(TheNewswire)
Montreal, Quebec – TheNewswire - March 22, 2021 —Niocan Inc. (“ Niocan ” or the“ Company ”) (TSXV:NIO) announces that it hasentered into an agreement (the “ Loan Agreement ”) with Nio-Metals Holdings LLC (“ Nio-Metals ”) for an unsecured bridge loan facility of $500,000 (the “ Loan ”). The purposeof the Loan is to allow Niocan to renew claims at its Great Whale ironproperty and to continue to work towards asignificantly larger financing .
Niocan is continuing discussionswith interested parties regarding potential financings to raisesufficient funds to obtain the required permits and authorization todevelop its Oka property. Niocan’s management is also pursuing financing activitiesto continue exploration activities with respect to the Great Whaleiron property.
According to Hubert Marleau, President and CEO ofNiocan: “This loan from Nio-Metals provides us with the ongoingsupport we need regarding the Great Whale iron property while we pressahead towards raising the additional capital required to obtain thecertificate of authorization and social acceptance regarding the Okaproperty. The Company looks forward to becoming a ferroniobiumproducer as soon as possible, while investing towards its threemineral prospects (historical resources) of magnetite ore, locatednear the Great Whale River.”
The Loan has a 24-month term to maturity, bearsinterest of 6% per annum payable quarterly, and is not convertible.The Loan may be repaid at any time prior to maturity withoutpenalty.
The Loan Agreement was approved by all of theindependent members of the board of directors of Niocan, with thenominee of Nio-Metals having recused himself from the decision.
Related Party Disclosure
Pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 -- Protection of MinoritySecurity Holders in Special Transactions (“ MI 61-101 ”), the Loan Agreement constitutes a “related partytransaction” as Nio-Metals currently holds 49.4% of the issued andoutstanding common shares of the Company.
The Company is exempt from obtaining minorityshareholder approval in connection with the Loan Agreement in relianceon section 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as the fair market value of theLoan does not exceed 25% of the Company’s market capitalization. TheLoan (and its related party transaction component) will also bedisclosed in the Company's material change report which will be filedon SEDAR less than 21 days prior to the date of execution of the LoanAgreement as a result of the immediate need for Niocan to access theLoan.
For more information on the Company, please refer tothe Company's public documents available on SEDAR ( www.sedar.com ).
For more information, please contact:
Hubert Marleau
Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer
niocan.investorinformation@gmail.com
(514) 560-7623
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release includes certain statements that are“forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the securitieslaws of Canada. Any statement in this press release that is not astatement of historical fact may be deemed to be a forward-lookingstatement. When used in this press release, the words “believe”,“could”, “should”, “intend”, “expect”, “estimate”,“assume” and other similar expressions are generally intended toidentify forward-looking statements. Such statements are based onassumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by the managementof the Company in light of their experience, current conditions andtheir expectations of future developments as well as other factorswhich they believe to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-lookingstatements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and otherfactors that may cause actual results to differ materially from thoseexpressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to varyinclude but are not limited to: the Company's inability to obtainadditional financing on acceptable terms or at all; changes in equityand debt markets; inflation; uncertainties relating to theavailability and costs of financing needed to complete exploration,development and production activities; failure to establish estimatedmineral resources or mineral reserves; exploration costs varyingsignificantly from estimates; delays in the exploration anddevelopment of, and/or commercial production from, the properties inwhich the Company has an interest; unexpected geological orhydrological conditions; the speculative nature of mineral explorationand development, including the uncertainty of reserve and resourceestimates; operational and technical difficulties, including thefailure of major mining and/or milling equipment; the ability of theCompany to service its existing debt facilities; fluctuations inniobium and other commodity prices; the existence of undetected orunregistered interests or claims over the property of the Company;success of future exploration and development initiatives;competition; operating performance of facilities; environmental andsafety risks, including increased regulatory burdens, seismicactivity, weather and other natural phenomena; inability to, or delaysin, obtaining necessary permits and approvals from governmentauthorities; risks relating to labour; and other exploration,development and operating risks; changes to and compliance withapplicable laws and regulations, including environmental laws;political, economic and other risks arising from the Company'sactivities; fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; and those risksset out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. Unlessotherwise required by applicable securities laws, Niocan disclaims anyintention or obligation to update or revise the forward-lookingstatements, whether as a result of new information, future events orotherwise. The foregoing risks and uncertainties include the risks setforth under “Risks and Uncertainties” in Niocan’s latestMD&A which can be found on www.sedar.com as well as other risks detailed from time to time in reports filed byNiocan with securities regulators in Canada.
Copyright (c) 2021 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.