ANNUAL INFORMATION FORM For the year ended June 30, 2023
Dated as at September 22, 2023
NEW PACIFIC METALS CORP.
Suite 1750 - 1066 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada V6E 3X1
Tel: (604) 633-1368
Fax: (604) 669-9387
Email: info@newpacificmetals.com Website: www.newpacificmetals.com
TABLE OF CONTENTS | |||
Cautionary Note Regarding Results of Preliminary Economic Assessment |
1.4 Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors Concerning Preparation of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve
ITEM 3: | GENERAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE BUSINESS | 6 | |
3.1 | Business of New Pacific | 6 | |
3.2 | Three Year History | 6 | |
3.3 | Significant Acquisitions | 13 | |
ITEM 4: | DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS | 13 | |
4.1 | General | 13 | |
4.2 | Risk Factors | 14 | |
ITEM 5: | MINERAL PROPERTY | 22 | |
5.1 | Silver Sand Project | 22 | |
5.2 | Carangas Project | 38 | |
ITEM 6: | DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS | 46 | |
ITEM 7: | DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STRUCTURE | 46 | |
ITEM 8: | MARKET FOR SECURITIES | 46 | |
8.1 | Trading Price and Volume | 46 | |
8.2 | Prior Sales | 47 | |
ITEM 9: | ESCROWED SECURITIES | 48 | |
ITEM 10: | DIRECTORS AND OFFICERS | 48 | |
10.1 | Name, Occupation and Security Holding | 48 | |
10.2 | Cease Trade Orders, Bankruptcies, Penalties or Sanctions | 49 | |
10.3 | Conflicts of Interest | 49 | |
ITEM 11: | AUDIT COMMITTEE | 50 | |
11.1 | Audit Committee Charter | 50 | |
11.2 | Composition of the Audit Committee | 50 | |
11.3 | Relevant Education and Experience | 50 | |
11.4 | Audit Committee Oversight | 51 | |
11.5 | Pre-ApprovalPolicies and Procedures | 51 | |
11.6 | External Auditor Service Fees | 51 | |
ITEM 12: | PROMOTERS | 51 | |
ITEM 13: | LEGAL PROCEEDINGS AND REGULATORY ACTIONS | 52 | |
13.1 | Legal Proceedings | 52 | |
13.2 | Regulatory Actions | 52 | |
ITEM 14: | INTEREST OF MANAGEMENT AND OTHERS IN MATERIAL TRANSACTIONS | 52 | |
ITEM 15: | TRANSFER AGENTS AND REGISTRARS | 52 | |
ITEM 16: | MATERIAL CONTRACTS | 52 | |
ITEM 17: | INTERESTS OF EXPERTS | 53 | |
ITEM 18: | ADDITIONAL INFORMATION | 53 | |
SCHEDULE "A" | 54 |
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ITEM 1: | GENERAL |
1.1 Date of Information
All information in this Annual Information Form ("AIF") is as of June 30, 2023, unless otherwise indicated.
1.2 Forward-Looking Statements
Except for statements of historical fact relating to New Pacific Metals Corp. (the "Company" or "New Pacific"), certain statements and information contained in this AIF that are not current or historic factual statements, constitute "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-lookinginformation") within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian provincial securities laws. Any statements or information that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "expects", "is expected", "anticipates", "believes", "plans", "projects", "estimates", "assumes", "intends", "strategies", "targets", "goals", "forecasts", "objectives", "budgets", "schedules", "potential" or variations thereof or stating that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved, or the negative of any of these terms and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements or information. Such statements include, but are not limited to: statements regarding anticipated exploration, drilling, development, construction, and other activities or achievements of the Company; inferred, indicated or measured mineral resources or mineral reserves on the Company's projects; the results of any preliminary economic assessment ("PEA"), pre-feasibility study ("PFS"), mineral resource estimate ("MRE") and other technical reports; timing of receipt of permits and regulatory approvals, including approvals of mining association contracts; estimates of the Company's revenues and capital expenditures; the acquisition of other businesses, assets or securities; the growth of Company's mineral resources through acquisitions and exploration; future securities offerings and use of proceeds therefrom; the terms of the Company's securities; use of proceeds; capital expenditures; success of exploration activities; government regulation of mining operations; environmental risks; and other forecasts and predictions with respect to the Company and its properties.
Forward-looking statements or information are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements or information, including, without limitation, risks relating to: global economic and social impact of public health crisis (such as a resurgence of the COVID-19 novel coronavirus); fluctuating equity prices, bond prices, commodity prices; calculation of resources, reserves and mineralization, general economic conditions, foreign exchange risks, interest rate risk, foreign investment risk; loss of key personnel; conflicts of interest; dependence on management, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, environmental risks, operations and political conditions, the regulatory environment in Bolivia and Canada, risks associated with community relations and corporate social responsibility, and other factors described under the heading "Risk Factors" in this AIF. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect any of the Company's forward-looking statements or information.
The forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates, assumptions, beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date of this AIF that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates, assumptions, beliefs, expectations and options include, but are not limited to, those related to the Company's ability to carry on current and future operations, including: public health crisis on our operations and workforce; development and exploration activities; the timing, extent, duration and economic viability of such operations; the accuracy and reliability of estimates, projections, forecasts, studies and assessments; the Company's ability to meet or achieve estimates, projections and forecasts; the stabilization of the political climate in Bolivia; the Company's ability to obtain and maintain social license at its mineral properties; the availability and cost of inputs; the price and market for outputs; foreign exchange rates; taxation levels; the timely receipt of necessary approvals or permits, including the ratification and approval of the Mining Production Contract ("MPC") with Corporación Minera de Bolivia ("COMIBOL"), the Bolivian state mining corporation, by the Plurinational Legislative Assembly of Bolivia; the ability of the Company's Bolivian partner to convert the exploration licenses at the Carangas Project (as defined below) to Administrative Mining Contract ("AMC"); the ability to meet current and future obligations; the ability to obtain timely financing on reasonable terms when required; the current and future social, economic and political conditions; and other assumptions and factors generally associated with the mining industry.
Although the forward-looking statements contained in this AIF are based upon what management believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. All forward- looking statements in this AIF are qualified by these cautionary statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this AIF are made as of the date of such document and, accordingly, is subject to change after such date. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on such statements. Other than specifically required by applicable laws, the Company is under no obligation and
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expressly disclaims any such obligation to update or alter the forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as may be required by law. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this AIF.
1.3 Cautionary Note Regarding Results of Preliminary Economic Assessment
The results of the independent preliminary economic assessment and technical report prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") titled "Technical Report - Silver Sand Deposit Preliminary Economic Assessment" dated February 16, 2023 and with an effective date of November 30, 2022 (the "Silver Sand Technical Report") and prepared by certain qualified persons (as defined in NI 43-101) associated with AMC Mining Consultants (Canada) Ltd. (the "AMC Consultants") are preliminary in nature and are intended to provide an initial assessment of the Silver Sand Project's economic potential and development options of the Silver Sand Project (as defined below). The PEA mine schedule and economic assessment includes numerous assumptions and is based on both indicated and inferred mineral resources. Inferred resources are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the project economic assessments described herein will be achieved or that the PEA results will be realized. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by geology, environmental, permitting, legal, title, socio-political, marketing or other relevant issues. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Additional exploration will be required to potentially upgrade the classification of the inferred mineral resources to be considered in future advanced studies. AMC Consultants (mineral resource, mining, infrastructure and financial analysis) was contracted to conduct the PEA in cooperation with Halyard Inc. (metallurgy and processing), and NewFields Canada Mining & Environment ULC (tailings, water and waste management). The qualified persons for the PEA for the purposes of NI 43-101 are Mr. John Morton Shannon, P.Geo, General Manager and Principal Geologist at AMC Consultants, Mr. Wayne Rogers, P.Eng, and Mr. Mo Molavi, P.Eng, both Principal Mining Engineers with AMC Consultants, Mr. Andrew Holloway P.Eng, Process Director with Halyard Inc., and Mr. Leon Botham P.Eng., Principal Engineer with NewFields Canada Mining & Environment ULC, in addition to Ms. Dinara Nussipakynova, P.Geo., Principal Geologist with AMC Consultants, who estimated the mineral resources (collectively, the "Silver Sand Technical Report Authors"). All qualified persons for the PEA have reviewed the disclosure of the PEA herein. The PEA is based on the mineral resource estimate (the "Silver Sand MRE"), which was reported on November 28, 2022. The effective date of the Silver Sand MRE is October 31, 2022. The cut-off applied for reporting the pit-constrained mineral resources is 30 g/t silver. Assumptions made to derive a cut-off grade included mining costs, processing costs and recoveries and were obtained from comparable industry situations. The model is depleted for historical mining activities. Mineral resources are constrained by optimized pit shells at a silver price of US$22.50 per ounce, silver metallurgical recovery of 91%, silver payability of 99%, open pit mining cost of US$2.6/t, processing cost of US$16/t, G&A cost of US$2/t, and slope angle of 44-47 degrees. Key assumptions used for pit optimization for the PEA mining pit include silver price of US$22.50 per ounce, silver metallurgical recovery of 91%, silver payability of 99%, open pit mining cost of US$2.6/t, incremental mining cost of US$0.04/t (per 10 m bench), processing cost of US$16/t, tailing storage facility operating cost of US$0.7/t, G&A cost of US$2/t, royalty of 6.00%, mining recovery of 92%, dilution of 8%, and cut-off grade of 30 g/t silver.
1.4 Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors Concerning Preparation of Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimates
This AIF has been prepared in accordance with the securities laws in effect in Canada which differ from the requirements of the United States of America ("U.S." or "United States") securities laws. The technical and scientific information contained herein has been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101, which differs from the standards adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") under subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K (the "SEC Modernization Rules"). The Company is not currently subject to the SEC Modernization Rules. Accordingly, the Company's disclosure of mineralization and other technical information herein may differ significantly from the information that would be disclosed had the Company prepared such information under the standards adopted under the SEC Modernization Rules.
Readers are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of mineral resources will ever be converted into reserves. Pursuant to the Canadian Institute of Mining Definition Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves (the "CIM Standards"), inferred mineral resources are that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. Such geological evidence is sufficient to imply but not verify geological and grade or quality continuity. An inferred mineral resource has a lower level of confidence than that applying to an indicated mineral resource and must not be converted to a mineral reserve. However, it is reasonably expected that the majority of inferred mineral resources could be upgraded to indicated mineral resources with continued exploration. Under Canadian rules, estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of feasibility or pre-feasibility studies, except in rare cases. Investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource is economically or legally mineable.
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1.5 Currency
All sums of money which are referred to herein are expressed in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise specified. The symbol "CAD$" denotes lawful money of Canada. The following table sets forth, for each of the periods indicated, the year-end exchange rate, the average closing rate and the high and low closing exchange rates for one Canadian dollar expressed in U.S. dollars, as quoted by the Bank of Canada:
Year Ended June 30, | ||||||
2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||
High | 0.7841 | 0.8111 | 0.8306 | |||
Low | 0.7217 | 0.7669 | 0.7344 | |||
Average | 0.7467 | 0.7902 | 0.7807 | |||
Period End | 0.7553 | 0.7760 | 0.8068 |
The exchange rate for one Canadian dollar expressed in U.S. dollars based upon the daily average exchange rate on June 30, 2023 provided by the Bank of Canada was $0.7553.
ITEM 2: CORPORATE STRUCTURE
2.1 Names, Current Address and Incorporation
The Company was formed as a special limited company under the Company Act (British Columbia) on April 19, 1972. By special resolution of its shareholders dated July 21, 1983, the Company converted itself from a special limited company to a limited company. Subsequently, on November 6, 1997, the Company continued in Bermuda by way of continuation as a foreign corporation. On November 5, 2003, the Company continued in British Columbia under the Company Act (British Columbia). In 2004, the Company adopted new Articles consistent with the transition to the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia). On July 1, 2016, the Company's name was changed to "New Pacific Holdings Corp." On July 20, 2017, the Company's name was changed back to "New Pacific Metals Corp." The head office, principal address, and registered and records office of the Company is located at Suite 1750 - 1066 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6E 3X1.
The Company is a reporting issuer in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. The common shares of the Company (the "Shares") trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange ("TSX") under the symbol "NUAG" and on the NYSE American, LLC (the "NYSE American") under the symbol "NEWP".
2.2 Intercorporate Relationships
The corporate structure of the Company and its subsidiaries, as of June 30, 2023, is as follows:
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New Pacific Metals Corp. published this content on 22 September 2023 and is solely responsible for the information contained therein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 29 September 2023 22:57:26 UTC.