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CONTINGENCY

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

17.	CONTINGENCY

Claims and Legal Proceedings

On November 15, 2019, ThreeD Capital Inc. (“ThreeD”) and 1313366 Ontario Inc. (“131” and together with ThreeD, the “Plaintiffs”) each entered into share purchase agreements (the “Share Purchase Agreements”) with Palisades Goldcorp Ltd. (“Palisades”) under which Palisades agreed to purchase the 13,500,000 common shares of the Company owned by ThreeD and the 4,000,000 common shares of the Company owned by 131 for $0.08 per common share. The transactions closed on November 20, 2019. As a private company with restrictions on the transfer of its common shares, the Company had to approve the proposed transfer, which it did by a consent resolution of the Board.

On March 10, 2020, ThreeD Capital Inc. and 131 filed a statement of claim in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against Collin Kettell, Palisades and the Company (the “ThreeD Claim”). Pursuant to the ThreeD Claim, the Plaintiffs are challenging the validity of the sale of 17,500,000 common shares by the Plaintiffs to Palisades on November 20, 2019. ThreeD and 131 claim that at the time of negotiation and execution of the Share Purchase Agreements, Palisades and Mr. Kettell were aware of positive drill results from the Company’s 2019 Drill Program and the results were not disclosed to ThreeD and 131 to their detriment. Palisades and Mr. Kettell strongly deny ThreeD and 131’s allegations. ThreeD and 131 have made specific claims for (a) recission of the Share Purchase Agreements on the basis of oppression or unfair prejudice; (b) or alternatively, damages in the amount of $21,000,000 for the alleged improper actions by ThreeD and 131, (c) a declaration that Palisades and Collin Kettell, as shareholder or director and/or officer of the Company, have had acted in a manner that is oppressive, unfairly prejudicial or unfairly disregarded their interests, (d) a declaration that Palisades and Collin Kettell engaged in insider trading contrary to section 138 of the Securities Act (Ontario), (e) unjust enrichment and (f) interests and costs. Palisades and Mr. Kettell refute each of the specific claims made by the Plaintiffs.

The Company filed a statement of defence in response to the ThreeD Claim on June 12, 2020, pursuant to which, among other things, the Company denies that it is a proper party to the ThreeD Claim and the allegations against it therein, including because no relief is claimed against the Company in paragraph 1 of the ThreeD Claim. The action has now progressed through the production of documents and oral examinations for discovery stages.

In early 2022, the Plaintiffs formally amended their statement of claim to increase the amount claimed to $229,000,000 and to advance a direct claim of oppressive conduct against the Company. While continuing to deny any and all liability to the Plaintiffs, the Company has amended its defence to include specific denials of the new allegations of oppressive conduct against it. The parties completed an additional round of examinations for discovery in January 2023, following which the plaintiffs set the action down for trial. The parties had a mediation meeting on October 3, 2023, but were unable to settle the case. A trial date has been set for January 2025.

The outcome of this claim cannot be determined at this time and therefore no amount has been accrued for.