 Temporary Cessation, revoking the permit and ordered commencement of final reclamation, which must be completed within five (5) years. The Company commenced reclamation of the Van 4 Mine but progress has been delayed both by COVID-19 restrictions and countywide fire and open flame restrictions. The reclamation cost is fully covered by the reclamation bonds posted upon acquisition of the property.
Warrant Extension for Warrants issued in 2018 Private Placement
On April 20, 2020, the Company announced the extension by nine months of the common share purchase warrants (the “Warrants”) issued to investors in non-brokered private placements that closed on May 4, June 30, and August 9, 2018 (the “2018 Private Placements”) and the amendment of the trigger price in the acceleration clause of each Warrant. A total of 2,671,116 Warrants were amended.
In accordance with ASC 178-20-35-3, the Company must record a warrant modification expense to account for the effects of these amendments to the original terms. See Note 8 for more information.
Each Warrant originally entitled the holder to purchase one common share in the capital of the Company at a price of $1.15 CAD at any time prior to May 4, June 30, and August 9, 2020, respectively. Each of these dates was extended by nine months such that the Warrants expired or will expire on February 4, April 30, and May 9, 2021, respectively. Additionally, each Warrant originally contained an acceleration clause that allowed the Company to accelerate the expiration date of the warrant if the closing price of the Company’s common shares was equal to or greater than $2.50 CAD for a period of five consecutive trading dates. The Company is amending this clause by lowering the trigger price from $2.50 CAD to $1.83 CAD. The Company performed a Black-Scholes analysis to determine the fair value of the Warrants using the pre-modification terms and the post-modification terms on the date of modification. Based on the Company’s analysis performed, the Company recorded a warrant modification expense of $639,012 on April 20, 2020.
Uranium Section 232 Investigation/Nuclear Fuel Working Group Process
In the United States, an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (U.S) was undertaken by the U.S Department of Commerce (“DoC”) in 2018 to assess the impact to national security of the importation of the vast majority of uranium utilized by the ~100 operative civilian nuclear reactors within the United States. In response to the Section 232 report, the White House disseminated a Presidential Memoranda in July 2019. At that time, President Trump formed the Nuclear Fuel Working Group (“NFWG”) to find solutions for reviving and expanding domestic nuclear fuel production and reinvigorating recommendations. As a first step in addressing this issue, President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2021 budget included a $150 million line item each year for the next decade to establish a Uranium Reserve.
Thereafter, U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette stated that the Department of Energy (“DoE”) was preparing to release the NFWG report in early March 2020. This announcement was made prior to the coronavirus contagion which has delayed the report release. In parallel, Congress has requested that the DoE prepare a report on Key Challenges in Reconstituting Uranium Mining and Conversion Capabilities in the United States. The extended deadline for industry to supply responses to the Request For Information launched by DoE was March 30, 2020. Western continued to participate in the process and made an RFI submission.
On April 23, 2020, the DoE released the NFWG report entitled “Restoring America’s Competitive Nuclear Energy Advantage - A strategy to assure U.S. national security”. The report outlines a strategy for the reestablishment of critical capabilities and direct support to the front end of the U.S. domestic nuclear fuel cycle. The Summary of Measures included the following which could benefit U.S. uranium miners: direct purchases of uranium by establishing a Uranium Reserve, ending DoE’s program which barters uranium and re-evaluates DoE’s Excess Uranium Inventory Management Policy, creating a level playing field for all energy sources in power markets, streamlining regulatory reform and land access for uranium dumping in the U.S. market. The NFWG finding and recommendations presented by the DoE are a positive outcome for U.S. uranium miners; however, the ultimate outcome and timing remains uncertain as this is a continuing process requiring approvals and budget appropriation from Congress and implementation by U.S. government agencies. Presently, Western is one of the very few uranium companies holding previously producing, permitted, and developed mines in the United States and thus well positioned to benefit in the short-term from a favorable determination.
Implementation of the NFWG recommendations remains an ongoing process. During July 2020, the U.S. House Committee on Appropriations has decided not to provide $150 million uranium reserve funding for fiscal 2021. Instead the DoE was given 180 days to develop and submit the uranium reserve plan. Subsequently, Senator Barrasso introduced a bill into the U.S. Senate entitled the “The American Nuclear Infrastructure Act of 2020 and Representatives Latta and Cheney introduced a bill to the U.S. House entitled the Nuclear Prosperity and Security Act. These bills implement the key provisions of the NFWG report’s recommendations; both include the creation of a national uranium reserve. In parallel, the preparation of a Congressional report by the DoE on Key Challenges in Reconstituting Uranium Mining and Conversion Capabilities in the United States remains ongoing and is anticipated to be imminently completed for the U.S. House. In November 2020, Post-U.S. election, the Senate Committee on Appropriations released its funding measures and allocations recommending the creation and funding of the American Uranium Reserve. In October 2020, the DoC extended the Russian Suspension Agreement for an additional 20 years until 2040. Existing categories of quotas on imports of Russian uranium into the U.S. were reduced by a graduated scale and additional provisions were modified to eliminate loopholes. An extension of this agreement was among the NFWG’s recommendations. In further implementation of the report’s recommendations, the DoE made multiple investment awards to companies advancing new nuclear technologies. TerraPower and X-energy received awards to build demonstration models of their advanced reactor designs and NuScale received support to deploy the first U.S. small modular reactor (“SMR”) plan comprised of 12 modules at the Idaho National Laboratory. The International Development Finance Corp. signed a letter of intent to finance NuScale’s development of 42 SMR modules in South Africa. In an acknowledgement of the future growth potential of new nuclear technologies, the U.S. government has increased its industry support to a level not seen in decades, this is being done to level the playing field versus state-sponsored foreign entities. In December 2020, the U.S.Congress passed the COVID-Relief and Omnibus Spending Bill, which included $75 million for the establishment of a strategic U.S. Uranium Reserve. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is working on establishing the parameters of the program. There will be a different outcome as a President Biden appointed Secretary of Energy transitioned into leading DOE and the focus has shifted toward climate change.
Vanadium Section 232 Investigation
In the United States, a petition for an investigation under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 (U.S) was requested by two domestic companies in November 2019. On June 2, 2020, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, initiated an investigation into whether the present quantities or circumstances of vanadium imports into the United States threaten to impair the national security. The initiation of this investigation created a 270 day window, which lasts until February 2021, to compile and deliver a report to the President of the United States. The Section 232 National Security Investigation of Imports of Vanadium was concluded and a report submitted to President Biden on February 22, 2021. The President has 90 days to decide if he concurs with the findings and recommendations and determine whether to take an action to mitigate the impairment of national security. As a remedy, the petitioners requested a 40% tariff on vanadium imports from all sources and the establishment of a stockpiling program. Separate tariff rate quotas were requested for refined vanadium products. Western has submitted survey data and continues to support this investigation and remedies that level the playing field for U.S. domestic producers versus foreign state-sponsored competitors.
Paycheck Protection Program Loan
On May 6, 2020, the Company obtained the PPP Loan of $73,116. The loan had a fixed interest rate of 1%, required the Company to make seventeen (17) monthly payments, after a seven months deferral period, and had a maturity date of May 6, 2022. The entirety of the loan principal was eligible for forgiveness to the extent that the proceeds are utilized toward permissible expenditures within the initial period. On December 2, 2020, the Company received notice from the U.S. Small Business Association that the entire PPP Loan balance and accrued interest would be forgiven in full on such date. The Company recorded the loan forgiveness as other income in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations.
COVID-19 Coronavirus
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China. Since then, the COVID- 19 coronavirus has spread to multiple countries, including the United States and Canada. As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread in the United States and Canada, we may experience disruptions that could severely impact our business. The global outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to evolve rapidly. The extent to which the COVID-19 coronavirus may impact our business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, such as the ultimate geographic spread of the disease, the duration of the outbreak, travel restrictions and social distancing in the United States, Canada and other countries, business closures or business disruptions and the effectiveness of actions taken in the United States, Canada and other countries to contain and treat the disease.
Year Ended December 31, 2020 as Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2019
The following table presents the Company’s financial results for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.
Summary:
Our consolidated net loss for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $2,392,890 and $2,110,227 or $0.08 and $0.07 per share, respectively. The principal components of these year over year changes are discussed below.
Our comprehensive loss for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $2,503,750 and $2,066,741, respectively.
Revenue
Our revenue for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $54,620 and $44,620, respectively. This revenue resulted from lease revenue pursuant to a July 2017 oil and gas lease agreement, which was extended for an additional three years in 2020, February 2018 pipeline easement, and July 2018 right-of-way agreement. This revenue is derived from the Weld County Colorado (DJ-Basin) oil and gas property acquired in the Black Range Minerals acquisition.
Mining Expenditures
Mining expenditures for the year ended December 31, 2020 were $393,182 as compared to $466,117 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease in mining expenditures of $72,935, or 15.6% was principally attributable to the Sunday Mine Complex project’s disproportionately larger exploration, development, and mining expenditures during 2019 versus the surface infrastructure portion of the projects conducted during 2020.
Professional Fees
Professional fees for the year ended December 31, 2020 were $299,908 as compared to $362,698 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease in professional fees of $62,790, or 17.3% was due to a $31,123 decrease in professional services utilization and $21,890 decrease in investor relations expenditure.
General and Administrative
General and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2020 were 1,136,049 as compared to $1,122,591 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase in general and administrative expense of $13,458, or 1.2% is due to a $87,581 increase in payroll and stock based compensation, offset by a $53,160 decrease due to reduced 2020 travel and convention expenditures and $25,373 in reduced utilities costs from not having the mines open during 2020.
Consulting Fees
Consulting fees for the year ended December 31, 2020 were $39,137 as compared to $138,096 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The decrease in consulting fees of $98,959, or 71.7% was principally due to the Company’s reduced utilization of consultants during the current period.
Interest Expense, net
Interest expense, net, for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $13,338 as compared to $65,345 for the years ended December 31, 2019. The decrease of interest expense, net, of $52,007 was due to the acceleration of amortization expense in 2019 on the Van 4 Mine as it was placed into reclamation.
Warrant Modification Expense
Warrant modification expense for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $639,012 as compared to $0 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase in warrant modification expense relates to the Company’s decision on April 20, 2020 to extend warrants issued to investors during various 2018 private placements and amend the trigger price in the acceleration clause for each tranche of warrants, resulting in a warrant modification expense of $639,012.
Gain on Forgiveness of Debt
Gain on forgiveness of debt for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $73,116 as compared to $0 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The gain on forgiveness of debt relates to the Company having its PPP Loan forgiven by the U.S. Small Business Association in December 2020.
Foreign Exchange
Foreign exchange (loss) gain for the year ended December 31, 2020 was $(110,860) as compared to $43,486 for the year ended December 31, 2019. The increase of the foreign exchange loss of $154,346 is primarily due to a swing from a gain in 2019 to a loss in 2020 from holding cash balances in Canadian Dollars and the translation loss from using United Stated Dollars as the reporting currency.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The Company’s cash balance as of December 31, 2020 was $565,250. The Company’s cash position is highly dependent on its ability to raise capital through the issuance of debt and equity and its management of expenditures for mining development and for fulfillment of its public company reporting responsibilities. Management believes that in order to finance the development of the mining properties and Kinetic Separation, the Company will be required to raise additional capital by way of debt and/or equity. The Company could potentially require additional capital in 2021 if the scope of the Sunday Mine Complex expands. This outlook is based on the Company’s current financial position and is subject to change if opportunities become available based on current exploration program results and/or external opportunities.
Net cash used in operating activities
Net cash used in operating activities was $1,513,626 for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared with $1,784,544 for the year ended December 31, 2019. Of the $1,513,626 in net cash used in operating activities, $2,392,890 is derived from our net loss before non-cash adjustments. During the years ended December 31, 2020, $10,628 represented an increase in depreciation, $15,712 represented an increase in accretion of reclamation liability, $73,116 represented a gain on forgiveness of debt, $204,808 represented an increase in stock based compensation, $639,012 represented an increase in warrant modification expense, $67,029 represented an increase in prepaid expenses and other current assets, $110,543 represented a decrease in accounts payable and accrued expenses, and $125,380 represented an increase in deferred revenue.
Net cash used in investing activities
Net cash used in investing activities was $0 for the year ended December 31, 2020, as compared with $71,042 for the year ended December 31, 2019. This capital expenditure in 2019 represents the initiation of expenditures needed to re-open the Sunday Mine Complex.
Net cash provided by financing activities
Net cash provided by financing activities for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were $73,116 and $2,996,911, respectively. The Company applied for and received $73,116 in the form of a PPP Loan on May 6, 2020 from the U.S. Small Business Association, as discussed above, which was forgiven on December 2, 2020.
Reclamation Liability
The Company’s mines are subject to certain asset retirement obligations, which the Company has recorded as reclamation liabilities. The reclamation liabilities of the United States mines are subject to legal and regulatory requirements, and estimates of the costs of reclamation are reviewed periodically by the applicable regulatory authorities. The reclamation liability represents the Company’s best estimate of the present value of future reclamation costs in connection with the mineral properties. The Company determined the gross reclamation liabilities of the mineral properties as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, to be approximately $906,811 and $897,662, respectively. On March 2, 2020, the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board (“MLRB”) issued an order vacating the Van 4 Temporary Cessation, terminating mining operations and ordering commencement of final reclamation. The Company has begun the reclamation of the Van 4 Mine. The reclamation cost is fully covered by the reclamation bonds posted upon acquisition of the property. The Company adjusted the fair value of its reclamation obligation for the Van 4 Mine. The portion of the reclamation liability related to the Van 4 Mine, and its related restricted cash are included in current liabilities, and current assets, respectively, at a value of $75,057. The Company expects to begin incurring the reclamation liability after 2054 for all mines that are not in reclamation and accordingly, has discounted the gross liabilities over their remaining lives using a discount rate of 5.4% to net discounted aggregated values as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 of $309,940 and $294,228, respectively. The gross reclamation liabilities as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 are secured by financial warrantees in the amount of $906,811 and $897,662, respectively.
Oil and Gas Lease and Easement
On July 18, 2017, an oil and gas lease became effective with respect to minerals and mineral rights owned by the Company of approximately 160 surface acres of the Company’s property in Colorado. As consideration for entering into the lease, the Company received $120,000 during the third quarter of 2017. The lease will be in force for an initial term of three years and may be extended by the lessee at 150% of the initial rate. The lessee has also agreed to pay the Company a royalty of 18.75% of the lessee’s revenue attributed to oil and gas produced, saved, and sold attributable to the net mineral interest. The Company is recognizing the initial payment incrementally over the term of the lease.
On February 26, 2018, the Company entered into a further agreement with the same entity as the oil and gas lease to provide them with an easement to an additional part of the Company’s property solely for the purposes of transporting the oil and gas extracted via a pipeline. As consideration for the easement, the Company received $36,960 during the first quarter of 2018. The Company is recognizing this payment incrementally over the eight-year term of the easement.
On June 23, 2020, the same entity discussed above elected to extend the oil and gas lease easement for three additional years commencing on the date the lease would have previously expired.
During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company recognized aggregate revenue of $54,620 and $44,620, respectively, under these oil and gas lease arrangements.
In early 2020, Bison Oil & Gas traded this lease to Mallard Exploration (“Mallard”). Mallard subsequently filed an application with the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (“COGCC”) to update the permitting to create a new pooled unit.
In late 2020, Mallard began development of the pooled unit. By March 31, 2021, the drilling portion of the project had been completed for the eight horizontal wells named Blue Teal Fed. Seven wells were drilled to a 2.5 miles lateral length and one well was drilled to a 3.0 mile lateral length. These DJ-Basin wells target the Niobrara formation. During May 2021, Mallard will commence the well completion stage, fracking, and flow back. Despite some weather delays over the winter, the Operations Plan remains close to schedule and production is projected to commence during the third quarter of 2021. Upon production, the Company will receive a net royalty of 1/16th.
Related Party Transactions
The Company has transacted with related parties pursuant to service arrangements in the ordinary course of business, as follows:
Prior to the acquisition of Black Range, Mr. George Glasier, the Company’s CEO, who is also a director (“Seller”), transferred his interest in a former joint venture with Ablation Technologies, LLC to Black Range. In connection with the transfer, Black Range issued 25 million shares of Black Range common stock to Seller and committed to pay AUD $500,000 (USD $392,086 as of December 31, 2020) to Seller within 60 days of the first commercial application of the Kinetic Separation. Western assumed this contingent payment obligation in connection with the acquisition of Black Range. At the date of the acquisition of Black Range, this contingent obligation was determined to be probable. Since the deferred contingent consideration obligation is probable and the amount estimable, the Company recorded the deferred contingent consideration as an assumed liability in the amount of $392,086 and $351,099 as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Going Concern
The Company has incurred continuing losses from its operations and as of December 31, 2020, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $11,087,459 and working capital of $162,375.
Since inception, the Company has met its liquidity requirements principally through the issuance of notes and the sale of its common shares.
The Company’s ability to continue its operations and to pay its obligations when they become due is contingent upon the Company obtaining additional financing. Management’s plans include seeking to procure additional funds through debt and equity financings, to secure regulatory approval to fully utilize its Kinetic Separation and to initiate the processing of ore to generate operating cash flows.
There are no assurances that the Company will be able to raise capital on terms acceptable to the Company or at all, or that cash flows generated from its operations will be sufficient to meet its current operating costs and required debt service. If the Company is unable to obtain sufficient amounts of additional capital, it may be required to reduce the scope of its planned product development, which could harm its financial condition and operating results, or it may not be able to continue to fund its ongoing operations. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern to sustain operations for at least one year from the issuance of the accompanying financial statements. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of these uncertainties.
Off Balance Sheet Arrangements
As of December 31, 2020, there were no off-balance sheet transactions. The Company has not entered into any specialized financial agreements to minimize its investment risk, currency risk or commodity risk.
Critical Accounting Estimates and Policies
The preparation of these consolidated financial statements requires management to make certain estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period.
Significant assumptions about the future and other sources of estimation uncertainty that management has made at the end of the reporting period, that could result in a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities, in the event that actual results differ from assumptions made, include, but are not limited to, the following: fair value of transactions involving common shares, assessment of the useful life and evaluation for impairment of intangible assets, valuation and impairment assessments on mineral properties, deferred contingent consideration, the reclamation liability, valuation of stock-based compensation, valuation of available-for-sale securities and valuation of long-term debt, HST and asset retirement obligations. Other areas requiring estimates include allocations of expenditures, depletion and amortization of mineral rights and properties.
ITEM 7A.
ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
Not applicable.
ITEM 8.
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA
This information appears following Item 17 of this report and is included herein by reference.
ITEM 9.
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
Not applicable.
ITEM 9A.
ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
As of the end of the period covered by this report, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)). Based on their evaluation of our disclosure controls and procedures, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that our disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2020, to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is (a) recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms and (b) accumulated and communicated to management, including our principal executive officer and principal financial officer, as appropriate to allow for timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
Description of Material Weakness
Management has concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were not effective as of December 31, 2020, due to the lack of segregation of duties and the failure to report disclosures on a timely basis.
Remediation of Material Weakness
Management has developed a plan and related timeline for the Company to design a set of control procedures and the related required documentation thereof in order to address this material weakness. However, its implementation was delayed as a decline in commodity prices caused the Company to pursue aggressive cost cutting and de-staffing which has increasingly concentrated duties on the remaining staff. Until the Company has the proper staff in place, it likely will not be able to remediate its material weaknesses.
Management’s Annual Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (i) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (ii) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (iii) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
This annual report does not include an attestation report of our independent registered public accounting firm regarding internal control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by our independent registered public accounting firm pursuant to a provision under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act that grants a permanent exemption for non-accelerated filers from complying with Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting identified in connection with the evaluation required by paragraph (d) of Rules 13a-15 or 15d-15 under the Exchange Act that occurred during the Company’s fourth fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
ITEM 9B.
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
None.
PART III
ITEM 10.
ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
The following table sets forth information regarding the members of our board of directors (the “Board”) and our executive officers.
Executive Officers
George Glasier, J.D., our Director, President and Chief Executive Officer, founded Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. He has over thirty years’ experience in the uranium industry in the United States, with extensive experience in sales and marketing; project development and permitting uranium processing facilities. He is the founder of Energy Fuels Inc. (Volcanic Metals Exploration Inc.) and served as its Chief Executive Officer and President from January 2006 to March 2010. He was responsible for assembling a first-class management team, acquiring a portfolio of uranium projects, and leading the successful permitting process that culminated in the licensing of the Piñon Ridge uranium mill; planned for construction in Western Montrose County, Colorado. He began his career in the uranium industry in the late 1970’s with Energy Fuels Nuclear, which built and operated the White Mesa Mill near Blanding, Utah, becoming the largest uranium producer in the United States.
Robert Klein is Chief Financial Officer of Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. He is in charge of accounting and finance, and is closely involved in capital markets activities, corporate transactions, investor relations, public relations, and legal, and compliance. Formerly, Mr. Klein served as Vice President Finance and had leading roles in reporting, corporate transactions, and Western’s public listings on the CSE and OTCQX. Mr. Klein was formerly the Chief Operating Officer of Cross River Group and began his association with Western on an Operating Partner basis after the formation of Western’s predecessor company, Pinon Ridge Mining, LLC. Previously, Mr. Klein was a Managing Director at Analytical Research, an alternative investments research firm. He has a broad financial background derived from senior operating and investment roles with asset managers and through Exeter Analytics, a consulting firm he founded. Mr. Klein was formerly the CFO of Five Points Capital, a hedge fund spin-out from Soros Fund Management. After having begun his career in public accounting, Mr. Klein worked for Lehman Brothers, an investment bank, and William E. Simon & Sons, a merchant bank and private investment firm. Rob holds the Chartered Financial Analyst designation, received an M.B.A. from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland and a B.S. in Accounting from George Mason University.
Non-Employee Directors
Andrew Wilder serves as a Director for Western Uranium & Vanadium Corporation. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Cross River Group, a firm that provides capital, strategic business development and operations to alternative asset managers and operating companies. Prior to founding Cross River, Mr. Wilder co-founded and was the Chief Operating Officer for Kiski Group, an advisory firm organized in 2009 to help institutions develop their alternative manager platforms by helping vet managers and offer infrastructure solutions in areas of investment and business risk management. In 2001, Mr. Wilder co-founded and served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of North Sound Capital LLC, a long/short equity hedge fund manager. North Sound launched with $15 million in July of 2001 and reached $3 billion AUM and 65 employees within 5 years. Mr. Wilder was responsible for building and overseeing all aspects of the business ex-research. In 2003, Mr. Wilder also co-founded Columbus Avenue Consulting, an independent fund administration business with 90 clients and $7 billion in AUA when it was subsequently sold in 2012. Mr. Wilder’s prior career included heading operations for C. Blair Asset Management, a $500 million long/short equity hedge fund, and serving as a Manager in audit of Deloitte & Touche (in their Cayman Islands and Toronto practices). Mr. Wilder received the Chartered Accountant (Canada) designation, holds the CFA designation, and received an MBA from the University of Toronto and a BA from the University of Western Ontario.
Bryan Murphy is Founder of Magellan Limited, an advisory firm focusing on providing strategic, M&A, and financial advisory services and currently serves as CFO and Head of Finance for Biome Renewables Inc., an early stage renewable energy innovation and industrial design company. Formerly, Mr. Murphy was Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Quest Partners, a boutique investment bank that focuses on the provision of M&A, corporate finance, and business strategy services. In these capacities, Mr. Murphy has developed extensive international experience and relationships advising high-growth businesses across North America, Europe, and the Middle East. In the prior dozen years, Mr. Murphy held senior management roles at Canadian Tire Corporation overseeing divisions and business lines. Additionally, Mr. Murphy was formerly a board member of Covenant House Toronto, one of Canada’s largest homeless youth agencies. Bryan has an Honours Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration majoring in Finance and an MBA with Distinction from the University of Western Ontario Richard Ivey School of Business. Bryan earned the ICD.D designation from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto and the Institute of Corporate Directors.
Involvement of Officers and Directors in Certain Legal Proceedings
None of our officers and directors has filed for bankruptcy, been convicted in a criminal proceeding or been the subject of any order, judgment, or decree permanently, temporarily, or otherwise limiting activities (1) in connection with the sale or purchase of any security or commodity or in connection with any violation of Federal or State securities laws or Federal commodities laws, (2) engaging in any type of business practice, or (3) acting as a futures commission merchant, introducing broker, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool operator, floor broker, leverage transaction merchant, any other person regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission or an associated person of any of the foregoing, or as an investment adviser, underwriter, broker or dealer in securities, or as an affiliated person, director or employee of an investment company, bank, savings and loan association or insurance company, or engaging in or continuing any conduct or practice in connection with such activity.
Family Relationships
There are no family relationships among our directors and executive officers.
Code of Ethics
We have adopted a code of ethics that applies to our officers, directors, employees and consultants. A copy of the code of ethics will be sent, free of charge, to any person who sends a written request for a copy to Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp., 330 Bay Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5H 2S8.
Audit Committee
Western has established a separately designated audit committee of the Board of Directors consisting of Andrew Wilder, George Glasier, and Bryan Murphy. Our audit committee is responsible for oversight of audits, corporate governance, board nominations, and executive compensation. The Board has determined that one of its members, Andrew Wilder, who has previously served as Western’s Chief Financial Officer, qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert”.
ITEM 11.
ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Summary Compensation Table
The following table sets forth information regarding compensation earned by our named executive officers:
(1) Mr. Glasier chose to decline his 2018 stock option grant, requesting instead that those options be reallocated to further incentivize other members of management. On January 6, 2020, Mr. Glasier was granted an option to purchase 125,000 of our common shares at an exercise price of CAD $1.03 per share which expires five years from the date of issuance. This option vested in two installments: two-thirds on the date of grant, and one-third on June 30, 2020.
(2) On January 6, 2020, Mr. Klein was granted an option to purchase 125,000 of our common shares at an exercise price of CAD $1.03 per share which expires five years from the date of issuance. This option vested in two installments: two-thirds on the date of grant, and one-third on June 30, 2020.
Employment Agreements
George Glasier
On February 8, 2017, the Company entered into an employment agreement with George Glasier, its Chief Executive Officer. The employment agreement automatically renews each year unless either party provides a 90-day advance written notice of their desire to not renew the agreement. The employment agreement provides for a base salary of $180,000 per annum and a discretionary annual cash bonus to be determined by the Company’s Board of Directors. On May 30, 2019, the Board of Directors approved an addendum to Mr. Glasier’s employment agreement, increasing his annual salary from $180,000 to $220,000. Pursuant to the employment agreement, if the Company terminates the employment agreement without cause, or if a change of control occurs, the Company is required to pay to Mr. Glasier a lump sum payment equal to two and one-half times his annual base salary.
Robert Klein
On November 12, 2020, the Company entered into a new employment agreement with its Chief Financial Officer, Robert Klein. The agreement was effective as of October 1, 2020 and has an initial term that ends on September 30, 2021. The agreement will automatically renew for successive annual terms unless either party provides a 90-day advance written notice of their intention not to renew. The Agreement provides for a base salary of $150,000 per year, the amount of which is subject to review by the Board of Directors at least annually. Under the agreement, Mr. Klein is eligible to receive bonuses after the end of each calendar year or earlier in the discretion of the Board, and a bonus will also be considered upon the closing of a strategic transaction by the Company. The agreement provides that Mr. Klein is eligible to participate generally in any employee benefit plan of the Company or its affiliates and to receive annual stock option grants under the Company’s incentive stock option plan in amounts to be determined and approved by the Board.
Outstanding Equity Awards Table
The following table sets forth unexercised options, unvested stock and equity incentive plan awards outstanding for our named executive officers as of December 31, 2020.
Outstanding Option Awards at Fiscal Year-End for 2020
Outstanding Stock Awards at Fiscal Year-End for 2020
None.
Director Compensation
The following table sets forth a summary of the compensation for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 earned by each director who is not a named executive officer and who served on the Board during the year.
(1)
Mr. Wilder is paid a CAD $2,000 monthly fee for his services as a Director. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company incurred $18,480 in director fees for Mr. Wilder’s services.
Mr. Wilder was also granted an option to purchase 125,000 of our common shares at an exercise price of CAD $1.03 per share which expires five years from the date of issuance with a grant date fair value of $53,839. The total options were fully vested on September 30, 2020.
(2)
Mr. Murphy is paid a CAD $5,000 monthly fee for his services as Chairman and Director. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company incurred $47,133 in director fees for Mr. Murphy’s services.
Mr. Murphy was also granted an option to purchase 125,000 of our common shares at an exercise price of CAD $1.03 per share which expires five years from the date of issuance with a grant date fair value of $53,839. The total options were fully vested on September 30, 2020.
ITEM 12.
ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
The following table sets forth information with respect to the beneficial ownership of our class of common shares as of April 15, 2021 by:
● each person, or group of affiliated persons, known to us to beneficially own more than 5% of our outstanding common shares;
● each of our directors and executive officers; and
● all of our directors and executive officers as a group.
The amounts and percentages of common shares beneficially owned are reported on the basis of regulations of the SEC governing the determination of beneficial ownership of securities. The information relating to our 5% beneficial owners is based on information we received from such holders. Under the rules of the SEC, a person is deemed to be a “beneficial owner” of a security if that person has or shares voting power, which includes the power to vote or direct the voting of a security, or investment power, which includes the power to dispose of or to direct the disposition of a security. A person is also deemed to be a beneficial owner of any securities of which that person has a right to acquire beneficial ownership within 60 days. Securities that can be so acquired are deemed to be outstanding for purposes of computing such person’s ownership percentage, but not for purposes of computing any other person’s percentage. Under these rules, more than one person may be deemed a beneficial owner of the same securities and a person may be deemed to be a beneficial owner of securities as to which such person has no economic interest.
Except as otherwise set forth in the footnotes to the table below, the address of persons listed below is c/o Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp., 330 Bay Street, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5H 2S8. Unless otherwise indicated in the footnotes, each of the beneficial owners listed has, to our knowledge, sole voting and investment power with respect to the indicated common shares.
(1) Based on 36,458,747 common shares outstanding on April 15, 2021 and, with respect to each individual holder, rights to acquire our common shares exercisable within 60 days of April 15, 2021.
(2) Consists of 4,783,333 common shares and 475,000 common shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options held by Mr. Glasier.
(3) Consists of 725,000 common shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options held by Mr. Wilder.
(4)
Consists of 20,000 common shares and 675,000 common shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options held by Mr. Klein.
(5) Consists of 31,250 common shares, 31,250 common shares issuable upon the exercise of warrants, and 475,000 common shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options held by Mr. Murphy.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
The Company maintains an Incentive Stock Option Plan (the “Plan”) that permits the granting of stock options as incentive compensation. Shareholders of the Company approved the Plan on June 30, 2008 and amendments to the Plan on June 20, 2013, and the Board of Directors approved additional changes to the Plan on September 12, 2015.
The purpose of the Plan is to attract, retain and motivate directors, management, staff and consultants by providing them with the opportunity, through stock options, to acquire a proprietary interest in the Company and benefit from its growth.
At December 31, 2020, a total of 2,808,000 stock options issued under the Plan were outstanding.
The Plan provides that the aggregate number of common shares for which stock options may be granted will not exceed 10% of the issued and outstanding common shares at the time stock options are granted. At December 31, 2020, a total of 30,083,747 common shares were outstanding, and at that date the maximum number of stock options eligible for issue under the Plan was 3,008,375. A stock option exercise price shall not be less than the most recent share issuance price. The maximum term is five years. There are no specific vesting provisions under the Plan. Options are non-assignable and non-transferable except that stock options may be transferred to the spouse of an optionee or to the registered retirement savings plan or registered pension plan of an optionee.
A stock option exercise price shall not be less than the most recent share issuance price. The maximum term is five years. There are no specific vesting provisions under the Plan. Options are non-assignable and non-transferable except that stock options may be transferred to the spouse of an optionee or to the registered retirement savings plan or registered pension plan of an optionee.
The Plan provides that if an optionee’s employment is terminated for any reason, or if the service of a director, senior executive or consultant of the Company who is an optionee is terminated, any vested stock option of such optionee may be exercised during a period of ninety (90) days following the date of termination of such employment or service, as the case may be. In the case of an optionee’s death, any vested stock option of such optionee at the time of death may be exercised by his or her heirs or legatees or their liquidator during a period of one year following such optionee’s death.
The total number of common shares issuable to any one person during a 12-month period may not exceed ten percent (10%) of the total number of common shares issued and outstanding. Options granted to consultants providing investor relations activities must vest over 12 months in stages of no more than 25% in any three-month period. Also, in any 12-month period, no options exercisable for more than 2% of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares may be awarded to consultants or employees conducting investor relations activities. The Plan provides that where options are cancelled or lapse under the Plan, the associated common shares become available again and new options may be granted in respect thereof in accordance with the provisions of the Plan.
The Board may make any amendment to the Plan, without shareholder approval, except an increase in the number of common shares reserved for issue under the Plan or a reduction of an option exercise price. The terms of any existing option may not be altered, suspended or discontinued without the consent in writing of the Optionee.
Equity Compensation Plan Information
As of December 31, 2020
ITEM 13.
ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
Transactions with Related Persons
Prior to the acquisition of Black Range, Mr. George Glasier, the Company’s CEO, who is also a director (“Seller”), transferred his interest in a former joint venture with Ablation Technologies, LLC to Black Range. In connection with the transfer, Black Range issued 25 million shares of Black Range common stock to Seller and committed to pay AUD $500,000 (USD $392,086 as of December 31, 2020) to Seller within 60 days of the first commercial application of the kinetic separation technology. Western assumed this contingent payment obligation in connection with the acquisition of Black Range. At the date of the acquisition of Black Range, this contingent obligation was determined to be probable. Since the deferred contingent consideration obligation is probable and the amount is estimable, the Company recorded the deferred contingent consideration as an assumed liability in the amount of $392,086 and $351,099 as of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, respectively.
Director Independence
The Board of Directors facilitates its exercise of independent supervision over management by ensuring representation on the Board by directors who are independent of management and by promoting frequent interaction and feedback.
Directors are considered to be independent if they have no direct or indirect material relationship with the Company. A “material relationship” is a relationship which could, in the view of the Board, be reasonably expected to interfere with the exercise of a director’s independent judgment.
The Company’s Board currently consists of three directors. Among this group, Bryan Murphy is the only independent director based upon the tests for independence set forth in National Instrument 52-110 Audit Committees.
SEC rules require a separate determination of independence of the Company’s directors based on the definition of independence of a U.S. national securities exchange or inter-dealer quotation system which has requirements that a majority of the board of directors be independent. Because the Company’s common shares are not currently listed on a national securities exchange, it currently uses the definition in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605(a)(2) for determining director independence. Under that definition, only Bryan Murphy would be considered an independent director. Mr. Murphy would also be considered an independent director under Rule 5605(c)(2)’s provisions relating to audit committee composition.
ITEM 14.
ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING FEES AND SERVICES
The following table sets forth the aggregate fees billed by MNP LLP (“MNP”), our independent registered accounting firm for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019. These fees are categorized as audit fees, audit-related fees, tax fees, and all other fees. The nature of the services provided in each category is described in the table below.
Audit fees. Consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of the consolidated financial statements and review of the quarterly interim consolidated financial statements. These fees also include the review of registration statements and the delivery of consents in connection with registration statements.
Audit-related fees. There were no fees billed by MNP for professional services rendered for audit-related services for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.
Tax fees. Consists of fees incurred for the Company’s U.S. and Canadian tax preparation fees and tax consulting fees.
All other fees. There were no fees billed by MNP for professional services rendered for other compliance purposes for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.
The Company’s Board of Directors has established pre-approval policies and procedures, pursuant to which the Board approved the foregoing audit and tax services provided by MNP in 2020 and 2019 consistent with the Board’s responsibility for engaging Western’s independent auditors. The Board also considered whether the non-audit services rendered by our independent registered public accounting firm are compatible with an auditor maintaining independence. The Board has determined that the rendering of such services is compatible with MNP maintaining its independence.
PART IV - OTHER INFORMATION
ITEM 15.
ITEM 15. UNREGISTERED SALES OF EQUITY SECURITIES AND USE OF PROCEEDS
The Company did not make any unregistered sales of equity securities during the quarter ended December 31, 2020.
ITEM 16. EXHIBITS, FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES
Documents Filed as Part of This Report.
(a) The following financial statements are being filed as part of this Annual Report.
(b) The following exhibits are being provided as required by Item 601 of Regulation S-K.
+ Schedules and exhibits omitted pursuant to Item 601(b)(2) of Regulation S-K. The Company agrees to furnish a copy of the omitted schedules and exhibits to the SEC upon request.
* Filed herewith
(1) Previously filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 10 filed on April 29, 2016
(2) Previously filed as an exhibit with Amendment No. 2 to the Company’s Form 10 filed on July 22, 2016
(3) Previously filed as an exhibit with Amendment No. 1 to the Company’s Form 10 filed on June 22, 2016
(4) Previously filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 8-K filed on October 12, 2016
(5) Previously filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed on May 15, 2017
(6) Previously filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 10-K filed on April 2, 2018
(7) Previously filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed on August 14, 2019
(8) Previously filed as an exhibit to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed on November 16, 2020
ITEM 17. FORM 10-K SUMMARY
None
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Dated: April 15, 2021 By: /s/ George Glasier
George Glasier
Chief Executive Officer, President and
Director (Principal Executive Officer)
Dated: April 15, 2021 By: /s/ Robert Klein
Robert Klein
Chief Financial Officer
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)
Dated: April 15, 2021 By: /s/ Bryan Murphy
Bryan Murphy
Director
Dated: April 15, 2021 By: /s/ Andrew Wilder
Andrew Wilder
Director
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
FOR THE YEARS ENDED DECEMBER 31, 2020 AND 2019
(Stated in USD)
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp.
Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the related consolidated statements of operations and other comprehensive loss, changes in shareholders’ equity, and cash flows for the years then ended, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the consolidated financial statements).
In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, and the results of its consolidated operations and its consolidated cash flows for the years then ended, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.
Material Uncertainty Related to Going Concern
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has incurred continuing losses and negative cash flows from operations and is dependent upon future sources of equity or debt financing in order to fund its operations. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Management’s plans in regard to these matters are also described in Note 2. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Basis for Opinion
These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.
Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ MNP LLP
Chartered Professional Accountants, Licensed Public Accountants
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2015.
Mississauga, Canada
April 15, 2021
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Stated in USD)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND OTHER COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
(Stated in USD)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(Stated in USD)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Stated in USD)
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
NOTE 1 - BUSINESS
Nature of operations
Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. (“Western” or the “Company”, formerly Western Uranium Corporation) was incorporated in December 2006 under the Ontario Business Corporations Act. On November 20, 2014, the Company completed a listing process on the Canadian Securities Exchange (“CSE”). As part of that process, the Company acquired 100% of the members’ interests of Pinon Ridge Mining LLC (“PRM”), a Delaware limited liability company. The transaction constituted a reverse takeover (“RTO”) of Western by PRM. Subsequent to obtaining appropriate shareholder approvals, the Company reconstituted its Board of Directors and senior management team. Effective September 16, 2015, Western completed its acquisition of Black Range Minerals Limited (“Black Range”).
The Company’s registered office is located at 330 Bay Street, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5H 2S8 and its common shares are listed on the CSE under the symbol “WUC.” On April 22, 2016, the Company’s common shares began trading on the OTC Pink Open Market, and on May 23, 2016, the Company’s common shares were approved for trading on the OTCQX Best Market. Its principal business activity is the acquisition and development of uranium and vanadium resource properties in the states of Utah and Colorado in the United States of America (“United States”).
On June 28, 2016, the Company’s registration statement became effective and Western became a United States reporting issuer. Thereafter, the Company was approved for Depository Trust Company eligibility through the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation, which facilitates electronic book-entry delivery, settlement and depository services for shares in the United States.
On June 29, 2018, the shareholders of the Company approved the name change of the Company from “Western Uranium Corporation” to “Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp.” The name change became effective in Ontario, Canada on October 1, 2018; thereafter on October 4, 2018 Western’s shares started trading under the new name on the CSE and OTCQX and the Company announced the name change by news release.
Note 2 - Liquidity and going concern
The Company has incurred continuing losses from its operations and negative operating cash flows from operations and as of December 31, 2020, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $11,087,459 and working capital of $162,375.
Since inception, the Company has met its liquidity requirements principally through the issuance of notes and the sale of its common shares. On May 6, 2020, the Company obtained a Paycheck Protection Program loan (the “PPP Loan”) of $73,116. The loan had a fixed interest rate of 1%, required the Company to make seventeen (17) monthly payments, after a deferral period, and had a maturity date of May 6, 2022. On December 2, 2020, the Company received notice from the U.S. Small Business Association that the entire PPP Loan balance and accrued interest was forgiven in full on such date. The Company recorded the loan forgiveness as other income in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
The Company’s ability to continue its operations and to pay its obligations when they become due is contingent upon the Company obtaining additional financing. Management’s plans include seeking to procure additional funds through debt and equity financings, to secure regulatory approval to fully utilize its kinetic separation technology and to initiate the processing of ore to generate operating cash flows.
There are no assurances that the Company will be able to raise capital on terms acceptable to the Company or at all, or that cash flows generated from its operations will be sufficient to meet its current operating costs. If the Company is unable to obtain sufficient amounts of additional capital, it may be required to reduce the scope of its planned product development, which could harm its financial condition and operating results, or it may not be able to continue to fund its ongoing operations. These conditions raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern to sustain operations for at least one year from the issuance of these consolidated financial statements. The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of these uncertainties.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
Note 3 - SUMMARY OF Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation
These consolidated financial statements are presented in United States dollars and have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”).
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Western and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Western Uranium Corp. (Utah), PRM, Black Range, Black Range Copper Inc., Ranger Resources Inc., Black Range Minerals Inc., Black Range Minerals Colorado LLC, Black Range Minerals Wyoming LLC, Haggerty Resources LLC, Ranger Alaska LLC, Black Range Minerals Utah LLC, Black Range Minerals Ablation Holdings Inc. and Black Range Development Utah LLC. All inter-company transactions and balances have been eliminated upon consolidation.
The Company has established the existence of mineralized materials for certain uranium projects. The Company has not established proven or probable reserves, as defined by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under Industry Guide 7, through the completion of a “final” or “bankable” feasibility study for any of its uranium projects.
Exploration Stage
In accordance with U.S. GAAP, expenditures relating to the acquisition of mineral rights are initially capitalized as incurred while exploration and pre-extraction expenditures are expensed as incurred until such time the Company exits the Exploration Stage by establishing proven or probable reserves. Expenditures relating to exploration activities such as drill programs to search for additional mineralized materials are expensed as incurred. Expenditures relating to pre-extraction activities such as the construction of mine wellfields, ion exchange facilities and disposal wells are expensed as incurred until such time proven or probable reserves are established for that uranium project, after which subsequent expenditures relating to mine development activities for that particular project are capitalized as incurred.
Companies in the Production Stage as defined under Industry Guide 7, having established proven and probable reserves and exited the Exploration Stage, typically capitalize expenditures relating to ongoing development activities, with corresponding depletion calculated over proven and probable reserves using the units-of-production method and allocated to future reporting periods to inventory and, as that inventory is sold, to cost of goods sold. The Company is in the Exploration Stage which has resulted in the Company reporting larger losses than if it had been in the Production Stage due to the expensing, instead of capitalizing, of expenditures relating to ongoing mine development and extraction activities. Additionally, there would be no corresponding amortization allocated to future reporting periods of the Company since those costs would have been expensed previously, resulting in both lower inventory costs and cost of goods sold and results of operations with higher gross profits and lower losses than if the Company had been in the Production Stage. Any capitalized costs, such as expenditures relating to the acquisition of mineral rights, are depleted over the estimated extraction life using the straight-line method. As a result, the Company’s consolidated financial statements may not be directly comparable to the financial statements of companies in the Production Stage.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
Note 3 - SUMMARY OF Significant Accounting Policies, CONTINUED
Use of Estimates
The preparation of these consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amount of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and revenues and expenses during the periods reported. By their nature, these estimates are subject to measurement uncertainty and the effects on the consolidated financial statements of changes in such estimates in future periods could be significant. Significant areas requiring management’s estimates and assumptions include determining the fair value of transactions involving common shares, assessment of the useful life and evaluation for impairment of Kinetic Separation intellectual property, valuation and impairment assessments on mineral properties and equipment, deferred contingent consideration, the reclamation liability, valuation of stock-based compensation, and valuation of available-for-sale securities. Other areas requiring estimates include allocations of expenditures, depletion and amortization of mineral rights and properties. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Foreign Currency Translation
The reporting currency of the Company, including its subsidiaries, is the United States dollar. The financial statements of subsidiaries located outside of the U.S. are measured in their functional currency, which is the local currency. The functional currency of the parent (Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. (Ontario)) is the Canadian dollar. Monetary assets and liabilities of these subsidiaries are translated at the exchange rates at the balance sheet date. Income and expense items are translated using average monthly exchange rates. Non-monetary assets are translated at their historical exchange rates. Translation adjustments are included in accumulated other comprehensive loss in the consolidated balance sheets.
Segment Information
The Company determines its reporting units in accordance with FASB ASC 280, “Segment Reporting” (“ASC 280”). The Company evaluates a reporting unit by first identifying its operating segments under ASC 280. The Company then evaluates each operating segment to determine if it includes one or more components that constitute a business. If there are components within an operating segment that meet the definition of a business, the Company evaluates those components to determine if they must be aggregated into one or more reporting units. If applicable, when determining if it is appropriate to aggregate different operating segments, the Company determines if the segments are economically similar and, if so, the operating segments are aggregated. The Company has one operating segment and reporting unit. The Company operates in one reportable business segment; the Company is in the business of exploring, developing, mining and the production of its uranium and vanadium resource properties, including the utilization of the Company’s Kinetic Separation technology in its mining processes. The Company is organized and operated as one business. Management reviews its business as a single operating segment, using financial and other information rendered meaningful only by the fact that such information is presented and reviewed in the aggregate.
Cash
The Company considers all highly-liquid instruments with an original maturity of three months or less at the time of issuance to be cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company had no cash equivalents.
Marketable Securities
The Company classifies its marketable securities as available-for-sale securities, which are carried at their fair value based on the quoted market prices of the securities with unrealized gains and losses reported as accumulated comprehensive income (loss), a separate component of shareholders’ equity. Realized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are included in net earnings in the period earned or incurred.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
Note 3 - SUMMARY OF Significant Accounting Policies, CONTINUED
Restricted Cash
Certain cash balances are restricted as they relate to deposits with banks that have been assigned to state reclamation authorities in the United States to secure various reclamation guarantees with respect to mineral properties in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado. As these funds are not available for general corporate purposes and secure the long term reclamation liability (see Note 4), they have been separately disclosed and classified as long-term for the majority of the Company’s mines. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company has determined that the Van 4 Mine is now considered to be in reclamation. The Company recognized the Van 4 Mine’s reclamation liability and its restricted cash in full on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as current.
Revenue Recognition
The Company leases certain of its mineral properties for the exploration and production of oil and gas reserves. The Company accounts for lease revenue in accordance with ASC 842 “Leases”. Lease payments received in advance are deferred and recognized on a straight - line basis over the related lease term associated with the prepayment. Royalty payments will be recognized as revenues when received.
Fair Values of Financial Instruments
The carrying amounts of cash, restricted cash, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, and loan payable approximate their fair value due to the short-term nature of these instruments. Marketable securities are adjusted to fair value at each balance sheet date based on quoted prices which are considered level 1 inputs. The Company’s operations and financing activities are conducted primarily in United States dollars and as a result, the Company is not subject to significant exposure to market risks from changes in foreign currency rates. The Company is exposed to credit risk through its cash and restricted cash, but mitigates this risk by keeping these deposits at major financial institutions.
ASC 820 “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” provides the framework for measuring fair value. That framework provides a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (level 3 measurements).
Fair value is defined as an exit price, representing the amount that would be received upon the sale of an asset or payment to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. Fair value is a market-based measurement that is determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. A three-tier fair value hierarchy is used to prioritize the inputs in measuring fair value as follows:
Level 1 Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2 Quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable, either directly or indirectly.
Level 3 Significant unobservable inputs that cannot be corroborated by market data.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
Note 3 - SUMMARY OF Significant Accounting Policies, continued
Fair Values of Financial Instruments (continued)
The fair value of the Company’s financial instruments are as follows:
Mineral Properties
Acquisition costs of mineral properties are capitalized as incurred while exploration and pre-extraction expenditures are expensed as incurred until such time the Company exits the Exploration Stage by establishing proven or probable reserves, as defined by the SEC under Industry Guide 7, through the completion of a “final” or “bankable” feasibility study. Expenditures relating to exploration activities are expensed as incurred and expenditures relating to pre-extraction activities are expensed as incurred until such time proven or probable reserves are established for that project, after which subsequent expenditures relating to development activities for that particular project are capitalized as incurred.
Where proven and probable reserves have been established, the project’s capitalized expenditures are depleted over proven and probable reserves upon commencement of production using the units-of-production method. Where proven and probable reserves have not been established, such capitalized expenditures are depleted over the estimated production life upon commencement of extraction using the straight-line method. The Company has not established proven or probable reserves for any of its projects.
The carrying values of the mineral properties are assessed for impairment by management.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
The Company reviews and evaluates its long-lived assets and kinetic separation technology for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the related carrying amounts may not be recoverable. Impairment is considered to exist if the total estimated future cash flows on an undiscounted basis are less than the carrying amount of the assets. An impairment loss is measured and recorded based on discounted estimated future cash flows or upon an estimate of fair value that may be received in an exchange transaction. Future cash flows are estimated based on estimated quantities of recoverable minerals, expected uranium (“U3O8”) prices (considering current and historical prices, trends and related factors), production levels, operating costs of production and capital and restoration and reclamation costs, based upon the projected remaining future uranium production from each project. The Company’s long-lived assets (which include its mineral assets and Kinetic Separation intellectual property) were acquired during the end of 2014 and in 2015 in arms-length transactions. As of December 31, 2020, the Company evaluated the total estimated future cash flows on an undiscounted basis for its mineral properties, equipment, and Kinetic Separation intellectual property and determined that no impairment was deemed to exist. Estimates and assumptions used to assess recoverability of the Company’s long-lived assets and measure fair value of our uranium properties are subject to risk uncertainty. Changes in these estimates and assumptions could result in the impairment of its long-lived assets. In estimating future cash flows, assets are grouped at the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows that are largely independent of future cash flows from other asset groups.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
Note 3 - SUMMARY OF Significant Accounting Policies, continued
Income Taxes
The Company utilizes an asset and liability approach for financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. The provision for income taxes is based upon income or loss after adjustment for those permanent items that are not considered in the determination of taxable income. Deferred income taxes represent the tax effects of differences between the financial reporting and tax basis of the Company’s assets and liabilities at the enacted tax rates in effect for the years in which the differences are expected to reverse.
The Company evaluates the recoverability of deferred tax assets and establishes a valuation allowance when it is more likely than not that some portion or all the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Management makes judgments as to the interpretation of the tax laws that might be challenged upon an audit and cause changes to previous estimates of tax liability. In management’s opinion, adequate provisions for income taxes have been made. If actual taxable income by tax jurisdiction varies from estimates, additional allowances or reversals of reserves may be necessary.
Tax benefits are recognized only for tax positions that are more likely than not to be sustained upon examination by tax authorities. The amount recognized is measured as the largest amount of benefit that is greater than 50 percent likely to be realized upon settlement. A liability for “unrecognized tax benefits” is recorded for any tax benefits claimed in the Company’s tax returns that do not meet these recognition and measurement standards. As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, no liability for unrecognized tax benefits was required to be reported.
The Company’s policy for recording interest and penalties associated with tax audits is to record such items as a component of general and administrative expense. There were no amounts accrued for penalties and interest for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. The Company does not expect its uncertain tax position to change during the next twelve months. Management is currently unaware of any issues under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviations from its position.
The Company has identified its federal Canadian and United States tax returns and its state tax returns in Colorado and Utah as its “major” tax jurisdictions, and such returns for the years 2016 through 2020 remain subject to examination.
Restoration and Remediation Costs (Asset Retirement Obligations)
Various federal and state mining laws and regulations require the Company to reclaim the surface areas and restore underground water quality for its mine projects to the pre-existing mine area average quality after the completion of mining.
Future reclamation and remediation costs, which include extraction equipment removal and environmental remediation, are accrued at the end of each period based on management’s best estimate of the costs expected to be incurred for each project. Such estimates are determined by the Company’s engineering studies which consider the costs of future surface and groundwater activities, current regulations, actual expenses incurred, and technology and industry standards.
In accordance with ASC 410, Asset Retirement and Environmental Obligations, the Company capitalizes the measured fair value of asset retirement obligations to mineral properties. The asset retirement obligations are accreted to an undiscounted value until the time at which they are expected to be settled. The accretion expense is charged to earnings and the actual retirement costs are recorded against the asset retirement obligations when incurred. Any difference between the recorded asset retirement obligations and the actual retirement costs incurred will be recorded as a gain or loss in the period of settlement.
At each reporting period, the Company reviews the assumptions used to estimate the expected cash flows required to settle the asset retirement obligations, including changes in estimated probabilities, amounts and timing of the settlement of the asset retirement obligations, as well as changes in the legal obligation requirements at each of its mineral properties. Changes in any one or more of these assumptions may cause revision of asset retirement obligations for the corresponding assets.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
Note 3 - SUMMARY OF Significant Accounting Policies, continued
Deferred Financing Costs
Deferred financing costs represent costs incurred in connection with the issuance of debt. Once the associated debt instrument is issued, these costs would be recorded as a debt discount and amortized to interest expense using the effective interest method over the term of the related debt instrument. Upon the abandonment of a pending financing transaction, the related deferred financing costs would be charged to general and administrative expense.
The Company may also issue warrants or other equity instruments in connection with the issuance of debt instruments. The equity instruments are recorded at their relative fair market value on the date of issuance which results in a debt discount which is amortized to interest expense using the effective interest method.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company follows ASC 718, Compensation - Stock Compensation, which addresses the accounting for stock-based payment transactions, requiring such transactions to be accounted for using the fair value method. Awards of shares for property or services are recorded at the more readily measurable of the fair value of the stock and the fair value of the service. The Company uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to determine the grant date fair value of stock-based awards under ASC 718. The fair value is charged to earnings depending on the terms and conditions of the award, and the nature of the relationship of the recipient of the award to the Company. The Company records the grant date fair value in line with the period over which it was earned. For employees and consultants, this is typically considered to be the vesting period of the award. The Company estimates the expected forfeitures and updates the valuation accordingly.
In November 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-08, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718) and Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which clarifies that an entity must measure and classify share-based payment awards granted to a customer by applying the guidance in Topic 718. ASU 2019-08 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim reporting periods within those annual reporting periods. The Company adopted ASU 2019-08, and has determined that there was no material impacts on its consolidated financial statements.
Warrant Modification Expense
In accordance with ASC 718, a modification of the terms or conditions of an equity award shall be treated as an exchange of the original award for a new award. The incremental cost is measured as the excess of the fair value of the modified award determined in accordance with ASC 718 over the fair value of the original award immediately before its terms are modified, measured based on the share price and other pertinent factors. The resulting difference is recorded as a warrant modification expense. See Note 8 for additional information.
Loss per Share
Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the year. Diluted earnings per share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares and, if dilutive, potential common shares outstanding during the year. Potential common shares consist of the incremental common shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options and warrants (using the treasury stock method). The computation of diluted net loss per share for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 excludes potentially dilutive securities. The computations of net loss per share for each year presented is the same for both basic and fully diluted.
Potentially dilutive securities outlined in the table below have been excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share because the effect of their inclusion would have been anti-dilutive.
Leases
In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-10 Leases (Topic 842), Codification Improvements and ASU 2018-11 Leases (Topic 842), Targeted Improvements, to provide additional guidance for the adoption of Topic 842. ASU 2018-10 clarifies certain provisions and correct unintended applications of the guidance such as the application of implicit rate, lessee reassessment of lease classification, and certain transition adjustments that should be recognized to earnings rather than to stockholders’ (deficit) equity. ASU 2018-11 provides an alternative transition method and practical expedient for separating contract components for the adoption of Topic 842. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02 Leases (Topic 842) which requires an entity to recognize assets and liabilities arising from a lease for both financing and operating leases with terms greater than 12 months. ASU 2018-11, ASU 2018-10, and ASU 2016-02 (collectively, “the new lease standards”) are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted. The Company adopted ASU 2018-10, and has determined that there was no impact to the consolidated financial statements.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
Note 3 - SUMMARY OF Significant Accounting Policies, continued
Recent Accounting Standards
Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective accounting standards, when adopted, will have a material effect on the accompanying consolidated financial statements. The Company has adopted the recent accounting standards that are disclosed below.
In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, “Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments” (“ASU 2016-13”). ASU 2016-13 replaces the incurred loss model with an expected loss model, which is referred to as the current expected credit loss (CECL) model. The CECL model is applicable to the measurement of credit losses on financial assets measured at amortized cost, including loan receivables, held-to-maturity debt securities, and reinsurance receivables. It also applies to off-balance sheet credit exposures not accounted for as insurance (such as loan commitments, standby letters of credit, financial guarantees, and other similar instruments) and net investments in leases recognized by a lessor. For public business entities that meet the definition of an SEC filer, the standard will be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim periods in those fiscal years. For debt securities with other-than-temporary impairment, the guidance will be applied prospectively. Existing purchased credit impaired (PCI) assets will be grandfathered and classified as purchased credit deteriorated (PCD) assets at the date of adoption. The asset will be grossed up for the allowance for expected credit losses for all PCD assets at the date of adoption and will continue to recognize the non-credit discount in interest income based on the yield of such assets as of the adoption date. Subsequent changes in expected credit losses will be recorded through the allowance. For all other assets within the scope of CECL, a cumulative-effect adjustment will be recognized in retained earnings as of the beginning of the first reporting period in which the guidance is effective. The standard became effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2021. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s results of operations, financial condition, cash flows, and financial statement disclosure.
In December 2019, FASB issued ASU No. 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. ASU 2019-12 eliminated certain exceptions and changed guidance on other matters. The exceptions relate to the allocation of income taxes in separate company financial statements, tax accounting for equity method investments and accounting for income taxes when the interim period year-to-date loss exceeds the anticipated full year loss. Changes relate to the accounting for franchise taxes that are income-based and non-income-based, determining if a step up in tax basis is part of a business combination or if it is a separate transaction, when enacted tax law changes should be included in the annual effective tax rate computation, and the allocation of taxes in separate company financial statements to a legal entity that is not subject to income tax. The new standard is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact but does not believe there will be an impact of the adoption of this standard on its results of operations, financial position and cash flows and related disclosures.
In June 2020, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in conjunction with FASB developed Technical Question and Answer (“TQA”) 3200.18, “Borrower Accounting for a Forgivable Loan Received Under the Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program”, which is intended to provide clarification on how to account for loans received from the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). TQA 3200.18 states that an entity may account for PPP loans under ASC 470, “Debt” or, if the entity is expected to meet PPP eligibility criteria and the PPP loan is expected to be forgiven, the entity may account for the loans under International Accounting Standards (“IAS”) 20, “Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance”. The Company has accounted for PPP loan proceeds under ASC 470 as allowed by TQA 3200.18.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
NOTE 4 - MINERAL ASSETS equipment, and Kinetic separation INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND OTHER PROPERTY
The Company’s mining properties acquired on August 18, 2014 that the Company retains as of December 31, 2020 include: San Rafael Uranium Project located in Emery County, Utah; The Sunday Mine Complex located in western San Miguel County, Colorado; The Van 4 Mine located in western Montrose County, Colorado; The Sage Mine project located in San Juan County, Utah, and San Miguel County, Colorado. These mining properties include leased land in the states of Colorado and Utah. None of these mining properties were operational at the date of acquisition.
The Company’s mining properties acquired on September 16, 2015 that the Company retains as of December 31, 2020 include Hansen, North Hansen, and Hansen Picnic Tree located in Fremont and Teller Counties, Colorado. The Company no longer holds any interest in Hansen and Hansen Picnic Tree, see Note 12 for additional information. The Company also acquired the Keota project located in Weld County, Colorado and the Ferris Haggerty project located in Carbon County Wyoming. These mining assets include both owned and leased land in the states of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. All of the mining assets represent properties which have previously been mined to different degrees for uranium.
As the Company has not formally established proven or probable reserves on any of its properties, there is inherent uncertainty as to whether or not any mineralized material can be economically extracted as originally planned and anticipated.
The Company’s mineral properties and equipment and kinetic separation intellectual property are:
Oil and Gas Lease and Easement
The Company entered into an oil and gas lease that became effective with respect to minerals and mineral rights owned by the Company of approximately 160 surface acres of the Company’s property in Colorado. As consideration for entering into the lease, the lessee has agreed to pay the Company a royalty of 18.75% of the lessee’s revenue attributed to oil and gas produced, saved, and sold attributable to the net mineral interest. The Company has also received cash payments from the lessee related to the easement that the Company is recognizing incrementally over the eight year term of the easement.
On June 23, 2020, the same entity as discussed above elected to extend the oil and gas lease easement for three additional years commencing on the date the lease would have previously expired.
During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 the Company recognized aggregate revenue of $54,620 and $44,620, respectively, under these oil and gas lease arrangements.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
NOTE 4 - MINERAL ASSETS equipment, and Kinetic separation INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND OTHER PROPERTY, CONTINUED
Reclamation Liabilities
The Company’s mines are subject to certain asset retirement obligations, which the Company has recorded as reclamation liabilities. The reclamation liabilities of the United States mines are subject to legal and regulatory requirements, and estimates of the costs of reclamation are reviewed periodically by the applicable regulatory authorities. The reclamation liability represents the Company’s best estimate of the present value of future reclamation costs in connection with the mineral properties. The Company determined the gross reclamation liabilities of the mineral properties as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, to be approximately $906,811 and $897,662, respectively. On March 2, 2020, the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board (“MLRB”) issued an order vacating the Van 4 Temporary Cessation, terminating mining operations and ordering commencement of final reclamation. The Company has begun the reclamation of the Van 4 Mine. The reclamation cost is fully covered by the reclamation bonds posted upon acquisition of the property. The Company adjusted the fair value of its reclamation obligation for the Van 4 Mine. The portion of the reclamation liability related to the Van 4 Mine, and its related restricted cash are included in current liabilities, and current assets, respectively, at a value of $75,057. The Company expects to begin incurring the reclamation liability after 2054 for all mines that are not in reclamation and accordingly, has discounted the gross liabilities over their remaining lives using a discount rate of 5.4% to net discounted aggregated values as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 of $309,940 and $294,228, respectively. The gross reclamation liabilities as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 are secured by financial warranties in the amount of $906,811 and $897,662, respectively.
Reclamation liability activity for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 consists of:
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
NOTE 4 - MINERAL ASSETS equipment, and Kinetic separation INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND OTHER PROPERTY, CONTINUED
Van 4 Mine Permitting Status
A prior owner of the Company’s Van 4 Mine had been granted a first Temporary Cessation from reclamation of the mine by the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board (“MLRB”) which was set to expire June 23, 2017. Prior to its expiration, PRM formally requested an extension through a second Temporary Cessation. PRM subsequently participated in a public process which culminated in a hearing on July 26, 2017. Prior to the hearing, three non-profit organizations who pursue environmental and conservation objectives filed a brief objecting to the extension. The MLRB board members voted to grant a second five-year Temporary Cessation for the Van 4 Mine. Thereafter, the three objecting parties filed a lawsuit on September 18, 2017. The MLRB was named as the defendant and PRM was named as a party to the case due to the Colorado law requirement that any lawsuit filed after a hearing must include all of the parties in the proceeding. The plaintiff organizations are seeking for the court to set aside the board order granting a second five-year Temporary Cessation period to PRM for the Van 4 Mine. The Colorado state Attorney General was defending this action in the Denver Colorado District Court. On May 8, 2018, the Denver Colorado District Court ruled in favor, whereby the additional five-year temporary cessation period was granted. The Plaintiffs appealed this ruling to the Colorado Court of Appeals and on July 25, 2019 the ruling was reversed, whereby the additional five-year temporary cessation period should not have been granted. Thereafter, the MLRB and the Colorado Attorney General advised Western that it will not make an additional appeal of the ruling. Further, the time period for an appeal has passed. The Judge has subsequently issued an instruction for the MLRB to issue an order revoking the permit and putting the Van 4 Mine into reclamation. On January 22, 2020, the MLRB held a hearing and afterward on March 2, 2020, the MLRB issued an order vacating the Van 4 Temporary Cessation, terminating mining operations and ordering commencement of final reclamation. The Company has five years to complete the reclamation of the Van 4 Mine. The reclamation commenced in the spring of 2020 and is fully covered by the reclamation bonds posted upon acquisition of the property.
Sunday Mine Complex Permitting Status
On February 4, 2020, the Colorado DRMS sent a Notice of Hearing to Declare Termination of Mining Operations related to the status of the mining permits issued by the state of Colorado for the Sunday Mine Complex. At issue is the application of an unchallenged Colorado Court of Appeals Opinion for a separate mine (Van 4) with very different facts that are retroactively modifying DRMS rules and regulations. The Company maintains that it was timely in meeting existing rules and regulations. The hearing was scheduled to be held during several monthly MLRB Board meetings, but this matter has been delayed several times. The permit hearing was held during the MLRB Board monthly meeting on July 22, 2020. At issue was the status of the five existing permits which comprise the Sunday Mine Complex. Due to COVID restrictions, the hearing took place utilizing a virtual-only format. The Company prevailed in a 3 to 1 decision which acknowledged that the work completed at the Sunday Mines under DRMS oversight was timely and sufficient for Western to maintain these permits. In a subsequent July 30, 2020 letter, the DRMS notified the Company that the status of the five permits (Sunday, West Sunday, St. Jude, Carnation, and Topaz) had been changed to Active status effective June 10, 2019, the original date on which the change of the status was approved. On August 23, 2020, the Company initiated a request for temporary cessation status for the Sunday Mine Complex as the mines had not be restarted within a 180-day window due to the direct and indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, a permit hearing was scheduled for October 21, 2020 to determine temporary cessation status. In a unanimous vote, the MLRB approved temporary cessation status for each of the five Sunday Mine Complex permits (Sunday, West Sunday, St. Jude, Carnation, and Topaz). On October 9, 2020, the MLRB issued a board order which finalized the findings of the July 22, 2020 permit hearing. On November 10, 2020, the MLRB issued a board order which finalized the findings of the October 21, 2020 permit hearing. On November 6, 2020, the MLRB signed an order placing the five Sunday Mine Complex mine permits into Temporary Cessation. On November 12, 2020, a coalition of environmental groups filed a complaint against the MLRB seeking a partial appeal of the July 22, 2020 decision by requesting termination of the Topaz Mine permit. On December 15, 2020, the same coalition of environmental groups amended their complaint against the MLRB seeking a partial appeal of the October 21, 2020 decision requesting termination of the Topaz Mine permit. The Company has joined with the MLRB in defense of their July 22, 2020 and October 21, 2020 decisions. According to the judicial review timetable, an opening brief and answer brief will be filed with the Denver District Court during second quarter 2021.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
NOTE 5 - Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities consisted of:
Note 6 - Loan Payable
Paycheck Protection Program Loan
On May 6, 2020, the Company obtained the PPP Loan of $73,116. The loan had a fixed interest rate of 1%, required the Company to make seventeen (17) monthly payments, after a seven months deferral period, and had a maturity date of May 6, 2022. The entirety of the loan principal was eligible for forgiveness to the extent that the proceeds are utilized toward permissible expenditures within the initial period. On December 2, 2020, the Company received notice from the U.S. Small Business Association that the entire PPP Loan balance and accrued interest was forgiven in full on such date. The Company recorded the loan forgiveness as other income in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations and other comprehensive loss.
NOTE 7 - COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Supply Contract
In December 2015, the Company signed a uranium concentrates supply agreement with a major U.S. utility company for delivery commencing in 2018 and continuing for a five year period through 2022. As the Company does not possess saleable uranium, a partial assignment agreement was put in place whereby the assignee accepted the Company’s right to the Year 1 delivery of 125,000 pounds of natural uranium concentrates. The Year 1 delivery was made during 2018 and the assignee was paid the full consideration under the agreement. The Company did not recognize any gain or loss on this transaction. In Year 2, a partial assignment agreement was put in place whereby the assignee accepted the Company’s right to the Year 2 delivery of 125,000 pounds of natural uranium concentrates. The Year 2 delivery was made during 2019 and the assignee was paid the full consideration under the agreement. The Company did not recognize any gain or loss on this transaction. The Company and the U.S. utility customer mutually agreed to cancel the Year 3 delivery, rather than pursue a partial assignment; there was no delivery during 2020. See Note 15 for additional information related to the Year 4 delivery.
Legal proceedings
On June 13, 2019, Black Range was sued over the original Weld County Colorado deed language. The lawsuit was filed in the Weld County District Court. This deed was negotiated prior to the Company acquiring Black Range in September 2015 by prior management and a bank representing the estate of the property owner. The plaintiff, the estate’s beneficiaries, assert that it was the intent that they would receive a production override royalty for oil and gas production from the property, however this language was not included in the deed. Western’s attorney has filed a response with the court contesting this allegation. This only involves royalties on oil and gas production on this undeveloped property, thus there is no current economic impact. Court procedure mandates that the parties participate in a mediation process before bringing the matter before the court. During the scheduling of the mediation process, the parties agreed to a settlement. Western executed the Settlement Agreement on December 31, 2019 and the four plaintiffs executed in counterparts on various days in January 2020. The plaintiff was given a non-participating royalty interest of 1/8th for all hydrocarbon and non-hydrocarbon substances that are produced and sold from the Weld County property. As the settlement only impacts future economics, the Company will not recognize any gain or loss from this transaction.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
NOTE 8 - SHARE CAPITAL AND OTHER EQUITY INSTRUMENTS
Authorized Capital
The holders of the Company’s common shares are entitled to one vote per share. Holders of common shares are entitled to receive ratably such dividends, if any, as may be declared by the Board of Directors out of legally available funds. Upon the liquidation, dissolution, or winding up of the Company, holders of common shares are entitled to share ratably in all assets of the Company that are legally available for distribution. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, an unlimited number of common shares were authorized for issuance.
Private Placement
On April 16, 2019, the Company completed a private placement of 3,914,632 units at a price of CAD $0.98 (USD $0.73) per unit for gross proceeds of CAD $3,836,340 (USD $2,856,356). Each unit consisted of one common share and a warrant to purchase one-half of one common share. Each warrant is exercisable at a price of CAD $1.70 and expires three years from the date of issuance.
On June 17, 2019, the Company completed a private placement of 192,278 units at a price of CAD $0.98 (USD $0.73) per unit for gross proceeds of CAD $188,432 (USD $140,555). Each unit consisted of one common share and a warrant to purchase one-half of one common share. Each warrant is exercisable at a price of CAD $1.70 and expires three years from the date of issuance.
Incentive Stock Option Plan
The Company maintains an Incentive Stock Option Plan (the “Plan”) that permits the granting of stock options as incentive compensation. Shareholders of the Company approved the Plan on June 30, 2008 and amendments to the Plan on June 20, 2013, and the Board of Directors approved additional changes to the Plan on September 12, 2015.
The purpose of the Plan is to attract, retain and motivate directors, management, staff and consultants by providing them with the opportunity, through stock options, to acquire a proprietary interest in the Company and benefit from its growth.
The Plan provides that the aggregate number of common shares for which stock options may be granted will not exceed 10% of the issued and outstanding common shares at the time stock options are granted. As of December 31, 2020, a total of 30,083,747 common shares were outstanding, and at that date the maximum number of stock options eligible for issue under the Plan was 3,008,375.
On January 6, 2020, the Company granted options under the Plan for the purchase of an aggregate of 600,000 common shares to five individuals consisting of directors, officers, and consultants of the Company. The options have a five year term, an exercise price of CAD $1.03 (US $0.81 as of December 31, 2020) and vest equally in thirds commencing initially on the date of grant and thereafter on January 31, 2020, and September 30, 2020.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
NOTE 8 - SHARE CAPITAL AND OTHER EQUITY INSTRUMENTS, CONTINUED
Stock Options
The Company’s stock based compensation expense related to stock options for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $204,808 and $180,269, respectively. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had $0 in unamortized stock option expense.
The Company utilized the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine the fair value of these stock options, using the assumptions as outlined below.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
NOTE 8 - SHARE CAPITAL AND OTHER EQUITY INSTRUMENTS, CONTINUED
Warrants
Warrant Extension
On April 20, 2020, the Company announced the extension by nine months of the common share purchase warrants (the “Warrants”) issued to investors in non-brokered private placements that closed on May 4, June 30, and August 9, 2018 (the “2018 Private Placements”) and the amendment of the trigger price in the acceleration clause of each Warrant. A total of 2,671,116 Warrants were amended. The warrant modification expense amounted to $639,012.
The Company performed a Black-Scholes valuation on the warrants both pre-modification and post-modification, using the assumptions below.
Each Warrant initially entitled the holder to purchase one common share in the capital of the Company at a price of $1.15 CAD at any time prior to May 4, July 30, and August 9, 2020, respectively. Each of these dates has been extended by nine months from their respective expiration dates such that the Warrants will now expire on February 4, April 30, and May 9, 2021, respectively. Additionally, each Warrant originally contained an acceleration clause that allowed the Company to accelerate the expiration date of the Warrant if the closing price of the Company’s common shares was equal to or greater than $2.50 CAD for a period of five consecutive trading days. The Company amended this clause by lowering the trigger price from $2.50 CAD to $1.83 CAD.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
Note 9 - Mining Expenditures	
NOTE 10 - Related Party Transactions AND BALANCES
The Company has transacted with related parties pursuant to service arrangements in the ordinary course of business, as follows:
Prior to the acquisition of Black Range, Mr. George Glasier, the Company’s CEO, who is also a director (“Seller”), transferred his interest in a former joint venture with Ablation Technologies, LLC to Black Range. In connection with the transfer, Black Range issued 25 million shares of Black Range common stock to Seller and committed to pay AUD $500,000 (USD $392,086 as of December 31, 2020) to Seller within 60 days of the first commercial application of the kinetic separation technology. Western assumed this contingent payment obligation in connection with the acquisition of Black Range. At the date of the acquisition of Black Range, this contingent obligation was determined to be probable. Since the deferred contingent consideration obligation is probable and the amount is estimable, the Company recorded the deferred contingent consideration as an assumed liability in the amount of $392,086 and $351,099 as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Note 11 - Income Taxes
The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of the deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities are as follows:
The change in the Company’s valuation allowance is as follows:
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
Note 11 - Income Taxes, CONTINUED
A reconciliation of the provision for income taxes with the amounts computed by applying the statutory Federal income tax rate to income from operations before the provision for income taxes is as follows:
The Company has net operating loss carryovers of approximately $21,081,717 for federal and state income tax purposes and net operating loss carryovers of $11,458,182 for Canadian provincial tax purposes which begin to expire in 2026. The ultimate realization of the net operating loss is dependent upon future taxable income, if any, of the Company.
Based on losses from inception, the Company determined that as of December 31, 2020 it is more likely than not that the Company will not realize benefits from the deferred tax assets. The Company will not record income tax benefits in the consolidated financial statements until it is determined that it is more likely than not that the Company will generate sufficient taxable income to realize the deferred income tax assets. As a result of the analysis, the Company determined that a valuation allowance against the deferred tax assets was required of $2,997,084 and $2,427,666 as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 382 imposes limitations on the use of net operating loss carryovers when the share ownership of one or more 5% shareholders (shareholders owning 5% or more of the Company’s outstanding capital stock) has increased on a cumulative basis over a period of three years by more than 50 percentage points. Management cannot control the ownership changes occurring. Accordingly, there is a risk of an ownership change beyond the control of the Company that could trigger a limitation of the use of the loss carryover. The Company has analyzed the issuances of common shares during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 and does not believe such change of control occurred. If such ownership change under IRC section 382 had occurred, such change would substantially limit the Company’s ability in the future to utilize its net operating loss carryforwards.
Note 12 - Option and exploration agreement
Hansen and Picnic Tree Loss of Property
On September 16, 2015, in connection with the Company’s acquisition of Black Range, the Company assumed an option and exploration agreement (the “Option and Exploration Agreement”) with STB Minerals, LLC, a Colorado limited liability company (“STB”). The Option and Exploration Agreement gives the Company the right to purchase 51% of the mineral rights of specific areas of the Hansen and Picnic Tree deposits (for which the Company already holds 49% of the rights). If the Company were to exercise its option under the Option and Exploration Agreement, it would require the Company to (a) make a cash payment of $2,500,000 immediately upon exercise; (b) issue common shares to STB amounting to a value of $3,750,000 immediately upon exercise; and (c) issue common shares to STB amounting to a value of $3,750,000 on the date that is 180 days following exercise. The Option and Exploration Agreement was scheduled to expire by its terms (as extended) on July 28, 2019 if not exercised.
Prior to July 28, 2019, the Company decided not to exercise the option to purchase the remaining 51% of the mineral rights of specific areas of the Hansen and Picnic Tree deposits, and thus the option has expired unexercised.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
NOTE 13 - FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS
Fair Values
The Company’s financial instruments consist of cash, restricted cash, and accounts payable and accrued liabilities. The fair values of these financial instruments approximate their carrying values due to the short-term maturity of these instruments. The Company’s financial instruments also incorporated marketable securities that are adjusted to fair value at each balance sheet date based on quoted prices which are considered level 1 inputs. The reclamation deposits, which are reflected in restricted cash on the consolidated balance sheets, are deposits mainly invested in certificates of deposit at major financial institutions and their fair values were estimated to approximate their carrying values. There were no transfers of financial instruments between Levels 1, 2, and 3 during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.
Foreign Currency Risk
Foreign currency risk is the risk that changes in the rates of exchange on foreign currencies will impact the financial position or cash flows of the Company. The Company’s reporting currency is the United States Dollar. The functional currency for Western Uranium & Vanadium Corp. standalone entity is the Canadian dollar. The Company is exposed to foreign currency risks in relation to certain activity that is to be settled in Canadian funds. Management monitors its foreign currency exposure regularly to minimize the risk of an adverse impact on its cash flows.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Concentration of credit risk is the risk of loss in the event that certain counterparties are unable to fulfil their obligations to the Company. The Company limits its exposure to credit loss on its cash and restricted cash by placing its cash with high credit quality financial institutions.
Liquidity Risk
Liquidity risk is the risk that the Company’s consolidated cash flows from operations will not be sufficient for the Company to continue operating and discharge is liabilities. The Company is exposed to liquidity risk as its continued operation is dependent upon its ability to obtain financing, either in the form of debt or equity, or achieving profitable operations in order to satisfy its liabilities as they come due. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had a working capital of $162,375 and cash on hand of $565,250.
Market Risk
Market risk is the risk that fluctuations in the market prices of minerals will impact the Company’s future cash flows. The Company is exposed to market risk on the price of uranium and vanadium, which will determine its ability to build and achieve profitable operations, the amount of exploration and development work that the Company will be able to perform, and the number of financing opportunities that will be available. Management believes that it would be premature at this point to enter into any hedging or forward contracts to mitigate its exposure to specific market price risks.
WESTERN URANIUM & VANADIUM CORP. AND SUBSIDIARIES
NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
(Stated in USD)
Note 14 - COVID-19
In December 2019, a novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, was reported to have surfaced in Wuhan, China. Since then, the COVID-19 coronavirus has spread to multiple countries, including the United States. As the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to spread in the United States, the Company may experience disruptions that could severely impact the Company. The global outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus continues to rapidly evolve. The extent to which the COVID-19 coronavirus may impact the Company’s business will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted with confidence, such as the ultimate geographic spread of the disease, the duration of the outbreak, travel restrictions and social distancing in the United States and other countries, business closures or business disruptions and the effectiveness of actions taken in the United States to contain and treat the disease. To date, COVID-19 has primarily caused Western delays in reporting, regulatory, and operations. Most notably, the Company initiated a request for temporary cessation status for the Sunday Mine Complex as the mines had not been restarted within the 180-day window due to the direct and indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Van 4 Mine reclamation process was also delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Company is monitoring COVID-19’s potential impact on the Company’s operations.
Note 15 - Subsequent events
On February 16, 2021, the Company closed on a non-brokered private placement (the “Private Placement”) of 3,250,000 units (the “Units”) at a price of CAD $0.80 per Unit. The aggregate gross proceeds raised in this Private Placement amount to CAD $2,600,000.
Each Unit consists of one common share of Western (a “Share”) plus one common share purchase warrant of Western (a “Warrant”). Each warrant entitled the holder to purchase one Share at a price of CAD $1.20 per Share for a period of three years following the closing date of the Private Placement. A total of 3,250,000 Shares and 3,250,000 Warrants were issued in the Private Placement.
On March 1, 2021, the Company closed on a non-brokered private placement (the “Private Placement”) of 3,125,000 units (the “Units”) at a price of CAD $0.80 per Unit. The aggregate gross proceeds raised in this Private Placement amount to CAD $2,500,000.
Each Unit consists of one common share of Western (a “Share”) plus one common share purchase warrant of Western (a “Warrant”). Each warrant entitled the holder to purchase one Share at a price of CAD $1.20 per Share for a period of three years following the closing date of the Private Placement. A total of 3,125,000 Shares and 3,125,000 Warrants were issued in the Private Placement.
On March 8, 2021, the Company entered into an agreement with a third party to complete the 2021 (Year 4) uranium concentrate delivery, with reference to Note 7. The Company agreed to pay $78,000 in April 2021 to the assignee for the assignee making the delivery in May 2021. The Company did not recognize any gain or loss on this transaction.