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LIQUIDITY | 9 Months Ended
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Sep. 30, 2020
LIQUIDITY |
LIQUIDITY | 2. LIQUIDITY The Company last recorded revenues from operations in 2009. Since 2009, the Company has relied on equity financings, debt financings and asset sales to fund its operations. The Company expects to rely on debt and equity financing to fund its operations into the near future. The Company will also continue its cost reduction initiatives to identify ways to reduce its cash expenditures. In 2016, the Company began to incorporate energy-related materials into its business plan. Between 2016 and 2020 the Company obtained mineral leases in Nevada and Utah and evaluated a green-fields exploration program for lithium. In 2018, the Company acquired Alabama Graphite Corp. and its Coosa Graphite Project for the purpose of developing the only commercial sized graphite mineral deposit in the contiguous United States and production of advanced graphite products for use in batteries. In the third quarter of 2020, as further discussed below and as further discussed in Note 8, the Company made the strategic decision to focus most of its resources on its graphite business, agreeing to the sale of its uranium business and discontinuing its investment in its lithium mineral properties. As of September 30, 2020, execution of the business plan for development of the Coosa Graphite Project was underway, with the commissioning of pilot plants for processing flake graphite into battery grade graphite products. The start-up of operations for those plants is expected to commence before the end of 2020 or shortly thereafter. The Company expects the pilot plant phase to last into mid-2021. The Company will use the data generated from the pilot plant operations to inform the requirements and specifications for building a commercial sized graphite processing facility. Pursuant to the Company’s Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Coosa Graphite Project as modified, financing required for the estimated capital expenditures to construct the commercial plant is approximately $120 million. Subject to financing, the Company expects the construction phase for the commercial plant to begin in the second half of 2021 and be completed in mid-2022. The Company expects to begin generating revenues from sales of advanced graphite products from the Coosa Graphite Project in 2023. While executing on its graphite business plan, the Company has continued to fulfill its obligation to restore and reclaim its legacy uranium properties in South Texas. These activities have resulted in expenditures of approximately $3.5 million per year, and these reclamation activities are expected to continue for an additional 4-5 years before completion. The Company has provided $9.3 million in performance obligation bonds to the Texas Commission for Environment Quality as financial assurance related to its permits and licenses in South Texas, and has a recorded liability of approximately $6.0 million for asset retirement obligations on its balance sheet (see Note 9). In addition to its South Texas uranium operations, the Company has spent about $0.5 million to $1.0 million annually to maintain its uranium mineral property holdings in New Mexico. In furtherance of the Company’s strategic shift to graphite battery materials, on September 1, 2020 the Company entered into a Letter of Intent (“LOI”) to sell its U.S. uranium business, including its U.S. uranium exploration assets in New Mexico and idled production assets in Texas to enCore Energy Corp. (“enCore”) (see Note 8). The pending sale includes the elimination of the $9.3 million bonding liability, the elimination of the $6.0 million in asset retirement obligations, and the elimination of more than $4.0 million in annual expenditures related to reclamation and compliance costs at the Company’s Kingsville, Vasquez, and Rosita sites in South Texas and its New Mexico land holding costs. The Company anticipates that it will receive approximately US$2.0 million of enCore common stock and retain royalty interests on the New Mexico uranium properties as consideration for the sale. This transaction is expected to close on or before December 31, 2020. The Company will retain its uranium interests in Turkey, which are subject to ongoing international arbitration proceeding. The Company’s strategic shift to focus solely on its graphite business also resulted in its decision not to renew its lithium mineral leases in Nevada and Utah when the annual rentals of approximately $0.2 million came due in late August 2020. At September 30, 2020 the Company’s cash balances were $5.5 million. During the month of October 2020, the Company sold 8.5 million shares of common stock for net proceeds of $50.2 million pursuant to its Controlled Equity Offering SM Sales Agreement with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”) and its Purchase Agreement with Lincoln Park Capital LLC (“Lincoln Park”) (see Note 17). The funding provided by these financing facilities has resulted in a cash balance of approximately $53.3 million at October 31, 2020. Management believes the significant treasury balance has mitigated the Company’s capital risk through 2021 as the Company’s 2021 non-discretionary budget, budgeted graphite pilot plant program and the remaining budgeted product development initiatives are now fully funded. The Company is pursuing project financing to support primary funding of the capital expenditures for construction of the commercial plant set to occur in the second half of 2021. Management believes the Company’s current cash balance is sufficient to fund its planned non-discretionary expenditures through 2022. In addition to pursuing other project financing, the Company is evaluating the renewal of the Cantor and Lincoln Park financing facilities for use in funding any required contributions by the Company to support project financing for construction of the commercial graphite facility. While the Company has been successful in the past in raising funds through equity and debt financings as well as through the sale of non-core assets, no assurance can be given that additional financing will be available to it in amounts sufficient to meet its needs, or on terms acceptable to the Company. Stock price volatility and uncertain economic conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic could significantly impact the Company’s ability to raise funds through equity financing. In the event funds are not available for project financing to complete construction of the commercial facility in 2022, the Company will be able to fund its non-discretionary expenditures, however, the Company may be required to change our planned business strategies.

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- Definition The entire disclosure when substantial doubt is raised about the ability to continue as a going concern. Includes, but is not limited to, principal conditions or events that raised substantial doubt about the ability to continue as a going concern, management's evaluation of the significance of those conditions or events in relation to the ability to meet its obligations, and management's plans that alleviated or are intended to mitigate the conditions or events that raise substantial doubt about the ability to continue as a going concern. + References Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 205 -SubTopic 40 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/subtopic&trid=51888271 + Details
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