6-K
LION COPPER & GOLD CORP. (LCGMF)
UNITED STATESSECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
For the month of May 2022
Commission File Number: 0-55139
LION COPPER & GOLD CORP. (Translation of registrant's name into English)
1100-1199 West Hastings StreetVancouver, BC V6E 3T5 Canada (Address of principal executive offices)
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.
[ x ] Form 20-F [ ] Form 40-F
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): [ ]
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): [ ]
SUBMITTED HEREWITH
Exhibits
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.
| LION COPPER & GOLD CORP. | ||
|---|---|---|
| (Registrant) | ||
| Date: May 3, 2022 | By: | /s/ Stephen Goodman |
| Stephen Goodman | ||
| Title: | Chief Financial Officer |
Lion Copper and Gold Corp.: Exhibit 99.1 - Filed by newsfilecorp.com

Lion Copper and Gold Corp.
(Formerly Quaterra Resources Inc.)
Consolidated Financial Statements
For the year ended December 31, 2021
(In U.S. Dollars)
Management's Responsibility for Financial Reporting
The accompanying annual consolidated financial statements of Lion Copper and Gold Corp. have been prepared by management and are in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.
Management acknowledges its responsibility for the preparation and presentation of the annual consolidated financial statements; has established and maintained a system of internal accounting control designed to provide reasonable assurance that assets are safeguarded from loss or unauthorized use, financial information is reliable and accurate, and transactions are properly recorded and executed under management's authorization. This system includes established policies and procedures, the selection and training of qualified personnel, and an organization providing for appropriate delegation of authority and segregation of responsibilities. Any system of internal control over financial reporting, no matter how well designed, has inherent limitations. Therefore, even those systems determined to be effective can provide only reasonable assurance for financial statement preparation and presentation.
The Board of Directors oversees management's responsibility for financial reporting and internal control systems through an Audit Committee, which is composed entirely of independent directors. The Audit Committee meets periodically with management and the independent auditors to review the scope and results of the annual audit and to review the consolidated financial statements and related financial reporting and internal control matters before the consolidated financial statements are approved by the Board of Directors and submitted to the Company's shareholders.
MNP LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, has audited the Company's consolidated financial statements under the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and has expressed its opinion in the independent auditor's report.
| "Travis Naugle" (signed) | "Stephen Goodman" (signed) |
|---|---|
| Travis Naugle | Stephen Goodman |
| Chief Executive Officer | President & Chief Financial Officer |
April 29, 2022
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Page 2

| Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm |
|---|
To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of Lion Copper and Gold Corp. (formerly Quaterra Resources Inc.)
Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated statement of financial position of Lion Copper and Gold Corp. and its subsidiaries (together, the "Company") as of December 31, 2021, and the related consolidated statements of loss and comprehensive loss, changes in equity, and cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021, 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 financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2021, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2021, in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.
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 1 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company has suffered recurring losses from operations and has a net capital deficiency that raises substantial doubt about its 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.
Other Matter
The consolidated financial statements of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2020 were audited by another auditor who expressed an unmodified audit opinion on those statements on March 30, 2021.
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 audit 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 audit, 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 audit 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 audit 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 audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
| We have served as the Company's auditor since 2021.<br><br> <br>Vancouver, Canada<br><br> <br>April 29, 2022 | <br><br> <br>Chartered Professional Accountants |
|---|


Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors of Lion Copper and Gold Corp. (formerly known as Quaterra Resources Inc.)
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated statement of financial position of Lion Copper and Gold Corp. (formerly known as Quaterra Resources Inc.) and its subsidiaries (together, the Company) as of December 31, 2020 and the related consolidated statements of loss and comprehensive loss, changes in equity and cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, and including 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 financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2020 and its financial performance and its cash flows for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board.
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 audit. 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 audit of these consolidated financial statements 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.
Our audit 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 audit 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 audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
/s/ PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Chartered Professional Accountants
Vancouver, Canada
March 30, 2021
We have served as the Company'ְs auditor from 2016 to 2021.
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
PricewaterhouseCoopers Place, 250 Howe Street, Suite 1400, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6C 3S7 T: +1 604 806 7000, F: +1 604 806 7806
"PwC" refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an Ontario limited liability partnership.
Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Consolidated Statements of Financial Position (In thousands of U.S. Dollars)
| Note | December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Assets | |||||||
| Current assets: | |||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | 842 | $ | 701 | |||
| Other receivables | 6 | 3 | |||||
| Marketable securities | 4 | - | 641 | ||||
| Prepaid and deposit | 43 | 5 | |||||
| 891 | 1,350 | ||||||
| Non-current assets: | |||||||
| Mineral properties | 5 | 32,203 | 28,236 | ||||
| Reclamation bonds | 35 | 34 | |||||
| Total Assets | $ | 33,129 | $ | 29,620 | |||
| Liabilities | |||||||
| Current liabilities: | |||||||
| Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | 5 (a) | 1,358 | 222 | ||||
| Derivative liabilities - warrants | 6 | 55 | - | ||||
| 1,413 | 222 | ||||||
| Non-current liability | |||||||
| Derivative liabilities - warrants | 6 | - | 51 | ||||
| Total Liabilities | 1,413 | 273 | |||||
| Shareholders' Equity | |||||||
| Share capital | 104,340 | 101,553 | |||||
| Contributed surplus | 22,012 | 19,406 | |||||
| Deficit | (94,636 | ) | (91,612 | ) | |||
| Total Equity | 31,716 | 29,347 | |||||
| Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity | $ | 33,129 | $ | 29,620 |
Going concern (note 1)
Commitments (note 11)
Contingencies (note 12)
Subsequent events (note 16)
Approved on behalf of the Board of Directors on April 29, 2022:
| /s/ "Travis Naugle" | /s/ "Stephen Goodman" |
|---|---|
| Chief Executive Officer | President & Chief Financial Officer |
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
Page 4
Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Consolidated Statements of Loss and Comprehensive Loss (In thousands of U.S. Dollars, except for shares and per share amounts)
| Year ended December 31, | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| General administrative expenses | ||||||||||
| General office | $ | 58 | $ | 61 | $ | 53 | ||||
| Insurance | 30 | 47 | 63 | |||||||
| Investor relations and corporate development | 206 | 86 | 217 | |||||||
| Professional fees | 493 | 71 | 102 | |||||||
| Rent | 13 | 108 | 123 | |||||||
| Salaries and benefits | 938 | 713 | 823 | |||||||
| Transfer agent and regulatory | 108 | 44 | 66 | |||||||
| Travel | 87 | 13 | 29 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation | 8(a) | 1,077 | 175 | 117 | ||||||
| (3,010 | ) | (1,318 | ) | (1,593 | ) | |||||
| Fair value gain on derivative liabilities - warrants | 6 | (4 | ) | 90 | 105 | |||||
| General exploration | (218 | ) | (167 | ) | (26 | ) | ||||
| Loss on settlement of convertible notes | - | (26 | ) | (13 | ) | |||||
| Unrealized gain on marketable securities | 4 | - | 476 | 9 | ||||||
| Realized gain on sale of marketable securities | 189 | - | - | |||||||
| Unrealized gain (loss) on foreign exchange | 11 | 20 | (43 | ) | ||||||
| Interest and other (expense) income | 8 | (58 | ) | (150 | ) | |||||
| (14 | ) | 335 | (118 | ) | ||||||
| Loss and Comprehensive Loss for the year | (3,024 | ) | (983 | ) | (1,711 | ) | ||||
| Weighted average number of common shares outstanding | 239,831,079 | 218,117,528 | 208,688,604 | |||||||
| Loss per share - basic and diluted | $ | (0.01 | ) | $ | (0.00 | ) | $ | (0.01 | ) |
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
Page 5
Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Consolidated Statements of Changes in Equity (In thousands of U.S. Dollars, except for shares)
| Number of | Contributed | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| shares | Share capital | surplus | Deficit | Total Equity | |||||||||
| Balance, December 31, 2018 | 200,969,314 | $ | 100,729 | $ | 18,820 | $ | (88,918 | ) | $ | 30,631 | |||
| Shares issued for cash | 3,000,000 | 113 | - | - | 113 | ||||||||
| Shares issued for convertible notes | 12,846,296 | 547 | 291 | - | 838 | ||||||||
| Shares issued for stock options exercised | 400,000 | 35 | (16 | ) | - | 19 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation | - | - | 117 | - | 117 | ||||||||
| Net loss for the year | - | - | - | (1,711 | ) | (1,711 | ) | ||||||
| Balance, December 31, 2019 | 217,215,610 | $ | 101,424 | $ | 19,212 | $ | (90,629 | ) | $ | 30,007 | |||
| Shares issued for convertible notes | 1,000,000 | 94 | 35 | - | 129 | ||||||||
| Shares issued for stock options exercised | 500,000 | 35 | (16 | ) | - | 19 | |||||||
| Share-based compensation | - | - | 175 | - | 175 | ||||||||
| Net loss for the year | - | - | - | (983 | ) | (983 | ) | ||||||
| Balance, December 31, 2020 | 218,715,610 | $ | 101,553 | $ | 19,406 | $ | (91,612 | ) | $ | 29,347 | |||
| Shares issued for private placements | 68,802,336 | 4,128 | - | - | 4,128 | ||||||||
| Shares issued for stock options and warrants exercised | 5,885,000 | 589 | (266 | ) | - | 323 | |||||||
| Shares issued in settlement agreements | 403,665 | 27 | - | - | 27 | ||||||||
| Share issuance cost | - | (162 | ) | - | - | (162 | ) | ||||||
| Fair value warrants | - | (1,795 | ) | 1,795 | - | - | |||||||
| Share-based compensation | - | - | 1,077 | - | 1,077 | ||||||||
| Net loss for the year | - | - | - | (3,024 | ) | (3,024 | ) | ||||||
| Balance, December 31, 2021 | 293,806,611 | $ | 104,340 | $ | 22,012 | $ | (94,636 | ) | $ | 31,716 |
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
Page 6
Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (In thousands of U.S. Dollars)
| Year ended December 31, | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
| Operating activities | |||||||||
| Net loss for the year | $ | (3,024 | ) | $ | (983 | ) | $ | (1,711 | ) |
| Items not involving cash: | |||||||||
| Fair value (gain) on derivative liabilities - warrants | 4 | (90 | ) | (105 | ) | ||||
| Fair value loss on warrants | - | - | - | ||||||
| Loss on settlement of convertible notes | - | 26 | 13 | ||||||
| Interest and convertible accretion | - | 72 | 260 | ||||||
| Realized (gain) on sale of marketable securities | (189 | ) | - | - | |||||
| Unrealized (gain) loss on marketable securities | - | (476 | ) | (9 | ) | ||||
| Share-based compensation | 1,077 | 175 | 117 | ||||||
| (2,132 | ) | (1,276 | ) | (1,435 | ) | ||||
| Changes in non-cash working capital | |||||||||
| Other receivable | (3 | ) | - | (1 | ) | ||||
| Prepaid and deposit | (38 | ) | (1 | ) | - | ||||
| Accounts payable and accrued liabilities | 95 | 96 | (185 | ) | |||||
| (2,078 | ) | (1,181 | ) | (1,621 | ) | ||||
| Financing activities | |||||||||
| Proceeds from shares issued for private placements, net | 3,966 | 19 | 132 | ||||||
| Proceeds from shares issued for stock options and warrants exercised | 323 | - | |||||||
| Convertible notes | - | (381 | ) | - | |||||
| Loan | - | - | (311 | ) | |||||
| Related party loan payable | - | - | (218 | ) | |||||
| 4,289 | (362 | ) | (397 | ) | |||||
| Investing activities | |||||||||
| Expenditures on mineral properties | (3,899 | ) | (1,411 | ) | (1,899 | ) | |||
| Net proceeds from water rights sale | 1,000 | 1,868 | 5,685 | ||||||
| Sale of marketable securities | 830 | - | |||||||
| Reclamation bonds | - | - | 28 | ||||||
| (2,069 | ) | 457 | 3,814 | ||||||
| Effect of foreign exchange on cash | (1 | ) | (25 | ) | (31 | ) | |||
| (Decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents | 141 | (1,111 | ) | 1,765 | |||||
| Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year | 701 | 1,812 | 47 | ||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents, end of year | $ | 842 | $ | 701 | $ | 1,812 | |||
| Supplemental cash flow information | |||||||||
| Exploration expenditures included in accounts payable | $ | (27 | ) | $ | 41 | $ | 27 | ||
| Interest paid in cash | $ | - | $ | 76 | $ | 46 | |||
| Shares issued for interest | $ | - | $ | - | $ | 45 | |||
| Shares issued in settlement agreements | $ | 27 | $ | - | $ | - |
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
Page 7
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
|---|
1. NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND GOING CONCERN
Lion Copper and Gold Corp. (together with its subsidiaries, "Lion CG" or the "Company") is a copper exploration and development company working on its mineral properties located in Nevada, Alaska and Montana in the United States and British Columbia, Canada. The Company is incorporated in British Columbia, Canada. Its registered and records offices are located at 1200 - 750 West Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6C 2T8. On November 22, 2021, the Company changed its name from Quaterra Resources Inc. to Lion Copper and Gold Corp. The shares of the Company commenced trading under the new name at the open of trading on November 23, 2021. The Company's common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") under the symbol "LEO". and trade on the OTCQB Market under the symbol "LCGMF".
The Company acquires its mineral properties through option or lease agreements and capitalizes all acquisition, exploration and evaluation costs related to the properties. The underlying value of the amounts recorded as mineral properties does not reflect current or future values. The Company's continued existence depends on discovering the economically recoverable mineral reserves and obtaining the necessary funding to complete the development of these properties.
These consolidated financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates that the Company will be able to meet its commitments, continue operations and realize its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business for at least twelve months from December 31, 2021. The Company has incurred ongoing losses and expects to incur further losses in the advancement of its business activities. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company incurred a net loss of $3,024 and used cash in operating activities of $2,078. As at December 31, 2021, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $842, working capital deficit of $522 and an accumulated deficit of $94,636.
The Company continues to incur losses, has limited financial resources and has no current source of revenue or cash flow generated from operating activities. To address its financing requirements, the Company plans to seek financing through, but not limited to, debt financing, equity financing and strategic alliances. However, there is no assurance that such financing will be available. If adequate financing is not available or cannot be obtained on a timely basis, the Company may be required to delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate one or more of its exploration programs or relinquish some or all of its rights under the existing option and acquisition agreements. The above factors give rise to material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt on the Company's ability to continue as a going concern.
If the going concern assumptions were not appropriate for these consolidated financial statements, then adjustments would be necessary to the carrying values of assets, liabilities, the reported expenses and the consolidated statement of financial position classifications used. Such adjustments could be material.
2. BASIS OF PRESENTATION
Statement of compliance
These consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB"), effective for financial year ended December 31, 2021.
These consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a historical cost basis except for certain financial instruments which are measured at fair value. In addition, these consolidated financial statements have been prepared using the accrual basis of accounting, except for the cash flow information.
Page 8
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
|---|
The Company consolidates an entity when it has power over that entity, is exposed, or has rights, to variable returns from its involvement with that entity and can affect those returns through its control over that entity. All material intercompany transactions, balances and expenses are eliminated on consolidation.
These consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of Lion Copper and Gold Corp., and its wholly owned subsidiaries: Quaterra Alaska Inc. (Quaterra Alaska), Inc. Six Mile Mining Company, Singatse Peak Services, LLC ("SPS") and Blue Copper LLC.
These consolidated financial statements were approved and authorized for issuance by the Board of Directors of the Company on April 29, 2022.
3. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
a) Accounting estimates and judgments
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with IFRS requires management to make estimates and judgments that affect the application of policies, reported amounts and disclosures. By their nature, these estimates and judgments are subject to uncertainty and the effect on the consolidated financial statements of changes in such estimates in future periods could be significant. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
A key source of estimation uncertainty that has a significant risk of causing material adjustment to the amounts recognized in the consolidated financial statements exists in relation to share-based compensation: The Company has a stock option plan pursuant to which the fair value of options issued is estimated by using the Black Scholes option pricing model on the date of the grant based on certain assumptions. Those assumptions are described in Note 8 and include expected volatility, expected life of the options and number of options expected to vest.
Significant judgments used in the preparation of these consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to:
- Mineral properties: Judgment is required in assessing whether certain factors would be considered an indicator of impairment. Both internal and external information is considered to determine whether there is an indicator of impairment present and, accordingly, whether impairment testing is required;
- Going concern: In the determination of the Company's ability to meet its ongoing obligations and future contractual commitments, management relies on the Company's planning, budgeting and forecasting process to help determine the funds required to support the Company's normal operations on an ongoing basis and its expansionary plans. The key inputs used by the Company in this process include forecasted capital deployment, results from operations, results from the exploration and development of its properties and general industry conditions; and
- Taxes: Judgement is required to determine the amount of deferred tax assets that can be recognized, based upon the likely timing and the level of future taxable income realized, including the usage of tax planning strategies.
Estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognized in the period in which the estimates are revised and in any future periods affected.
Page 9
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
|---|
b) Translation of foreign currencies
The functional currency for each of the Company's subsidiaries is the currency of the primary economic environment in which the entity operates. Determination of functional currency may involve certain judgments to determine the primary economic environment and the Company reconsiders the functional currency of its entities if there is a change in events and conditions that determined the primary economic environment.
The Company's presentation currency is the U.S. dollar ("$" or "USD"). The functional currency of the Company and its significant subsidiaries is the USD.
In preparing the financial statements, transactions in currencies other than an entity's functional currency ("foreign currencies") are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing at the dates of the transactions. At each balance sheet date, monetary assets and liabilities are translated using the period-end foreign exchange rate. Non-monetary assets and liabilities are translated using the historical rate on the date of the transaction. All gains and losses on translation of these foreign currency transactions are included in the statement of loss.
c) Mineral properties
Direct costs related to the acquisition and exploration of mineral properties held or controlled by the Company are capitalized on an individual property basis until the property transitions to the development stage, is sold, abandoned, or determined to be impaired. Administration costs and general exploration costs are expensed as incurred.
The Company classifies its mineral properties as exploration and evaluation assets until the technical feasibility and commercial viability of extracting a mineral resource are demonstrable. At this point, the mineral properties' carrying value is tested for impairment and subsequently transferred to property and equipment. The establishment of technical feasibility and commercial viability of a mineral property is assessed based on a combination of factors, such as the extent of established mineral reserves, the results of feasibility and technical evaluations, and the status of mineral leases or permits.
Proceeds from the sale of properties, property water rights or cash proceeds received from farm-out option agreements are recorded as a reduction of the related mineral property, with any excess proceeds accounted for in the statements of loss and comprehensive loss.
d) Impairment
The Company's assets are reviewed for the indication of impairment at each reporting date in accordance with IFRS 6 - Exploration for and evaluation of mineral resources. If any such indication exists, an estimate of the recoverable amount of the asset is undertaken, being the higher of an asset's fair value, less costs of disposal and its value in use. If the asset's carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount, an impairment loss is recognized in the statement of loss.
Impairment indicators are considered to exist if (i) the right to explore the area has expired or will expire in the near future with no expectation of renewal; (ii) Substantive expenditure on further exploration for and evaluation of mineral resources in the area is neither planned nor budgeted; (iii) No commercially viable deposits have been discovered, and the decision had been made to discontinue exploration in the area; and (iv) Sufficient work has been performed to indicate that the carrying amount of the expenditure carried as an asset will not be fully recovered.
Page 10
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
|---|
An impairment loss is reversed if there is an indication that there has been a change in the estimates used to determine the recoverable amount. An impairment loss is reversed only to the extent that this does not exceed the original carrying amount that if no impairment loss had been recognized.
e) Share-based compensation
The fair value of stock options granted to directors, officers, employees and consultants is calculated using the Black Scholes option pricing model and is expensed over the vesting periods. If and when the stock options are exercised, the value attributable to the stock options is transferred to share capital.
f) Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash on hand, bank deposits and highly liquid investments with an original maturity of 90 days or less.
g) Financial instruments
Financial instruments are recognized in the statement of financial position when the Company becomes a party to a contractual obligation. At initial recognition, the Company classifies and measures its financial instruments as one of the following:
- at amortized cost, if they are held to collect contractual cash flows which solely represent payments of principal and interest;
- at fair value, through other comprehensive income ("FVOCI") if they are held to both collect contractual cash flows and to sell where those cash flows represent payments of principal and interest solely;
- otherwise, they are classified at fair value through profit or loss ("FVPL").
Financial assets are classified and measured at fair value with subsequent changes in fair value recognized in either profit and loss as they arise unless restrictive criteria are met for classifying and measuring the asset at either amortized cost or FVOCI. Financial liabilities are measured at amortized costs unless they are elected to be or required to be measured at fair value through profit and loss.
Financial assets are derecognized when the rights to receive cash flows from the assets have expired or have been transferred, and the Company has transferred all risks and rewards of ownership. Financial liabilities are derecognized when the obligations specified in the contract are discharged, cancelled, or expire.
The Company's accounts payable approximate fair value due to their short-term nature. The marketable securities are a Level 1 fair value measurement; the derivative warrants are a Level 2 fair value measurement.
The convertible note is classified as a liability at amortized cost, with the conversion feature classified as a derivative liability. The debt liability was initially recorded at fair value and is subsequently measured at amortized cost using the effective interest rate method and will be accreted to the face value over the term of the convertible debenture.
h) Provisions
Provisions are recognized when a present legal or constructive obligation exists as a result of past events where it is probable that an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation, and the amount of the obligation can be reliably estimated.
Page 11
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
|---|
The amount recognized as a provision is the best estimate of the consideration required to settle the present obligation at the reporting date, considering the risks and uncertainties surrounding the obligation. The Company had no material provisions as of December 31, 2021 and 2020.
i) Earnings (loss) per share
Basic earnings (loss) per share is calculated using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the year. The Company uses the treasury stock method to compute the dilutive effect of options, warrants and similar instruments. Under this method, the dilutive effect on earnings per share is calculated, presuming the exercise of in-the-money outstanding options, warrants and similar instruments. It assumes that the proceeds of such exercise would be used to repurchase common shares at the average market price during the year. However, the calculation of diluted loss per share excludes the effects of various conversions and exercise of options and warrants that would be anti-dilutive.
j) Income tax
Income tax comprises current and deferred tax. Income tax is recognized in net loss, except to the extent it is related to items recognized directly in equity or other comprehensive loss.
Deferred tax is recognized in respect of temporary differences arising between the tax bases of assets and liabilities and their carrying amounts in the consolidated financial statements. Deferred tax is determined on a non‐discounted basis using tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantively enacted by the reporting date and are expected to apply when the deferred tax asset or liability is settled. Deferred tax assets are recognized to the extent that their recovery is probable.
k) Accounting Standards Issued but Not Yet Effective
IAS 12 Income Taxes
On May 7, 2021, IASB issued amendments to IAS 12 which require companies to recognize deferred tax on transactions that, on initial recognition, give rise to equal amounts of taxable and deductible temporary differences. The amendments are effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023. The impacts of the above amendments to IAS 12 on the Company's consolidated financial statements have not yet been evaluated.
4. MARKETABLE SECURITIES
During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company sold 1,942,795 common shares and as of December 31, 2021 held nil (2020 - 1,942,795) shares of Grande Portage Resources Ltd.
As of December 31, 2020, the fair value of these shares was $641, resulting in an unrealized gain of $476 recognized in the consolidated statements of loss and comprehensive loss. During 2021, the aforementioned sale of all shares held for $830 resulted in a realized gain of $189 recognized in the consolidated statements of loss and comprehensive loss.
5. MINERAL PROPERTIES
Total mineral property maintenance and exploration costs are listed in the table below:
Page 12
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Singatse Peak Services | Six Mile | |||||||||||||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Butte | Blue | |||||||||||||||||
| MacArthur | Yerington | Bear | Wassuk | Groundhog | Valley | Copper | Total | |||||||||||
| Balance December 31, 2018 | $ | 18,218 | $ | 10,578 | $ | 1,012 | $ | 1,105 | $ | 1,620 | $ | - | $ | - | $ | 32,533 | ||
| Property maintenance | $ | 159 | $ | 90 | $ | 238 | $ | 110 | $ | 64 | $ | 168 | $ | - | $ | 829 | ||
| Geological & mapping | 17 | - | 17 | - | 65 | - | - | 99 | ||||||||||
| Geophysical surveys | - | - | - | - | 368 | 18 | - | 386 | ||||||||||
| Technical study | 110 | - | - | - | 20 | - | - | 130 | ||||||||||
| Assay & labs | - | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | 5 | ||||||||||
| Environmental | - | 189 | - | - | - | - | - | 189 | ||||||||||
| Field support & other | - | 15 | - | - | 178 | - | - | 193 | ||||||||||
| Proceeds from water rights | (5,685 | ) | (5,685 | ) | ||||||||||||||
| Total additions of the year | 286 | (5,391 | ) | 255 | 110 | 700 | 186 | - | (3,854 | ) | ||||||||
| Balance December 31, 2019 | $ | 18,504 | $ | 5,187 | $ | 1,267 | $ | 1,215 | $ | 2,320 | $ | 186 | $ | - | $ | 28,679 | ||
| Property maintenance | $ | 159 | $ | 73 | $ | 193 | $ | 255 | $ | 61 | $ | 201 | $ | - | $ | 942 | ||
| Geological & mapping | 4 | - | - | - | 3 | - | - | 7 | ||||||||||
| Geophysical surveys | - | - | - | - | 66 | - | - | 66 | ||||||||||
| Technical study | 158 | - | - | - | 14 | - | - | 172 | ||||||||||
| Assay & labs | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 3 | ||||||||||
| Environmental | - | 167 | - | - | - | - | - | 167 | ||||||||||
| Field support & other | - | 10 | - | - | 58 | - | - | 68 | ||||||||||
| Proceeds from water rights | - | (1,868 | ) | - | - | - | - | (1,868 | ) | |||||||||
| Total additions of the year | 324 | (1,618 | ) | 193 | 255 | 202 | 201 | - | (443 | ) | ||||||||
| Balance December 31, 2020 | $ | 18,828 | $ | 3,569 | $ | 1,460 | $ | 1,470 | $ | 2,522 | $ | 387 | $ | - | $ | 28,236 | ||
| Property maintenance | $ | 159 | $ | 69 | $ | 193 | $ | 305 | $ | 98 | $ | 247 | $ | 401 | $ | 1,472 | ||
| Drilling | 892 | - | - | 47 | - | 500 | - | 1,439 | ||||||||||
| Geological & mapping | 22 | - | - | - | - | - | 16 | 38 | ||||||||||
| Geophysical surveys | 20 | - | 63 | - | - | 47 | 15 | 145 | ||||||||||
| Technical study | 276 | 11 | - | - | 1 | - | - | 288 | ||||||||||
| Assay & labs | 231 | - | - | - | - | - | - | 231 | ||||||||||
| Environmental | 43 | 142 | - | - | - | - | - | 185 | ||||||||||
| Field support & other | 46 | 5 | - | 3 | 67 | 1 | 47 | 169 | ||||||||||
| Total additions of the year | 1,689 | 227 | 256 | 355 | 166 | 795 | 479 | 3,967 | ||||||||||
| Balance December 31, 2021 | $ | 20,517 | $ | 3,796 | $ | 1,716 | $ | 1,825 | $ | 2,688 | $ | 1,182 | $ | 479 | $ | 32,203 |
The Company owns a 100% interest in the MacArthur and Yerington properties. It has an option to earn a 100% interest in the Bear, Wassuk, and Butte Valley properties in Nevada, a 100% interest in the Blue Copper Project in Montana, and a 90% interest in the Groundhog property in Alaska.
a) MacArthur and Yerington Properties, Nevada
On February 24, 2021, the Company announced a purchase and sale agreement to sell certain primary groundwater rights to Desert Pearl Farms LLC ("Desert Pearl"), a Yerington-based company involved in agriculture, for $2,910 (the "Purchase and Sale Agreement"). In early March, 2021, the Company filed an application with the State of Nevada Division of Water Resources ("NDWR") to change the manner of use of the water rights from mining to agriculture and their place of use ("Change Application"). Under the terms of the Purchase and Sale Agreement, Desert Pearl made a $1,000 initial payment to the Company on March 5, 2021. The Purchase and Sale Agreement is subject to the NDWR's final approval of the Change Application. The primary water rights covered under the Purchase and Sale Agreement are one of the water rights that are the subject of forfeiture, as discussed in the next paragraph.
Page 13
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
|---|
On July 23, 2021, the Company received a notice from the State of Nevada that three water rights permits had been forfeited. Further, that the application for an extension of time to prevent forfeiture of a fourth certificate was denied. The permits affected are components of the Purchase and Sale Agreement announced on February 24, 2021.
On August 20, 2021, the Company filed a Petition for Judicial Review of the Forfeiture Notice and has retained legal counsel to initiate and vigorously undertake the appeal process. Should the appeal be unsuccessful or Desert Pearl elects to terminate the Purchase and Sale Agreement, the Company will be obligated to refund the $1,000 initial payment to Desert Pearl (therefore, it has been treated as an accrued liability on the balance sheet) and the $1,910 balance of the water rights proceeds would be forfeited.
b) Bear Deposit, Nevada
The Company has five option agreements, entered from March 2013 to May 2015, to acquire a 100% interest in private land in Yerington, Nevada, known as the Bear deposit. Under the terms of these option agreements, as amended, the Company is required to make $5,673 in cash payments over 15 years ($5,029 paid) to maintain the exclusive right to purchase the land, mineral rights, and certain water rights and to conduct mineral exploration on these properties. Two of the properties are subject to a 2% NSR upon commencing commercial production, which can be reduced to a 1% NSR in consideration of $1,250 total.
Outstanding payments due under the five option agreements by year are as follows:
- $193 due in 2021 (paid);
- $193 due 2022;
- $201 due in 2023;
- $50 due in years 2024 to 2028.
c) Wassuk, Nevada
The Wassuk property consists of 310 unpatented lode claims totaling approximately 6,400 acres on lands administered by the BLM.
The Company has completed all requirements to earn a 100% interest in certain unpatented mining claims in Lyon County, Nevada, ($1,405 in cash payments and a work commitment of $50) and is in the process of exercising its option to purchase these claims. During 2021 two final option payments of $125 due by August 1, 2021, and the final $125 due by October 10, 2021, were both paid and form part of the total payments of $1,405.
The property is subject to a 3% NSR upon commencing commercial production, which can be reduced to a 2% NSR royalty in consideration of $1,500.
Page 14
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
|---|
d) Groundhog, Alaska
On April 20, 2017, the Company entered a lease with option to purchase agreement with Chuchuna Minerals Company ("Chuchuna") to earn a 90% interest in the Groundhog copper prospect, located two hundred miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, the lease agreement was further extended from six to seven years, providing the Company more time to make the required exploration expenditures and lump sum payment. To earn the 90% interest, the Company must fund a total of $5,000 ($2,688 funded) of exploration expenditures and make a lump sum payment to Chuchuna of $3,000 by the end of April 20, 2024. The Company can terminate the Agreement at its discretion.
The Company has met the annual work commitments required to spend a minimum of $160. The Company incurred exploration expenditures of $166 for the year-ended December 31, 2021.
e) Butte Valley, Nevada
The Company entered into an option agreement dated August 22, 2019, as amended on December 6, 2019 and July 30, 2021, with North Exploration, LLC ("North Exploration"), to purchase a 100% interest in six hundred unpatented mining claims in White Pine County, Nevada, for $600 over five years. North Exploration will retain a 2.5% NSR, of which 1% can be purchased for $1,000. A further 0.5% NSR can be purchased within the first ten years after the option is exercised for $5,000.
On December 3, 2019, the Company entered into an option agreement with Nevada Select Royalty, Inc. ("Nevada Select"), to purchase a 100% interest in seventy-eight unpatented claims in White Pine Country, Nevada associated with the Butte Valley project for $250 over five years. Nevada Select will retain a 2% NSR, of which 1% can be purchased by the Company during the ten-year term of the option for $10,000.
Aggregate payments to maintain the two option agreements by year are as follows:
- $20 due 2019 (paid);
- $80 due in 2020 (paid);
- $100 due in 2021 (paid);
- $150 due in 2022; and
- $250 each due in 2023 and 2024.
On January 26, 2022, the Company entered into a property acquisition agreement to assign its options to acquire the Butte Valley property to 1301666 B.C. Ltd ("BC Co.") which is a private British Columbia company established to acquire mineral resource properties (see Note 16).
f) Chaco Bear and Ashton Properties, British Columbia
On August 25, 2021, the Company entered into a non-binding letter of intent (the "LOI") with Houston Minerals Ltd. ("Houston") setting forth the terms of an option whereby the Company may acquire a 100% interest in the Chaco Bear Property located directly east of the Golden Triangle of British Columbia, and the Ashton Property located near Lytton, British Columbia (Collectively, the "Properties").
Under the terms of the LOI, the Company and Houston proposed to enter into a definitive agreement whereby the Company can earn up to a 100% interest in the Properties by making the following issuances and payments over a four-year period:
Page 15
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
|---|
- issuing 8,000,000 common shares of the Company on closing;
- making annual lease payments on the Properties after 2021;
- incurring CAD$150 of exploration expenditures on the Chaco Bear Property and CAD$50 of exploration expenditures on the Ashton Property before the end of 2021 for CAD$200 (paid);
- incurring exploration expenditures of at least the value of the annual assessment multiplied by 1.5 for periods after 2021;
- paying CAD$1,500 for the Chaco Bear Property and CAD$1,000 for the Ashton Property on or before 4 years from the closing, which amounts are payable in cash or common shares of the Company; and
- making annual advance royalty payments in the fourth and fifth year from the closing in the amounts of CAD$250 on the Chaco Bear Property and CAD$150 on the Ashton Property.
On September 17, 2021, the parties agreed to an amendment to the LOI to include a 2.5% NSR on each property. Prior to feasibility, the Company may reduce the NSR to 1.0% on the Chaco Bear Property in consideration for a payment of CAD$6,000 and 1.0% on the Ashton Property for a payment of CAD$3,000. Post feasibility, the Company may purchase the remaining 1.0% NSR on the Chaco Bear Property for CAD$12,000 and the remaining 1.0% NSR on the Ashton Property for CAD$6,000.
On January 26, 2022, the Company entered into an option agreement with Houston to replace the LOI (See subsequent events). (See Note 16).
g) Blue Copper Prospect, Montana
During the year ended as of December 31, 2021, Blue Copper LLC (the Company's 100% owned subsidiary) acquired and staked a district scale exploration and resource discovery opportunity (the "Blue Copper Prospect"), comprising more than 7,430 acres in Powell County and Lewis & Clark County in Montana, USA. The area is prospective for high grade copper-gold skarns and porphyry copper-gold mineralization. The claim block encompasses a group of more than fourteen historic small mines that produced high grade gold, copper and tungsten.
As a part of the transaction, Blue Copper LLC entered into a purchase agreement with Four O Six Mining & Exploration LLC to acquire certain existing and additional unpatented mining claims. In exchange for the unpatented mining claims, as part of the closing of the transaction, the Company issued 1,500,000 common shares of the capital of the Company (Note 16 (c)) and provided a NSR of 2.0% with a buy-down of 1% NSR for $1,500.
Blue Copper LLC has staked an additional 131 claims to expand the Blue Copper Prospect. The Company has provided a NSR of 2% with a buy-down of 1% NSR for $600 to Four O Six Mining & Exploration LLC for these claims.
6. DERIVATIVE LIABILITIES WARRANTS
The Company has certain outstanding share purchase warrants that are exercisable in a different currency from the Company's functional currency. These warrants are classified as derivative liabilities and carried at fair value and revalued at each reporting date.
As of December 31, 2021, the derivative liabilities were related to 769,230 warrants with an exercise price denominated in Canadian dollars. They were revalued using the weighted average assumptions: volatility of 141% (2020 - 106%), expected term of 0.72 years (2020 - 2 years), a discount rate of 1.01% (2020-0.36%) and a dividend yield of 0% (2020 - 0%). The resulting fair value of these derivative liabilities at December 31, 2021 is $55 (2020: $51).
Page 16
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
|---|
7. SHARE CAPITAL
The Company is authorized to issue an unlimited number of common shares without par value.
Common share transactions:
Year ended December 31, 2021
a) On September 13, 2021, the Company closed the first tranche of a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") for gross proceeds of $1,566. The Company issued 26,105,833 units (each, a "Unit") of the Company at a price of $0.06 per Unit.
Each Unit is comprised of one common share (a "Common Share") and one non-transferable common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one additional Common Share of the Company at a price of $0.10 per Common Share for a period of three years from the date of closing. The Warrants contain a forced exercise provision if the daily volume weighted average trading price of the Common Shares of the Company on the TSXV is equal to or greater than $0.30 for a period of ten consecutive trading days.
In connection with the completion of the first tranche of the Private Placement, the Company paid a total of $23 and issued 382,900 finder's warrants as finder's fees. The finder's warrants will be exercisable at $0.10 per share for a period of 3 years from the date of closing.
b) On September 27, 2021, the Company closed the second tranche of a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of $772. The Company issued 12,863,669 Units of the Company at a price of $0.06 per Unit.
In connection with the completion of the second tranche of the Private Placement, the Company paid a total of $17 and issued 289,240 finder's warrants as finder's fees. The finder's warrants will be exercisable at $0.10 per share for a period of 3 years from the date of closing.
Each Unit is comprised of one Common Share and one Warrant. Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one additional Common Share of the Company at a price of $0.10 per Common Share for a period of three years from the date of closing. The Warrants contain a forced exercise provision if the daily volume weighted average trading price of the Common Shares of the Company on the TSXV is equal to or greater than $0.30 for a period of ten consecutive trading days.
Related parties acquired 1,566,668 Units in both the first and second tranches.
c) On October 21, 2021, the Company closed the third and final tranche of its oversubscribed Private Placement. The Company issued 29,832,834 Units at a price of $0.06 (CAD$0.075) per Unit for gross proceeds of $1,790 (CAD$2,237). Combined with the first and second tranches, the Company raised an aggregate of $4,128 (CAD$5,160) in the Private Placement.
Each Unit is comprised of one Common Share and Warrant. Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one additional Common Share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.10 per Common Share for a period of three years from the date of closing. The Warrants contain a forced exercise provision if the daily volume weighted average trading price of the Common Shares of the Company on the TSXV is equal to or greater than $0.30 for a period of ten consecutive trading days.
Page 17
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
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In connection with the completion of the third tranche of the Private Placement, the Company paid a total of $110 and issued an aggregate of 1,839,798 finder's warrants as finder's fees. The finder's warrants are exercisable at a price of $0.10 per share for a period of 3 years from the date of closing.
The securities issued pursuant to the third tranche of the Private Placement were subject to a four-month hold period expiring on February 22, 2022.
d) On October 14, 2021, the Company agreed to settle outstanding debt of $27 (CAD$33) with Manex Resource Group Inc. ("Manex") a former related party by issuing 403,665 common shares of the Company at a market price of CAD$0.0825 per share. The amount of indebtedness represents an outstanding account for services provided to the Company. The transaction was approved by the TSXV.
e) During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company issued 5,885,000 common shares in connection with options and warrants exercised for proceeds of $323.
Year ended December 31, 2020
a) During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company issued 500,000 common shares in connection with options exercised for gross proceeds of $35.
b) In July and August 2020, CAD$100 notes were converted into units at CAD$0.10, comprising 1,000,000 common share and 1,000,000 warrants. On August 28, 2020, the Company repaid the remaining CAD$400 and the related accrued interest of CAD$99 in cash.
The share capital for the CAD$100 conversion was valued as $94 using the Company's closing share price on the conversion dates.
Interest and accretion expense for the convertible notes at December 31, 2020 was $72.
The conversion feature was a derivative liability based on the fact the conversion into units could result in a variable number of shares to be issued.
8. EQUITY RESERVES
a) Stock options
The Company has a stock option plan under which the Company is authorized to grant stock options of up to 10% of the number of common shares issued and outstanding of the Company at any given time.
The continuity of the number of stock options issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 is as follows:
Page 18
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As at December 31, 2021 | As at December 31, 2020 | ||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Number of | Weighted | Number of | Weighted | ||||
| Options | Average | Options | Average | ||||
| Exercise Price | Exercise Price | ||||||
| Outstanding, beginning of year | 14,690,000 | 0.08 | 14,495,000 | 0.08 | |||
| Granted | 12,900,000 | 0.16 | 3,175,000 | 0.08 | |||
| Expired | (275,000 | ) | 0.65 | (2,480,000 | ) | (0.13 | ) |
| Cancelled | (2,515,000 | ) | 0.15 | - | - | ||
| Exercised | (4,885,000 | ) | 0.07 | (500,000 | ) | 0.05 | |
| Outstanding, end of year | 19,915,000 | 0.12 | 14,690,000 | 0.07 |
As of December 31, 2021 and 2020 the number of stock options outstanding and exercisable were:
| Number of | Remaining | Number of | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise Price | Options | contractual life in | Options | |
| Expiry Date | (CAD) | Outstanding | years | Exercisable |
| June 23, 2022 | 0.10 | 1,695,000 | 0.48 | 1,695,000 |
| September 20, 2023 | 0.06 | 1,470,000 | 1.72 | 1,470,000 |
| June 21, 2024 | 0.07 | 1,900,000 | 2.47 | 1,900,000 |
| August 8, 2024 | 0.06 | 500,000 | 2.61 | 500,000 |
| June 20, 2025 | 0.08 | 2,450,000 | 3.47 | 2,450,000 |
| June 18, 2026 | 0.25 | 3,950,000 | 4.47 | 1,975,000 |
| September 17, 2026 | 0.11 | 4,500,000 | 4.72 | 2,250,000 |
| October 21, 2026 | 0.09 | 2,700,000 | 4.81 | 675,000 |
| December 12, 2026 | 0.12 | 750,000 | 4.95 | 187,500 |
| Outstanding December 31, 2021 | 19,915,000 | 13,102,500 | ||
| Number of | Remaining | Number of | ||
| Exercise Price | Options | contractual life in | Options | |
| Expiry Date | (CAD) | Outstanding | years | Exercisable |
| April 14, 2021 | 0.07 | 2,795,000 | 0.28 | 2,795,000 |
| June 23, 2022 | 0.10 | 2,900,000 | 1.48 | 2,900,000 |
| September 20, 2023 | 0.06 | 2,370,000 | 2.72 | 2,370,000 |
| June 21, 2024 | 0.07 | 2,950,000 | 3.47 | 2,950,000 |
| August 8, 2024 | 0.06 | 500,000 | 3.61 | 500,000 |
| June 20, 2025 | 0.08 | 3,175,000 | 4.47 | 3,175,000 |
| Outstanding December 31, 2020 | 14,690,000 | 14,690,000 |
The Company used the following assumptions in the Black-Scholes option pricing model:
| Year ended December 31, | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
| Weighted average share price | CAD 0.16 | CAD 0.07 | CAD 0.065 |
| Risk-free interest rate | 1.13% | 0.36% | 1.40% |
| Expected share price volatility | 105% | 100% | 103% |
| Expected option life in years | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 |
| Forfeiture rate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected dividend yield | 0% | 0% | 0% |
During the year ended December 31, 2021 an amount of $1,077 (2020 - $175) was expensed as share-based compensation. The portion of share-based compensation recorded is based on the vesting schedule of the options.
Page 19
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
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b) Share purchase warrants
The continuity of the number of share purchase warrants outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, is as follows:
| December 31, 2021 | December 31, 2020 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weighted | Weighted | ||||||
| Number of | Average Exercise | Number of | Average | ||||
| Warrants | Price | Warrants | Exercise Price | ||||
| Outstanding, beginning of year | 12,769,230 | $ | 0.05 | 11,769,230 | $ | 0.05 | |
| Issued | 71,314,274 | 0.10 | 1,000,000 | 0.05 | |||
| Exercised | (1,000,000 | ) | 0.05 | - | - | ||
| Outstanding, end of year | 83,083,504 | $ | 0.09 | 12,769,230 | $ | 0.05 |
The following table summarizes warrants outstanding as of December 31, 2021 and 2020:
| December 31, | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Expiry date | Currency | Exercise price | 2021 | 2020 |
| August 28, 2022 | CAD | 0.07 | - | 1,000,000 |
| August 28, 2022 | $ | 0.05 | 11,000,000 | 11,000,000 |
| September 20, 2022 | CAD | 0.07 | 769,230 | 769,230 |
| September 13, 2024 | $ | 0.10 | 26,488,733 | - |
| September 27, 2024 | $ | 0.10 | 13,152,909 | - |
| October 21, 2024 | $ | 0.10 | 31,672,632 | - |
| Outstanding at the end of the year | 83,083,504 | 12,769,230 |
9. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
The Company's related parties include its directors and officers whose remuneration was as follows, subject to change of control provisions for officers:
| December 31, | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
| Salaries | 491 | 391 | 410 |
| Directors' fees | 6 | 35 | 36 |
| Share-based compensation | 504 | 85 | 60 |
| 1,001 | 511 | 506 |
a) Directors of the Company participated in the first and second tranches of the Company's Private Placement acquiring 1,566,668 Units (see Note 7 (b)).
b) On October 14, 2021, the Company agreed to settle outstanding debt of $27 (CAD$33) with the Company's former Corporate Secretary, Mr. Lawrence Page (Manex) by issuing 403,665 common shares of the Company at a market price of CAD$0.0825 per share (see Note 7 (d)).
Page 20
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
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c) On January 26, 2022, the Company entered into a property acquisition agreement to assign its options to acquire the Butte Valley property to BC Co. which is a private British Columbia company established to acquire mineral resource properties. BC Co. was founded by two individuals that are also directors and officers of Lion CG and as such the transaction is a non-arm's length transaction under TSXV rules.
On April 5, 2022, the Company completed the assignment of the two option agreements for the Butte Valley property. Pursuant to the assignment agreement, Lion CG received 16,049,444 common shares of BC Co. Concurrently with the completion of the assignment of the Butte Valley Property, BC Co. closed a private placement for gross proceeds of CAD$3,106 through the issuance of 15,531,130 units at a price of CAD$0.20 per unit. In addition, the Company received a payment of $500 from BC Co. as a reimbursement of exploration expenditures and related costs incurred by the Company on the Butte Valley Property.
The transaction is a non-arm's length transaction under TSXV rules (see Note 16).
d) As per their agreements with the Company, the CEO and President/CFO are entitled to receive an annual grant of options under the Stock Option Plan of the Company on each Annual Review Date. The number of options will be determined by the Board based on a minimum of 50% and maximum of 150% of the annual base compensation. The exercise price per common share of the Company will be equal to the Market Price (as defined in the TSXV policies) of the Company's common shares as at the Annual Review Date, subject to a minimum exercise price per share of CAD$0.05. The applicable percentage on the annual base salary will be determined by the Board based on an assessment of the performance of the CEO and President/CFO in achieving the Annual Objectives for the relevant Annual Review Period. The Board is yet to determine the percentage and number of bonus options to be granted between 50% and 150% of their base compensation to the CEO and President/CFO for 2021.
e) As per their agreements with the Company, the CEO and President/ CFO were each granted 4 million Restricted Stock Units ("RSUs") on October 21, 2021, which were granted subject to vesting in three equal installments over three years. The grant of RSUs are subject to shareholder approval and further subject to Exchange approval of the RSU Plan and the aforementioned grant thereunder. Pursuant to Exchange policies, RSUs granted prior to shareholder approval of the RSU Plan must be specifically approved by a vote of shareholders excluding the votes of the holders of the Restricted Share Units. As a result of these pending approvals, the RSUs cannot commence vesting any earlier than on date of receipt of the same. If at any point the Company divests its interests, including the option to purchase, absent a merger, sale or similar transaction in a) one of either the Chaco Bear or Ashton projects, then 50% of the total RSUs that have not vested will be cancelled, or b) both the Chaco Bear or Ashton projects, then 100% of the total RSUs that have not vested will be cancelled.
10. SEGMENTED INFORMATION
The Company operates in one reportable operating segment, being mineral exploration. Geographic segment information of the Company as at and for the years ended December 31, 2021 is as follows:
Page 21
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2021 | |||||||||
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Canada | USA | Total | |||||||
| Non current assets | $ | - | $ | 32,238 | $ | 32,238 | |||
| Total assets | $ | 790 | $ | 32,339 | $ | 33,129 | |||
| Total liabilities | $ | (196 | ) | $ | (1,217 | ) | $ | (1,413 | ) |
| Year ended December 31, 2021 | |||||||||
| Canada | USA | Total | |||||||
| Net Loss | $ | (2,633 | ) | $ | (391 | ) | $ | (3,024 | ) |
11. COMMITMENTS
To acquire certain mineral property interests as per Note 5, the Company must make optional acquisition expenditures to satisfy the terms of existing option agreements, failing which the rights to such mineral properties will revert to the property vendors.
12. CONTINGENCIES
On July 23, 2021, the Company received notice from the State of Nevada that the State has not approved extensions of three water rights permits purchased by its subsidiary, SPS in 2011. The State also advised that a fourth permit would not be extended after a period of an additional year.
On August 20, 2021, the Company filed a Petition for Judicial Review of the Forfeiture Notice and has retained legal counsel to initiate and vigorously undertake the appeal process. Should the appeal be unsuccessful or the agreement to sell water is terminated, the Company will be obligated to refund the $1,000 initial payment it received. Therefore, it has been treated as an accrued liability on the balance sheet and the $1,910 balance of the water rights proceeds would be forfeited.
13. DEFERRED INCOME TAXES
A reconciliation of income tax provision computed at Canadian statutory rates to the reported income tax provision is provided as follows:
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tax loss for the year | (2,550 | ) | (983 | ) | (1,711 | ) | |||
| Canadian statutory rate | 27% | 27.00% | 27.00% | ||||||
| Income tax benefit computed at statutory rates | $ | (688 | ) | $ | (265 | ) | $ | (462 | ) |
| Foreign tax rates different from statutory rates | 42 | 8 | 31 | ||||||
| Other | - | (26 | ) | 2 | |||||
| Share issuance costs | (98 | ) | - | - | |||||
| Foreign exchange gains and losses | (48 | ) | (180 | ) | 55 | ||||
| Permanent differences | 190 | 19 | 5 | ||||||
| Change in unused tax losses and tax offsets | 602 | 444 | 369 | ||||||
| Income tax expense (recovery) | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - |
Page 22
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
|---|
The Company's unrecognized deductible temporary differences and unused tax losses for which no deferred tax asset is recognized consists of the following amounts:
| 2021 | 2020 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non Capital losses | $ | 8,988 | $ | 8,597 | |
| Capital losses | 2,313 | 2,303 | |||
| Tax value over book value of mineral properties | 1,642 | 4,995 | |||
| Tax value over book value of equipment | 12 | 12 | |||
| Tax value over (under) book value of investments and | |||||
| share issuance costs | 78 | (59 | ) | ||
| $ | 13,033 | $ | 15,848 |
The company's unused tax losses expire as follows:
| Canada | US | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-2026 | $ | 551 | $ | - |
| 2026-2041 | 21,852 | 4,377 | ||
| Indefinite | - | 1,636 | ||
| $ | 22,403 | $ | 6,013 |
The Company's unused capital losses of $17,130 are available to carry forward indefinitely.
14. CAPITAL MANAGEMENT
The Company considers its capital to be equity, comprising share capital, reserves and deficit. The Company's objectives are to ensure sufficient financial flexibility to achieve its ongoing business objectives, including the funding of future growth opportunities, the pursuit of accretive acquisitions, and to maximize shareholder return through enhancing the share value.
The Company manages capital through its budgeting and forecasting processes. The Company reviews its working capital and forecasts its future cash flows based on operating expenditures and other investing and financing activities.
To maintain its objectives, the Company may issue new shares, adjust capital spending, acquire or dispose of assets. There is no assurance that these initiatives will be successful.
There was no change in the Company's approach to capital management during the year ended December 31, 2021. The Company is not subject to any externally imposed capital requirements.
15. FINANCIAL INSTRUMENT RISKS
The board of directors has overall responsibility for establishing and oversight of the Company's risk management framework. The Company examines the various financial instrument risks to which it is exposed and assesses the impact and likelihood of those risks. Financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities, accounts payable and derivative liabilities.
Page 23
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
|---|
Financial instruments recorded at fair value on the consolidated statements of financial position are classified using a fair value hierarchy that reflects the significance of the inputs used in making the measurements. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are:
- Level 1 - Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
- Level 2 - Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability either directly or indirectly; and
- Level 3 - Inputs that are not based on observable market data.
The Company's activities expose it to financial risks of varying degrees of significance, which could affect its ability to achieve its strategic objectives for growth and shareholder returns. The principal financial risks to which the Company is exposed are, liquidity risk, currency risk, interest rate risk, credit risk and commodity price risk. The Board of Directors has overall responsibility for the establishment and oversight of the Company's risk management framework and reviews the Company's policies on an ongoing basis.
a) Liquidity risk
Liquidity risk is the risk that the Company will not be able to meet its financial obligations as they fall due. The Company manages liquidity risk through the management of its capital structure. To mitigate this risk, the Company has a planning and budgeting process in place to determine the funds required to support its ongoing operations and capital expenditures. The Company ensures that sufficient funds are raised from equity offerings or debt financings to meet its operating requirements, after considering existing cash and expected exercise of stock options and share purchase warrants. See Note 1 for further discussion.
b) Currency risk
Foreign exchange risk is the risk that the fair value of future cash flows of a financial instrument will fluctuate because of changes in foreign exchange rates. The Company operates in the United States and Canada; therefore, it is exposed to currency risk from transactions denominated in CAD. Currently, the Company does not have any foreign exchange hedge programs and manages its operational CAD requirements through spot purchases in the foreign exchange markets. Based on CAD financial assets and liabilities' magnitude, the Company does not have material sensitivity to CAD to USD exchange rates.
c) Interest rate risk
Interest rate risk is the risk that the fair value or future cash flows of a financial instrument will fluctuate due to changes in market interest rates. The Company is exposed to the interest rate risk on its liabilities through its outstanding borrowings and the interest earned on cash balances. The Company monitors its exposure to interest rates and maintains an investment policy that focuses primarily on the preservation of capital and liquidity.
d) Credit risk
Credit risk is the risk of a financial loss to the Company if a customer or counterparty to a financial instrument fails to meet its contractual obligations. The Company is exposed to credit risk through its cash and cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents are held in large Canadian financial institutions that have high credit ratings assigned by international credit rating agencies.
Page 24
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
|---|
e) Market risk
The Company is exposed to market risk because of the fluctuating values of its publicly traded marketable securities. The Company has no control over these fluctuations and does not hedge its investments. Marketable securities; if any, are adjusted to fair value at each reporting date.
16. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
a) On January 26, 2022, the Company entered into an option agreement with Houston Minerals Ltd. to replace the LOI dated August 25, 2021 (See Note 5 (f)). Pursuant to the terms of the option agreement, the Company may acquire a 100% interest in the Chaco Bear Property located directly east of the Golden Triangle of British Columbia, and the Ashton Property located near Lytton, British Columbia, subject to a 2.5% net smelter returns royalty.
The terms of the option agreement are unchanged from the LOI except that the term of the option has changed from a four year period to a ten year period and annual advance royalty payments in the amounts of CAD$250 on the Chaco Bear Property and CAD$150 on the Ashton Property are to be paid starting on the fifth year from closing through to the ninth year from closing instead of only in the fourth and fifth years from the closing. All other consideration terms remain unchanged.
In addition, commencing on January 31, 2022, and on January 31 of each year thereafter during the Option Period, Lion CG shall pay the following option maintenance fees to Houston: (a) CAD$60 in respect of the Chaco Bear Property; and (b) CAD$40 in respect of the Ashton Property.
On March 16, 2022, the transaction was closed and Lion CG has funded an initial work program of CAD$200 on the Properties in consideration for the grant of the Option. The Company may exercise the Option for a period of up to ten years to acquire (i) the Chaco Bear property by paying CAD$1,500 to Houston, in cash or in common shares of the Company at the Company's option; and/or (ii) the Ashton Property by paying CAD$1,000 to Houston in cash or in common shares of the Company at the Company's option, and in either case common shares will be valued using the volume weighted average trading price of the Company's common shares for the twenty trading day period ending three trading days prior to the date of issuance of such Lion CG shares, with such cash payments being subject to a discount of between 5% and 15% based on the timing of exercise and cumulative exploration expenditures incurred as at the time of exercise. Houston will retain a 2.5% net smelter returns royalty on any of the Properties for which an Option has been exercised by the Company.
b) In 2019, the Company secured two separate option agreements to acquire 678 unpatented mining claims covering most of the known mineralization at the Butte Valley Property. On January 26, 2022, Quaterra Alaska entered into an agreement to assign its options to acquire the Butte Valley Property to a private company, BC Co.
Pursuant to the agreement, Lion CG's 100% owned subsidiary Quaterra Alaska will be granted an equity position in BC Co. In addition, Quaterra Alaska will maintain a 1.5% NSR on each of the Butte Valley optioned properties, which is subject to a buy-down to a 1.0% NSR in exchange for a payment of $7,500 per property.
On April 5, 2022, the Company completed the assignment of the two option agreements for the Butte Valley Property. In addition, the Company received a payment of $500 from BC Co. as a reimbursement of exploration expenditures and related costs incurred by the Company on the Butte Valley Property.
The transaction is a non-arm's length transaction under TSXV rules.
Page 25
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
|---|
c) On February 14, 2022, as a part of the Blue Copper Prospect transaction (Note 5 (g)), the Company issued 1,500,000 common shares as part of the closing of the transaction.
d) On March 18, 2022, the Company entered into an Option to Earn-in Agreement with Rio Tinto America Inc. ("Rio Tinto") to advance studies and exploration at Lion CG's copper assets in Mason Valley, Nevada. Under the agreement, Rio Tinto has the option to earn a 65% interest in the assets, comprising 34,494 acres of land, including the historic Yerington mine, greenfield MacArthur Project, Wassuk property, the Bear deposit, and associated water rights (the "Mining Assets"). In addition, Rio Tinto will evaluate the potential commercial deployment of its Nuton™ technologies at the site. Nuton™ offers copper heap leaching technologies developed by Rio Tinto to deliver greater copper recovery from mined ore and access new sources of copper such as low-grade sulphide resources and reprocessing of stockpiles and mineralised waste. The technologies have the potential to deliver leading environmental performance through more efficient water usage, lower carbon emission, and the ability to reclaim mine sites by reprocessing waste.
The stages of the Agreement are set out below.
Stage 1 ****
Rio Tinto will pay up to four million U.S. dollars ($4,000) for an exclusive earn-in option and agreed-upon Mason Valley study and evaluation works to be completed by Lion CG no later than December 31, 2022.
Stage 2 ****
Within forty-five (45) days of the completion of Stage 1, Rio Tinto will provide notice to Lion CG whether Rio Tinto elects to proceed with Stage 2, upon which Rio Tinto will pay up to five million U.S. dollars ($5,000) for agreed-upon Mason Valley study and evaluation works to be completed by Lion CG within 12 months from the date that the parties agree upon the scope of Stage 2 work.
Stages 1 and 2 may be accelerated at Rio Tinto's option.
Stage 3 - Feasibility Study
Within sixty (60) days of the completion of Stage 2, Rio Tinto shall provide notice to Lion CG whether Rio Tinto will exercise its Option and fund a Feasibility Study based on the results of the Stage 1 and Stage 2 work programs. Rio Tinto will fully-fund the Feasibility Study and ancillary work completed by Lion CG in amount not to exceed fifty million U.S. dollars ($50,000).
Investment Decision
Upon completion of the Feasibility Study, Rio Tinto and Lion CG will decide whether to create an investment vehicle into which the Mining Assets will be transferred, with Rio Tinto holding not less than a 65% interest in the investment vehicle.
• If Rio Tinto elects to not to create the investment vehicle, then Lion CG shall grant to Rio Tinto a 1.5% NSR on the Mining Assets.
• If Rio Tinto elects to create the investment vehicle but Lion CG elects not to create the investment vehicle, then, at Rio Tinto's option, Lion CG shall create the investment vehicle and Rio Tinto will purchase Lion CG's interest in the investment vehicle for fair market value.
Project Financing
• Following the formation of the investment vehicle, any project financing costs incurred will be funded by Rio Tinto and Lion CG in proportion to their respective ownership interest in the investment vehicle.
• Rio Tinto may elect to fund up to sixty million U.S. dollars ($60,000) of Lion CG 's project financing costs in exchange for a 10% increase in Rio Tinto's ownership percentage. In addition, upon mutual agreement of Rio Tinto and Lion CG, Rio Tinto may fund an additional forty million U.S. dollars ($40,000) of Lion CG's project financing costs in exchange for an additional 5% increase in Rio Tinto's ownership percentage.
Page 26
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp.Notes to the Consolidated Financial StatementsFor the year ended December 31, 2021**(In thousands of U.S dollars except per share amounts)** |
|---|
• If Lion CG's ownership percentage in the investment vehicle is diluted to 10% or less, then Lion CG's ownership interest will be converted into a 1% uncapped NSR.
e) On March 30, 2022, Six Mile Mining Company, a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of the Company was dissolved and its assets were transferred to Quaterra Alaska Inc. which is a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of the Company.
f) On April 13, 2022, Quaterra Alaska Inc. entered into a NSR buydown agreement for the Butte Valley property with BC Co., pursuant to which BC Co. will pay $500 in exchange for a buy-down of the royalties to 0.5%. Closing of the transaction will be subject to the third party enter into an exploration and earn-in agreement with certain exploration Company. If the closing of the transaction does not occur by July 20, 2022, the NSR buydown agreement will be null and void.
g) On April 21, 2022, the Company agreed to settle outstanding debt of $63 (CAD$80) with an arm's length creditor by issuing 800,000 common shares of the Company at a market price of CAD$0.10 per share. The amount of indebtedness represents an outstanding account for services provided to the Company. The shares are subject to a four month hold period pursuant to TSXV policies. TSXV approval was granted on April 25, 2022 and the transaction was closed.
Page 27
Lion Copper and Gold Corp.: Exhibit 99.2 - Filed by newsfilecorp.com

Lion Copper and Gold Corp.
(Formerly Quaterra Resources Inc.)
Management's Discussion and Analysis
For the year ended December 31, 2021
Dated: April 29, 2022
(In U.S. dollars)
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
|---|
This Management's Discussion and Analysis ("MD&A") of Lion Copper and Gold Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiaries (collectively, "Lion CG" or the "Company"), dated April 29, 2022, should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021, and related notes thereto which have been prepared under International Financial Reporting Standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IFRS"). All dollar amounts in this MD&A are United States dollars unless otherwise noted.
Additional information about the Company, including the Company's press releases, quarterly and annual reports, and Form 20-F, is available through the Company's filings with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada at www.sedar.com or the United States Securities Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov/edgar. Information about mineral resources, as well as risks associated with investing in the Company's securities is contained in the Company's most recently filed 20-F.
On November 22, 2021, the Company changed its name from Quaterra Resources Inc. to Lion Copper and Gold Corp. The shares of the Company commenced trading under the new name at the open of trading on November 23, 2021. The Company's common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") under the symbol "LEO" and traded on the OTCQB Market under the symbol "LCGMF".
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made and information contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation (collectively, "Forward-Looking Statements").
Other than statements of historical fact, all statements that address activities, events, or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will, may, could or might occur in the future are Forward-Looking Statements. The words such as "believe", "anticipate", "expect", "estimate", "strategy", "plan", "intend", "may", "could", "would", "should", or similar expressions are intended to identify Forward-Looking Statements.
The Forward-Looking Statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward-Looking Statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to, general business and economic uncertainties; exploration and resource extraction risks; uncertainties relating to surface rights; the actual results of current exploration activities; the outcome of negotiations; conclusions of economic evaluations and studies; future prices of natural resource based commodities; increased competition in the natural resource industry for properties, equipment and qualified personnel; risks associated with environmental compliance and permitting, including those created by changes in environmental legislation and regulation; the risk of arbitrary changes in law; title risks; and the risk of loss of key personnel.
The foregoing lists of factors and assumptions are not exhaustive. The reader should also consider carefully the matters discussed under the heading "Risks Factors and Uncertainties" elsewhere in this MD&A. Forward-Looking Statements contained herein are made as of the date hereof (or as of the date of a document incorporated herein by reference, as applicable). No obligation is undertaken to update publicly or otherwise revise any Forward-Looking Statements or the foregoing lists of factors and assumptions, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise, except as required by law. Because Forward-Looking Statements are inherently uncertain, readers should not place undue reliance on them. The Forward-Looking Statements contained herein are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
Company Profile and Business Overview
Lion CG is a copper exploration and development company with the objective of advancing on its mineral properties located in Nevada, Alaska and Montana in the United States and in British Columbia, Canada. The Company also looks for opportunities to acquire projects on reasonable terms that have the potential to host large mineral deposits attractive to major mining companies. The Company is incorporated in British Columbia, Canada. Its registered and records offices are located at 1200 - 750 West Pender Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, V6C 2T8.
Page 2 of 19
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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MacArthur Copper Project and Yerington Mine Property, Nevada
Located in the historic copper district of Yerington, Nevada, the Company's Yerington Copper Projects include the MacArthur Copper Project and Yerington Mine Property, which are 100% owned by Singatse Peak Services LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lion CG.
The MacArthur Property consists of 897 unpatented lode claims totaling approximately 18,500 acres on lands administered by the U.S. Department of Interior - Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Lion CG has a National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource and has released a preliminary economic assessment for the MacArthur Project.
The MacArthur Project is subject to a 2% net smelter return royalty (the "NSR") upon commencing commercial production, which can be reduced to a 1% NSR in consideration of $1,000,000.
The Yerington Mine Property covers approximately 11 square miles centered on the former Anaconda open pit copper mine. This includes 2,768 acres of fee simple parcels and patented mining claims as well as 208 unpatented lode and placer claims totaling approximately 4.300 acres on lands administered by the BLM.
Lion CG has a National Instrument 43-101 compliant resource for the Yerington Mine Property and believes that the project has potential for additional copper resources. Historic and current drilling data indicate that horizontal and vertical limits to the mineralization at the Yerington Mine Property have not yet been found.
The Yerington Mine Property is subject to a 2% NSR upon commencing commercial production. The total lifetime royalty is capped at $7,500,000.
Bear Deposit, Nevada
The Bear deposit consists of approximately 2,300 acres of private land located to the northeast of the Yerington Mine Property.
The Company has five option agreements, entered from March 2013 to May 2015, to acquire a 100% interest in private land in Yerington, Nevada, known as the Bear deposit. Under the terms of these option agreements, as amended, the Company is required to make $5,673,290 in cash payments over 15 years ($5,029,290 paid) to maintain the exclusive right to purchase the land, mineral rights, and certain water rights and to conduct mineral exploration on these properties. Two of the properties are subject to a 2% NSR upon commencing commercial production, which can be reduced to a 1% NSR in consideration of $1,250,000 total.
Outstanding payments due under the five option agreements by year are as follows:
- $193,000 due in 2021 (paid);
- $193,000 due 2022;
- $201,000 due in 2023;
- $50,000 due in years 2024 to 2028.
Wassuk, Nevada
The Wassuk property consists of 310 unpatented lode claims totaling approximately 6,400 acres on lands administered by the BLM.
On December 19, 2007, the Company entered into a Mining Lease with Option to Purchase, as further amended, to earn a 100% interest in certain unpatented mining claims in Lyon County, Nevada, and was required to make $1,405,000 in cash payments (paid) and incur a work commitment of $50,000 by December 31, 2021 (completed). During 2021 two final option payments of $125,000 due by August 1, 2021, and the final $125,000 due by October 10, 2021, were both paid and form part of the total payments of $1,405,000. The Company has now satisfied all conditions required to execute the option to purchase and is in the process of completing the transfer.
Page 3 of 19
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
|---|
The property is subject to a 3% NSR royalty upon commencing commercial production, which can be reduced to a 2% NSR in consideration of $1,500,000.
Groundhog Project, Alaska
On April 20, 2017, the Company signed an agreement (the "Agreement") with Chuchuna Minerals Company, an Alaska corporation, giving it an option to purchase a 90% interest in the Groundhog copper prospect, a 40,000-acre property located on an established copper porphyry belt, two hundred miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska.
The Groundhog claims cover the northern extension of a structural zone that hosts a number of porphyry copper-gold prospects, including the large Pebble porphyry copper, gold and molybdenum project, which is three miles south of the Groundhog claim boundary. To earn the 90% interest, the Company must fund a total of $5,000,000 ($2,688,000 funded) of exploration expenditures and make a lump sum payment to Chuchuna of $3,000,000 by the end of April 20, 2024. During the year ended December 31, 2021, the lease agreement was further extended from six to seven years, providing the Company more time to make the required exploration expenditures and lump sum payment. The Company can terminate the Agreement at its discretion.
Butte Valley Prospect, Nevada
The Company entered into an option agreement dated August 22, 2019, as amended on December 6, 2019 and July 30, 2021, with North Exploration, LLC ("North Exploration"), to purchase a 100% interest in six hundred unpatented mining claims in White Pine County, Nevada, for $600,000 over five years. North Exploration will retain a 2.5% NSR, of which 1% can be purchased for $1,000,000. A further 0.5% NSR can be purchased within the first ten years after the option is exercised for $5,000,000.
On December 3, 2019, the Company entered into an option agreement with Nevada Select Royalty, Inc. ("Nevada Select"), to purchase a 100% interest in seventy-eight unpatented claims in White Pine Country, Nevada associated with the Butte Valley project for $250,000 over five years. Nevada Select will retain a 2% NSR, of which 1% can be purchased by the Company during the ten-year term of the option for $10,000,000.
Aggregate payments to maintaining the two option agreements by year are as follows:
- $20,000 due 2019 (paid);
- $80,000 due in 2020 (paid);
- $100,000 due in 2021 (paid);
- $150,000 due in 2022; and
- $250,000 each due in 2023 and 2024.
In 2019, the Company secured two separate option agreements to acquire 678 unpatented mining claims covering most of the known mineralization at the Butte Valley Property. On January 26, 2022, the Company entered into a property acquisition agreement to assign its options to acquire the Butte Valley property to 1301666 B.C. Ltd, ("BC Co. "), a private British Columbia company established to acquire mineral resource properties. See "Subsequent Events" for additional information.
Chaco Bear and Ashton Properties, British Columbia
On August 25, 2021, the Company entered into a non-binding letter of intent (the "LOI") with Houston Minerals Ltd. ("Houston") setting forth the terms of an option whereby the Company may acquire a 100% interest in the Chaco Bear Property located directly east of the Golden Triangle of British Columbia, and the Ashton Property located near Lytton, British Columbia (Collectively, the "Properties").
Page 4 of 19
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
|---|
Under the terms of the LOI, the Company and Houston propose to enter into a definitive agreement whereby the Company can earn up to a 100% interest in the Properties by making the following share issuances and cash payments over a four-year period:
issuing 8,000,000 common shares of the Company on closing;
making annual lease payments on the Properties after 2021;
incurring CAD$150,000 of exploration expenditures on the Chaco Bear Property and CAD$50,000 of exploration expenditures on the Ashton Property before the end of 2021;
incurring exploration expenditures of at least the value of the annual assessment multiplied by 1.5 for periods after 2021;
paying CAD$1,500,000 for the Chaco Bear Property and CAD$1,000,000 for the Ashton Property on or before 4 years from the closing, which amounts are payable in cash or common shares of the Company; and
making annual advance royalty payments in the fourth and fifth year from the closing in the amounts of CAD$250,000 on the Chaco Bear Property and CAD$150,000 on the Ashton Property.
On September 17, 2021, the parties agreed to an amendment to the LOI to include a 2.5% NSR on each property. Prior to feasibility, the Company may reduce the NSR to 1.0% on the Chaco Bear Property in consideration for a payment of CAD$6,000,000 and 1.0% on the Ashton Property for a payment of CAD$3,000,000. Post feasibility, the Company may purchase the remaining 1.0% NSR on the Chaco Bear Property for CAD$12,000,000 and the remaining 1.0% NSR on the Ashton Property for CAD$6,000,000.
On January 26, 2022, the Company entered into an option agreement with Houston to replace the LOI. The consideration terms under the LOI are unchanged except that the term of the option has changed from a four year period to a ten year period and annual advance royalty payments in the amounts of CAD$250,000 on the Chaco Bear Property and CAD$150,000 on the Ashton Property are to be paid starting on the fifth year from closing through to the ninth year from closing instead of only in the fourth and fifth years from the closing. All other consideration terms remain unchanged.
In addition, commencing on January 31, 2022, and on January 31 of each year thereafter during the Option Period, Lion CG shall pay the following option maintenance fees to Houston: (a) CAD$60,000 in respect of the Chaco Bear Property; and (b) CAD$40,000 in respect of the Ashton Property.
On March 16, 2022, Lion CG funded an initial work program of CAD$200,000 on the Properties in consideration for the grant of the Option. The Company may exercise the Option for a period of up to ten years to acquire (i) the Chaco Bear property by paying CAD$1,500,000 to Houston, in cash or in common shares of the Company at the Company's option; and/or (ii) the Ashton Property by paying CAD$1,000,000 to Houston in cash or in common shares of the Company at the Company's option, and in either case common shares will be valued using the volume weighted average trading price of the Company's common shares for the twenty trading day period ending three trading days prior to the date of issuance of such Lion CG shares, with such cash payments being subject to a discount of between 5% and 15% based on the timing of exercise and cumulative exploration expenditures incurred as at the time of exercise. Houston will retain a 2.5% net smelter returns royalty on any of the Properties for which an Option has been exercised by the Company. See "Subsequent Events" for additional information.
Blue Copper Prospect, Montana
During the year ended as of December 31, 2021, Blue Copper LLC (the Company's 100% owned subsidiary) acquired and staked a district scale exploration and resource discovery opportunity (the "Blue Copper Prospect"), comprising more than 7,430 acres in Powell County and Lewis & Clark County in Montana, USA. The area is prospective for high grade copper-gold skarns and porphyry copper-gold mineralization. The claim block encompasses a group of more than 14 historic small mines that produced high grade gold, copper and tungsten.
Page 5 of 19
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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The Blue Copper Prospect, located approximately 25 miles WNW of Helena, Montana, is centered on the Late Cretaceous Blackfoot City Stock (the "BCS"), which was intruded into the Black Mountain syncline, composed primarily of a Paleozoic sequence of limestone, dolomite, shale and sandstone. The BCS crystallized at the same time as the nearby Boulder batholith, which is host to the world-famous Butte copper mines. The area is prospective for high grade copper-gold skarns and porphyry copper-gold mineralization.
The claim block encompasses a group of more than 14 historic small mines that produced high grade gold, copper and tungsten. Importantly, the streams draining the BCS have a recorded production of almost 200,000 ounces of placer gold through 1959, although the actual production was most likely much higher. Despite the extensive placer production, only one lode gold mine operated historically and produced less than 10,000 ounces. Several major companies conducted exploration programs in the area during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The Company is currently acquiring, compiling and interpreting historic data to develop a 2022 work plan which will be provided when available.
As a part of the Blue Copper Prospect, Blue Copper LLC entered into a purchase agreement with Four O Six Mining & Exploration LLC to acquire certain existing and additional unpatented mining claims. In exchange for the unpatented mining claims, as part of the closing of the transaction, the Company issued 1,500,000 common shares of the capital of the Company provided a NSR of 2% with a buy-down of 1% NSR for $1,500,000.
Blue Copper LLC has staked an additional 131 claims to expand the Blue Copper Prospect. The Company has provided a NSR of 2% with a buy-down of 1% NSR for $600,000 to Four O Six Mining & Exploration LLC for these claims.
Performance Highlights
- Drilling at MacArthur Copper Project
On August 5, 2021, the Company completed a core drilling program of approximately 5,147 feet (1,569 meters) at its MacArthur Copper Project in the Yerington District, Nevada. On October 6, 2021, the Company announced the assay results from the drilling program. From this same drilling program, an 11-tonne representative metallurgical sample was generated for ongoing metallurgical testing in support of the pre-feasibility study.
On February 25, 2022, the Company, announced the results of an updated mineral resource estimate for the MacArthur Copper Project located in Mason Valley, Nevada. The mineral resource estimate was prepared pursuant to NI 43-101 by Independent Mining Consultants of Tucson, Arizona.
The resource estimate includes total contained copper within a pit shell using a variable recovery of four relevant oxidation material types.
Highlights:
a) Measured and Indicated Resource: 300,290,000 tons, grading 0.167% TCu containing 1,000,383,000 pounds of total copper.
b) Inferred Resource: 154,792,000 tons, grading 0.151% TCu containing 466,350,000 pounds of total copper
c) The updated mineral resource estimate results in an increase of over 55% of the Measured and Indicated Resource compared to the prior resource estimate as constrained within the 2014 PEA pit design (MacArthur Copper Project Amended NI 43-101 Technical Report Preliminary Economic Assessment, January 17, 2014).
d) The oxide and transition mineralized envelope of the deposit is confirmed to be open to the south-southeast. Additional sulfide mineralization remains open to the north and east.
Page 6 of 19
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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- Mineral Resource Estimate
The updated Measured and Indicated and Inferred Resources for the MacArthur Copper Project are reported in Table 1 as set out below. The changes to the mineral resource are based on the 2021 infill drill and assay program, updated geology shapes, and updated metallurgical review and analyses.
Table 1: Mineral Resource Estimate
Measured + indicated resources
February 25, 2022
| Material Type | Cutoff Grade | Ktons | Average Grade<br>% TCu | Contained Copper<br>(lbs x 1000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leach Cap | 0.06 | 15,610 | 0.12 | 37,482 |
| Oxide | 0.06 | 226,524 | 0.159 | 718,692 |
| Transition | 0.06 | 43,382 | 0.213 | 185,049 |
| Sulphide | 0.06/0.08 | 14,815 | 0.2 | 59,185 |
| Total | 300,331 | 0.167 | 1,000,408 |
Inferred resources
February 25, 2022
| Material Type | Cutoff Grade | Ktons | Average Grade<br>% TCu | Contained Copper<br>(lbs x 1000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leach Cap | 0.06 | 18,579 | 0.085 | 31,486 |
| Oxide | 0.06 | 105,525 | 0.146 | 309,149 |
| Transition | 0.06 | 23,283 | 0.202 | 94,137 |
| Sulphide | 0.06/0.08 | 9,063 | 0.204 | 36,942 |
| Total | 156,450 | 0.151 | 471,714 |
(%) = percent, TCu = total copper, lbs = pounds, Ktons = short tons x 1000
The cutoff grades used for reporting the mineral resources are at or above the internal cutoff grades of between 0.03% and 0.06% TCu for the Leach Cap, Oxide and Transition zones. The sulphide zone internal cutoff grades are 0.06% TCu for the MacArthur and North zones and 0.08% TCu for Gallagher because of a higher acid consumption.
Mr. Herbert E. Welhener, MMSA-QPM, an employee of Independent Mining Consultants, Inc. is the Qualified Person for the Mineral Resource estimate.
The "reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction" shape has been created based on a copper price of US$3.75/lb, employment of heap leach extraction methods, processing costs of US$1.56 or $2.20 per short ton, and mining costs of $1.92/short ton for rock and $1.46/short ton alluvium, a variable copper recovery, and tonnage factor of 12.5 cubic feet per short ton for in situ rock.
Rounding as required by Best Practices established by the CIM reporting guidelines may result in slight apparent differences between tonnes, grade and contained metal content.
Cautionary Note to Investors
While the terms "measured (mineral) resource," "indicated (mineral) resource" and "inferred (mineral) resource" are recognized and required by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, investors are cautioned that except for that portion of mineral resources classified as mineral reserves, mineral resources do not have demonstrated economic viability. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be upgraded into mineral reserves. Additionally, investors are cautioned that inferred mineral resources have a high degree of uncertainty as to their existence, as to whether they can be economically or legally mined or will ever be upgraded to a higher category.
Page 7 of 19
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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- Resource Estimate Methodology
Drill Hole Database
The resource estimate was completed using data from 747 drill holes for a total of 299,045 feet drilled. These holes include 23 holes drilled in 2021; 10 as infill holes and 13 holes drilled for metallurgical samples. The total of core drilling is 64,681 ft in 102 holes and the total rotary drilling is 234,360 ft in 636 holes.
Geologic Model
The MacArthur Project is an oxidized portion of a porphyry copper system that has been subjected to several weathering, oxidization and enrichment cycles. The copper mineralization is hosted in altered and weathered Middle Jurassic granodiorite and quartz monzonite intruded by west-northwesterly-trending, moderate to steeply north-dipping quartz porphyry dike swarms.
The geology of the deposit has been interpreted on forty-one north-south sections and on thirty-three east-west sections. The deposit was interpreted into four mineral type zones and definition completed as three-dimensional digital models.
Both lithology and oxidization states have been incorporated into the block model based upon geologic domains developed from the drill hole geologic logs. The oxidization zones of leach cap, oxide, transition, and sulphide have been incorporated into the block model and are used as boundaries for the estimation of total copper grades using an inverse distance cubed estimation method. Surfaces of the oxidation zones have been used to create domain boundaries and used to code the assay, composite, and block model. The block model has been created to encompass all of the drill holes available, within 25ft x 25ft x 25ft (vertical) blocks. In plan view, the resource block model covers an area of 14,500 ft in the north-south direction and 18,100 ft in the east-west direction. The block model encompasses three copper mineralization deposits: MacArthur, North Area and Gallagher.
The mineral resource is tabulated within a defined open pit shell based on economic inputs developed from the metallurgical test work and engineering completed on the project to date. The pit shell economics are based on the premise that the Project will employ a heap leach, SX-EW recovery process. The shapes created by open pit optimization software used the following parameters:
• Copper price = US$3.75/lb
• Leach Cap - recovery of total copper grade = 60%
• Oxide zone - recovery of total copper grade = 71%
• Transition zone - recovery of total copper grade = 65%
• Sulphide zone - recovery of total copper grade = 40%
Block Model Validation
The model was validated through comparisons of grades, grade distribution and tonnage-grade curves of the ID grades with the distribution of drill hole composited grades.
- Water Rights Sale
On February 24, 2021, the Company announced a purchase and sale agreement to sell certain primary groundwater rights to Desert Pearl Farms LLC ("Desert Pearl"), a Yerington-based company involved in agriculture, for $2,910,000 (the "Purchase and Sale Agreement"). In early March, 2021, the Company filed an application with the State of Nevada Division of Water Resources ("NDWR") to change the manner of use of the water rights from mining to agriculture and their place of use ("Change Application"). Under the terms of the Purchase and Sale Agreement, Desert Pearl made a $1,000,000 initial payment to the Company on March 5, 2021. The Purchase and Sale Agreement is subject to the NDWR's final approval of the Change Application. The primary water rights covered under the Purchase and Sale Agreement are one of the water rights that are the subject of forfeiture, as discussed in the next paragraph.
Page 8 of 19
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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On July 23, 2021, the Company received a notice from the State of Nevada that three water rights permits had been forfeited. Further, that the application for an extension of time to prevent forfeiture of a fourth certificate was denied. The permits affected are components of the Purchase and Sale Agreement announced on February 24, 2021.
On August 20, 2021, the Company filed a Petition for Judicial Review of the Forfeiture Notice and has retained legal counsel to initiate and vigorously undertake the appeal process. Should the appeal be unsuccessful or Desert Pearl elects to terminate the Purchase and Sale Agreement, the Company will be obligated to refund the $1,000,000 initial payment to Desert Pearl (therefore, it has been treated as an accrued liability on the balance sheet) and the $1,910,000 balance of the water rights proceeds would be forfeited.
Proposed Transactions
The Company has no proposed transactions other than as disclosed in this MD&A.
Selected Annual Financial Information
The main annual information for the last three years is as follows:
| As of December 31, | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Financial performance | |||||||||
| Total income | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - | |||
| Net loss for the year | $ | (3,024 | ) | $ | (983 | ) | $ | (1,711 | ) |
| Basic and diluted loss per share | $ | (0.01 | ) | $ | (0.00 | ) | $ | (0.01 | ) |
| Financial position | |||||||||
| Working capital (deficiency) | $ | (522 | ) | $ | 1,128 | $ | 1,320 | ||
| Total assets | $ | 33,129 | $ | 29,620 | $ | 30,697 | |||
| Non-current liabilities | $ | - | $ | 51 | $ | 26 | |||
| Cash dividends declared | $ | - | $ | - | $ | - |
The Company's presentation currency is the U.S. dollar ("$" or "USD"). The functional currency of the Company and its significant subsidiaries is the USD.
In preparing the financial statements, transactions in currencies other than an entity's functional currency ("foreign currencies") are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing at the dates of the transactions. At each balance sheet date, monetary assets and liabilities are translated using the period-end foreign exchange rate. Non-monetary assets and liabilities are translated using the historical rate on the date of the transaction. All gains and losses on translation of these foreign currency transactions are included in the statement of loss.
2021 Fourth Quarter Highlights
a) On October 14, 2021, the Company agreed to settle outstanding debt of $27,000 (CAD$33,302) with Manex Resource Group Inc. ("Manex") a former related party by issuing 403,665 common shares of the Company at a market price of CAD$0.0825 per share. The amount of indebtedness represents an outstanding account for services provided to the Company.
Page 9 of 19
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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b) On October 21, 2021, the Company closed the third and final tranche of its oversubscribed Private Placement. The Company issued 29,832,834 units ("Units") at a price of $0.06 (CAD$0.075) per Unit for gross proceeds of $1,789,970 (CAD$2,237,463). Combined with the first and second tranches, the Company raised an aggregate of $4,128,140 (CAD$5,160,175) in the Private Placement.
Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company and one non-transferable share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant entitles the holder to acquire one additional common share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.10 per share for a period of three years from the date of closing. The Warrants contain a forced exercise provision if the daily volume weighted average trading price of the common shares of the Company on the TSXV is equal to or greater than US$0.30 for a period of ten consecutive trading days.
In connection with the completion of the third tranche of the Private Placement, the Company paid a total of $110,388 and issued an aggregate of 1,839,798 finder's warrants as finder's fees. The finder's warrants are exercisable at a price of $0.10 per share for a period of three years from the date of closing. The securities issued pursuant to the third tranche of the Private Placement were subject to a four-month hold period expiring on February 22, 2022.
c) On October 29, 2021, 150,000 options were exercised for gross proceeds of CAD$14,250.
d) On November 3, 2021, 135,000 options were exercised for gross proceeds of CAD$10,800.
e) On November 3, 2021, the Company announced the appointment of Mr. David Harvey, CPG as Vice President of Exploration for the Company.
f) On November 18, 2021, the Company announced the changing of its name from Quaterra Resources Inc. to Lion Copper and Gold Corp. The shares of the Company commenced trading under the new name at the open of trading on Monday, November 22, 2021. The Company's common shares are listed on the TSXV under the symbol "LEO" and trade on the OTCQB Market under the symbol "LCGMF".
g) On December 6, 2021, the Company appointed Thomas Pressello to the Board of Directors of the Company. Mr. Pressello has been involved in corporate and commercial finance for more than 25 years. He previously worked at one of the largest Canadian banks where he restructured several $100 million plus real estate portfolios, and a Western Canadian real estate merchant bank where he acted as a general partner for several real estate limited partnerships. He is the founder of Active Hedge Capital Inc., a finance advisory firm. He has served as the chief financial officer and president of Pacific Harbour Capital Ltd. and was responsible for the restructuring of the company. Through Active Hedge Capital Inc. Mr. Pressello also assisted with the receivership and sale of a publicly listed alternative fuels business for a TSXV listed Toronto merchant bank. Most recently within Active Hedge Capital Inc. Mr. Pressello has been an active key investor into several investment opportunities focused on the high tech, bio tech and real estate areas. Mr. Pressello is a graduate of the Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario.
Summary of Quarterly Results
The scale and nature of the Company's corporate and administrative activity have remained consistent over the periods presented, except for Q3 and Q4 2021 in which the increase in general and administration expenses is due to the hiring of executives, consultants, and the increase of marketing activity. Quarterly fluctuation in losses, has also been caused by non-cash fair value changes in the derivative liabilities, unrealized gain or loss on the marketable securities, and share-based compensation.
Page 10 of 19
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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The following table sets out the quarterly financial information for each of the last eight quarters:
| (In thousands of U.S. dollars except for per | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| share amount) | Q4'21 | Q3'21 | Q2'21 | Q1'21 | Q4'20 | Q3'20 | Q2'20 | Q1'20 |
| General administration | (771 | (503 | (384 | (275 | (298 | (326 | (216 | (303 |
| Fair value (loss) gain on derivative liabilities | (31 | 84 | (38 | (19 | 11 | (1 | 28 | 52 |
| Foreign exchange gain (loss) | (38 | 31 | 15 | 3 | (2 | 24 | - | (2 |
| Other expenses | (97 | (101 | - | (12 | (51 | (127 | (31 | (16 |
| Loss on settlement of convertible notes | - | - | - | - | - | (26 | - | - |
| Share-based compensation | (172 | (173 | (732 | - | - | (3 | (168 | (4 |
| Gain (loss) on marketable securities | (9 | (70 | 397 | (129 | (87 | 222 | 273 | 68 |
| Net loss | (1,118 | (732 | (742 | (432 | (427 | (237 | (114 | (205 |
| Basic loss per share | (0.00 | (0.00 | (0.00 | (0.00 | (0.00 | (0.00 | (0.00 | (0.00 |
All values are in US Dollars.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
The Company is an exploration stage company that has not earned any production revenue. Its operations have been dependent mainly on proceeds from the sale of water rights and private placements in the last few years without diluting shareholders' value.
As of April 29, 2022, the Company had a cash balance of $487,427.
The Company had cash and cash equivalents of $842,000 on December 31, 2021 (2020 - $701,000) and no outstanding debt. The $141,000 increase was mainly due to the $4,289,000 net cash proceeds combined from private placement, 5,885,000 shares issued for stock options and warrants exercised less operation and investing activities.
During the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company spent $2,078,000 in operating activities (2020 - $1,181,000).
As of December 31, 2021, the Company invested $2,069,000, (2020 - $457,000) in investing activities, including proceeds of $830,494 for the sale of marketable securities.
In 2021, the Company made mineral property option payments and paid all mineral claim fees, focused on the MacArthur pre-feasibility study and Groundhog geophysical survey plus ongoing environmental monitoring at Yerington. The Company paid a combined $696,000 in mineral property options in 2021 (Bear $193,000, Wassuk $305,000, Butte Valley $100,000, and Groundhog $98,000), plus mineral claim fees, to maintain its mineral properties in good standing. In addition, the Company incurred CAD$150,000 of exploration expenditures on the Chaco Bear Property and CAD$50,000 of exploration expenditures on the Ashton Property before the end of 2021 for CAD$200,000.
On February 24, 2021, the Company announced a third water rights sale for expected gross proceeds of $2,910,000, of which $1,000,000 was received on March 5, 2021. Proceeds from the sale were used to advance the MacArthur Project and for general corporate purposes.
On September 13, 2021, the Company closed the first tranche of a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") for gross proceeds of $1,566,000. The Company issued 26,105,833 units (each, a "Unit") of the Company at a price of $0.06 per Unit. In connection with the completion of the first tranche of the Private Placement, the Company paid a total of $23,000 and issued 382,900 finder's warrants as finder's fees. The finder's warrants will be exercisable at $0.10 per share for a period of 3 years from the date of closing.
On September 27, 2021, the Company closed the second tranche of a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of $772,000. The Company issued 12,863,669 Units of the Company at a price of $0.06 per Unit. In connection with the completion of the second tranche of the Private Placement, the Company paid a total of $17,000 and issued 289,240 finder's warrants as finder's fees. The finder's warrants will be exercisable at $0.10 per share for a period of 3 years from the date of closing.
Page 11 of 19
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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On October 14, 2021, the Company agreed to settle outstanding debt of CAD$33,302 with Manex, by issuing 403,665 common shares of the Company at a deemed price of CAD$0.0825 per share. The amount of indebtedness represents an outstanding account for services provided to the Company.
On October 21, 2021, the Company closed the third and final tranche of its oversubscribed Private Placement. The Company issued 29,832,834 Units at a price of $0.06 (CAD$0.075) per Unit for gross proceeds of $1,789,970 (CAD$2,237,463). Combined with the first and second tranches, the Company raised an aggregate of $4,128,140 (CAD$5,160,175) in the Private Placement.
As at December 31, 2021, the Company's working capital deficit was $522,000 (2020-$1,128,000 surplus). The Company continues to incur losses, has limited financial resources and has no current source of revenue or cash flow generated from operating activities. To address its financing requirements, the Company plans to seek financing through, but not limited to, debt financing, equity financing and strategic alliances. However, there is no assurance that such financing will be available. If adequate financing is not available or cannot be obtained on a timely basis, the Company may be required to delay, reduce the scope of or eliminate one or more of its exploration programs or relinquish some or all of its rights under the existing option and acquisition agreements.
Material increases or decreases in the Company's liquidity and capital resources will be determined by the outcome regarding the Petition for Judicial Review of the Forfeiture Notice filed on August 20, 2021 and obtaining equity or other sources of financing.
Please refer to Note 1, Nature of Operations and Going Concern, in the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 for further details.
Related Party Information
The Company's related parties include its directors and officers whose remuneration was as follows, subject to change of control provisions for officers:
| December 31, | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | |
| Salaries | 491 | 391 | 410 |
| Directors' fees | 6 | 35 | 36 |
| Share-based compensation | 504 | 85 | 60 |
| 1,001 | 511 | 506 |
On September 15, 2021, Lei Wang resigned as CFO. On September 13, 2021, the Company announced the appointment of Mr. Stephen Goodman as CFO and a director of the Company and appointed Tony Alford as director of the Company. Stephen Goodman also serves as the President of the Company.
Directors of the Company participated in the first and second tranches of the Company's Private Placement acquiring 1,566,668 Units (see Note 7 (b) of the consolidated financial statements as of December 31,2021).
On October 14, 2021, the Company agreed to settle outstanding debt of $27,000 (CAD$33,000) with Manex Resource Group Inc., a Company controlled, until October 31, 2021, by the Company's former Corporate Secretary, Mr. Lawrence Page by issuing 403,665 common shares of the Company at a market price of CAD$0.0825 per share (see Note 7 (d) to the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2021).
Page 12 of 19
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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On January 26, 2022, the Company entered into a property acquisition agreement to assign its options to acquire the Butte Valley property to BC Co. which is a private British Columbia company established to acquire mineral resource properties. BC Co. was founded by two individuals that are also directors and officers of Lion CG and as such the transaction is a non-arm's length transaction under TSXV rules.
On April 5, 2022, the Company completed the assignment of the two option agreements for the Butte Valley property. Pursuant to the assignment agreement, Lion CG received 16,049,444 common shares of BC Co. Concurrently with the completion of the assignment of the Butte Valley Property, BC Co. closed a private placement for gross proceeds of CAD$3,106,226 through the issuance of 15,531,130 units at a price of CAD$0.20 per unit. In addition, the Company received a payment of CAD$500,000 from BC Co. as a reimbursement of exploration expenditures and related costs incurred by the Company on the Butte Valley Property.
On April 13, 2022, Quaterra Alaska Inc. ("Quaterra Alaska") entered into a NSR buydown agreement for the Butte Valley property with BC Co., pursuant to which BC Co. will pay $500,000 in exchange for a buy-down of the royalties to 0.5%. Closing of the transaction will be subject to the third party enter into an exploration and earn-in agreement with a certain exploration company. If the closing of the transaction does not occur by July 20, 2022, the NSR buydown agreement will be null and void.
As per their agreements with the Company, the CEO and President/ CFO were each granted 4 million Restricted Stock Units ("RSUs") on October 21, 2021, which were granted subject to vesting in three equal installments over three years. The grant of RSUs are subject to shareholder approval and further subject to Exchange approval of the RSU Plan and the aforementioned grant thereunder. Pursuant to Exchange policies, RSUs granted prior to shareholder approval of the RSU Plan must be specifically approved by a vote of shareholders excluding the votes of the holders of the Restricted Share Units. As a result of these pending approvals, the RSUs cannot commence vesting any earlier than on date of receipt of the same.
Outstanding Share Information at Date of Report
Authorized: Unlimited number of common shares
Number of common shares issued and outstanding as of April 29, 2022: 304,106,611.
Stock options as of April 29, 2022, are:
| Number of | Remaining | Number of | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exercise Price | Options | contractual life in | Options | |
| Expiry Date | (CAD) | Outstanding | years | Exercisable |
| June 23, 2022 | 0.10 | 1,695,000 | 0.15 | 1,695,000 |
| September 20, 2023 | 0.06 | 1,470,000 | 1.39 | 1,470,000 |
| June 21, 2024 | 0.07 | 1,900,000 | 2.15 | 1,900,000 |
| August 8, 2024 | 0.06 | 500,000 | 2.28 | 500,000 |
| June 20, 2025 | 0.08 | 2,450,000 | 3.15 | 2,450,000 |
| June 18, 2026 | 0.25 | 3,950,000 | 4.14 | 2,962,500 |
| September 17, 2026 | 0.11 | 4,500,000 | 4.39 | 3,375,000 |
| October 21, 2026 | 0.09 | 2,700,000 | 4.48 | 1,350,000 |
| December 12, 2026 | 0.12 | 750,000 | 4.62 | 375,000 |
| Outstanding April 29, 2022 | 19,915,000 | 16,077,500 |
Page 13 of 19
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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Share purchase warrants outstanding as of April 29, 2022, are:
| Remaining | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| contractual life in | ||||
| Expiry date | Currency | Exercise price | Granted | years |
| August 28, 2022 | $ | 0.05 | 11,000,000 | 0.33 |
| September 20, 2022 | CAD | 0.07 | 769,230 | 0.39 |
| September 13, 2024 | $ | 0.10 | 26,488,733 | 2.38 |
| September 27, 2024 | $ | 0.10 | 13,152,909 | 2.42 |
| October 21, 2024 | $ | 0.10 | 31,672,632 | 2.48 |
| Outstanding April 29, 2022 | 83,083,504 |
Risks and Uncertainties
The Company is subject to many risks and uncertainties, each of which could have an adverse effect on the results, business prospects or financial position.
For a comprehensive list of the risks and uncertainties applicable to the Company, please refer to the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's most recent Form 20-F, available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.
Subsequent Events
a) On January 26, 2022, the Company entered into an option agreement with Houston Minerals Ltd. to replace the LOI dated August 25, 2021 (See Note 5 (f)). Pursuant to the terms of the option agreement, the Company may acquire a 100% interest in the Chaco Bear Property located directly east of the Golden Triangle of British Columbia, and the Ashton Property located near Lytton, British Columbia, subject to a 2.5% net smelter returns royalty.
The consideration terms under the terms of the option agreement are unchanged from the LOI except that the term of the option has changed from a four year period to a ten year period and annual advance royalty payments in the amounts of CAD$250 on the Chaco Bear Property and CAD$150 on the Ashton Property are to be paid starting on the fifth year from closing through to the ninth year from closing instead of only in the fourth and fifth years from the closing. All other consideration terms remain unchanged.
In addition, commencing on January 31, 2022, and on January 31 of each year thereafter during the Option Period, Lion CG shall pay the following option maintenance fees to Houston: (a) CAD$60,000 in respect of the Chaco Bear Property; and (b) CAD$40,000 in respect of the Ashton Property.
On March 16, 2022, Lion CG has funded an initial work program of $200,000 on the Properties in consideration for the grant of the Option. The Company may exercise the Option for a period of up to ten years to acquire (i) the Chaco Bear property by paying CAD$1,500,000 to Houston, in cash or in common shares of the Company at the Company's option; and/or (ii) the Ashton Property by paying CAD$1,000,000 to Houston in cash or in common shares of the Company at the Company's option, and in either case common shares will be valued using the volume weighted average trading price of the Company's common shares for the twenty trading day period ending three trading days prior to the date of issuance of such Lion CG shares, with such cash payments being subject to a discount of between 5% and 15% based on the timing of exercise and cumulative exploration expenditures incurred as at the time of exercise. Houston will retain a 2.5% net smelter returns royalty on any of the Properties for which an Option has been exercised by the Company.
In 2019, the Company secured two separate option agreements to acquire 678 unpatented mining claims covering most of the known mineralization at the Butte Valley Property. On January 26, 2022, Quaterra Alaska entered into an agreement to assign its options to acquire the Butte Valley Property to a private company, BC Co.
Page 14 of 19
| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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Pursuant to the agreement, Lion CG's 100% owned subsidiary Quaterra Alaska was granted an equity position in BC Co. In addition, Quaterra Alaska, Inc. will maintain a 1.5% NSR on each of the Butte Valley optioned properties, which is subject to a buy-down to a 1.0% NSR in exchange for a payment of $7,500,000 per property.
On April 5, 2022, the Company completed the assignment of the two option agreements for the Butte Valley Property. The Company received a payment of $500,000 from BC Co. as a reimbursement of exploration expenditures and related costs incurred by the Company on the Butte Valley Property.
c) On February 14, 2022, as a part of the Blue Copper Prospect transaction, the Company issued 1,500,000 common shares as part of the closing of the transaction.
d) On March 18, 2022, the Company entered into an Option to Earn-in Agreement with Rio Tinto America Inc. ("Rio Tinto") to advance studies and exploration at Lion CG's copper assets in Mason Valley, Nevada.
Under the agreement, Rio Tinto has the option to earn a 65% interest in the assets, comprising 34,494 acres of land, including the historic Yerington Mine Property, greenfield MacArthur Project, Wassuk property, the Bear deposit, and associated water rights (the "Mining Assets"). In addition, Rio Tinto will evaluate the potential commercial deployment of its Nuton™ technologies at the site. Nuton™ offers copper heap leaching technologies developed by Rio Tinto to deliver greater copper recovery from mined ore and access new sources of copper such as low-grade sulphide resources and reprocessing of stockpiles and mineralised waste. The technologies have the potential to deliver leading environmental performance through more efficient water usage, lower carbon emission, and the ability to reclaim mine sites by reprocessing waste.
The stages of the Agreement are set out below.
Stage 1
Rio Tinto will pay up to four million U.S. dollars ($4,000,000) for an exclusive earn-in option and agreed-upon Mason Valley study and evaluation works to be completed by Lion CG no later than December 31, 2022.
Stage 2
Within forty-five (45) days of the completion of Stage 1, Rio Tinto will provide notice to Lion CG whether Rio Tinto elects to proceed with Stage 2, upon which Rio Tinto will pay up to five million U.S. dollars ($5,000,000) for agreed-upon Mason Valley study and evaluation works to be completed by Lion CG within 12 months from the date that the parties agree upon the scope of Stage 2 work.
Stages 1 and 2 may be accelerated at Rio Tinto's option.
Stage 3 - Feasibility Study
Within sixty (60) days of the completion of Stage 2, Rio Tinto shall provide notice to Lion CG whether Rio Tinto will exercise its Option and fund a Feasibility Study based on the results of the Stage 1 and Stage 2 work programs. Rio Tinto will fully-fund the Feasibility Study and ancillary work completed by Lion CG in amount not to exceed fifty million U.S. dollars ($50,000,000).
Investment Decision
Upon completion of the Feasibility Study, Rio Tinto and Lion CG will decide whether to create an investment vehicle into which the Mining Assets will be transferred, with Rio Tinto holding not less than a 65% interest in the investment vehicle.
• If Rio Tinto elects to not to create the investment vehicle, then Lion CG shall grant to Rio Tinto a 1.5% NSR on the Mining Assets.
• If Rio Tinto elects to create the investment vehicle but Lion CG elects not to create the investment vehicle, then, at Rio Tinto's option, Lion CG shall create the investment vehicle and Rio Tinto will purchase Lion CG's interest in the investment vehicle for fair market value.
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| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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Project Financing
• Following the formation of the investment vehicle, any project financing costs incurred will be funded by Rio Tinto and Lion CG in proportion to their respective ownership interest in the investment vehicle.
• Rio Tinto may elect to fund up to sixty million U.S. dollars ($60,000,000) of Lion CG's project financing costs in exchange for a 10% increase in Rio Tinto's ownership percentage. In addition, upon mutual agreement of Rio Tinto and Lion CG, Rio Tinto may fund an additional forty million U.S. dollars ($40,000,000) of Lion CG's project financing costs in exchange for an additional 5% increase in Rio Tinto's ownership percentage.
• If Lions ownership percentage in the investment vehicle is diluted to 10% or less, then Lion CG's ownership interest will be converted into a 1% uncapped NSR.
e) On March 7, 2022 the Company appointed Mr. Steven Dischler, P.E., as Vice President, ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) for the Company.
f) On March 30, 2022, Six Mile Mining Company, a 100% wholly owned subsidiary of the Company was dissolved and its assets were transferred to Quaterra Alaska.
g) On April 13, 2022, Quaterra Alaska entered into a NSR buydown agreement for the Butte Valley property with BC Co., pursuant to which BC Co. will pay $500,000 in exchange for a buy-down of the royalties to 0.5%. Closing of the transaction will be subject to the third party enter into an exploration and earn-in agreement with certain exploration Company. If the closing of the transaction does not occur by July 20, 2022, the NSR buydown agreement will be null and void.
h) On April 21, 2022, the Company agreed to settle outstanding debt of $63,000 (CAD$80,000) with an arm's length creditor by issuing 800,000 common shares of the Company at a market price of CAD$0.10 per share. The amount of indebtedness represents an outstanding account for services provided to the Company. The shares are subject to a four month hold period pursuant to TSXV policies. TSXV approval was granted on April 25, 2022 and the transaction was closed.
Off - Balance Sheet Arrangements
The Company has not entered any off-balance sheet arrangements.
Critical Accounting Judgements and Key Sources of Estimation Uncertainty
In the application of the Company's accounting policies, which are described in Note 3 of the audited annual financial statements of the Company for the years ended December 31, 2021, and 2020, management is required to make judgments, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount and classification of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognized in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revisions affect only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods, if the revision affects both current and future periods.
The critical judgments that the Company's management has made in the process of applying the Company's accounting policies, apart from those involving estimations, which have the most significant effect on the amounts recognized in the Company's consolidated financial statements are related to the economic recoverability of the mineral properties, liquidity risk and the assumption of no material restoration, rehabilitation and environmental exposure.
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| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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Critical Accounting Estimates
Deferred income taxes
Judgment is required in determining whether deferred tax assets are recognized on the statement of financial position. Deferred tax assets, including those arising from unutilized tax losses require management to assess the likelihood that the Company and/or its subsidiaries will generate taxable earnings in future periods, to utilize recognized deferred tax assets. Estimates of future taxable income are based on forecast cash flows from operations and the application of existing tax laws in each jurisdiction. To the extent that future cash flows and taxable income differ significantly from estimates, the ability of the Company and/or its subsidiaries to realize the net deferred tax assets recorded at the statement of financial position date could be impacted. Additionally, future changes in tax laws in the jurisdictions in which the Company and its subsidiaries operate could limit the ability of the Company to obtain tax deductions in future periods.
Impairment of assets
The Company's assets are reviewed for the indication of impairment at each reporting date in accordance with IFRS 6 - Exploration for and evaluation of mineral resources. If any such indication exists, an estimate of the recoverable amount of the asset is undertaken, being the higher of an asset's fair value, less costs of disposal and its value in use. If the asset's carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount, an impairment loss is recognized in the statement of loss.
Impairment indicators are considered to exist if (i) the right to explore the area has expired or will expire in the near future with no expectation of renewal; (ii) Substantive expenditure on further exploration for and evaluation of mineral resources in the area is neither planned nor budgeted; (iii) No commercially viable deposits have been discovered, and the decision had been made to discontinue exploration in the area; and (iv) Sufficient work has been performed to indicate that the carrying amount of the expenditure carried as an asset will not be fully recovered.
An impairment loss is reversed if there is an indication that there has been a change in the estimates used to determine the recoverable amount. An impairment loss is reversed only to the extent that this does not exceed the original carrying amount that if no impairment loss had been recognized.
The carrying amounts of mineral properties and plant and equipment, and advances for assets under construction are reviewed for impairment if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value may not be recoverable. If there are indicators of impairment, an exercise is undertaken to determine whether the carrying values are more than their recoverable amount. Such review is undertaken on an asset-by-asset basis, except where such assets do not generate cash flows independent of other assets, and then the review is undertaken at the cash generating unit ("CGU") level.
The Company considers both external and internal source of information in assessing whether there are any indications that mineral interests are impaired. For external sources of information, the Company considers changes in the market, economic and legal environment in which the Company operate that are not within its control and affect the recoverable amount of mining interests. For internal sources of information, the Company considers the manner in which mining properties are being used or are expected to be used and indications of economic performance of the assets.
The assessment requires the use of estimates and assumptions such as, but not limited to, long-term commodity prices, foreign exchange rates, discount rates, future capital requirements, resource estimates, exploration potential and operating performance as well as the CGU definition. It is possible that the actual fair value could be significantly different from those assumptions, and changes in these assumptions will affect the recoverable amount of the mining interests. In the absence of any mitigating valuation factors, adverse changes in valuation assumptions or declines in the fair values of the Company's CGUs or other assets may, over time, result in impairment charges causing the Company to record material losses.
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| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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Share based payments
Management assesses the fair value of stock options granted in accordance with the accounting policy stated in Note 3 (e) of the audited annual financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2021, and 2020. The fair value of stock options granted is measured using the Black-Scholes option valuation model and is only an estimate of their fair value and requires the use of estimates and assumptions.
Financial Instruments
Financial instruments are recognized in the statement of financial position when the Company becomes a party to a contractual obligation. At initial recognition, the Company classifies and measures its financial instruments as one of the following:
- at amortized cost, if they are held to collect contractual cash flows which solely represent payments of principal and interest;
- at fair value, through other comprehensive income ("FVOCI") if they are held to both collect contractual cash flows and to sell where those cash flows represent payments of principal and interest solely;
- otherwise, they are classified at fair value through profit or loss ("FVPL").
Financial assets are classified and measured at fair value with subsequent changes in fair value recognized in either profit and loss as they arise unless restrictive criteria are met for classifying and measuring the asset at either amortized cost or FVOCI. Financial liabilities are measured at amortized costs unless they are elected to be or required to be measured at fair value through profit and loss.
Financial assets are derecognized when the rights to receive cash flows from the assets have expired or have been transferred, and the Company has transferred all risks and rewards of ownership. Financial liabilities are derecognized when the obligations specified in the contract are discharged, cancelled, or expire.
The Company's accounts payable approximate fair value due to their short-term nature. The marketable securities are a Level 1 fair value measurement; the derivative warrants are a Level 2 fair value measurement.
The convertible note is classified as a liability at amortized cost, with the conversion feature classified as a derivative liability. The debt liability was initially recorded at fair value and is subsequently measured at amortized cost using the effective interest rate method and will be accreted to the face value over the term of the convertible debenture.
Financial instruments recorded at fair value on the consolidated statements of financial position are classified using a fair value hierarchy that reflects the significance of the inputs used in making the measurements. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are:
- Level 1 - Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities;
- Level 2 - Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability either directly or indirectly; and
- Level 3 - Inputs that are not based on observable market data.
The Company's financial instruments are exposed to certain financial risks including, credit risk, liquidity risk, foreign currency risks, interest rate risk, commodity and equity price risk and capital risk management. Details of each risk are laid out in the notes to the Company's consolidated financial statements.
Changes in Accounting Policies and Accounting Standards Issued but Not Yet Effective
Changes in Accounting Policies
The Company has not made changes to its accounting policies.
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| Lion Copper and Gold Corp. Management's Discussion and Analysis For the year ended December 31, 2021 |
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Accounting Standards Issued but Not Yet Effective
IAS 12 Income Taxes
On May 7, 2021, IASB issued amendments to IAS 12 which require companies to recognize deferred tax on transactions that, on initial recognition, give rise to equal amounts of taxable and deductible temporary differences. The amendments are effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023. The impacts of the above amendments to IAS 12 on the Company's consolidated financial statements have not yet been evaluated.
Disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting
Disclosure controls and procedures are intended to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time periods specified by securities regulations and that the information required to be disclosed is accumulated and communicated to management. Internal controls over financial reporting are intended to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with IFRS. In connection with National Instrument 52-109 (Certificate of Disclosure in Issuer's Annual and Interim Filings) ("NI 52-109"), the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the Company have filed a Venture Issuer Basic Certificate with respect to the financial information contained in the consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, and this accompanying MD&A (together, the "Annual Filings").
In contrast to the full certificate under NI 52-109, the Venture Issuer Basic Certificate does not include representations relating to the establishment and maintenance of disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting, as defined in NI 52-109. For further information, the reader should refer to the Venture Issuer Basic Certificates filed by the Company on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Page 19 of 19
Lion Copper and Gold Corp.: Exhibit 99.3 - Filed by newsfilecorp.com
Form 52-109FV1
Certification of annual filings - venture issuer basic certificate
I, Travis Naugle, Chief Executive Officer of Lion Copper and Gold Corp., certify the following:
Review: I have reviewed the AIF, if any, annual financial statements and annual MD&A, including, for greater certainty, all documents and information that are incorporated by reference in the AIF (together, the "annual filings") of Lion Copper and Gold Corp. (the "issuer") for the financial year ended December 31, 2021.
No misrepresentations: Based on my knowledge, having exercised reasonable diligence, the annual filings do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated or that is necessary to make a statement not misleading in light of the circumstances under which it was made, for the period covered by the annual filings.
Fair presentation: Based on my knowledge, having exercised reasonable diligence, the annual financial statements together with the other financial information included in the annual filings fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, financial performance and cash flows of the issuer, as of the date of and for the periods presented in the annual filings.
Date: April 29, 2022
Lion Copper and Gold Corp.
"Travis Naugle"
__________________________
Travis Naugle
Chief Executive Officer
NOTE TO READER
In contrast to the certificate required for non-venture issuers under National Instrument 52-109 Certification of Disclosure in Issuers' Annual and Interim Filings (NI 52-109), this Venture Issuer Basic Certificate does not include representations relating to the establishment and maintenance of disclosure controls and procedures (DC&P) and internal control over financial reporting (ICFR), as defined in NI 52-109. In particular, the certifying officers filing this certificate are not making any representations relating to the establishment and maintenance of
i) controls and other procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the issuer in its annual filings, interim filings or other reports filed or submitted under securities legislation is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in securities legislation; and
ii) a process to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with the issuer's GAAP.
The issuer's certifying officers are responsible for ensuring that processes are in place to provide them with sufficient knowledge to support the representations they are making in this certificate. Investors should be aware that inherent limitations on the ability of certifying officers of a venture issuer to design and implement on a cost effective basis DC&P and ICFR as defined in NI 52- 109 may result in additional risks to the quality, reliability, transparency and timeliness of interim and annual filings and other reports provided under securities legislation.
Lion Copper and Gold Corp.: Exhibit 99.4 - Filed by newsfilecorp.com
Form 52-109FV1
Certification of annual filings - venture issuer basic certificate
I, Stephen Goodman, Chief Financial Officer of Lion Copper and Gold Corp., certify the following:
Review: I have reviewed the AIF, if any, annual financial statements and annual MD&A, including, for greater certainty, all documents and information that are incorporated by reference in the AIF (together, the "annual filings") of Lion Copper and Gold Corp. (the "issuer") for the financial year ended December 31, 2021.
No misrepresentations: Based on my knowledge, having exercised reasonable diligence, the annual filings do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated or that is necessary to make a statement not misleading in light of the circumstances under which it was made, for the period covered by the annual filings.
Fair presentation: Based on my knowledge, having exercised reasonable diligence, the annual financial statements together with the other financial information included in the annual filings fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, financial performance and cash flows of the issuer, as of the date of and for the periods presented in the annual filings.
Date: April 29, 2022
Lion Copper and Gold Corp.
"Stephen Goodman"
__________________________
Stephen Goodman Chief Financial Officer
NOTE TO READER
In contrast to the certificate required for non-venture issuers under National Instrument 52-109 Certification of Disclosure in Issuers' Annual and Interim Filings (NI 52-109), this Venture Issuer Basic Certificate does not include representations relating to the establishment and maintenance of disclosure controls and procedures (DC&P) and internal control over financial reporting (ICFR), as defined in NI 52-109. In particular, the certifying officers filing this certificate are not making any representations relating to the establishment and maintenance of
i) controls and other procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance that information required to be disclosed by the issuer in its annual filings, interim filings or other reports filed or submitted under securities legislation is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in securities legislation; and
ii) a process to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with the issuer's GAAP.
The issuer's certifying officers are responsible for ensuring that processes are in place to provide them with sufficient knowledge to support the representations they are making in this certificate. Investors should be aware that inherent limitations on the ability of certifying officers of a venture issuer to design and implement on a cost effective basis DC&P and ICFR as defined in NI 52- 109 may result in additional risks to the quality, reliability, transparency and timeliness of interim and annual filings and other reports provided under securities legislation.
<br><br> <br>Chartered Professional Accountants