Unassociated Document
As
filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 4,
2009.
Registration No. 333-162319
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UNITED
STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE
COMMISSION
Washington, D.C.
20549
AMENDMENT
NO. 1
TO
FORM
S-3
REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE
SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
APOLLO GOLD
CORPORATION
(Exact
name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Yukon
Territory, Canada
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Not
Applicable
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(State
or other jurisdiction of
incorporation
or organization)
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(I.R.S.
Employer Identification No.)
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5655 South Yosemite Street,
Suite 200
Greenwood Village, Colorado
80111
(720) 886-9656
(Address, including zip code, and
telephone number,
including
area code, of principal executive offices)
R. David Russell
President and Chief Executive
Officer
5655 South Yosemite Street,
Suite 200
Greenwood Village, Colorado
80111
(720) 886-9656
(Name, address, including zip code,
and
telephone
number, including area code, of agent for service)
With a Copy to
Patricia
Peterson
Davis Graham & Stubbs
LLP
1550 Seventeenth Street,
Suite 500
Denver, Colorado
80202
(303) 892-9400
Approximate date of commencement of
proposed sale to the public: From time to time after this registration
statement becomes effective.
If the
only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to
dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following
box. ¨
If any of
the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or
continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933,
other than securities offered only in connection with dividend or interest
reinvestment plans, check the following box. þ
If this
Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to
Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and
list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective
registration statement for the same offering. ¨
If this
Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the
Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration
statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same
offering. ¨
If this
Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.D. or a
post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with
the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the
following box. ¨
If this
Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to
General Instruction I.D. filed to register additional securities or additional
classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check
the following box. ¨
Indicate
by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an
accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting
company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,”
“accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the
Exchange Act.
Large
Accelerated Filer £
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Accelerated
Filer £
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Non-Accelerated
Filer £ (do not
check if a smaller reporting company)
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Smaller
Reporting Company R
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The
registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as
may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a
further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement
shall thereafter become effective in accordance with section 8(a) of the
Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become
effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said section 8(a),
may determine.
The
information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. The selling
shareholder may not sell these securities pursuant to this prospectus until the
registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission becomes
effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and Apollo
Gold Corporation is not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any state
where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject
to Completion, dated November 4, 2009
PROSPECTUS
APOLLO GOLD
CORPORATION
27,677,692
Common Shares
The
selling shareholders identified on page 24 may use this prospectus to offer
and resell from time to time up to 27,677,692 common shares of Apollo Gold
Corporation (together with its subsidiaries, “we,” “us” or “our
company”). The 27,677,692 common shares offered hereby are comprised
of (i) 12,221,640 common shares issued to purchasers within and outside the
United States and 13,889,390 common shares issued to Canadian purchasers on a
“flow through” basis pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada), in
each case, in a private placement competed on July 15, 2009 and (ii) 1,566,662
common shares issuable upon exercise of compensation options issued to Haywood
Securities Inc., which we sometimes refer to as Haywood in this prospectus, and
Blackmont Capital Inc. as consideration for placement services provided to us in
connection with the July 15, 2009 private placement. For more
information regarding the foregoing, see “The Company – Recent Events and Other
Matters” on page 6 of this prospectus.
Our
common shares are traded on the NYSE Amex exchange under the symbol “AGT” and on
the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol “APG.” On November 3,
2009, the closing price for our common shares on the NYSE Amex exchange was
$0.50 per share and the closing price on the Toronto Stock Exchange was
Cdn.$0.54 per share.
We will
not receive any proceeds from the sale of the shares resold under this
prospectus by the selling shareholders. The issuances of the common
shares and compensation options described above were made in private placements
in reliance upon exemptions from registration contained in Regulation S and
Regulation D of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
The
selling shareholders may sell the shares in transactions on the NYSE Amex
exchange or the Toronto Stock Exchange and by any other method permitted by
applicable law. The selling shareholders may sell the shares at
prevailing market prices or at prices negotiated with purchasers and will be
responsible for any commissions or discounts due to brokers or
dealers. The amount of these commissions or discounts cannot be known
at this time because they will be negotiated at the time of the
sales. See “Plan of Distribution” beginning on
page 27.
References
in this prospectus to “$” are to United States dollars. Canadian
dollars are indicated by the symbol “Cdn.$”.
The common shares offered in this
prospectus involve a high degree of risk. You should carefully consider the
matters set forth in “Risk Factors” beginning on page 11 of this prospectus
in determining whether to purchase our common shares.
Neither the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or
disapproved our common shares, or determined if this prospectus is truthful or
complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal
offense.
The date
of this prospectus is __________, 2009.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
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Page
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WHERE
YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
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1
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CURRENCY
AND EXCHANGE RATE INFORMATION
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1
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NON-GAAP
FINANCIAL MEASURES
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1
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INCORPORATION
OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
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2
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STATEMENTS
REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
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2
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THE
COMPANY
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4
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RECENT
EVENTS AND OTHER MATTERS
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7
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RISK
FACTORS
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11
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USE
OF PROCEEDS
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22
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DESCRIPTION
OF COMMON SHARES
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22
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SELLING
SHAREHOLDERS
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23
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PLAN
OF DISTRIBUTION
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27
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TAX
CONSIDERATIONS
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28
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LEGAL
MATTERS
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33
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EXPERTS
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33
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DISCLOSURE
OF COMMISSION POSITION ON INDEMNIFICATION FOR SECURITIES
ACT LIABILITY
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33
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You
should rely only on information contained or incorporated by reference in this
prospectus. See “Incorporation of Certain Documents by Reference” on
page 2 of this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide
you with information different from that contained or incorporated in this
prospectus. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent
information, you should not rely on it. Information on any of the
websites maintained by us does not constitute a part of this
prospectus.
You
should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus or any documents
incorporated by reference in this prospectus is accurate only as of their
respective dates. Our business, financial condition, results of
operations and prospects may have changed since those dates.
WHERE
YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION
We are
subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended (which we sometimes refer to in this prospectus as the Exchange Act),
and file annual, quarterly and periodic reports, proxy statements and other
information with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, which we
sometimes refer to in this prospectus as the SEC. The SEC maintains a
web site (http://www.sec.gov) on which our reports, proxy statements and other
information are made available. Such reports, proxy statements and
other information may also be inspected and copied at the public reference
facilities maintained by the SEC at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C.
20549. Please call the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330 for further information
on the operation of the public reference facilities.
We have
filed with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-3, under the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended (which we sometimes refer to in this
prospectus as the Securities Act), with respect to the securities offered by
this prospectus. This prospectus, which constitutes part of the
Registration Statement, does not contain all of the information set forth in the
Registration Statement, certain parts of which have been omitted in accordance
with the rules and regulations of the SEC. Reference is hereby made
to the Registration Statement and the exhibits to the Registration Statement for
further information with respect to the securities and us.
CURRENCY
AND EXCHANGE RATE INFORMATION
We report
in United States dollars. Accordingly, all references to “$,” “U.S.$” or
“dollars” in this prospectus refer to United States dollars unless otherwise
indicated. References to “Cdn.$” or “Canadian dollars” are used to indicate
Canadian dollar values.
The noon
rate of exchange on November 3, 2009 as reported by the Bank of Canada for the
conversion of Canadian dollars into United States dollars was Cdn.$1.00 equals
$0.9342 and the conversion of United States dollars was $1.00 equals
Cdn.$1.0704.
NON-GAAP
FINANCIAL MEASURES
In this
prospectus or in the documents incorporated herein by reference, we use the
terms “cash operating costs,” “total cash costs,” and “total production costs,”
each of which are considered non-GAAP financial measures as defined in the SEC
Regulation S-K Item 10 and should not be considered in isolation or as a
substitute for measures of performance prepared in accordance with U.S.
generally accepted accounting principles or U.S. GAAP. These terms are used by
management to assess performance of individual operations and to compare our
performance to other gold producers.
The term
“cash operating costs” is used on a per ounce of gold basis. Cash operating
costs per ounce is equivalent to direct operating cost as found on the
Consolidated Statements of Operations, less production royalty expenses and
mining taxes but includes by-product credits for payable silver, lead and
zinc.
The term
“total cash costs” is equivalent to cash operating costs plus production
royalties and mining taxes.
The term
“total production costs” is equivalent to total cash costs plus non-cash costs
including depreciation and amortization.
These
measures are not necessarily indicative of operating profit or cash flow from
operations as determined under generally accepted accounting principles in
Canada and the United States and may not be comparable to similarly titled
measures of other companies. See Item 7, Management’s Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our Annual Report
on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2008 and Item 2,
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of
Operations in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30,
2009 for a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to our Statements of
Operations.
INCORPORATION
OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE
The SEC
allows us to “incorporate by reference” our publicly filed reports into this
prospectus, which means that information included in those reports is considered
part of this prospectus. We incorporate by reference the documents
listed below and any future filings made with the SEC under Sections 13(a),
13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, other than information in a report on
Form 8-K furnished pursuant to Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K and exhibits
filed in connection with such information, until all of the securities offered
pursuant to this prospectus have been sold:
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1.
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Our
Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008,
filed with the SEC on March 27,
2009;
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2.
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Our
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, 2009 and
June 30, 2009, filed with the SEC on May 15, 2009 and August 14,
2009, respectively;
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3.
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Our
Current Reports on Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on January 5, 2009,
February 13, 2009, February 19, 2009, February 24, 2009, February 25,
2009, March 25, 2009, June 4, 2009, June 26, 2009, July 20, 2009, July 30,
2009, September 15, 2009 (Items 1.01, 8.01 and 9.01 only), October 2, 2009
and October 23, 2009; and
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4.
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The
description of our capital stock set forth in our Registration Statement
on Form 10, filed June 23,
2003.
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In
addition, all reports and documents filed by us pursuant to the Exchange Act,
other than information in a Current Report on Form 8-K furnished pursuant to
Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K and exhibits filed in connection with such
information, after the date of this registration statement and prior to
effectiveness of this registration statement shall be deemed to be incorporated
by reference into this prospectus.
Any
statement contained in a document incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by
reference in this prospectus shall be deemed modified, superseded or replaced,
as applicable, for purposes of this prospectus to the extent that a statement
contained in this prospectus, or in any subsequently filed document that also is
deemed to be incorporated by reference in this prospectus, modifies, supersedes
or replaces such statement. Any statement so modified, superseded or
replaced shall not be deemed, except as so modified, superseded or replaced, to
constitute a part of this prospectus. Subject to the foregoing, all
information appearing in this prospectus is qualified in its entirety by the
information appearing in the documents incorporated by reference.
Statements
contained in this prospectus as to the contents of any contract or other
document are not necessarily complete, and in each instance we refer you to the
copy of the contract or document filed as an exhibit to the registration
statement or the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, each
such statement being qualified in all respects by such reference.
We will
furnish without charge to you, on written or oral request, a copy of any or all
of the above documents, other than exhibits to such documents that are not
specifically incorporated by reference therein. You should direct any
requests for documents to the Chief Financial Officer, Apollo Gold Corporation,
5655 S. Yosemite Street, Suite 200, Greenwood Village, Colorado
80111-3220, telephone (720) 886-9656.
STATEMENTS
REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
This
prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus
contain forward-looking statements, as defined in the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995, with respect to our financial condition, results
of operations, business prospects, plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future
events, capital expenditures, and exploration and development
efforts. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of
words such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,”
“estimates,” “predicts,” “intends,” “continue,” or the negative of such terms,
or other comparable terminology. These statements include comments
regarding:
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plans
for the further development of the Black Fox mine and mill including,
without limitation, the timing of the development of the underground mine
at Black Fox;
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estimates
of future production at Black Fox;
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our
ability to resolve the review event with the project finance banks in a
satisfactory manner or at all;
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our
ability to reschedule quarterly principal payments under the Black Fox
project finance facility;
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our
ability to meet our repayment obligations under the Black Fox project
facility;
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the
timing and completion of the technical review of the Black Fox project and
the project completion test under the project finance
facility;
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plans
for and our ability to finance exploration at our Huizopa, Pike River and
Grey Fox properties;
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our
ability to repay the convertible debentures issued to RAB Special
Situations (Master) Fund Limited due February 23,
2010;
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the
future effect of recent issuances and registration for immediate resale of
a significant number of common share purchase warrants on our share
price;
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our
ability to negotiate definitive agreements with respect to the sale of
Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc. and successfully reach a closing with respect
thereto;
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future
financing of projects, including the financing required for the M Pit
expansion at Montana Tunnels;
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costs
associated with placing the Montana Tunnels mine and mill on care and
maintenance and the decision to undertake the M Pit
expansion;
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liquidity
to support operations and debt
repayment;
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the
establishment and estimates of mineral reserves and
resources;
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daily
production, mineral recovery rates and mill throughput
rates;
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total
production costs;
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grade
of ore mined and milled from Black Fox and cash flows
therefrom;
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anticipated
expenditures for development, exploration, and corporate
overhead;
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timing
and issue of permits, including permits necessary to conduct phase II of
open pit mining at Black Fox;
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expansion
plans for existing properties;
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estimates
of closure costs;
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estimates
of environmental liabilities;
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our
ability to obtain financing to fund our estimated expenditure and capital
requirements;
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factors
impacting our results of operations;
and
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the
impact of adoption of new accounting
standards.
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Although
we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations reflected in these
forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot be certain that these
plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved. Actual results,
performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated,
expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained or incorporated
by reference in this prospectus. Disclosure of important factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from our plans, intentions or
expectations are included under the heading “Risk Factors” in this prospectus
and our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2008.
Forward-looking
statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual
results to differ materially from the forward-looking
statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such
differences include, but are not limited to:
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changes
in business and economic conditions, including the recent significant
deterioration in global financial and capital markets; |
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significant
increases or decreases in gold and zinc
prices;
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changes
in interest and currency exchange rates including the LIBOR
rate;
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changes
in availability and cost of
financing;
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timing
and amount of production;
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unanticipated
ore grade changes;
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unanticipated
recovery or production problems;
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changes
in operating costs;
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operational
problems at our mining properties;
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metallurgy,
processing, access, availability of materials, equipment, supplies and
water;
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determination
of reserves;
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costs
and timing of development of new
reserves;
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results
of current and future exploration and development
activities;
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results
of future feasibility studies;
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joint
venture relationships;
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political
or economic instability, either globally or in the countries in which we
operate;
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local
and community impacts and issues;
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timing
of receipt of government approvals;
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accidents
and labor disputes;
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environmental
costs and risks;
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competitive
factors, including competition for property
acquisitions;
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availability
of external financing at reasonable rates or at all;
and
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other
risks and uncertainties set forth below under the caption “Risk Factors”
in this prospectus and in our periodic report filings with the
SEC.
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Many of
these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. These
factors are not intended to represent a complete list of the general or specific
factors that may affect us. We may note additional factors elsewhere
in this prospectus and in any documents incorporated by reference into this
prospectus. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date
made. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to
us, or persons acting on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety
by the cautionary statements. Except as required by law, we undertake no
obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
THE
COMPANY
Overview
Our
earliest predecessor was incorporated under the laws of the Province of Ontario
in 1936. In May 2003, we reincorporated under the laws of the Yukon
Territory. We maintain our registered office at 204 Black Street,
Suite 300, Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada Y1A 2M9, and the telephone number
at that office is (867) 668-5252. We maintain our principal executive
office at 5655 S. Yosemite Street, Suite 200, Greenwood Village, Colorado
80111-3220, and the telephone number at that office is (720)
886-9656. Our internet address is http://www.apollogold.com. Information
contained on our website is not a part of this prospectus or the documents
incorporated herein by reference.
We are
engaged in gold mining including extraction, processing, refining and the
production of by-product metals, as well as related activities including
exploration and development. We own the Black Fox project, an open
pit mine and mill located near the Township of Matheson in the Province of
Ontario, Canada. In addition, we are the operator of the Montana
Tunnels mine located near Helena, Montana, which is a 50% joint venture with
Elkhorn Tunnels, LLC. We placed the Montana Tunnels mine on care and
maintenance on April 30, 2009. On September 30, 2009, we entered into
a letter of intent to sell Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc., our
indirect wholly owned subsidiary through which we own our interests in the
Montana Tunnels mine, to Elkhorn Goldfields Inc., an affiliate of Elkhorn
Tunnels, LLC. We also own Mexican subsidiaries which own concessions
at the Huizopa exploration project, located in the Sierra Madres in Chihuahua,
Mexico. The Huizopa project is an 80% Apollo/20% Mineras Coronado
joint venture.
Black
Fox
The Black
Fox project consists of mining operations located 7 miles east of Matheson and
the Black Fox mill complex located 12 miles west of Matheson, therefore
approximately 19 miles from the mine. Mining of ores at the open pit
mine began in March 2009 and milling operations commenced in April
2009. We also own exploration properties, which we refer to as Grey
Fox and the Pike River properties, each of which is located approximately 3.5
kilometers from our Black Fox mine.
On April
14, 2008, we filed a Canadian Instrument, NI 43-101 Technical
Report. The mineral reserves reflected in the table below are taken
from this report and were calculated based on a gold price of $650 per
ounce.
Black
Fox Probable Reserve Statement as of February 29, 2008
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Grade
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Open
Pit
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0.88 |
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4,350 |
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5.2 |
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730,000 |
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Underground
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3.0 |
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2,110 |
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8.8 |
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600,000 |
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Total
Probable Reserves
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1,330,000 |
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Black Fox
entered commercial production in May 2009 and, during May and June 2009, the
Black Fox mill processed 75,800 tonnes of ore (1,242 tonnes per day), at a grade
of 5.28 grams per tonne, achieving a recovery of 92.5%, for total gold
production of 11,840 ounces. Sales of gold produced at Black Fox
during the second quarter were 5,043 ounces at a total cash cost of $403 per
ounce. During the first week of July, we commissioned the new
crushing circuit which enabled us to increase mill throughput. During
the month of July 2009, 54,600 tonnes of ore (1,761 tonnes per day) were
processed at a grade of 3.6 grams per tonne achieving a recovery of 92.4% for
total gold production of 5,822 ounces. The mill has been processing ore at the
rate planned and recoveries have been satisfactory, however, the grade of ore
delivered to the mill has been lower than expected. As a result, for
the three-month period ended July 31, 2009, gold production was less than 80% of
the amount that we agreed to produce with Macquarie Bank Limited and RMB
Australia Holdings Limited, which we sometimes refer to as the project finance
banks, pursuant to the $70,000,000 Black Fox project finance facility that we
entered into with the project finance banks on February 20,
2009. This shortfall triggered a “review event” as defined in the
project finance facility agreement between us and the project finance
banks. A “review event” enables the project finance banks to review
the project facility and determine if they wish to continue with the
financing.
On
September 28, 2009, the project finance banks agreed, subject to the condition
that we provide a new resource model and life of mine plan to the project
finance banks prior to November 15, 2009, to defer (i) the first scheduled
repayment of $9,300,000 due on September 30, 2009 under project finance facility
and (ii) the requirement to fund the associated debt service reserve account
also due on September 30, 2009, which, in accordance with the terms of the
project finance facility, requires a reserve amount equal to, at all times after
initial funding, the greater of $5,000,000 or the aggregate repayment amount due
on the next repayment date. This deferral will enable the project
finance banks and our company to complete an ongoing technical review of the
Black Fox project with the objective of rescheduling the quarterly repayment
installments under the project finance facility. As a result of the
deferral, the payment of $9,300,000 and the reserve account funding obligation,
each originally due on September 30, 2009, now must be satisfied on the earlier
to occur of (i) the completion of the project finance bank’s technical review
process of the Black Fox mine and (ii) December 31, 2009. We expect
the technical review to be completed before December 31, 2009. In
addition, as part of the deferral, the project finance banks agreed to extend
the date by which the project completion test under the project finance facility
must be satisfied to March 31, 2010.
We have
continued to make progress at Black Fox since July
2009. Specifically, during the three months of July through September
2009, the Black Fox mill processed approximately 161,000 tonnes of ore at an
average grade of 4.1 grams of gold per tonne ore to produce an estimated 19,750
ounces of gold (recovery approximately 94%). The average mill
throughput rate was therefore approximately 1,750 tonnes per day during this
period.
As we
discuss below under the heading “Recent Events and Other Matters – Toll Milling
Arrangement,” we have an agreement with St Andrew Goldfields to toll mill
approximately 100,000 tonnes of our Black Fox mine ore at St Andrew Goldfields’
Holt mill facility. Accordingly, in addition to the gold production
from the Black Fox mill, we had additional gold production from ore from the
Black Fox mine that was milled at St Andrew Goldfields’ Holt mill facility,
located approximately 30 miles east of the Black Fox mine. As at
September 30, 2009, the Holt mill had processed approximately 62,000 tonnes of
Black Fox ore at an average grade of 1.9 grams of gold per tonne to produce an
estimated 3,500 ounces of gold (recovery approximately
92%). Therefore, total gold produced by us in the third quarter 2009
was an estimated 23,250 ounces.
Montana Tunnels
Mine
On
September 30, 2009, we entered into a letter of intent, which we refer to in
this prospectus as the Montana Tunnels letter of intent, with Elkhorn Goldfields
Inc. pursuant to which Elkhorn Goldfields Inc. agreed to purchase all
of the outstanding capital stock of Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc., our
indirect wholly owned subsidiary. Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc. is the
owner of the Montana Tunnels open pit mine and mill (a 50/50 joint venture
with Elkhorn Tunnels LLC, an affiliate of Elkhorn Goldfields Inc.), the
Diamond Hill mine and mill and assets ancillary thereto. The Montana
Tunnels mine has been on care and maintenance since April 30, 2009 as
a result of exhausting the ore in the L Pit. We have received
all necessary permits to expand the current pit at Montana Tunnels, which
expansion plan we refer to as the M Pit project. The M Pit project
would involve a 12 month pre-stripping program that would cost approximately $70
million, during which time no ore would be produced. .
The
Montana Tunnels letter of intent provides for staged cash payments in the
aggregate amount of $5 million payable over a seven month period, of which
a non-refundable deposit of $250,000 was received by us on or about October 19,
2009. Pursuant to the terms of the Montana Tunnels letter of intent,
payment of this initial non-refundable deposit of $250,000 rendered the Montana
Tunnels letter of intent binding on the parties (subject to our ability to
terminate the Montana Tunnels letter of intent if Elkhorn Goldfields
Inc. fails to timely make any payment required under the Montana
Tunnels letter of intent, as described below). The payment schedule also
provides for two additional non-refundable payments of $250,000 payable on
November 25, 2009 and December 25, 2009, which we refer to in this prospectus
as the Non-Refundable Payments, followed by three separate payments
of $250,000 payable on January 25, 2010, February 25, 2010, and March 25,
2010, a payment of $1,500,000 payable on April 30, 2010 and a payment of
$2,000,000 payable on May 31, 2010 (which we refer to collectively, including
the Non-Refundable Payments, as the Cash Purchase Price). The Montana
Tunnels letter of intent provides that any missed scheduled payment will result
in the termination of the Montana Tunnels letter of intent
(unless otherwise negotiated) and retention by us of the Non-Refundable
Payments. In addition to the Cash Purchase Price, an additional
amount of up to $4 million is payable through a 4% net smelter royalty with
payments commencing coincident with Elkhorn Goldfields Inc.’s start of
production and to be paid from production until such time as a total of $4
million is paid thereunder. Upon full payment of the Cash Purchase Price,
the capital stock of Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc. will be conveyed to
Elkhorn Goldfields Inc., subject to the net smelter royalty. In
addition, the parties agreed that, during the next 18 months, they will
review other property owned by Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc. (outside of the
current open pit operations and any expansions of the open pit, including the M
Pit) for future exploration possibilities and that, at our option, the parties
may form a joint venture to pursue such exploration
possibilities.
Based on
the foregoing, we and Elkhorn Goldfields Inc. have agreed to move forward
with the preparation of definitive transaction documents to finalize the
sale of Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc. We cannot guarantee that we
will be able to reach a definitive agreement with Elkhorn Goldfields Inc. or, in
the event that we finalize and execute the transaction documents, that such
transaction will be consummated.
Huizopa
Project
On July
7, 2009, we filed a Canadian National Instrument 43-101 for the Huizopa project,
which was updated on August 15, 2009. This 43-101 more fully
describes the property and the drilling results from our 2008 drilling program,
but does not contain any resources or reserves.
RECENT
EVENTS AND OTHER MATTERS
Pike River
Property
On
September 9, 2009, we completed the acquisition of certain mineral properties,
which we sometimes refer to in this prospectus as the Pike River property,
located in the Township of Hislop, Ontario, Canada, which are contiguous to the
south-east boundary of our Black Fox gold mine and the northwest boundary of our
Grey Fox property. The Pike River property was acquired from Newmont
Canada Corporation, which we sometimes refer to in this prospectus as Newmont,
and consists of the surface and mineral rights to approximately 1,145 acres
consisting of parcels 1735 LC, 1726 LC, 23687 SEC, 23777 SEC, 3852 SEC and 11125
SEC. The purchase of the Pike River property was made pursuant to a
purchase and sale agreement, dated March 12, 2009, between Newmont and our
company, which we sometimes refer to in this prospectus as the Purchase
Agreement. Pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement, in
consideration for the Pike River property, we paid Cdn.$100,000 to Newmont and
granted a perpetual 2.5% net smelter production royalty to Newmont from the sale
or other disposition of all materials produced from the Pike River property
pursuant to a royalty agreement, dated March 25, 2009, between Newmont and our
Company. In addition, as further consideration, within 30 days
following the earlier of (i) the date that at least 500,000 ounces of gold
equivalent minerals sufficient to be reported pursuant to Canadian National
Instrument 43-101 combined reserves (proven and probable) and resources
(measured, indicated and inferred) are determined to exist within the Pike River
property, or (ii) the commencement of commercial production from any portion of
the Pike River property, we shall pay an additional sum of Cdn.$1 million to
Newmont. The royalty agreement also contains a first right to
negotiate in favor of Newmont pursuant to which, if we wish to option, joint
venture, assign, transfer, convey or otherwise dispose of its rights or
interests in and to our Black Fox property (but excluding a corporate merger
transaction), we must first notify Newmont of our intentions so that Newmont may
consider a possible acquisition from us of a portion or all of our interest in
our Black Fox property.
Toll Milling
Arrangement
On
September 9, 2009, we entered into an agreement, which we sometimes refer to in
this prospectus as the Toll Milling Agreement, with St Andrew Goldfields Ltd.,
which we sometimes refer to in this prospectus St Andrew, pursuant to which St
Andrew agreed to mill 100,000 tonnes of ore from our Black Fox
mine. We commenced mining open pit gold ore from our Black Fox mine
in April 2009 and commenced milling of that ore at our Black Fox mill in May
2009. To date, the Black Fox open pit mine has produced two
categories of ore: (1) higher grade ore (containing plus 3 grams of gold per
tonne) and (2) low grade ore (containing between 1 gram and 3 grams of gold per
tonne). The higher grade ores are being processed by our Black Fox
mill and the low grade ores have been stockpiled at the Black Fox
mine. As of September 8, 2009, there were approximately 120,000
tonnes of excess low grade ores stockpiled at the Black Fox mine site with an
estimated gold grade of approximately 2.0 grams per tonne. Pursuant
to the Toll Milling Agreement, these excess low grade ores will be trucked by a
contractor to St Andrew’s Holt Mill, which has a processing capacity of
approximately 3,000 tonnes per day. The Holt Mill is approximately
fifty kilometers from the Black Fox mine. The Toll Milling Agreement
is for an initial amount of 100,000 tonnes.
Private
Placement
On July
15, 2009, we completed a private placement of 12,221,640 common shares issued to
purchasers within and outside the United States at Cdn.$0.45 per share and
13,889,390 common shares issued to Canadian purchasers at Cdn.$0.54 per share on
a “flow through” basis pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada) for
total gross proceeds equal to Cdn.$13 million. To the extent we have
not already done so, we intend to use the proceeds from the sale of the
flow through shares (Cdn.$7,500,270.60) for exploration activities at our Black
Fox project and our Grey Fox exploration property, located 3.5 km southeast of
our Black Fox mine. The costs associated with these exploration
activities will qualify as “Canadian Exploration Expenses” as defined in the
Income Tax Act (Canada)
and will be renounced in favor of the purchasers of the flow through
shares. We intend to use the proceeds from the sale of the common
shares (Cdn.$5,499,738) for working capital and general corporate
purposes.
In connection with the private
placement, we entered into an underwriting agreement with Haywood and Blackmont
Capital Inc. Pursuant to the underwriting agreement, Haywood and
Blackmont Capital Inc., which we sometimes refer to in this prospectus as the
underwriters, agreed to act as underwriters/agents in respect of the private
placement and, in consideration therefor, we agreed to (i) pay the underwriters
an aggregate cash underwriting commission equal to the amount of
Cdn.$845,000.56, which represents 6.5% of the total gross proceeds of the
private placement, and (ii) issue to the underwriters compensation options to
purchase 1,566,662 common shares in the aggregate (which is equal to 6% of the
number of common shares and flow through shares sold in the private
placement). Each compensation option is exercisable into one of our
common shares at a price of Cdn.$0.45 for a period of 24 months from the closing
date of the private placement. In addition, we paid all of the
underwriters’ costs and expenses incidental to the placement of the common
shares and flow through shares. Pursuant to the underwriting
agreement, we also made customary representations, warranties and covenants,
including an agreement not to issue any of our equity securities within 120 days
of the closing of the private placement (subject to certain exceptions relating
to employee compensation, outstanding convertible debentures, warrants or other
derivative securities or in connection with the acquisition of properties or
settlement of claims).
The flow
through shares were offered and sold to eligible purchasers resident in Canada
in reliance on the exemption from registration contained in Regulation S of the
Securities Act. The common shares were offered and sold to eligible
purchasers resident in jurisdictions outside of the United States in reliance on
the exemption from registration contained in Regulation S of the Securities Act
and to eligible purchasers resident in the United States in reliance on the
exemption from registration contained in Regulation D under the Securities
Act.
Extension of Maturity Date
for February 2007 Convertible Debentures held by RAB Special Situations (Master)
Fund Limited
On
February 23, 2007, we concluded a private placement pursuant to which we sold
$8,580,000 aggregate principal amount of convertible debentures due February 23,
2009, which debentures we sometimes refer to in this prospectus as the February
2007 convertible debentures. Each $1,000 principal amount of the
February 2007 convertible debentures was convertible at the option of the holder
into 2,000 of our common shares, at any time until February 23,
2009. Additionally, each $1,000 principal amount of the February 2007
convertible debentures included 2,000 common share purchase warrants, which we
sometimes refer to herein as the accompanying warrants, entitling the holder to
purchase one of our common shares at an exercise price of $0.50 per share, with
such accompanying warrants expiring February 23, 2009. We filed a
Form 8-K with the SEC on February 26, 2007 disclosing the terms of the February
2007 convertible debentures, the warrants and the private placement pursuant to
which such securities were issued.
RAB
Special Situations (Master) Fund Limited, which we sometimes refer to in this
prospectus as RAB, owns $4,290,000 principal amount of February 2007 convertible
debentures (on which $772,200 of interest was accrued and unpaid on the original
maturity date of February 23, 2009) and 8,580,000 accompanying
warrants. On February 16, 2009, we and RAB agreed to extend the
original maturity date of the February 2007 convertible debentures owned by RAB
to February 23, 2010. Furthermore, RAB agreed that we shall have the
option to repay the $772,200 of accrued interest on RAB’s February 2007
convertible debentures in either our common shares or cash. If we
elected to pay the accrued interest in common shares, the number of shares
issued would be calculated by dividing the accrued interest owed by the volume
weighted average market price of our common shares as quoted on the Toronto
Stock Exchange during the five trading days ending February 23,
2009. We elected to exercise our right to pay the $772,200 of accrued
interest in our common shares and, in accordance with the foregoing formula,
issued 2,444,765 shares to RAB. In consideration for the foregoing,
we agreed to (i) issue 2,000,000 common shares to RAB, (ii) extend the
expiration date of the accompanying warrants issued to RAB to March 5, 2010 and
(iii) reduce the exercise price of the accompanying warrants issued to RAB from
$0.50 to $0.25. The terms and conditions of the $3,148,100 aggregate
principal amount of February 2007 convertible debentures and accompanying
warrants not owned by RAB were not amended and the principal amount and accrued
interest thereon was repaid to the holders thereof in cash on February 23,
2009. Consequently, 8,152,000 of the accompanying warrants not held
by RAB expired unexercised.
In
December 2008, we retained Haywood Securities Inc., which we sometimes refer to
in this prospectus as Haywood, to provide financial and advisory services,
including in connection with the repayment or restructuring of the February 2007
convertible debentures. In consideration for those services, we
agreed to issue 1,000,000 of our common shares to Haywood by February 28,
2009. In addition, the Black Fox project facility agreement
constitutes an “alternative transaction” under the terms of our agreement with
Haywood and requires us to pay certain compensation to
Haywood. Specifically, we are obligated to compensate Haywood by
issuing to it 2,172,840 common shares and 2,567,901 common share purchase
warrants exercisable for a two year period at an exercise price of Cdn.$0.256
per share. The warrants issued to Haywood contain customary
anti-dilution provisions in the event of certain corporate reorganizations or
issuances of securities by us to all of our shareholders.
Black Fox
Financing
On
February 20, 2009, we entered into a project facility agreement with Macquarie
Bank Limited and RMB Australia Holdings Limited, which we sometimes refer to as
the project finance banks, to act as joint arrangers and underwriters for the
Black Fox project finance facility. The project facility agreement
refinanced the $15,000,000 bridge facility agreement that we had previously
entered into on December 10, 2008. As of June 2, 2009, we had drawn down
the full $70 million available under the project facility agreement. The
project facility agreement requires that we use proceeds from the facility only
for: (i) the funding of the development, construction and operation of our Black
Fox project; (ii) the funding of certain fees and costs due under the project
facility agreement and certain related project agreements; (iii) corporate
expenditures of up to $7,000,000 as approved by the project finance banks in our
corporate budget ($3,723,939 of which was used to repay the February 2007
convertible debentures, and interest thereon, not held by RAB); (iv) repayment
of $15,341,345 under the bridge facility agreement and (v) any other purpose
that the project finance banks approve.
The
project facility agreement was subject to an arrangement fee of $3,465,551,
which was paid upon the initial drawdown under the project facility agreement on
February 23, 2009, and a commitment fee equal to 1% per annum calculated on a
daily basis on the average monthly balance of the undrawn commitment, which is
payable in arrears on March 31, 2009 and June 30, 2009. On March 31, 2009,
we paid a commitment fee of $48,472. On June 30, 2009, we paid a
commitment fee of $26,208. Amounts borrowed under the project facility
agreement bear interest at LIBOR plus 7% per annum and the interest is payable
commencing March 31, 2009 and in accordance with the applicable interest period
(currently monthly but may be monthly, quarterly or such other period agreed to
by the project finance banks and us). The repayment schedule of the $70
million principal amount was originally as follows:
Repayment Date
|
|
Repayment Amount
|
|
September
30, 2009
|
|
$ |
9,300,000 |
|
December
31, 2009
|
|
$ |
6,000,000 |
|
March
31, 2010
|
|
$ |
4,400,000 |
|
June
30, 2010
|
|
$ |
4,000,000 |
|
September
30, 2010
|
|
$ |
3,200,000 |
|
December
31, 2010
|
|
$ |
2,200,000 |
|
March
31, 2011
|
|
$ |
1,800,000 |
|
June
30, 2011
|
|
$ |
2,700,000 |
|
September
30, 2011
|
|
$ |
2,800,000 |
|
December
31, 2011
|
|
$ |
2,900,000 |
|
March
31, 2012
|
|
$ |
4,900,000 |
|
June
30, 2012
|
|
$ |
6,800,000 |
|
September
30, 2012
|
|
$ |
9,000,000 |
|
December
31, 2012
|
|
$ |
3,800,000 |
|
March
31, 2013
|
|
$ |
6,200,000 |
|
However,
on September 28, 2009, the project finance banks agreed, subject to the
condition that we provide a new resource model and life of mine plan to the
project finance banks prior to November 15, 2009, to defer (i) the first
scheduled repayment of $9,300,000 due on September 30, 2009 under project
finance facility and (ii) the requirement to fund the associated debt service
reserve account also due on September 30, 2009, which, in accordance with the
terms of the project finance facility, requires a reserve amount equal to, at
all times after initial funding, the greater of $5,000,000 or the aggregate
repayment amount due on the next repayment date. This deferral will enable
the project finance banks and our company to complete an ongoing technical
review of the Black Fox project with the objective of rescheduling the quarterly
repayment installments under the project finance facility. As a result of
the deferral, the payment of $9,300,000 and the reserve account funding
obligation, each originally due on September 30, 2009, now must be satisfied on
the earlier to occur of (i) the completion of the project finance bank’s
technical review process of the Black Fox mine and (ii) December 31, 2009.
For more information regarding the foregoing, see “The Company – Black Fox”
beginning on page 4 of this prospectus.
Under the
terms of the project facility agreement, all cash proceeds generated from the
Black Fox project must be deposited into a proceeds account and may only be
withdrawn and used by us in accordance with the terms set forth in the project
facility agreement.
In
connection with the project facility agreement, we issued 34,836,111 warrants to
the project finance banks (11,637,775 to RMB Australia Holdings Limited and
23,198,336 to Macquarie Bank Limited) as partial consideration for financing
services provided in connection with the project facility agreement. Each
warrant entitles the holder to purchase one of our common shares pursuant to the
terms and conditions of the warrant. The warrants expire on February 20,
2013 and have an exercise price of Cdn.$0.252 per warrant share, subject to
customary anti-dilution adjustments. The warrants are in addition to the
42,614,254 warrants (21,307,127 to each project finance bank) issued to the
project finance banks in connection with the bridge facility agreement.
Following the issuance of the 34,836,111 warrants provided in connection with
the project facility agreement and assuming exercise by the project finance
banks of all warrants held by them, RMB Australia Holdings Limited and Macquarie
Bank Limited would beneficially own approximately 12.98% and 16.28%,
respectively, of our issued and outstanding capital stock (on an otherwise
undiluted basis), and based on 263,767, 825 shares outstanding as of November 4,
2009.
Borrowings under the project facility
agreement are secured by a first lien on substantially all of our assets,
including the Black Fox project, and the stock of our subsidiaries.
The project facility agreement contains
various financial and operational covenants that impose limitations on us.
These include, among other things, limitations and covenants regarding:
(i) the conduct of the Black Fox project and use of related assets; (ii) the
completion of the Black Fox project; (iii) the use of our funds; (iv) compliance
with applicable laws and permits; (v) mining rights at the Black Fox project;
(vi) our corporate budget; (vii) provision of information; (viii) maintenance of
accounting records; (ix) maintenance of corporate existence; (x) compliance with
certain material agreements; (xi) capital maintenance requirements; (xii)
payment of indebtedness and taxes; (xiii) amendments to existing agreements
relating to the Black Fox project or entry into any such agreements; (xiv)
amendments to governing documents; (xv) disposition of or encumbrance of certain
assets; (xvi) engaging in other lines of business; (xvii) incurrence of
indebtedness; (xviii) related party transactions; (xix) creation of new
subsidiaries; (xx) dividends and other distributions; (xxi) maintenance of the
property securing the project facility agreement; (xxii) insurance; (xxiii)
subordination of intercompany claims; (xxiv) tradeability of the warrant shares
under Canadian securities laws; (xxv) registration of the warrant shares under
United States securities laws; (xxvi) maintenance of listing status on the TSX
and status as a reporting issuer under Canadian securities laws; (xxvii)
maintenance of certain financial coverage ratios and minimum project reserves;
(xxviii) satisfaction of a minimum tangible net worth test; and (xxix)
maintenance of the hedging arrangements described below; and (xxx) the operation
of the Black Fox project in compliance with an agreed cash flow budgeting and
operational model.
Subject
in certain cases to applicable notice provisions and cure periods, events of
default under the project facility agreement include, without limitation: (i)
failure to make payments when due; (ii) certain misrepresentations under the
project facility agreement and certain other documents; (iii) breach of
financial covenants in the project facility agreement; (iv) breach of other
covenants in the project facility agreement and certain other documents; (v)
loss of certain mineral rights; (vi) compulsory acquisition or expropriation of
certain secured property by a government agency; (vii) certain cross-defaults on
other indebtedness of our company; (viii) entry of certain judgments against us
that are not paid or satisfied; (ix) enforcement of encumbrances against our
material assets (or any such encumbrance becomes capable of being enforced); (x)
events of liquidation, receivership or insolvency of our company; (xi)
maintenance of listing status on the TSX or NYSE Amex exchange and status as a
reporting issuer under Canadian securities laws; or (xii) occurrence of any
event which has or is reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on our
assets, business or operations, our ability to perform under the project
facility agreement and other transaction documents, the rights of the project
finance banks or the enforceability of a transaction document. The project
facility agreement provides that in the event of default, the project finance
banks may declare that the debts and monetary liabilities of our company are
immediately due and payable and/or cancel the credit facility.
As a part
of the project facility agreement, we and the project finance banks have entered
into a hedging program covering both gold sales and part of our Canadian dollar
operating costs. Specifically, we have entered into a 250,430 ounce gold
forward sales program which will be allocated across the four year term of the
project facility agreement. The weighted average price of the sales
program is $876 per ounce of gold. The foreign exchange hedge program
involves the purchase of Cdn.$70.2 million for the equivalent of US$58 million,
at an exchange rate of US$1.00 equals Cdn.$1.21, over the four year term of the
project facility agreement.
RISK
FACTORS
An
investment in our common shares involves a high degree of risk. You should
consider the risk factors set forth below and the other information in this
prospectus before purchasing any of our common shares. In addition to
historical information, the information in this prospectus contains
“forward-looking” statements about our future business and performance. Our
actual operating results and financial performance may be very different from
what we expect as of the date of this prospectus. The risks below address some
of the factors that may affect our future operating results and financial
performance.
A
“review event” has occurred under our Black Fox project facility, which could
result in the project finance banks requiring repayment of all amounts
outstanding thereunder.
Gold
production for the three-month period ended July 31, 2009 was less than 80% of
the amount projected to be produced in the “cash flow model” (as defined in the
Black Fox project facility) provided to the project finance banks under the
Black Fox project facility. As a result, a “review event” (as defined in the
Black Fox project facility) was triggered under the in the project facility and
we notified the project finance banks of such occurrence in July 2009. The
occurrence of a review event triggers the ability of the banks to review the
project facility and determine if they wish to continue with the project
facility.
On
September 28, 2009, the project finance banks agreed, subject to the condition
that we provide a new resource model and life of mine plan to the project
finance banks prior to November 15, 2009, to defer (i) the first scheduled
repayment of $9,300,000 due on September 30, 2009 under project finance facility
and (ii) the requirement to fund the associated debt service reserve account
also due on September 30, 2009, which, in accordance with the terms of the
project finance facility, requires a reserve amount equal to, at all times after
initial funding, the greater of $5,000,000 or the aggregate repayment amount due
on the next repayment date. This deferral will enable the project finance
banks and our company to complete an ongoing technical review of the Black Fox
project with the objective of rescheduling the quarterly repayment installments
under the project finance facility. As a result of the deferral, the
payment of $9,300,000 and the reserve account funding obligation, each
originally due on September 30, 2009, now must be satisfied on the earlier to
occur of (i) the completion of the project finance bank’s technical review
process of the Black Fox mine and (ii) December 31, 2009.
There is
no guaranty that we will be able to (i) provide a new resource model and life of
mine plan to the project finance banks prior to November 15, 2009, (ii) repay
the deferred payment of $9,300,000 and the deferred reserve account funding
obligation, in each case originally due on September 30, 2009, within the
required timeframe described above or at all, (iii) successfully reschedule the
quarterly repayment installments under the project finance facility or (iv)
satisfactorily resolve the technical review currently being conducted by the
project finance banks with respect to Black Fox. If we are unable to
satisfactorily restructure our repayment obligations with the project finance
banks, we may not be able to meet our obligations under the project finance
facility which would result in a material default thereunder. Any such
default under the project finance facility may result in the project facility
banks foreclosing on our assets which could force us to seek protection under
applicable bankruptcy laws and, accordingly, would materially impair the value
of our common shares.
Our
substantial debt could adversely affect our financial condition; and our related
debt service obligations may adversely affect our cash flow and ability to
invest in and grow our businesses.
We now
have, and for the foreseeable future will continue to have, a significant amount
of indebtedness. As of September 28, 2009, we had an aggregate principal
amount of $70.0 million in indebtedness outstanding under the project finance
facility. While our $70 million project facility is outstanding, we will
have annual principal repayment obligations thereunder of between approximately
$6.2 million and $24.5 million (based on the current repayment schedule, which,
as noted above under the heading “The Company – Black Fox,” we are currently in
discussions with the project finance banks to revise). The interest rate
on this loan is floating based on the LIBOR rate plus 7 percent per annum;
accordingly, if the LIBOR rate is increased, interest expense will be
higher. The maturity date on this loan is March 31, 2013. We intend
to fulfill our debt service obligations from cash generated by our Black Fox
project, which is expected to be our only source of significant revenues.
Because we anticipate that a substantial portion of the cash generated by our
operations will be used to service this loan during its term, such funds will
not be available to use in future operations, or investing in our
businesses. The foregoing may adversely impact our ability to repay the
$4,290,000 principal amount of convertible debentures due February 23, 2010
owned by RAB, to finance the development of the M Pit at Montana Tunnels (if we
do not or are unable to sell Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc. to Elkhorn
Goldfields Inc. as contemplated by the Montana Tunnels letter of intent) and
conduct all of our planned exploration activities at our Huizopa, Pike River and
Grey Fox properties or pursue other corporate opportunities. In addition,
we may not generate sufficient cash from operations to repay our debt
obligations or satisfy any additional debt obligations when they become due and
may have to raise additional financing from the sale of equity or debt
securities, enter into commercial transactions or otherwise restructure our debt
obligations. There can be no assurance that any such financing or
restructuring will be available to us on commercially acceptable terms, or at
all, and our existing debt agreements prohibit us from incurring additional
indebtedness without the consent of the lenders thereunder. If we are
unable to restructure our obligations, we may be forced to seek protection under
applicable bankruptcy laws. Any corporate restructuring proceeding or
bankruptcy would materially impair the value of our common shares.
Operational
problems and start-up issues may disrupt mining operations at Black Fox, which
commenced in March 2009, and impair the operation of and substantially reduce
gold production from milling operations at Black Fox, the commissioning of which
commenced in April 2009.
Mine
development projects, including our Black Fox project, inherently involve risks
and hazards. Although we commenced mining of the Black Fox open pit in
March 2009 and commenced the commissioning of the mill in April 2009, the
successful development of and any future production at our Black Fox project
could be prevented, delayed or disrupted by, among other things:
|
·
|
unanticipated
changes in grade and tonnage of material to be mined and
processed;
|
|
·
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unanticipated
adverse geotechnical conditions;
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incorrect
data on which engineering assumptions are
made;
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availability
and cost of labor and other supplies and
equipment;
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availability
of economic sources of power;
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adequacy
of water supply;
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adequacy
of access to the site;
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unanticipated
transportation costs;
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government
regulations (including regulations relating to prices, royalties, duties,
taxes, restrictions on production, quotas on exportation of minerals, as
well as the costs of protection of the environment and agricultural
lands);
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lower
than expected ore grades;
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the
physical or metallurgical characteristics of the ore being less amenable
to mining or treatment than
expected;
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problems
with delivery and installation of equipment necessary to commence or
continue operations as planned; or
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failure
of our equipment, processes or facilities to operate properly or as
expected.
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As noted
above in “The Company – Black Fox,” the Black Fox mine has produced lower than
expected ore grades. As a result, a “review event” was triggered under the
Black Fox project finance facility and we entered into the toll milling
agreement with St Andrew (see “Recent Events and Other Matters – Toll Milling
Arrangement”).
Production
delays or stoppages will adversely affect our sales and operating results, and
could prevent us from meeting our debt repayment obligations under the project
facility agreement.
Furthermore,
we cannot be certain that the Black Fox project will be developed at the
budgeted cost. Although we believe that we have obtained sufficient funds
to develop the Black Fox project, we cannot provide assurance of this. If
the actual cost to complete the Black Fox project is significantly higher than
currently expected, there can be no assurance that we will have sufficient funds
to cover these costs or that we will be able to obtain alternative sources of
financing to cover these costs.
We
may not be able to successfully consummate the sale of Montana Tunnels Mining,
Inc. under the Montana Tunnels letter of intent.
On September 30, 2009, we entered into
a letter of intent with Elkhorn Goldfields Inc. pursuant to which Elkhorn
Goldfields Inc. agreed to purchase all of the outstanding capital stock of
Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc., our indirect wholly owned subsidiary which is the
owner of the Montana Tunnels open pit mine and mill (a 50/50 joint venture with
Elkhorn Tunnels LLC, an affiliate of Elkhorn Goldfields Inc.), the Diamond Hill
mine and mill and assets ancillary thereto. However, while the Montana
Tunnels letter of intent is binding and requires Elkhorn Goldfields Inc. to make
the staged payments described above under the heading “The Company – Montana
Tunnels Mine,” the Montana Tunnels letter of intent still requires the
negotiation and execution of definitive agreements related to the sale of
Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc. Further, the Montana Tunnels letter of intent
provides that it may be terminated if Elkhorn Goldfields Inc. fails to make any
of the scheduled payments required thereunder. Therefore, we can provide
no assurance that the sale of Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc. will be successfully
completed or that we will receive the purchase price payable under the Montana
Tunnels letter of intent.
We
placed our Montana Tunnels mine on care and maintenance on April 30,
2009.
On April
30, 2009, we placed the Montana Tunnels mine and mill on care and maintenance as
a result of exhausting the ore in our current L Pit permit. The Montana
Tunnels mine has been our only source of revenue and cash flow in recent years
and, now that it has been placed on care and maintenance, it will no longer
generate revenue or cash flow for us.
Furthermore,
while we have received all necessary permits to expand the current pit, which
expansion plan we refer to as the M Pit project, we estimate that the M Pit
project would cost approximately $70 million. If we are unable to
consummate the sale of Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc., we and our joint venture
partner will have to determine whether to proceed with the M Pit project.
Such decision will depend, among other things, on the ability to secure
financing for the estimated $70 million on acceptable terms and the prices of
gold, silver, lead and zinc and available smelter terms. If we choose to
and are able to pursue the M Pit project, we expect that the pre-stripping
program will take approximately 12 months.
We
do not currently have and may not be able to raise sufficient funds to explore
our Huizopa, Pike River and Grey Fox properties and commence the development of
the M Pit at Montana Tunnels.
We do not
currently have sufficient funds to undertake the M Pit expansion at the Montana
Tunnels mine and conduct all of our planned exploration activities at our
Huizopa and Grey Fox properties. The M Pit expansion and exploration of
Huizopa and Grey Fox will require significant capital expenditures.
Sources of external financing may include bank and non-bank borrowings and
future debt and equity offerings. There can be no assurance that financing
will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. The failure to obtain
financing would have a material adverse effect on our growth strategy and our
results of operations and financial condition.
In
addition, in the past year, the U.S. stock market indexes experienced steep
declines and volatility and the availability of debt financing tightened.
In light of these developments, concerns by investors regarding the stability of
the U.S. financial system could result in less favorable commercial financing
terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter operating covenants,
thereby preventing us from obtaining the financing required to develop the M Pit
at Montana Tunnels (if we do not or are unable to sell Montana Tunnels
Mining, Inc. to Elkhorn Goldfields Inc. as contemplated by the Montana Tunnels
letter of intent) and to conduct all of our planned exploration activities at
our Huizopa, Pike River and Grey Fox properties.
The
existence of outstanding rights to purchase common shares may impair our share
price and our ability to raise capital.
Approximately
129.6 million of our common shares are issuable on exercise of warrants, options
or other rights to purchase common shares at prices ranging from $0.176 to $2.24
and a weighted average price of $0.33. In addition, there are 8,580,000
common shares issuable upon the conversion of the $4,290,000 outstanding
principal amount of convertible debentures due February 23, 2010 held by RAB,
which are convertible at a price of $0.50 per share. During the term of
the warrants, options, convertible debentures and other rights, the holders are
given an opportunity to profit from a rise in the market price of our common
shares with a resulting dilution in the interest of the other shareholders. Our
ability to obtain additional equity financing during the period such rights are
outstanding may be adversely affected, and the existence of the rights may have
an adverse effect on the price of our common shares. The holders of the
warrants, options, convertible debentures and other rights can be expected to
exercise them at a time when we would, in all likelihood, be able to obtain any
needed capital by a new offering of securities on terms more favorable to us
than those provided by the outstanding rights.
Past
and future equity issuances could impair our share price.
If our
shareholders sell substantial amounts of our common shares, the market price of
our common shares could decrease. We have 263,767,825 common shares outstanding
as of November 4, 2009. In addition, we may sell additional common shares
in subsequent offerings and issue additional common shares to finance future
acquisitions or as compensation in financing transactions. In the bridge
facility financing completed on December 10, 2008 and the project facility
financing completed February 20, 2009, we issued warrants to purchase 77,450,365
common shares to the project finance banks (32,944,902 to RMB Australia Holdings
Limited and 44,505,463 to Macquarie Bank Limited), representing approximately
29.4% of our outstanding common shares (on an undiluted basis) as of November 4,
2009, as partial consideration for financing services. In addition, we
issued 2,567,901 common share purchase warrants to Haywood Securities Inc. in
consideration for financial advisory services provided in connection with the
restructuring of the February 2007 convertible debentures held by RAB and the
project finance facility. We registered the resale of the common shares
underlying the warrants issued to the project finance banks and Haywood with the
SEC.
We cannot
predict the size of future issuances of common shares or the effect, if any,
that future issuances and sales of common shares will have on the market price
of our common shares. Sales or issuances of large numbers of our common shares,
or the perception that such sales might occur, may adversely affect prevailing
market prices for our common shares. With any additional issuance of common
shares, investors will suffer dilution and we may experience dilution in our
earnings per share.
The
market price of our common shares has experienced volatility and could decline
significantly.
Our
common shares are listed on the NYSE Amex exchange and the Toronto Stock
Exchange. Our share price has declined significantly since 2004, and over
the last year the closing price of our common shares has fluctuated from a low
of $0.11 per share to a high of $0.59 per share. The stock prices of
virtually all companies have decreased since the fall of 2008 as global economic
issues have adversely affected public markets. Furthermore, securities of
small-cap companies have experienced substantial volatility in the past, often
based on factors unrelated to the financial performance or prospects of the
companies involved. These factors include macroeconomic developments in
North America and globally and market perceptions of the attractiveness of
particular industries. Our share price is also likely to be significantly
affected by global economic issues, as well as short-term changes in gold and
zinc prices or in our financial condition or liquidity. As a result of any
of these factors, the market price of our common shares at any given point in
time might not accurately reflect our long-term value. Securities class
action litigation often has been brought against companies following periods of
volatility in the market price of their securities. We could in the future
be the target of similar litigation. Securities litigation could result in
substantial costs and damages and divert management’s attention and
resources.
We
have a history of losses.
With the
exception of fiscal years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, during which we had
a net income of $1,596,000 and $2,416,000, respectively, we have incurred
significant losses. Our net losses were $15,587,000 and $22,208,000 for the
years ended December 31, 2006 and 2005, respectively. In addition, we
placed the Montana Tunnels mine, which has been our only source of revenue in
recent years, on care and maintenance on May April 30, 2009 as a result of
exhausting the ore in our current L Pit permit. On September 30, 2009, we
entered into a letter of intent to sell Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc., through
which we own our interests in the Montana Tunnels mine, to Elkhorn Goldfields
Inc. However, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to reach a
definitive agreement with Elkhorn Goldfields Inc. to sell Montana Tunnels
Mining, Inc. or, in the event that we finalize and execute the transaction
documents, that such transaction will be consummated. If the sale of
Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc. is not consummated and we choose to and are able to
pursue the M Pit expansion, we expect that the pre-stripping program will take
approximately 12 months, during which time we would not realize revenue or cash
flows from the M Pit operations. However, during this time we will have
obligations under loan agreements and for the development of the Black Fox
project and therefore, we expect that there could be significant losses until
such time as we achieve consistent production from Black Fox. Whether we
undertake the M Pit expansion (if we do not or are unable to sell
Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc. to Elkhorn Goldfields Inc. as contemplated by
the Montana Tunnels letter of intent) or rely solely upon revenues from Black
Fox, there can be no assurance that we will achieve or sustain profitability in
the future.
Our
earnings may be affected by metals price volatility, specifically the volatility
of gold and zinc prices.
We
historically have derived all of our revenues from the sale of gold, silver,
lead and zinc, and our development and exploration activities are focused on
gold. As a result, our future earnings are directly related to the price
of gold. Since the beginning of 2008, the London
P.M. or afternoon fix gold spot price, as reported by the Wall Street
Journal, has fluctuated from a high of $1,062/oz to a low of $712.50/oz and was
$1061/oz on November 2, 2009. Changes in the price of gold significantly
affect our profitability and the trading price of our common shares. Gold
prices historically have fluctuated widely, based on numerous industry factors
including:
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industrial
and jewelry demand;
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central
bank lending, sales and purchases of
gold;
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forward
sales of gold by producers and
speculators;
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production
and cost levels in major gold-producing
regions; and
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rapid
short-term changes in supply and demand because of speculative or hedging
activities.
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Gold
prices are also affected by macroeconomic factors, including:
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confidence
in the global monetary system;
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expectations
of the future rate of inflation (if
any);
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the
strength of, and confidence in, the U.S. dollar (the currency in
which the price of gold is generally quoted) and other
currencies;
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global
or regional political or economic events, including but not limited to
acts of terrorism.
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The
current demand for, and supply of, gold also affects gold prices. The
supply of gold consists of a combination of new production from mining and
existing shares of bullion held by government central banks, public and private
financial institutions, industrial organizations and private individuals.
As the amounts produced by all producers in any single year constitute a small
portion of the total potential supply of gold, normal variations in current
production do not usually have a significant impact on the supply of gold or on
its price. Mobilization of gold held by central banks through lending and
official sales may have a significant adverse impact on the gold
price.
All of
the above factors are beyond our control and are impossible for us to
predict. If the market prices for gold, silver, zinc or lead fall below
our costs to produce them for a sustained period of time, that will make it more
difficult to obtain financing for our projects, we will experience additional
losses and we could also be required to discontinue exploration, development
and/or mining at one or more of our properties.
Possible
hedging activities could expose us to losses.
As a part
of the project facility agreement, we and the project finance banks entered into
a hedging program covering both gold sales and part of our Canadian dollar
operating costs. Specifically, we have entered into a 250,430 ounce gold forward
sales program which will be allocated across the four year term of the project
facility agreement. The weighted average price of the sales program is $876 per
ounce of gold. The foreign exchange hedge program involves the purchase of
Cdn.$70.2 million for the equivalent of US$58 million, at an exchange rate of
US$1.00 equals Cdn.$1.21, over the four year term of the project facility
agreement.
In the
future, we may enter into currency and precious and/or base metals hedging
contracts that may involve outright forward sales contracts, spot-deferred sales
contracts, the use of options which may involve the sale of call options and the
purchase of all these hedging instruments. There can be no assurance that
we will be able to successfully hedge against price, currency and interest rate
fluctuations. Further, there can be no assurance that the use of hedging
techniques will always be to our benefit. Some hedging instruments may
prevent us from realizing the benefit from subsequent increases in market prices
with respect to covered production. This limitation would limit our
revenues and profits. Hedging contracts are also subject to the risk that
the other party may be unable or unwilling to perform its obligations under
these contracts. It is our intention to deliver the quantity of gold
required by our forward sales on a going forward basis; however, we may cash
settle these forward sale obligations if it is beneficial to us. Any
significant nonperformance could have a material adverse effect on our financial
condition and results of operations.
Disruptions
in the supply of critical equipment and increases in prices of raw materials
could adversely impact our operations.
We are a
significant consumer of electricity, mining equipment, fuels and mining-related
raw materials, all of which we purchase from outside sources. Increases in
prices of electricity, equipment, fuel and raw materials could adversely affect
our operating expenses and profitability. Furthermore, failure to receive
raw materials in a timely manner from third party suppliers could impair our
ability to meet production schedules or our contractual commitments and thus
adversely impact our revenues. From time to time, we obtain critical
mining equipment from outside North America. Factors that can cause delays
in the arrival of such equipment include weather, political unrest in countries
from which equipment is sourced or through which it is delivered, terrorist
attacks or related events in such countries or in the U.S., and work stoppages
by suppliers or shippers. Prolonged disruptions in the supply of any of
our equipment or other key raw materials, implementing use of replacement
equipment or new sources of supply, or a continuing increase in the prices of
raw materials and energy could have a material adverse effect on our operating
results, financial condition or cash flows.
Our
investments in auction rate securities are subject to risks which may cause
losses and affect the liquidity of these investments.
We
acquired auction rate securities in 2007 with a face value of $1.5
million. The securities were marketed by financial institutions with
auction reset dates at 28 day intervals to provide short-term liquidity.
All such auction rate securities were rated AAA when purchased, pursuant to our
investment policy. Beginning in August 2007, a number of auctions failed
and there is no assurance that auctions for the auction rate securities in our
investment portfolio, which currently lack liquidity, will succeed. An
auction failure means that the parties wishing to sell their securities could
not do so as a result of a lack of buying demand. As at June 30, 2009, our
auction rate securities held an adjusted cost basis and fair value of $1.1
million based on liquidity impairments to these securities and, during the
second quarter of 2008, were downgraded to a AA rating. Uncertainties in
the credit and capital markets could lead to further downgrades of our auction
rate securities holdings and additional impairments. Furthermore, as a
result of auction failures, our ability to liquidate and fully recover the
carrying value of our auction rate securities in the near term may be limited or
not exist.
Substantially
all of our assets are pledged to secure our indebtedness.
Substantially
all of the assets of our Black Fox property and the capital stock of our direct
subsidiaries are pledged to secure indebtedness outstanding under the Facility
Agreement, dated February 20, 2009, by and among Apollo Gold, Macquarie Bank
Limited, RMB Australia Holdings Limited and RMB Resources Inc. Default
under our debt obligations would entitle our lenders to foreclose on our
assets. Since these assets represent substantially all of our assets, our
ability to raise additional secured lending with other financial institutions is
greatly impaired. Furthermore, covenants in our borrowing agreement
restrict our ability to incur unsecured indebtedness. Consequently, in
order for us to raise additional funds prior to the maturity date of our project
facility, we may be limited to conducting unsecured debt and equity
offerings. These offerings may not provide the necessary capital to fund
our future growth, exploration activities or other development
plans.
Our
Huizopa exploration project is subject to political and regulatory
uncertainty.
Our
Huizopa exploration project is located in the northern part of the Sierra Madres
in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico. There are numerous risks inherent in
conducting business in Mexico, including political and economic instability,
exposure to currency fluctuations, greater difficulties in accounts receivable
collection, difficulties in staffing and managing operations and potentially
adverse tax consequences. In addition, our ability to explore and develop our
Huizopa exploration project is subject to maintaining satisfactory relations
with the Ejido Huizopa, which is a group of local inhabitants who under Mexican
law are granted rights to conduct agricultural activities and control surface
access on the property. In 2006, we entered into an agreement with the Ejido
Huizopa pursuant to which we agreed to make annual payments to the Ejido Huizopa
in exchange for the right to use the land covering our mining concessions for
all activities necessary for the exploration, development and production of
potential ore deposits. There can be no assurances that the Ejido Huizopa will
continue to honor the agreement. If we are unable to successfully manage our
operations in Mexico or maintain satisfactory relations with the Ejido Huizopa,
our development of the Huizopa property could be hindered or terminated and, as
a result, our business and financial condition could be adversely
affected.
Our
reserve estimates are potentially inaccurate.
We
estimate our reserves on our properties as either “proven reserves” or “probable
reserves.” Our ore reserve figures and costs are primarily estimates and are not
guarantees that we will recover the indicated quantities of these metals.
We estimate proven reserve quantities based on sampling and testing of sites
conducted by us and by independent companies hired by us. Probable
reserves are based on information similar to that used for proven reserves, but
the sites for sampling are less extensive, and the degree of certainty is
less. Reserve estimation is an interpretive process based upon available
geological data and statistical inferences and is inherently imprecise and may
prove to be unreliable.
Our
reserves are reduced as existing reserves are depleted through production.
Reserves may be reduced due to lower than anticipated volume and grade of
reserves mined and processed and recovery rates.
Reserve
estimates are calculated using assumptions regarding metals prices. Our
reserves at our Black Fox project were estimated using a gold price of
$650/oz. These prices have fluctuated widely in the past. Declines
in the market price of metals, as well as increased production costs, capital
costs and reduced recovery rates, may render reserves uneconomic to exploit, and
lead to a reduction in reserves. Any material reduction in our reserves
may lead to lower earnings or higher losses, reduced cash flow, asset
write-downs and other adverse effects on our results of operations and financial
condition, including difficulty in obtaining financing and a decrease in our
stock price. Reserves should not be interpreted as assurances of mine life
or of the profitability of current or future operations. No assurance can
be given that the amount of metal estimated will be produced or the indicated
level of recovery of these metals will be realized.
We
may not achieve our production estimates.
We
prepare estimates of future production for our Black Fox project. We
develop our estimates based on, among other things, mining experience, reserve
estimates, assumptions regarding ground conditions and physical characteristics
of ores (such as hardness and presence or absence of certain metallurgical
characteristics) and estimated rates and costs of mining and processing.
In the past, our actual production from time to time has been lower than our
production estimates and this may be the case in the future.
Each of
these factors also applies to future development properties not yet in
production and to the Montana Tunnels M Pit. In the case of mines we may
develop in the future, we do not have the benefit of actual experience in our
estimates, and there is a greater likelihood that the actual results will vary
from the estimates. In addition, development and expansion projects are
subject to financing contingencies, unexpected construction and start-up
problems and delays.
Our
future profitability depends in part on actual economic returns and actual costs
of developing mines, which may differ significantly from our estimates and
involve unexpected problems, costs and delays.
We are
engaged in the development of new ore bodies. Our ability to sustain or
increase our present level of production is dependent in part on the successful
exploration and development of new ore bodies and/or expansion of existing
mining operations. Decisions about the development of the M Pit expansion
(in the event that we do not or are unable to sell Montana Tunnels Mining,
Inc. to Elkhorn Goldfields Inc. as contemplated by the Montana Tunnels
letter of intent) at Montana Tunnels and other future projects, such as our
Huizopa, Pike River and Grey Fox projects, are subject to the successful
completion of feasibility studies, issuance of necessary governmental permits
and receipt of adequate financing.
Development
projects have no operating history upon which to base estimates of future cash
flow. Our estimates of proven and probable ore reserves and cash operating
costs are, to a large extent, based upon detailed geologic and engineering
analysis. We also conduct feasibility studies that derive estimates of
capital and operating costs based upon many factors.
It is
possible that actual costs and economic returns may differ materially from our
best estimates. It is not unusual in the mining industry for new mining
operations to experience unexpected problems during the start-up phase and to
require more capital than anticipated. There can be no assurance that the
Black Fox property that we are developing or any future M Pit expansion at
Montana Tunnels (in the event that we do not or are unable to sell
Montana Tunnels Mining, Inc. to Elkhorn Goldfields Inc. as
contemplated by the Montana Tunnels letter of intent) will be
profitable.
Our
operations may be adversely affected by risks and hazards associated with the
mining industry.
Our
business is subject to a number of risks and hazards including adverse
environmental effects, technical difficulties due to unusual or unexpected
geologic formations, and pit wall failures as well as the associated risks of
underground mining.
Such
risks could result in personal injury, environmental damage, damage to and
destruction of production facilities, delays in mining and liability. For
some of these risks, we maintain insurance to protect against these losses at
levels consistent with our historical experience and industry practice.
However, we may not be able to maintain current levels of insurance,
particularly if there is a significant increase in the cost of premiums.
Insurance against environmental risks is generally too expensive or not
available for us and other companies in our industry, and, therefore, we do not
maintain environmental insurance. To the extent we are subject to
environmental liabilities, we would have to pay for these liabilities.
Moreover, in the event that we are unable to fully pay for the cost of
remediating an environmental problem, we might be required to suspend or
significantly curtail operations or enter into other interim compliance
measures.
Mineral
exploration in general, and gold exploration in particular, are speculative and
are frequently unsuccessful.
Mineral
exploration is highly speculative in nature, capital intensive, involves many
risks and frequently is nonproductive. There can be no assurance that our
mineral exploration efforts will be successful. If we discover a site with
gold or other mineralization, it will take a number of years from the initial
phases of drilling until production is possible, during which time the economic
feasibility of production may change. Substantial expenditures are
required to establish ore reserves through drilling, to determine metallurgical
processes to extract the metals from the ore and, in the case of new properties,
to construct mining and processing facilities. As a result of these and
other uncertainties, no assurance can be given that our exploration programs
will result in the expansion or replacement of existing ore reserves that are
being depleted by current production.
We
have a limited operating history on which to evaluate our potential for future
success.
We were
formed as a result of a merger in June 2002 and have only a limited operating
history upon which you can evaluate our business and prospects. Over this
period, with the exception of the fiscal years 2008 and 2007, we have not
generated sufficient revenues to cover our expenses and costs.
The
titles to some of our properties may be uncertain or defective.
Certain
of our United States mineral rights of the Montana Tunnels mine consist of
“unpatented” mining claims created and maintained in accordance with the U.S.
General Mining Law of 1872. Unpatented mining claims are unique U.S.
property interests, and are generally considered to be subject to greater title
risk than other real property interests because the validity of unpatented
mining claims is often uncertain. This uncertainty arises, in part, out of
the complex federal and state laws and regulations that supplement the General
Mining Law. Also, unpatented mining claims and related rights, including
rights to use the surface, are subject to possible challenges by third parties
or contests by the federal government. The validity of an unpatented
mining claim, in terms of both its location and its maintenance, is dependent on
strict compliance with a complex body of federal and state statutory and
decisional law. In addition, there are few public records that
definitively control the issues of validity and ownership of unpatented mining
claims.
In recent
years, the U.S. Congress has considered a number of proposed amendments to the
General Mining Law. Although no such legislation has been adopted to date,
there can be no assurance that such legislation will not be adopted in the
future. If ever adopted, such legislation could, among other things,
impose royalties on gold production from unpatented mining claims located on
federal lands or impose fees on production from patented mining claims. If
such legislation is ever adopted, it could have an adverse impact on earnings
from our operations, could reduce estimates of our reserves and could curtail
our future exploration and development activity on federal lands or patented
claims.
While we
have no reason to believe that our rights to mine on any of our properties are
in doubt, title to mining properties are subject to potential claims by third
parties claiming an interest in them and, in September 2006 some of our claims
associated with our Black Fox project were listed as reopened for staking on the
Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM) website. Five of these
claims totaling 185 acres were immediately staked by local prospectors.
None of our reserves or resources at our Black Fox project are located on the
properties related to these claims. All of these overstaked claims have
since been returned to us.
We
may lose rights to properties if we fail to meet payment requirements or
development or production schedules.
We derive
the rights to most of our mineral properties from unpatented mining claims,
leaseholds, joint ventures or purchase option agreements which require the
payment of maintenance fees, rents, purchase price installments, exploration
expenditures, or other fees. If we fail to make these payments when they
are due, our rights to the property may lapse. There can be no assurance
that we will always make payments by the requisite payment dates. In
addition, some contracts with respect to our mineral properties require
development or production schedules. There can be no assurance that we
will be able to meet any or all of the development or production
schedules. Our ability to transfer or sell our rights to some of our
mineral properties requires government approvals or third party consents, which
may not be granted.
We
face substantial governmental regulation.
Canadian Regulation.
Our Black Fox mining operations and exploration activities in the
Province of Ontario are subject to various laws and regulations governing the
environment, agricultural zoning, prospecting, development, production, exports,
taxes, labor standards, occupational health, waste disposal, toxic substances,
mine safety and other matters. The Canadian mining industry is subject to
federal and provincial environmental protection legislation. This legislation
imposes high standards on the mining industry in order to reduce or eliminate
the effects of waste generated by extraction and processing operations and
subsequently emitted into the air or water. Consequently, drilling, refining,
extracting and milling are all subject to the restrictions imposed by this
legislation. In addition, the construction and commercial operation of a mine
typically entail compliance with applicable environmental legislation and review
processes, as well as the obtaining of permits, particularly for the use of the
land, permits for the use of water, and similar authorizations from various
government bodies. Canadian federal, provincial, and local laws and regulations
relating to the exploration for and development, production and marketing of
mineral production, as well as environmental and safety matters have generally
become more stringent in recent years, often imposing greater liability on a
larger number of potentially responsible parties. Because the requirements
imposed by such laws and regulations are frequently changed, we are unable to
predict the ultimate cost of compliance with such requirements. There is no
assurance that laws and regulations enacted in the future will not adversely
affect our financial condition and results of operations. We believe that it is
in substantial compliance with all current laws and regulations material to our
activities. However, changing government regulations may have an adverse effect
on us.
United States Regulation.
Montana Tunnels is subject to inspection and regulation by the Mine
Safety and Health Administration of the United States Department of Labor
(“MSHA”) under the provisions of the Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) also has jurisdiction
over safety and health standards not covered by MSHA. Our policy is to
comply with applicable directives and regulations of MSHA and OSHA. We
have made and expect to make in the future, significant expenditures to comply
with these laws and regulations.
We must
comply with environmental standards, laws and regulations that may result in
increased costs and delays depending on the nature of the regulated activity and
how stringently the regulations are implemented by the regulatory
authority. The costs and delays associated with compliance with such laws
and regulations could stop us from proceeding with the exploration of a project
or the operation or future exploration of a mine. Laws and regulations
involving the protection and remediation of the environment and the governmental
policies for implementation of such laws and regulations are constantly changing
and are generally becoming more restrictive. We have made, and expect to
make in the future, significant expenditures to comply with such laws and
regulations.
Some of
our properties are located in historic mining districts with past production and
abandoned mines. The major historical mine workings and processing
facilities owned (wholly or partially) by us in Montana are being targeted by
the Montana Department of Environmental Quality (“MDEQ”) for publicly funded
cleanup, which reduces our exposure to financial liability. We are
participating with the MDEQ under Voluntary Cleanup Plans on those sites.
Our cleanup responsibilities have been completed at the Corbin Flats Facility
and at the Gregory Mine site, both located in Jefferson County, Montana, under
programs involving cooperative efforts with the MDEQ. MDEQ is also
contemplating remediation of the Washington Mine site at public expense under
the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 (“SMCRA”). In
February 2004, we consented to MDEQ’s entry onto the portion of the Washington
Mine site owned by us to undertake publicly funded remediation under
SMCRA. In March 2004, we entered into a definitive written settlement
agreement with MDEQ and the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) under which MDEQ
will conduct publicly funded remediation of the Wickes Smelter site under SMCRA
and granted us a site release in exchange for our donation of the portion of the
site owned by us to BLM for use as a waste repository. There can be no
assurance that we will continue to resolve disputed liability for historical
mine and ore processing facility waste sites on such favorable terms in the
future. We remain exposed to liability, or assertions of liability, that
would require expenditure of legal defense costs, under joint and several
liability statutes for cleanups of historical wastes that have not yet been
completed.
Environmental
laws and regulations may also have an indirect impact on us, such as increased
costs for electricity due to acid rain provisions of the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990. Charges by refiners to which we sell our metallic
concentrates and products have substantially increased over the past several
years because of requirements that refiners meet revised environmental quality
standards. We have no control over the refiners’ operations or their
compliance with environmental laws and regulations.
Changes
to the current laws and regulations governing the operations and activities of
mining companies, including changes to the U.S. General Mining Law of 1872, and
permitting, environmental, title, health and safety, labor and tax laws, are
actively considered from time to time. We cannot predict which changes may
be considered or adopted and changes in these laws and regulations could have a
material adverse impact on our business. Expenses associated with the
compliance with new laws or regulations could be material. Further,
increased expenses could prevent or delay exploration or mine development
projects and could therefore affect future levels of mineral
production.
We
are subject to environmental risks.
Environmental
Liability. We are subject to potential risks and liabilities
associated with environmental compliance and the disposal of waste rock and
materials that could occur as a result of our mineral exploration and
production. To the extent that we are subject to environmental
liabilities, the payment of such liabilities or the costs that we may incur to
remedy any non-compliance with environmental laws would reduce funds otherwise
available to us and could have a material adverse effect on our financial
condition or results of operations. If we are unable to fully remedy
an environmental problem, we might be required to suspend operations or enter
into interim compliance measures pending completion of the required
remedy. The potential exposure may be significant and could have a
material adverse effect on us. We have not purchased insurance for
environmental risks (including potential liability for pollution or other
hazards as a result of the disposal of waste products occurring from exploration
and production) because it is not generally available at a reasonable price or
at all.
Environmental
Permits. All of our exploration, development and production
activities are subject to regulation under one or more of the various state,
federal and provincial environmental laws and regulations in Canada, Mexico and
the U.S. Many of the regulations require us to obtain permits for our
activities. We must update and review our permits from time to time,
and are subject to environmental impact analyses and public review processes
prior to approval of the additional activities. It is possible that
future changes in applicable laws, regulations and permits or changes in their
enforcement or regulatory interpretation could have a significant impact on some
portion of our business, causing those activities to be economically reevaluated
at that time. Those risks include, but are not limited to, the risk
that regulatory authorities may increase bonding requirements beyond our
financial capabilities. The posting of bonds in accordance with
regulatory determinations is a condition to the right to operate under all
material operating permits, and therefore increases in bonding requirements
could prevent our operations from continuing even if we were in full compliance
with all substantive environmental laws.
We
face strong competition from other mining companies for the acquisition of new
properties.
Mines
have limited lives and as a result, we may seek to replace and expand our
reserves through the acquisition of new properties. In addition,
there is a limited supply of desirable mineral lands available in the United
States, Canada and Mexico and other areas where we would consider conducting
exploration and/or production activities. Because we face strong
competition for new properties from other mining companies, many of which have
greater financial resources than we do, we may be unable to acquire attractive
new mining properties.
We
are dependent on certain key personnel.
We are
currently dependent upon the ability and experience of R. David Russell, our
President and Chief Executive Officer; Richard F. Nanna, our Senior Vice
President-Exploration; and Melvyn Williams, our Chief Financial Officer and
Senior Vice President-Finance and Corporate Development. We believe
that our success depends on the continued service of our key officers and there
can be no assurance that we will be able to retain any or all of such
officers. We currently do not carry key person insurance on any of
these individuals, and the loss of one or more of them could have a material
adverse effect on our operations.
There
may be certain tax risks associated with investments in our
company.
U.S.
persons who are potential holders of our common shares, warrants or options to
purchase our common shares, or debentures convertible into our common shares,
which we sometimes refer to in this prospectus as equity securities, should be
aware that we could constitute a “passive foreign investment company” (or a
“PFIC”) for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The tests for
determining PFIC status for a taxable year depend upon the relative values of
certain categories of assets and the relative amounts of certain kinds of
income. The application of these factors depends upon our financial
results for the year, which is beyond our ability to predict or control, and may
be subject to legal and factual uncertainties. While we do not expect
to be a PFIC in 2009, we are unable to predict whether we will be a PFIC in 2009
or in later years. We undertake no obligation to advise investors as
to our PFIC status for any year.
If we are
a PFIC for any year, any holder of our equity securities who is a U.S. person
for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which we sometimes refer to in this
prospectus as a U.S. holder, and whose holding period for the equity securities
includes any portion of a year in which we are a PFIC generally would be subject
to a special adverse tax regime in respect of “excess
distributions.” Excess distributions would include certain
distributions received with respect to our common shares. Gain
recognized by a U.S. holder on a sale or other transfer of our equity securities
also would be treated as an excess distribution. Under the PFIC
rules, excess distributions would be allocated ratably to a U.S. holder’s
holding period. For this purpose, the holding period of common shares
acquired through either an exercise of warrants or options or a conversion of
debentures includes the holder’s holding period in those warrants, options, or
convertible debentures.
The
portion of any excess distributions (including gains treated as excess
distributions) allocated to the current year would be includible as ordinary
income in the current year. In contrast, the portion of any excess
distributions allocated to prior years would be taxed at the highest marginal
rate applicable to ordinary income for each year (regardless of the taxpayer’s
actual marginal rate for that year and without reduction by any losses or loss
carryforwards) and would be subject to interest charges to reflect the value of
the U.S. federal income tax deferral.
Elections
may be available to mitigate the adverse tax rules that apply to PFICs (the
so-called “QEF” and “mark-to-market” elections), but these elections may
accelerate the recognition of taxable income and may result in the recognition
of ordinary income. The QEF and mark-to-market elections are not
available to U.S. holders with respect to warrants, options, or convertible
debentures. We have not decided whether we will provide the U.S.
Holders of our common shares with the annual information required to make a QEF
election.
Additional
special adverse rules could apply to our equity securities if we are a PFIC and
have a non-U.S. subsidiary that is also a PFIC. Finally, special
adverse rules that impact certain estate planning goals could apply to our
equity securities if we are a PFIC.
The PFIC
rules are extremely complex, and shareholders are urged to consult their own tax
advisers regarding the potential consequences to them of Apollo being classified
as a PFIC.
You
could have difficulty or be unable to enforce certain civil liabilities on us,
certain of our directors and our experts.
We are a
Yukon Territory, Canada, corporation. While our chief executive
officer is located in the United States, many of our assets are located outside
of the United States. Additionally, a number of our directors and the
experts named in this prospectus are residents of Canada. It might
not be possible for investors in the United States to collect judgments obtained
in United States courts predicated on the civil liability provisions of U.S.
securities legislation. It could also be difficult for you to effect
service of process in connection with any action brought in the United States
upon such directors and experts. Execution by United States courts of
any judgment obtained against us, or any of the directors, executive officers or
experts identified in this prospectus or documents incorporated by reference
herein, in United States courts would be limited to the assets, or the assets of
such persons or corporations, as the case might be, in the United
States. The enforceability in Canada of United States judgments or
liabilities in original actions in Canadian courts predicated solely upon the
civil liability provisions of the federal securities laws of the United States
is doubtful.
USE
OF PROCEEDS
All of
the common shares covered by this prospectus are being sold by the selling
shareholders identified in this prospectus. We will not receive any
proceeds from the sale by the selling shareholders of these common
shares. See “Selling Shareholders.”
DESCRIPTION
OF COMMON SHARES
We are
authorized to issue an unlimited number of common shares, without par
value. As of November 4, 2009, there were 263,767, 825 common shares
outstanding.
Dividend
Rights
Holders
of our common shares may receive dividends when, as and if declared by our board
on the common shares, subject to the preferential dividend rights of any other
classes or series of shares of our company. In no event may a
dividend be declared or paid on the common shares if payment of the dividend
would cause the realizable value of our company’s assets to be less than the
aggregate of its liabilities and the amount required to redeem all of the shares
having redemption or retraction rights which are then
outstanding.
We have
not declared or paid cash dividends on our common shares since our
inception. Future dividend decisions will consider our then-current
business results, cash requirements and financial condition. The
Black Fox project facility agreement with the project finance banks currently
restricts our ability to pay dividends.
Voting
and Other Rights
Holders
of our common shares are entitled to one vote per share, and in general, all
matters will be determined by a majority of votes cast.
Election
of Directors
All of
the directors serve from the date of election or appointment until the earlier
of the next annual meeting of the company’s shareholders or the date on which
their successors are elected or appointed in accordance with the provisions of
our By-laws and Articles of Incorporation. Directors are elected by a
majority of votes cast.
Liquidation
In the
event of any liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company, holders of
the common shares have the right to a ratable portion of the assets remaining
after payment of liabilities and liquidation preferences of any preferred shares
or other securities that may then be outstanding.
Redemption
Our
common shares are not redeemable or convertible.
Other
Provisions
All
outstanding common shares are fully paid and non-assessable.
This
section is a summary and may not describe every aspect of our common shares that
may be important to you. We urge you to read our Articles of
Incorporation, as amended, and our By-laws, because they, and not this
description, define your rights as a holder of our common shares. See
“Where You Can Find More Information” for information on how to obtain copies of
these documents.
CIBC
Mellon Trust Company, 320 Bay Street, P. O. Box 1, Toronto, Ontario M5H
4A6, Canada, is the transfer agent and registrar for our common
shares.
SELLING
SHAREHOLDERS
The
selling shareholders identified below are offering for resale all of the common
shares being offered under this prospectus. The 27,677,692 common
shares offered hereby are comprised of (i) 12,221,640 common shares issued to
purchasers within and outside the United States and 13,889,390 common shares
issued to Canadian purchasers on a “flow through” basis pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada), in
each case, in a private placement competed on July 15, 2009 and (ii)
1,566,662 common shares issuable upon exercise of compensation options issued to
Haywood Securities Inc., which we sometimes refer to as Haywood in this
prospectus, and Blackmont Capital Inc. as consideration for placement services
provided to us in connection with the July 15, 2009 private
placement. For more information regarding the foregoing, see “The
Company – Recent Events and Other Matters” on page 6 of this
prospectus.
The table
below includes information regarding ownership of our common stock by the
selling shareholders named herein and the number of shares that may be sold by
them under this prospectus. We have prepared this table based on
information supplied to us by or on behalf of the selling
shareholders. Other than as described herein, (i) no selling
shareholder has had any material relationship with us for the past three years
and (ii) to the best of our knowledge based on the information supplied to us by
or on behalf of the selling shareholders, no selling shareholder is a
broker-dealer or affiliate of a broker-dealer.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Common
Shares Beneficially
Owned
After the Offering(1)
|
|
Name
of Selling Shareholder
|
|
Common
Shares
Beneficially
Owned Prior
to
the Offering(1)
|
|
|
Common
Shares
Offered
Hereby
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Libra
Fund LP(4)
|
|
|
3,360,000 |
|
|
|
3,360,000 |
(5)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
Libra
Offshore Master Fund LP(4)
|
|
|
640,000 |
|
|
|
640,000 |
(6)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
Genus
Dynamic Gold Fund(7)
|
|
|
4,439,500 |
|
|
|
970,000 |
(6)
|
|
|
3,469,500 |
|
|
|
1.31 |
% |
Ruffer
Baker Steel Gold Fund(7)
|
|
|
14,679,000 |
|
|
|
1,584,000 |
(6)
|
|
|
13,095,000 |
|
|
|
4.97 |
% |
Rothschild
Investment Trust(7)
|
|
|
1,693,000 |
|
|
|
335,000 |
(6)
|
|
|
1,358,000 |
|
|
|
0.51 |
% |
Baker
Steel Gold Fund(7)
|
|
|
2,653,000 |
|
|
|
444,000 |
(6)
|
|
|
2,209,000 |
|
|
|
0.84 |
% |
Scotia
Resource Fund(8)
|
|
|
1,500,000 |
(9)
|
|
|
250,000 |
(6)
|
|
|
1,250,000 |
|
|
|
0.47 |
% |
RBC
Global Precious Metals Fund(10)
|
|
|
11,644,440 |
(11)
|
|
|
4,444,440 |
(6)
|
|
|
7,200,000 |
|
|
|
2.73 |
% |
Dion
Family Trust(12)
|
|
|
487,020 |
|
|
|
162,300 |
(13)
|
|
|
324,720 |
|
|
|
0.12 |
% |
Ramanlal
and Renate Gokal
|
|
|
144,444 |
|
|
|
100,000 |
(6)
|
|
|
44,444 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
Kevin
Tay
|
|
|
25,000 |
|
|
|
25,000 |
(6)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
Rougemount
Capital Inc.
(14)
|
|
|
573,920 |
|
|
|
249,200 |
(15)
|
|
|
324,720 |
|
|
|
0.12 |
% |
Mavrix
A/C 209(16)
|
|
|
2,000,000 |
|
|
|
300,000 |
(17)
|
|
|
1,700,000 |
|
|
|
0.65 |
% |
Mavrix
A/C 208(16)
|
|
|
2,000,000 |
|
|
|
300,000 |
(17)
|
|
|
1,700,000 |
|
|
|
0.65 |
% |
Mavrix
A/C 218(16)
|
|
|
2,100,000 |
|
|
|
400,000 |
(17)
|
|
|
1,700,000 |
|
|
|
0.65 |
% |
Patrick
McGrath
|
|
|
20,000 |
|
|
|
20,000 |
(17)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
Don
Simpson
|
|
|
480,000 |
|
|
|
80,000 |
(17)
|
|
|
400,000 |
|
|
|
0.15 |
% |
Greg
McKenzie
|
|
|
634,200 |
|
|
|
146,700 |
(17)
|
|
|
487,500 |
|
|
|
0.18 |
% |
Tim
Burgess
|
|
|
135,000 |
|
|
|
135,000 |
(17)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
William
O’Hara
|
|
|
80,000 |
|
|
|
80,000 |
(17)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
Mark
Santarossa
|
|
|
27,701 |
|
|
|
27,701 |
(17)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
Ron
Aiello
|
|
|
80,000 |
|
|
|
80,000 |
(17)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
Enrico
Paolone
|
|
|
170,000 |
|
|
|
170,000 |
(17)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
Jeremy
Link
|
|
|
14,800 |
|
|
|
14,800 |
(17)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
Ronald
Desrochers
|
|
|
40,000 |
|
|
|
40,000 |
(17)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
MRF
2009 Resource Limited Partnership(18)
|
|
|
1,388,889 |
|
|
|
1,388,889 |
(17)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
NCE
Diversified Flow-Through (09) Limited Partnership(19)
|
|
|
14,801,500 |
|
|
|
7,407,000 |
(17)
|
|
|
7,394,500 |
|
|
|
2.80 |
% |
David
Lyall
|
|
|
160,000 |
|
|
|
160,000 |
(17)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
Gerhard
Tjaden
|
|
|
20,000 |
|
|
|
20,000 |
(17)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
Front
Street FT 2009-I LP(20)
|
|
|
2,777,000 |
|
|
|
2,777,000 |
(17)
|
|
|
0 |
|
|
|
0 |
% |
Blackmont
Capital Inc.(21)
|
|
|
1,375,942 |
(22)
|
|
|
274,166 |
(23)
|
|
|
1,101,776 |
|
|
|
0.42 |
% |
Haywood
Securities Inc.(24)
|
|
|
11,251,774 |
(25)
|
|
|
1,292,496 |
(23)
|
|
|
9,959,278 |
|
|
|
3.78 |
% |
Total
|
|
|
81,396,130 |
|
|
|
27,677,692 |
|
|
|
53,718,438 |
|
|
|
20.37 |
% |
(1)
|
Pursuant
to Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act, a person is deemed to be the
beneficial owner of a security if that person has the right to acquire
beneficial ownership of such security within 60 days, including the
right to acquire through the exercise of an option or warrant or through
the conversion of a security.
|
(2)
|
Assumes
that all of the shares currently beneficially owned by the selling
shareholders and registered hereunder are sold and the selling
shareholders acquire no additional common shares before the completion of
this offering.
|
(3)
|
The
percentage ownership for the selling shareholders is based on 263,767,825
common shares outstanding as of November 4, 2009. In accordance
with SEC rules, common shares that may be acquired pursuant to options,
warrants or convertible securities that are exercisable as of November 4,
2009, or will become exercisable within 60 days thereafter, are
deemed to be outstanding and beneficially owned by the person holding such
securities for the purpose of computing such person’s percentage
ownership, but are not deemed to be outstanding for the purpose of
computing the percentage ownership of any other
person.
|
(4)
|
Libra
Associates LLC is the general partner of Libra Fund LP and Libra Offshore
Master Fund LP. Ranjan Tandon is the controlling member of
Libra Associates LLC and exercises the voting and dispositive powers with
regard to the shares being offered by these selling
shareholders.
|
(5)
|
Represents
common shares sold by us in the United States to Libra Fund LP in
connection with the July 15, 2009 private
placement.
|
(6)
|
Represents
common shares sold by us outside the United States in connection with the
July 15, 2009 private placement.
|
(7)
|
David
Baker, Aneil Bhatt, Constantino Isnardi, Trevor Steel and James Withall
are officers of Genus Dynamic Gold Fund, Ruffer Baker Steel Gold Fund,
Rothschild Investment Trust and Baker Steel Gold Fund. These
officers exercise the voting and dispositive powers with regard to the
shares being offered by these selling
shareholders.
|
(8)
|
Scotia
Cassels acts as agent for Scotia Resource Fund, which fund is managed
pursuant to an agreement with Scotia Securities Inc. Kevin
Keagan exercises the voting and dispositive powers with regard to the
shares being offered by this selling
shareholder.
|
(9)
|
Represents
1,250,000 common shares and 250,000 flow through shares issued to this
selling shareholder in the private placement competed by us on July 15,
2009.
|
(10)
|
RBC
Asset Management Inc. has sole responsibility for voting securities as
manager and trustee of the selling shareholder. Sharon Acorn,
James Allworth, Martyn Balch, Chris Beer, Kim Buitenhuis, Daniel E.
Chornous, Douglas Coulter, Dagmara Fijalkowski, Patrice Filiatrault, Frank
Gambino, Suzanne Gaynor, Jonathan Hartman, Stephen Hoffman, Paul Jason,
Stuart Kedwell, Thomas Lee, Hermann Leiningen, Jane Lesslie, Frank Lippa,
George Marcoccia, Ray Mawhinney, Jennifer McClelland, Karen McEwen, George
Molnar, John S. Montalbano, Marcello Montanari, Stephen Murray, Martin
Paleczny, Sam Palumbo, Stephen Pitts, Walter Posiewko, Douglas Raymond,
David Richardson, Sarah Riopelle, Aparna Sachdeva, Carol Sands, Cameron
Scrivens, Brahm Spilfogel, Warner Sulz, John Vermeeren, Milos Vukovic,
Bradley Willock, Martina Wong, Jennifer Wood, Gina Zapras and Gordon Zive
are officers of RBC Asset Management Inc. and M. George Lewis, Daniel E
Chornous, Douglas Coulter, Anne Lockie, John S. Montalbano, Stuart
Rutledge, Richard E. Talbot, Ann Louise Vehovec and Brenda Vince are
directors of RBC Asset Management Inc. These officers and
directors exercise the voting and dispositive powers with regard to the
shares being offered by this selling shareholder. RBC Global
Precious Metals Fund is an affiliate of RBC Capital Markets Corproation, a
U.S. registered broker-dealer. At the time of its acquisition
of our common shares and warrants to purchase our common shares, this
selling shareholder had no agreements or understandings, directly or
indirectly, with any person to distribute the securities registered for
resale hereunder.
|
(11)
|
Represents
4,200,000 common shares, 3,000,000 common stock purchase warrants and
4,444,440 flow through shares issued to this selling shareholder in the
private placement competed by us on July 15,
2009.
|
(12)
|
Leo
Joseph Dion and Nicolas Dion are trustees of the Dion Family Trust and
exercise the voting and dispositive powers with regard to the shares being
offered by this selling
shareholder.
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(13)
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Represents
20,000 common shares and 142,300 flow through shares issued to this
selling shareholder in the private placement competed by us on July 15,
2009.
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(14)
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Rougemount
Capital Inc. is an investment holding company. Leo Joseph Dion
is the President of Rougemount Capital Inc. and exercises the voting and
dispositive powers with regard to the shares being offered by this selling
shareholder.
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(15)
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Represents
49,200 common shares and 200,000 flow through shares issued to this
selling shareholder in the private placement competed by us on July 15,
2009.
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(16)
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Malvin
Spooner of Mavrix Fund Management Inc. is the Portfolio Manager of Mavrix
A/C 209, Mavrix A/C 208, and Mavrix A/C 218 and exercises the voting and
dispositive powers with regard to the flow through shares of each of the
Mavrix Accounts.
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(17)
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Represents
common shares issued to Canadian purchasers on a “flow through” basis
pursuant to the Income
Tax Act (Canada) in the private placement competed by us on July
15, 2009.
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(18)
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Middlefield
Fund Management Limited is the general partner of MRF 2009 Resource
Limited Partnership. Dennis Da Silva, Richard L. Faiella, W.
Garth Jestley, Robert F. Lauzon, Dean C. Orrico, Sylvia V. Stinson, Angela
V. Wanniappa and Maria Herrera are officers and directors of Middlefield
Fund Management Limited and exercise the voting and dispositive powers
with regard to the shares being offered by this selling
shareholder.
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(19)
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NCE
Diversified Management (09) Corp. is the general partner of this selling
shareholder. Petro Assets Inc. is the sole shareholder of NCE
Diversified Management (09) Corp. Petro Assets Inc. is
controlled by the Driscoll Family Trust. John Driscoll is the
trustee of the Driscoll Family Trust and the President, Chief Executive
Officer and sole director of Petro Assets Inc. and exercises the voting
and dispositive powers with regard to the shares being offered by this
selling shareholder.
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(20)
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Front
Street FT 2009-I LP is controlled by Front Street Capital Management
General Partner I Inc., which is in turn wholly owned by Front Street
Capital 2004. Front Street Capital 2004 is controlled by Front
Street Investment Management Inc. Gary P. Selke, Norm Lamarche,
Frank Mersch, David Conway and Linda Hryma are shareholders of Front
Street Investment Management Inc. and exercise the voting and dispositive
powers with regard to the shares being offered by this selling
shareholder.
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(21)
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Blackmont
Capital Inc. has served as an underwriter and/or placement agent to us
(and received compensation from us for such services) in connection with
certain of our corporate finance transactions, including (i) our private
placement of common shares and flow through shares completed July 15, 2009
and (ii) our unit offering completed on July 24, 2008. Andre P.
Brosseau, Bruce M. Kagan, David C. Pauli, Alan J. Nelson, Alan M.
Tchabusnig, Alex Shegelman, Allan D. Frame, Allan S. Bramson, Andre P.
Brosseau, Barry S. McNicol, Brian R. Worth, Bruce M. Kagan, Charles A.
Pennock, Christian R. Strigl, Christopher J. Housepian, Colin D. Larson,
Colin K. Webster, David A. Nicol, David B. King, David C. Foster, David
Cieslowski, David J. Angas, David M. Stovel, David R. Crawford, David Van
Veen, Dennis H. Fox, Edith C. Wilson, Frank S. hurst, Frederick Banwell,
Fredrik C. Brunn, Gary E. Rasiuk, Geoffrey Badger, Gordon R. Henderson,
Henrik Bruusgaard, Ian J. Brehaut, James J. Meltzer, James Lorimer, James
T. Lexovsky, Jeffrey B. German, John T. Kotrly, Joseph Dayian, Joseph H.
Debus, Josephine Bonfanti, Josip Bajic, Julie D. Viglasky, Julius C.
Vitug, Keith M. Bekker, Kevin W. Spall, Kimberly K. MacEachern, Kurt H.
Pedersen, Laura Curtis-Ferrera, Linda M. Shick, Luigi Gino DeMichele, Lynn
M. Flatley, Maria G. DiVittorio, Mary Ann Quail, Michael K. Lam, Michael
S. Newton, Michael W. Segal, Michelle K. Philbrick, Milan J. Voticky,
Maurray G. Galloway, Nargis Sunderji, Nevin Chernick, Nicholas Salerno,
Nicol Macnicol, Noam Silberstein, Peter G. Bacsalmasi, Peter W. Anderson,
Rahim Kassim-Lakha, Randall G. Bergh, Raymond W. Saicki, Richard A.
Franceschini, Richard A. Savage, Richard C. Herman, Richard J. Stuchberry,
Rickard D. Vernon, Robert C. Caldwell, Robert J. Goldberger, Robert J.
Smith, Ronald J. Hutner, Ronald J. White, Roy M. Zakka, Sandra L. Pierce,
Stanley Y.W. Wong, Steven G. Conville, Thomas D. Kim, Tom Stan, Tushar V.
Pai and William G. Mactaggart are officers and/or directors of Haywood
Securities Inc. and exercise the voting and dispositive powers with regard
to the common shares being offered by this selling
shareholder. Blackmont Capital Inc. is an affiliate of
Blackmont Capital Corp., a U.S. registered broker-dealer. At
the time of its acquisition of our common shares and warrants to purchase
our common shares, this selling shareholder had no agreements or
understandings, directly or indirectly, with any person to distribute the
securities registered for resale
hereunder.
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(22)
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Represents
(i) 1,292,496 common shares issuable upon exercise of compensation options
exercisable until July 15, 2011 at Cdn.$0.45 per share, which options were
issued to this selling shareholder as compensation for services provided
in connection the July 15, 2009 private placement of common shares and
flow through shares and (ii) 1,101,776 common shares issuable upon
exercise of an option to acquire 734,517 units at a price per unit of
Cdn.$0.60, which option was granted to this selling shareholder as
compensation for services provided in connection with our public offering
of units completed July 24, 2008. Each such unit issued to the
selling shareholder is comprised of one common share and one-half of one
common share purchase warrant, with each such warrant entitling the
selling shareholder to purchase one of our common shares at an exercise
price of Cdn.$0.78 for a period commencing 180 days following July 24,
2008 and continuing for 48 months from such
date.
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(23)
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Represents
common shares issuable upon exercise of compensation options issued to
Haywood Securities Inc. and Blackmont Capital Inc. as consideration for
placement services provided to us in connection with the July 15, 2009
private placement.
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(24)
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Haywood
Securities Inc. has served as an underwriter, placement agent and/or
advisor to us (and received compensation from us for such services) in
connection with numerous corporate finance transactions, including (i) our
private placement of common shares and flow through shares completed July
15, 2009, (ii) our project facility agreement dated February 20, 2009,
(iii) the restructuring of our February 2007 convertible debentures held
by RAB, (iv) our flow through private placement completed on December 31,
2008, (v) our flow through private placement completed on August 21, 2008,
(vi) our unit offering completed on July 24, 2008 and (vii) our flow
through private placement completed on October 31, 2007. Robert
C. Blanchard, Robert J. Disbrow, Charles J. Dunlap, David B. Elliott,
David M. Lyall, Enrico L. Paolone, John Stephen T. Rybinski, Eric Savics,
John D. Shepherd, John P. Tognetti and John David W. Willett are officers
and/or directors of Haywood Securities Inc. and exercise the voting and
dispositive powers with regard to the common shares being offered by this
selling shareholder. Haywood Securities Inc. is an affiliate of
Haywood Securities (USA), Inc., a U.S. registered
broker-dealer. At the time of its acquisition of our common
shares and warrants to purchase our common shares, this selling
shareholder had no agreements or understandings, directly or indirectly,
with any person to distribute the securities registered for resale
hereunder.
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(25)
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Represents
(i) 1,292,496 common shares issuable upon exercise of compensation options
exercisable until July 15, 2011 at Cdn.$0.45 per share, which options were
issued to this selling shareholder as compensation for services provided
in connection the July 15, 2009 private placement of common shares and
flow through shares, (ii) 2,172,840 common shares and 2,567,901 common
share purchase warrants exercisable until February 20, 2011 at an exercise
price of Cdn.$0.256 per share issued to this selling shareholder as
consideration for financial advisory services provided to us in connection
with the project facility agreement, (iii) 1,000,000 common shares issued
to this selling shareholder as consideration for advisory services
provided to us in connection with the extension of the maturity date of
the February 2007 convertible debentures owned by RAB, (iv) 255,000 common
shares issuable upon exercise of 255,000 common share purchase warrants
exercisable until December 10, 2010 at an exercise price of Cdn.$0.30 per
share, which warrants were issued to this selling shareholder as
compensation for advisory services provided in connection with our private
placement of flow through shares completed on December 31, 2008, (v)
1,020,000 common shares issuable upon exercise of compensation options
exercisable until February 18, 2010 at Cdn.$0.50 per share, which options
were issued to this selling shareholder as compensation for services
provided in connection the August 21, 2008 private placement of flow
through shares, (vi) 372,727 common shares issuable upon exercise of
compensation options exercisable until April 30, 2009 at Cdn.$0.55 per
share, which options were granted to this selling shareholder as
compensation for services provided in connection with our private
placement of flow through shares completed on October 31, 2007 and (vii)
2,570,810 common shares issuable upon exercise of an option to acquire
1,713,873 units at a price per unit of Cdn.$0.60, which option was granted
to this selling shareholder as compensation for services provided in
connection with our public offering of units completed July 24,
2008. Each such unit issued to the selling shareholder is
comprised of one common share and one-half of one common share purchase
warrant, with each such warrant entitling the selling shareholder to
purchase one of our common shares at an exercise price of Cdn.$0.78 for a
period commencing 180 days following July 24, 2008 and continuing for 48
months from such date.
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PLAN
OF DISTRIBUTION
The
common shares covered by this prospectus are being registered to permit public
secondary trading of these securities by the holders thereof from time to time
after the date of this prospectus. All of the common shares covered
by this prospectus are being sold by the selling shareholders or their pledgees,
donees, assignees, transferees or other successors-in-interest. We
will not receive any of the proceeds from the sale of these shares.
The
selling shareholders and their pledgees, assignees, donees, or other
successors-in-interest who acquire their shares after the date of this
prospectus may sell the common shares directly to purchasers or through
broker-dealers or agents.
The
common shares may be sold in one or more transactions at fixed prices, at
prevailing market prices at the time of sale, at varying prices determined at
the time of sale, or at negotiated prices. Sales may be effected in
transactions, which may involve block transactions or crosses:
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through
the NYSE Amex exchange or on any national securities exchange or quotation
service on which the common shares may be listed or quoted at the time of
sale;
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through
the Toronto Stock Exchange in compliance with Canadian securities laws and
rules of the Toronto Stock Exchange through registered
brokers;
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in
the over-the-counter market;
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in
transactions otherwise than on exchanges or quotation services, or in the
over-the counter market;
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through
the exercise of purchased or written options;
or
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through
any other method permitted under applicable
law.
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In
connection with sales of the common shares or otherwise, the selling
shareholders may enter into hedging transactions with broker-dealers, which may
in turn engage in short sales of the shares in the course of hedging the
positions they assume. The selling shareholders may also sell short the shares
and deliver the shares to close out short positions, or loan or pledge the
shares to broker-dealers that in turn may sell the shares.
The
aggregate proceeds to the selling shareholders from the sale of the common
shares offered hereby will be the purchase price of the common shares less
discounts and commissions, if any, paid to broker-dealers. The selling
shareholders reserve the right to accept and, together with its agents from time
to time, to reject, in whole or in part, any proposed purchase of common shares
to be made directly or through agents.
In order
to comply with the securities laws of some states, if applicable, the common
shares may be sold in these jurisdictions only through registered or licensed
brokers or dealers. In addition, in some states the shares may not be sold
unless they have been registered or qualified for sale or an exemption from
registration or qualification requirements is available and is complied
with.
The
selling shareholders may sell the shares to or through broker-dealers, who may
receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from
the selling shareholders or the purchasers. The selling shareholders and any
broker-dealers or agents that participate in the sale of the common shares may
be determined to be “underwriters” within the meaning of Section 2(11) of the
Securities Act. Any discounts, commissions, concessions or profit they earn on
any resale of the shares may be underwriting discounts and commissions under the
Securities Act. If any selling shareholder is an “underwriter” within the
meaning of Section 2(11) of the Securities Act, it will be subject to the
prospectus delivery requirements of the Securities Act.
We are
not aware of any plans, arrangements or understandings between the selling
shareholders and any underwriter, broker-dealer or agent regarding the sale of
the common shares by the selling shareholders. The selling shareholders may
decide not to sell any or all of the shares offered by it pursuant to this
prospectus and may transfer, devise or gift the shares by other means not
described in this prospectus. Moreover, any shares covered by this prospectus
that qualify for sale pursuant to Rule 144 of the Securities Act may be sold
under Rule 144 rather than pursuant to this prospectus.
If
required, we will distribute a supplement to this prospectus describing any
material changes in the terms of this offering. We may suspend the use of this
prospectus if we notify the selling shareholders that our board of directors has
determined that the sale of our common shares at such time would be detrimental
to us and our stockholders or if material non-public information exists that
must be disclosed so that this prospectus, as in effect, does not include an
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to
make the statements in this prospectus not misleading.
TAX
CONSIDERATIONS
U.S.
Federal Income Tax Considerations
The
following is a summary of the material anticipated U.S. federal income tax
consequences regarding the acquisition, ownership and disposition of our common
shares. This summary applies to you only if you hold such common shares as a
capital asset and are eligible for benefits under the Convention between the
United States of America and Canada with Respect to Taxes on Income and on
Capital signed on September 26, 1980, as amended and currently in force, which
we refer to as the U.S.-Canada tax treaty. This summary is based upon the U.S.
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which we refer to as the Code,
regulations promulgated under the Code, administrative rulings and judicial
decisions and the U.S.-Canada tax treaty as in effect on the date of this
prospectus. Changes in the laws may alter the tax treatment of our common
shares, possibly with retroactive effect.
This
summary is general in nature and does not address the effects of any state or
local taxes, or the tax consequences in jurisdictions other than the United
States. In addition, it does not address all tax consequences that may be
relevant to you in your particular circumstances, nor does it apply to you if
you are a holder with a special status, such as:
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a
person that owns, or is treated as owning under certain ownership
attribution rules, 10% or more of our voting
shares;
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a
broker, dealer or trader in securities or
currencies;
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a
bank, mutual fund, life insurance company or other financial
institution;
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a
tax-exempt organization;
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a
qualified retirement plan or individual retirement
account;
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a
person that holds our common shares as part of a straddle, hedge,
constructive sale or other integrated transaction for tax
purposes;
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a
partnership, S corporation or other pass-through
entity;
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an
investor in a partnership, S corporation or other pass-through
entity;
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a
person whose functional currency for tax purposes is not the U.S.
dollar;
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a
person liable for alternative minimum
tax;
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a
U.S. Holder (as defined below) who is a resident or deemed to be a
resident in Canada pursuant to the Income Tax Act (Canada);
and
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a
Non-U.S. Holder (as defined below) that has a trade or business in the
United States or that is an individual that either has a tax home in the
United States or is present within the United States for 183 days or more
(computed in a manner that gives partial credit for days present in
certain prior taxable years) during the taxable
year.
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If a
partnership (including for this purpose any entity treated as a partnership for
U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds our common shares, the tax treatment of
a partner will generally depend upon the status of the partner and upon the
activities of the partnership. A partner of a partnership that owns or may
acquire our common shares should consult the partner’s tax advisor regarding the
specific tax consequences of the acquisition and ownership of our common
shares.
We
believe that we are not, have not at any time been, and will not be after this
offering a “controlled foreign corporation” as defined in Section 957(a) of the
Code, although we can provide no certainty regarding this position.
YOU SHOULD CONSULT YOUR OWN ADVISOR
REGARDING THE TAX CONSEQUENCES OF THE ACQUISITION, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF
OUR COMMON SHARES IN LIGHT OF YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES.
U.S.
Holders
The
following discussion applies to you if you are a “U.S. Holder.” For purposes of
this discussion, a “U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of a common share that
is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
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an
individual citizen or resident of the United States (including an alien
who is a “green card” holder or who is present in the United States for 31
days or more in the calendar year and meets certain other
requirements);
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a
corporation created or organized in or under the laws of the United States
or any political subdivision
thereof;
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an
estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation
regardless of its source; or
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a
trust (1) that validly elects to be treated as a U.S. person for U.S.
federal income tax purposes, or (2) the administration over which a U.S.
court can exercise primary supervision and all of the substantial
decisions of which one or more U.S. persons have the authority to
control.
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Distributions
We do not
anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future. However, subject to the
discussion under “— Passive foreign investment company,” below, the gross amount
of distributions, if any, payable by us on our common shares generally would be
treated as dividend income to the extent paid out of current or accumulated
earnings and profits. Such dividends will generally be “qualified dividends” in
the hands of individual U.S. Holders and will be generally subject to a 15%
maximum individual U.S. federal income tax rate for qualified dividends received
in taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011. A corporation may
be eligible for a dividends received deduction under Section 243 of the
Code.
A
distribution on our shares in excess of current or accumulated earnings and
profits will be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of the
U.S. Holder’s adjusted basis in such shares and then as capital gain. See “—
Sale or other disposition of common shares” below.
Canadian
withholding tax on dividend distributions paid by us to a U.S. Holder is
generally reduced to 15% pursuant to the U.S.-Canada tax treaty. U.S. Holders
generally may claim the amount of any Canadian income taxes withheld either as a
deduction from gross income or as a credit against U.S. federal income tax
liability, subject to numerous complex limitations that must be determined and
applied on an individual basis. A U.S. Holder’s ability to claim such a credit
against U.S. federal income tax liability may be limited to the extent that
dividends on our common shares are treated as U.S.-source income for U.S.
foreign tax credit purposes. To the extent that a distribution with
respect to our common shares is paid from earnings and profits accumulated by a
domestic corporation engaged in a U.S. trade or business (such as a U.S.
subsidiary), any such income would be treated as U.S.-source income for U.S.
foreign tax credit purposes.
Sale
or other disposition of common shares
Subject
to the discussion under “— Passive foreign investment company” below, in
general, if you sell or otherwise dispose of our common shares in a taxable
disposition:
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you
will recognize gain or loss equal to the difference (if any) between the
U.S. dollar value of the amount realized on such sale or other taxable
disposition and your adjusted tax basis in such common
shares;
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any
gain or loss will be capital gain or loss and will be long-term capital
gain or loss if your holding period for the common shares sold is more
than one year at the time of such sale or other taxable disposition;
and
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any
gain or loss will generally be treated as U.S.-source income for U.S.
foreign tax credit purposes, although special rules apply to U.S. Holders
who have a fixed place of business outside the United States to which this
gain is attributable.
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Long-term
capital gains of individual taxpayers are generally subject to a 15% maximum
U.S. federal income tax rate for capital gains recognized in taxable years
beginning before January 1, 2011. The deductibility of capital losses is subject
to limitations.
If you
are a cash basis taxpayer who receives foreign currency, such as Canadian
dollars, in connection with a sale or other taxable disposition of our common
shares, the amount realized will be based on the U.S. dollar value of the
foreign currency received with respect to such common shares, as determined on
the settlement date of such sale or other taxable disposition.
If you
are an accrual basis taxpayer who receives foreign currency in a sale or other
taxable disposition of our common shares, you generally may elect the same
treatment required of cash basis taxpayers with respect to a sale or other
taxable disposition of such common shares, provided the election is applied
consistently from year to year. The election may not be changed without the
consent of the IRS. If you are an accrual basis taxpayer and do not elect to be
treated as a cash basis taxpayer (pursuant to the U.S. Treasury Regulations
applicable to foreign currency transactions) for this purpose, you might have a
foreign currency gain or loss for U.S. federal income tax purposes because of
differences between the U.S. dollar value of the foreign currency received on
the date of the sale (or other taxable disposition) of our common shares and the
date of payment. Any such currency gain or loss generally will be treated as
ordinary income or loss and would be in addition to gain or loss, if any,
recognized on the sale (or other taxable disposition) of our common
shares.
Passive
foreign investment company
PFIC
Rules Generally. U.S. persons who are potential holders of our common shares,
warrants or options to purchase our common shares, or debentures convertible
into our common shares, which we sometimes refer to in this prospectus as equity
securities, should be aware that we could constitute a “passive foreign
investment company” (or a “PFIC”) for U.S. federal income tax
purposes. The tests for determining PFIC status for a taxable year
depend upon the relative values of certain categories of assets and the relative
amounts of certain kinds of income. The application of these factors
depends upon our financial results for the year, which is beyond our ability to
predict or control, and may be subject to legal and factual
uncertainties. While we do not expect to be a PFIC in 2009, we are
unable to predict whether we will be a PFIC in 2009 or in later
years.
In
general terms, we will be a PFIC for any tax year in which either (i) 75% or
more of our gross income is passive income (the “income test”) or (ii) the
average percentage, by fair market value, of our assets that produce or are held
for the production of passive income is 50% or more (the “asset test”). “Passive
income” includes, for example, dividends, interest, certain rents and royalties,
certain gains from the sale of stock and securities, and certain gains from
commodities transactions. For example, we could be a PFIC for a tax year if we
have (i) losses from sales activities but interest income (and/or other passive
income) that exceeds those losses or (ii) positive gross profit from sales but
interest income (and/or other passive income) constitutes 75% or more of our
total gross income. In such situations, we could be a PFIC even without
recognizing substantial amounts of passive income.
If we are
a PFIC for any year, any U.S. Holder whose holding period for common shares
includes any portion of a year in which we are a PFIC generally would be subject
to a special adverse tax regime in respect of “excess
distributions.” Excess distributions would include certain
distributions received with respect to our common shares. Gain
recognized by a U.S. Holder on a sale or other transfer of our common shares
also would be treated as an excess distribution. Such gains and
excess distributions would be allocated ratably to the U.S. Holder’s holding
period. For this purpose, the holding period of common shares
acquired through either an exercise of warrants or options or a conversion of
debentures includes the holder’s holding period in those warrants, options, or
convertible debentures.
The
portion of any excess distributions (including gains treated as excess
distributions) allocated to the current tax year would be includible as ordinary
income in the current tax year. In contrast, the portion of any excess
distributions allocated to prior years would be taxed at the highest marginal
rate applicable to ordinary income for each year (regardless of the taxpayer’s
actual marginal rate for that year and without reduction by any losses or loss
carryforwards) and would be subject to interest charges to reflect the value of
the U.S. federal income tax deferral. U.S. Holders must report any gains or
distributions received from a PFIC by filing a Form 8621, Return by a
Shareholder of a Passive Foreign Investment Company or Qualified Electing Fund,
with their returns.
Certain
elections may sometimes be used to reduce the adverse impact of the PFIC rules
on U.S. Holders (“qualifying electing fund” (“QEF”) and “mark-to-market”
elections), but these elections may accelerate the recognition of taxable income
and may result in the recognition of ordinary income.
QEF
Election to Reduce Impact of PFIC Rules. The rules described above for "excess
distributions" will not apply to a U.S. Holder if the U.S. Holder makes a QEF
election for the first taxable year of the U.S. Holder's holding period for our
common shares during which we are a PFIC and we comply with specified reporting
requirements. A QEF election for a taxable year generally must be made on or
before the due date (as may be extended) for filing the taxpayer's U.S. federal
income tax return for the year. A U.S. Holder who makes a QEF election generally
must report on a current basis his or her pro rata share of our ordinary income
and net capital gain for any taxable year in which we are a PFIC, whether or not
we distribute those earnings. A U.S. Holder who makes a QEF election must file a
Form 8621 with their annual return. We have not decided whether we will provide
the U.S. Holders of our common shares with the annual information required to
make a QEF election.
Mark-to-Market
Election to Reduce Impact of PFIC Rules. If we become a PFIC, a U.S. Holder of
our common shares may elect to recognize any gain or loss on our common shares
on a mark-to-market basis at the end of each taxable year, so long as the common
shares are regularly traded on a qualifying exchange. The mark-to-market
election under the PFIC rules is an alternative to the QEF election. We believe
our common shares will be regularly traded on a qualifying exchange, but we
cannot provide assurance that our common shares will be considered regularly
traded on a qualifying exchange for all years in which we may be a PFIC. A U.S.
Holder who makes a mark-to-market election generally must recognize as ordinary
income all appreciation inherent in the U.S. Holder’s investment in our common
shares on a mark-to-market basis and may recognize losses inherent in our common
shares only to the extent of prior mark-to-market gain recognition. The
mark-to-market election must be made by the due date (as may be extended) for
filing the taxpayer's federal income tax return for the first year in which the
election is to take effect. A U.S. Holder who makes a mark-to-market
election must file a Form 8621 with their annual return.
Rules for
Lower-Tier PFIC Subsidiaries. Special adverse rules apply to U.S. Holders of our
common shares for any year in which we are a PFIC and have a non-U.S. subsidiary
that is also a PFIC (a “lower tier PFIC”). If we are a PFIC and a U.S. Holder of
our common shares does not make a QEF election (as described above) in respect
of any lower tier PFIC, the U.S. Holder could incur liability for the deferred
tax and interest charge described above if (i) we receive a distribution from,
or dispose of all or part of our interest in, the lower tier PFIC or
(ii) the U.S. Holder disposes of all or part of our common shares. A
QEF election that is made for our common shares will not apply to a lower tier
PFIC although a separate QEF election might be made with respect to a lower-tier
PFIC. We will use reasonable best efforts to cause a lower-tier PFIC to provide
the information necessary for an effective QEF election to be made with respect
to such lower-tier PFIC. Moreover, a mark-to-market election (as described
above) is not available for lower-tier PFICs.
Estate
Planning. Special adverse rules that impact certain estate planning
goals could apply to our common shares if we are a PFIC.
Tax
advice. The PFIC rules are extremely complex, and shareholders are
urged to consult their own tax advisers regarding the potential consequences to
them of us being classified as a PFIC.
Non-U.S.
Holders
The
following summary applies to you if you are a non-U.S. Holder of our common
shares. A non-U.S. Holder is a beneficial owner of a common share that is not a
U.S. Holder.
Distributions
In
general, you will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax or withholding tax
on dividends, if any, received from us with respect to our common shares, unless
such income is (i) effectively connected with your conduct of a trade or
business in the United States or (ii) if a treaty applies, such income is
attributable to a permanent establishment or fixed base you maintain in the
United States.
Sale
or other disposition of common shares
In
general, you will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any gain realized
upon the sale or other disposition of our common shares unless:
|
·
|
such
gain is effectively connected with your conduct of a U.S. trade or
business or, if a treaty applies, such gain is attributable to a permanent
establishment or fixed base you maintain in the United States;
or
|
|
·
|
you
are an individual who is present in the United States for 183 days or more
during the taxable year of disposition or have a tax home in the United
States, and certain other requirements are
met.
|
U.S.
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding Tax
U.S.
Holders of our common shares may be subject to information reporting and may be
subject to backup withholding (currently at a rate of 28%) on distributions on
our common shares or on the proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our
common shares paid within the United States. Payments of distributions on, or
the proceeds from the sale or other disposition of, our common shares to or
through a foreign office of a broker generally will not be subject to backup
withholding, although information reporting may apply to those payments in
certain circumstances. Backup withholding will generally not apply, however, to
a U.S. Holder who:
|
·
|
furnishes
a correct taxpayer identification number and certifies that the U.S.
Holder is not subject to backup withholding on IRS Form W-9, Request for
Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification (or substitute form);
or
|
|
·
|
is
otherwise exempt from backup
withholding.
|
In
general, a non-U.S. Holder will not be subject to information reporting and
backup withholding. However, a non-U.S. Holder may be required to establish an
exemption from information reporting and backup withholding by certifying the
non-U.S. Holder’s non-U.S. status on Form W-8BEN, Certificate of Foreign Status
of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding.
Backup
withholding is not an additional tax. Any amounts withheld from a payment to a
holder under the backup withholding rules may be credited against the holder’s
U.S. federal income tax liability, and a holder may obtain a refund of any
excess amounts withheld by filing the appropriate claim for refund with the IRS
in a timely manner.
LEGAL
MATTERS
Lackowicz, Shier & Hoffman has
provided its opinion on the validity of the common shares offered by this
prospectus.
EXPERTS
The consolidated financial statements
incorporated in this prospectus by reference from our Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008 have been audited by
Deloitte & Touche LLP, independent registered chartered accountants, as
stated in their report, which report expresses an unqualified opinion on
the financial statements and includes a separate report titled Comments by
Independent Registered Chartered Accountants on Canada — United States of
America Reporting Differences referring to changes in accounting principles and
substantial doubt on our ability to continue as a going concern, which is
incorporated herein by reference, and have been so incorporated in reliance upon
the reports of such firm given upon their authority as experts in accounting and
auditing.
DISCLOSURE
OF COMMISSION POSITION ON INDEMNIFICATION FOR SECURITIES ACT
LIABILITY
The Business Corporations Act (Yukon
Territory) imposes liability on officers and directors for breach of fiduciary
duty except in certain specified circumstances, and also empowers corporations
organized under Yukon Territory law to indemnify officers, directors, employees
and others from liability in certain circumstances such as where the person
successfully defended himself on the merits or acted in good faith in a manner
reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the
corporation.
Our By-laws, with certain exceptions,
eliminate any personal liability of our directors and officers to us or our
shareholders for monetary damages arising from such person’s performance as a
director or officer, provided such person has acted in accordance with the
requirements of the governing statute. Our By-laws also provide for
indemnification of directors and officers, with certain exceptions, to the full
extent permitted under law which includes all liability, damages and costs or
expenses arising from or in connection with service for, employment by, or other
affiliation with us to the maximum extent and under all circumstances permitted
by law.
We maintain insurance policies under
which our directors and officers are insured, within the limits and subject to
the limitations of the policies, against expenses in connection with the defense
of actions, suits or proceedings, and certain liabilities that might be imposed
as a result of such actions, suits or proceedings, to which they are parties by
reason of being or having been a director or officer of
Apollo.
You should rely only on the information
incorporated by reference or provided in this prospectus or any supplement to
this prospectus. We have authorized no one to provide you with different
information. We are not making an offer of these securities in any state where
the offer is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this
prospectus is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this
prospectus.
APOLLO GOLD
CORPORATION
27,677,692
COMMON SHARES
PROSPECTUS
PART II
INFORMATION NOT
REQUIRED IN THE PROSPECTUS
Item 14. Other
Expenses of Issuance and Distribution.
We will pay all expenses in connection
with the issuance and distribution of the securities being registered. The
following table is an itemized statement of these expenses, other than
underwriting discounts and commissions:
SEC
registration fee
|
|
$ |
741.32 |
|
NYSE
Amex exchange listing fee
|
|
$ |
0 |
|
Legal
fees and expenses
|
|
$ |
20,000 |
|
Accountant’s
fees and expenses
|
|
$ |
15,000 |
|
Trustee
and transfer agent fees
|
|
$ |
0 |
|
Printing
and engraving
|
|
$ |
0 |
|
Miscellaneous
|
|
$ |
0 |
|
Total
|
|
$ |
35,741.32 |
|
All of the above expenses are estimated
except the NYSE Amex exchange listing fee and the SEC registration
fee.
Item 15. Indemnification
of Officers and Directors.
The Business Corporations Act (Yukon
Territory) imposes liability on officers and directors for breach of fiduciary
duty except in certain specified circumstances, and also empowers corporations
organized under Yukon Territory law to indemnify officers, directors, employees
and others from liability in certain circumstances such as where the person
successfully defended himself on the merits or acted in good faith in a manner
reasonably believed to be in the best interests of the
corporation.
Our By-laws, with certain exceptions,
eliminate any personal liability of our directors and officers to us or our
shareholders for monetary damages arising from such person’s performance as a
director or officer, provided such person has acted in accordance with the
requirements of the governing statute. Our By-laws also provide for
indemnification of directors and officers, with certain exceptions, to the full
extent permitted under law which includes all liability, damages and costs or
expenses arising from or in connection with service for, employment by, or other
affiliation with us to the maximum extent and under all circumstances permitted
by law.
We maintain insurance policies under
which our directors and officers are insured, within the limits and subject to
the limitations of the policies, against expenses in connection with the defense
of actions, suits or proceedings, and certain liabilities that might be imposed
as a result of such actions, suits or proceedings, to which they are parties by
reason of being or having been a director or officer of
Apollo.
Item 16.
Exhibits.
Exhibit
No.
|
|
Description
|
|
|
|
1.1
|
|
Underwriting
Agreement, dated July 15, 2009, by and among Apollo Gold Corporation and
Haywood Securities Inc. and Blackmont Capital Inc. filed with the SEC on
July 20, 2009 as Exhibit 1.1 to the Current Report on Form
8-K
|
|
|
|
1.2
|
|
Amendment
to Underwriting Agreement, dated July 15, 2009, by and among Apollo Gold
Corporation and Haywood Securities Inc. and Blackmont Capital Inc. filed
with the SEC on July 20, 2009 as Exhibit 1.2 to the Current Report on Form
8-K
|
|
|
|
4.1
|
|
Sample
Certificate of Common Shares of Apollo Gold Corporation, filed with the
SEC on June 23, 2003 as Exhibit 4.1 to the Registration Statement on Form
10
|
|
|
|
4.2
|
|
Shareholder
Rights Plan Agreement, dated January 17, 2007, by and between Apollo Gold
Corporation and CIBC Mellon Trust Company filed with the SEC on January
19, 2007 as Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form
8-K
|
4.3
|
|
Form
of Compensation Option Certificate issued by Apollo Gold Corporation to
Haywood Securities Inc., filed with the SEC on July 20, 2009 as Exhibit
4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K
|
|
|
|
4.4
|
|
Form
of Compensation Option Certificate issued by Apollo Gold Corporation to
Blackmont Capital Inc., filed with the SEC on July 20, 2009 as Exhibit 4.2
to the Current Report on Form 8-K
|
|
|
|
4.5
|
|
Form
of Subscription Agreement for Common Shares (U.S.) by and among Apollo
Gold Corporation and certain investors, filed with the SEC on July 20,
2009 as Exhibit 4.3 to the Current Report on Form 8-K
|
|
|
|
4.6
|
|
Form
of Subscription Agreement for Common Shares (Non-U.S.) by and among Apollo
Gold Corporation and certain investors, filed with the SEC on July 20,
2009 as Exhibit 4.4 to the Current Report on Form 8-K
|
|
|
|
4.7
|
|
Form
of Subscription Agreement for Flow Through Shares by and among Apollo Gold
Corporation and certain investors, filed with the SEC on July 20, 2009 as
Exhibit 4.5 to the Current Report on Form 8-K
|
|
|
|
4.8
|
|
Form
of Registration Rights Agreement by and among Apollo Gold Corporation and
certain investors, filed with the SEC on July 20, 2009 as Exhibit 4.6 to
the Current Report on Form 8-K
|
|
|
|
5.1
|
|
Opinion
of Lackowicz, Shier & Hoffman *
|
|
|
|
23.1
|
|
Consent
of Lackowicz, Shier & Hoffman (included in
Exhibit 5.1)
|
|
|
|
23.2
|
|
Consent
of Deloitte & Touche LLP *
|
|
|
|
24.1
|
|
Power
of Attorney (previously filed)
|
Item 17. Undertakings.
(a)
|
The
undersigned registrant hereby
undertakes:
|
(1)
|
To
file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a
post-effective amendment to this registration
statement:
|
|
(i)
|
To
include any prospectus required by section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act
of 1933;
|
|
(ii)
|
To
reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective
date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective
amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a
fundamental change in the information in the registration statement.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of
securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would
not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or
high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the
form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if,
in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than a
20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the
“Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration
statement;
|
|
(iii)
|
To
include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution
not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material
change to such information in the registration
statement;
|
…
|
(B)
|
Paragraphs
(a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii) and (a)(1)(iii) of this section do not apply if the
registration statement is on Form S-3 or Form F-3 and the information
required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs
is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the
registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the
registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed
pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is part of the registration
statement.
|
(2)
|
That,
for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of
1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new
registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the
offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial
bona fide offering thereof.
|
(3)
|
To
remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the
securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the
offering.
|
(5)
|
That,
for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933
to any purchaser:
|
|
(i)
|
If
the registrant is relying on Rule
430B:
|
|
(A)
|
Each
prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be
deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed
prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement;
and
|
|
(B)
|
Each
prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or
(b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B
relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x)
for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of
the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in
the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of
prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first
contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the
prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer
and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be
deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating
to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus
relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed
to be the initial bona
fide offering thereof; provided, however, that no statement made in
a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration
statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by
reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of
the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract
of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement
that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of
the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior
to such effective date; or
|
|
(ii)
|
If
the registrant is subject to Rule 430C, each prospectus filed pursuant to
Rule 424(b) as part of a registration statement relating to an offering,
other than registration statements relying on Rule 430B or other than
prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A, shall be deemed to be part of
and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used
after effectiveness; provided, however, that no statement made in a
registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration
statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by
reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of
the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract
of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that
was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the
registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to
such date of first use.
|
…
(b)
|
The
undersigned registrant hereby undertakes that, for purposes of determining
any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the
registrant’s annual report pursuant to section 13(a) or section 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (and, where applicable, each filing of
an employee benefit plan’s annual report pursuant to section 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934) that is incorporated by reference in the
registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement
relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such
securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide
offering thereof.
|
(h)
|
Insofar
as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of
1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of
the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the
registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and
Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as
expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the
event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other
than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a
director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the
successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such
director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities
being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its
counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a
court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such
indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and
will be governed by the final adjudication of such
issue.
|
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the
Securities Act of 1933, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds
to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing a registration
statement on Form S-3 and has duly caused this registration statement to be
signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City
of Denver, State of Colorado, on November 4, 2009.
APOLLO GOLD
CORPORATION
|
|
|
By:
|
/s/ Melvyn
Williams
|
Melvyn Williams, Chief Financial
Officer and Senior Vice President - Finance and Corporate
Development
|
|
|
By:
|
/s/ R. David
Russell
|
R.
David Russell, President and Chief Executive Officer, Director and
Authorized U.S.
Representative
|
POWER
OF ATTORNEY
Each individual whose signature appears
below constitutes and appoints each of R. David Russell and Melvyn
Williams, his true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agents with full power of
substitution, for him and in his name, place and stead, in any and all
capacities, to sign any and all amendments (including post-effective amendments
and any Registration Statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the
Securities Act of 1933) to this registration statement on Form S-3, and to file
the same with all exhibits and schedules thereto and all documents in connection
therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto each of
attorney-in-fact and his agents, full power and authority to do and perform each
and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in and about the
premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he might or could do in
person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and
agents or any of them, or his or their substitute or substitutes, may lawfully
do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the
Securities Act of 1933, this registration statement has been signed by the
following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signature
|
|
Title
|
|
Date
|
/s/ R. David Russell
|
|
President
and Chief Executive
|
|
November 4,
2009
|
R. David
Russell
|
|
Officer,
and Director
|
|
|
|
|
(Principal
Executive Officer)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
/s/ Melvyn Williams
|
|
Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice
|
|
November 4,
2009
|
Melvyn
Williams
|
|
President - Finance and Corporate
|
|
|
|
|
Development (Principal Financial and
|
|
|
|
|
Accounting Officer)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Chairman
of the Board of Directors
|
|
November 4,
2009
|
Charles
E. Stott
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Director
|
|
November 4,
2009
|
G. Michael
Hobart
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Director
|
|
November 4,
2009
|
Robert
W. Babensee
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Director
|
|
November 4,
2009
|
W.
S. Vaughan
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Director
|
|
November 4,
2009
|
David
W. Peat
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*
|
|
Director
|
|
November 4,
2009
|
Marvin
K. Kaiser
|
|
|
|
|
EXHIBIT
INDEX
Exhibit
No.
|
|
Description
|
|
|
|
1.1
|
|
Underwriting
Agreement, dated July 15, 2009, by and among Apollo Gold Corporation and
Haywood Securities Inc. and Blackmont Capital Inc. filed with the SEC on
July 20, 2009 as Exhibit 1.1 to the Current Report on Form
8-K
|
|
|
|
1.2
|
|
Amendment
to Underwriting Agreement, dated July 15, 2009, by and among Apollo Gold
Corporation and Haywood Securities Inc. and Blackmont Capital Inc. filed
with the SEC on July 20, 2009 as Exhibit 1.2 to the Current Report on Form
8-K
|
|
|
|
4.1
|
|
Sample
Certificate of Common Shares of Apollo Gold Corporation, filed with the
SEC on June 23, 2003 as Exhibit 4.1 to the Registration Statement on Form
10
|
|
|
|
4.2
|
|
Shareholder
Rights Plan Agreement, dated January 17, 2007, by and between Apollo Gold
Corporation and CIBC Mellon Trust Company filed with the SEC on January
19, 2007 as Exhibit 4.1 to the Current Report on Form
8-K
|
|
|
|
4.3
|
|
Form
of Compensation Option Certificate issued by Apollo Gold Corporation to
Haywood Securities Inc., filed with the SEC on July 20, 2009 as Exhibit
4.1 to the Current Report on Form 8-K
|
|
|
|
4.4
|
|
Form
of Compensation Option Certificate issued by Apollo Gold Corporation to
Blackmont Capital Inc., filed with the SEC on July 20, 2009 as Exhibit 4.2
to the Current Report on Form 8-K
|
|
|
|
4.5
|
|
Form
of Subscription Agreement for Common Shares (U.S.) by and among Apollo
Gold Corporation and certain investors, filed with the SEC on July 20,
2009 as Exhibit 4.3 to the Current Report on Form 8-K
|
|
|
|
4.6
|
|
Form
of Subscription Agreement for Common Shares (Non-U.S.) by and among Apollo
Gold Corporation and certain investors, filed with the SEC on July 20,
2009 as Exhibit 4.4 to the Current Report on Form 8-K
|
|
|
|
4.7
|
|
Form
of Subscription Agreement for Flow Through Shares by and among Apollo Gold
Corporation and certain investors, filed with the SEC on July 20, 2009 as
Exhibit 4.5 to the Current Report on Form 8-K
|
|
|
|
4.8
|
|
Form
of Registration Rights Agreement by and among Apollo Gold Corporation and
certain investors, filed with the SEC on July 20, 2009 as Exhibit 4.6 to
the Current Report on Form 8-K
|
|
|
|
5.1
|
|
Opinion
of Lackowicz, Shier & Hoffman *
|
|
|
|
23.1
|
|
Consent
of Lackowicz, Shier & Hoffman (included in
Exhibit 5.1)
|
|
|
|
23.2
|
|
Consent
of Deloitte & Touche LLP *
|
|
|
|
24.1
|
|
Power
of Attorney (previously filed)
|