Skip to main content

Lion Copper Corp.

For the period ended Dec 31, 2024. Filed Mar 28, 2025.

View on SEC.gov

About this filing

A company's yearly report to the SEC, with audited financial statements. It is the fullest account a company gives of its business, its finances and the risks it sees.

FY2024 · Filed Mar 28, 2025

LCU$4.36+3.7%Stored close · as of Nov 9, 2026

Extracted filing text, with the paragraph anchors used by the comparison.

See the whole filing, with its images and exhibits

Item 1A. RISK FACTORS*

In addition to the factors discussed elsewhere in this Form 10-K, the following are certain material risks and uncertainties that are specific to our industry and properties that could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The Company's securities should be considered a highly speculative investment and investors should carefully consider all of the information disclosed in the Company's Canadian and U.S. regulatory filings prior to making an investment in the Company.

Resource exploration and development is a speculative business, characterized by a number of significant risks including, among other things, unprofitable efforts resulting not only from the failure to discover mineral deposits but also from finding mineral deposits, which, though present, are insufficient in quantity and/or quality to return a profit from production. Without limiting the foregoing, the following risk factors should be given special consideration when evaluating an investment in the Company's securities. Additional risks not currently known to the Company, or that the Company currently deems immaterial, may also impair the Company's operations.

Risks related to the Company

The Company may require additional funding to complete further exploration programs.

The Company does not generate operating revenue and must finance exploration activity by other means, such as selling assets, raising funds through optioning certain property interests, and the issuance of debt and/or equity. The Company cannot provide any assurance that additional funding will be available for further exploration of the Company's projects or to fulfill anticipated obligations under existing property agreements.

Failure to obtain necessary financing could result in delay or postponement of further exploration and development, and the property interests of the Company with the possible dilution or loss of such interests. Further, financing will depend upon the success of exploration programs and general market conditions for natural resources.

Risks related to the Nuton LLC (A Rio Tinto Venture) option agreement

There is no guarantee that Nuton LLC will proceed with its option to earn-in a 65% interest in the Company's Mason Valley projects. There is no guarantee the Company will secure the funding required to meet its obligations under the Nuton LLC option agreement and to not have its interest diluted in its Mason Valley properties. There is no guarantee that the exploration results on the Mason Valley properties will support further exploration or extraction.

The Company has a history of losses and anticipates incurring losses for the foreseeable future.

The Company has had a history of losses. None of the Company's properties are currently in production, and there is no certainty that the Company will succeed in placing any of its properties into production in the near future, if at all.

Lion CG anticipates continued losses for the foreseeable future until one or more of the properties enters into commercial production and generates sufficient revenues to fund the Company's continuing operations.

Future equity transactions could cause dilution of present and prospective shareholders.

Historically, the Company has financed operations through the sale of equity securities including convertible debt being converted into equity securities or through the sale of its mineral interests. The Company may issue additional equity securities in order to finance future operations and development efforts. The Company cannot predict the size and terms of future issuances of equity securities or debt instruments. Any transaction involving the issue of equity securities or securities convertible into common shares, could result in dilution, possibly substantial, to present and prospective security holders. Similarly, the Company cannot predict the value of any asset sale nor its effect on the market price of its common shares.

The Company's exploration programs may not result in a commercial mining operation.

Mineral exploration involves significant risk because few properties that are explored contain bodies of ore that would be commercially economic to develop into producing mines. Lion CG's mineral properties are without a known body of commercial ore and the proposed programs are an exploratory search for ore. The Company cannot provide any assurance that current exploration programs will result in any commercial mining operation. If the exploration programs do not result in the discovery of commercial ore, the Company will be required to acquire additional properties and write-off all investments in existing properties.

The Company does not have Proven Mineral Reserves or Probable Mineral Reserves.

The Company has not established the presence of any Proven Mineral Reserves or Probable Mineral Reserves (as such terms are defined in S-K 1300 or NI 43-101) at any of Lion CG's mineral properties. The Company cannot provide any assurance that future feasibility studies will establish Proven Mineral Reserves or Probable Mineral Reserves at Lion CG's properties. The failure to establish Proven Mineral Reserves or Probable Mineral Reserves could restrict the Company's ability to successfully implement its strategies for long-term growth.

Mineral resource estimates are subject to updates which may differ from prior estimates and adversely affect the value of the Company's properties.

The estimating of mineralization is a subjective process, and the accuracy of estimates is a function of the quantity and quality of available data, the accuracy of statistical computations, and the assumptions used, and judgments made in interpreting engineering and geological information. There is significant uncertainty in these Mineral Resource estimates, and the actual deposits encountered and the economic viability of mining a deposit may differ significantly from our estimates. From time to time, Lion CG obtains updated resource estimates and technical reports related to the Company's mineral properties.

The Company's future business and financial condition are dependent upon resource prices.

Resource prices have fluctuated widely, particularly in recent years, and are affected by numerous factors beyond the Company's control. These include international economic and political trends, inflation, currency exchange fluctuations, interest rates, global or regional consumption patterns, speculative activities and increased production due to new and improved extraction and production methods. These factors may negatively affect the marketability of any ore or minerals discovered at, and extracted from, Lion CG's properties. If, because of a sustained decline in prices, financing was not available to meet cash operating costs, the feasibility of continuing operations would be evaluated and if warranted, would be discontinued.

Some of the Company's directors and officers may have conflicts of interest due to their involvement with other natural resource companies.

Some of the Company's directors and officers may also be directors or officers of other natural resource or mining-related companies and these associations may give rise to conflicts of interest from time to time. As a result of these conflicts of interest, Lion CG may miss the opportunity to participate in certain transactions, which may have a material, adverse effect on the Company's financial position.

The Company may experience difficulty attracting and retaining qualified management to grow Lion CG's business.

The Company is dependent on the services of key executives including the Chief Executive Officer, President and Chief Financial Officer and other highly skilled and experienced executives and personnel focused on advancing corporate objectives as well as the identification of new opportunities for growth and funding. Due to the Company’s relatively small size, the loss of these persons or Lion CG’s inability to attract and retain additional highly skilled employees required for activities may have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and financial condition.

The Company may be limited in its ability to manage growth.

Should the Company be successful in its efforts to develop mineral properties or to raise capital for such development or for the development of other mining ventures, it may experience significant growth in operations. Any expansion of the Company's business would place demands on management, operational capacity, and financial resources. The Company anticipates that it will need to recruit qualified personnel in all areas of operations. There can be no assurance that Lion CG will be effective in retaining current personnel or attracting and retaining additional qualified personnel, expanding operational capacity or otherwise managing growth. The failure to manage growth effectively could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations.

Environmental and other regulatory requirements may limit the Company's operations and increase expenses.

The Company's operations are subject to environmental regulations promulgated by U.S. government agencies. Claims and current and future operations will be governed by laws and regulations governing mineral concession acquisition, prospecting, development, mining, production, exports, taxes, labor standards, occupational health, waste disposal, toxic substances, land use, environmental protection, mine safety and other matters. Companies such as ours that engage in exploration activities often experience increased costs and delays in schedules as a result of the need to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permits. Issuance of permits for Lion CG's exploration activities is subject to the discretion of government authorities, and the Company may be unable to obtain or maintain such permits. Permits required for future exploration or development may not be obtainable on reasonable terms or on a timely basis. Existing and possible future laws, regulations and permits governing operations and activities of exploration companies, or more stringent implementation thereof, could have a material adverse impact and cause increases in capital expenditures or require abandonment or delays in exploration.

Operating hazards associated with mining may expose the Company to liability.

Mining operations generally involve a high degree of risk, including hazards such as fire, explosion, floods, structural collapses, industry accidents, unusual or unexpected geological conditions, power outages, cave-ins, inclement weather, and mechanical equipment failure in the Company's operations. These and others may result in work stoppages, damage to or destruction of mines and other producing facilities, damage to or loss of life and property, environmental damage and possible legal liability for any or all damage or loss.

Safety measures implemented by the Company may not be able to obtain insurance to cover these risks at economically feasible premiums or at all. Insurance against certain environmental risks is not generally available to the Company or to other companies within the mining industry.

The Company's properties may be subject to uncertain title.

The acquisition of title to resource properties or interest therein is a very detailed and time-consuming process. Title to and the area of resource concessions may be disputed. The Company has investigated title to all of its mineral properties and, to the best of the Company's knowledge, title to all of Lion CG's properties are in good standing.

The properties may be subject to prior, and in some cases, not fully ascertainable unregistered agreements or transfers, and title may be affected by undetected defects. Title may be based upon interpretation of a country's laws, which may be ambiguous, inconsistently applied and subject to reinterpretation or change.

Enforcement of judgments or bringing actions outside the United States against the Company and its directors and officers may be difficult.

Lion CG is organized under the laws of, and headquartered in British Columbia, Canada, and several of the Company's directors and officers are citizens or residents of the U.S. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for one to (a) enforce in courts outside the U.S. judgments against the Company and a majority of Lion CG's directors and officers, obtained in U.S. courts based upon the civil liability provisions of U.S. federal securities laws or (b) bring in courts outside the U.S. an original action against the Company and its directors and officers to enforce liabilities based upon such U.S. securities laws.

The Company believes it is possibly a "passive foreign investment company," which would likely have adverse U.S. federal income tax consequences for U.S. shareholders.

U.S. shareholders of our Common Shares should be aware that the Company believes it is possible we may be classified as a passive foreign investment company ("PFIC") up to and including the taxable year ended December 31, 2024, and based on current business plans and financial projections, management believes there is a possibility that the Company could be classified as a PFIC during the current taxable year. If the Company is classified as a PFIC for any year during a U.S. shareholder's holding period, then such U.S. shareholder generally will be required to treat any gain realized upon a disposition of Common Shares, or any so-called "excess distribution" received on their Common Shares, as ordinary income, and to pay an interest charge on a portion of such gain or distributions, unless the shareholder makes a timely and effective "qualified electing fund" ("QEF Election") or a "mark-to-market" election with respect to the Common Shares. A U.S. shareholder who makes a QEF Election generally must report on a current basis its share of the net capital gain and ordinary earnings for any year in which the Company is PFIC, whether or not the Company distributes any amounts to its shareholders. U.S. shareholders should be aware that there can be no assurance that the Company will satisfy record keeping requirements that apply to a QEF Election, or that the Company will supply U.S. shareholders with information that such U.S. shareholders require to report under the QEF Election rules, in event that the Company is a PFIC and a U.S. shareholder wishes to make a QEF Election. Thus, U.S. shareholders may not be able to make a QEF Election with respect to their Common Shares. A U.S. shareholder who makes the mark-to-market election generally must include as ordinary income each year the excess of the fair market value of the Common Shares over the taxpayer's basis therein. This paragraph is qualified in its entirety by the discussion below in "Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities - Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations for U.S. Residents." Each U.S. shareholder should consult his or her own tax advisor regarding the U.S. federal, U.S. state and local, and foreign tax consequences of the PFIC rules and the acquisition, ownership, and disposition of Common Shares.

Our stock price may be volatile.

The stock market in general has experienced volatility that often has been unrelated to the operating performance of any specific public company. The market price of our common stock is likely to be highly volatile and could fluctuate widely in price in response to various factors, many of which are beyond our control, including the following:

  • changes in our industry;

  • competitive pricing pressures;

  • our ability to obtain working capital financing;

  • additions or departures of key personnel;

  • limited "public float" in the hands of a small number of persons whose sales or lack of sales could result in positive or negative pricing pressure on the market prices of our common stock;

  • sales of our common stock;

  • our ability to execute our business plan;

  • operating results that fall below expectations;

  • loss of any strategic relationship;

  • regulatory developments;

  • economic and other external factors; and

  • period-to-period fluctuations in our financial results.

We have never paid nor do we expect in the near future to pay dividends.

We have never paid cash dividends on our capital stock and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends on our common stock for the foreseeable future. Investors should not rely on an investment in our Company if they require income generated from dividends paid on our capital stock. Any income derived from our common stock would only come from rise in the market price of our common stock, which is uncertain and unpredictable.

Broker-dealers may be discouraged from effecting transactions in shares of common stock because they are considered a penny stock and are subject to the penny stock rules.

Our shares of common stock are currently considered a "penny stock." The SEC has adopted Rule 15g-9 which generally defines "penny stock" to be any equity security that has a market price (as defined) less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. The shares of common stock are covered by the penny stock rules, which impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell to persons other than established customers and "accredited investors." The term "accredited investor" refers generally to institutions with assets in excess of $5,000,000 or individuals with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or annual income exceeding $200,000 or $300,000 jointly with their spouse. The penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document in a form prepared by the SEC, which provides information about penny stocks and the nature and level of risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, the compensation of the broker-dealer and its salesperson in the transaction, and monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer's account. The bid and offer quotations, and the broker-dealer and salesperson compensation information, must be given to the customer orally or in writing prior to effecting the transaction and must be given to the customer in writing before or with the customer's confirmation. In addition, the penny stock rules require that prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from these rules, the broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the purchaser and receive the purchaser's written agreement to the transaction. These disclosure requirements may have the effect of reducing the level of trading activity in the secondary market for the shares of common stock. Consequently, these penny stock rules may affect the ability of broker-dealers to trade in the shares of common stock.

General Risks

Climate change-related risks may have a negative impact on the Company's operations, financial position and market performance.

Many governments and regulatory bodies have introduced or are contemplating regulatory changes in response to the potential impacts of climate change. These changes may create more stringent regulatory obligations, which may result in increased costs for the Company's operations. Further, these changes could also lead to new and/or more extensive monitoring and reporting requirements.

In addition, the physical risks of the physical climate change, including temperature and precipitation shifts and more frequent and severe extreme weather events, may affect the stability and effectiveness of infrastructure and equipment, environmental protection and site closure practices, and the availability of transportation routes. Climate change may also impact the stability and cost of water and energy supplies.

The Company is required to comply with Canadian securities regulations and are subject to additional regulatory scrutiny in Canada.

The Company is a "reporting issuer" in Canada. As a result, our disclosure outside the United States differs from the disclosure contained in our SEC filings. The Company's reserve and resource estimates disseminated outside the United States are not directly comparable to those made in filings subject to SEC reporting and disclosure requirements, as the Company generally report reserves and resources in accordance with Canadian practices. These practices are different from the practices used to report reserve and resource estimates in reports and other materials filed with the SEC.

The Company also subject to increased regulatory scrutiny and costs associated with complying with securities legislation in Canada. For example, we are subject to civil liability for misrepresentations in written disclosure and oral statements. Legislation has been enacted in these provinces which creates a right of action for damages against a reporting issuer, its directors and certain of its officers in the event that the reporting issuer or a person with actual, implied, or apparent authority to act or speak on behalf of the reporting issuer releases a document or makes a public oral statement that contains a misrepresentation or the reporting issuer fails to make timely disclosure of a material change. We do not anticipate any particular regulation that would be difficult to comply with. However, failure to comply with regulations may result in civil awards, fines, penalties, and orders that could have an adverse effect on us.

The Company is dependent upon information technology systems, which are subject to disruption, damage, failure and risks associated with implementation and integration. A cybersecurity breach could occur and result in information theft, data corruption, operational disruption, disclosure of business sensitive, confidential or personally identifiable information, misdirected wire transfers, reputational harm, and financial loss.

The Company is dependent upon information technology systems in the conduct of our operations. Our information technology systems are subject to disruption, damage or failure from a variety of sources, including, without limitation, computer viruses, security breaches, cyber-attacks, natural disasters and defects in design. Cybersecurity incidents, in particular, are evolving and include, but are not limited to, malicious software, attempts to gain unauthorized access to data and other electronic security breaches that could lead to disruptions in systems, unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information and the corruption of data. Various measures have been implemented to manage our risks related to information technology systems and network disruptions. However, given the unpredictability of the timing, nature and scope of information technology disruptions, we could potentially be subject to operational delays, the compromising of confidential or otherwise protected information, destruction or corruption of data, security breaches, other manipulation or improper use of our systems and networks or financial losses from remedial actions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our cash flows, competitive position, financial condition or results of operations.

The Company is or may become subject to data privacy laws, regulations, litigation and directives relating to our processing of personal information.

The jurisdictions in which we operate (including the United States) have laws governing how we must respond to a cyber incident that results in the unauthorized access, disclosure, or loss of personal information. Additionally, new laws and regulations governing data privacy and unauthorized disclosure of personal information and imposing certain cybersecurity-related requirements may provide for a private right of action and imposition of significant fines, pose increasingly complex compliance challenges. Some or all of such legislation will elevate our compliance costs over time. Our business involves collection, use, and other processing of personal information and personally identifiable information of our employees, investors, contractors, suppliers, and customer contacts. As legislation continues to develop and cyber incidents continue to evolve, we will likely be required to expend significant resources to continue to modify or enhance our protective measures to comply with such legislation and to detect, investigate and remediate vulnerabilities to cyber incidents that relate to data privacy. Any failure by us, or a company we acquire, to comply with such laws and regulations could result in reputational harm, loss of goodwill, penalties, liabilities, remediation costs, or mandated changes in our business practices. Each has the potential to materially impact our financial condition.

Possible amendments to the General Mining Law could make it more difficult or impossible for us to execute our business plan.

The U.S. Congress has considered proposals to amend the General Mining Law of 1872 that would have, among other things, permanently banned the sale of public land for mining. The proposed amendment would have expanded the environmental regulations to which we are subject and would have given Indian tribes the ability to hinder or prohibit mining operations near tribal lands. The proposed amendment would also have imposed a royalty of 8% of gross revenue on new mining operations located on federal public land, which would have applied to substantial portions of our properties. The proposed amendment would have made it more expensive or perhaps too expensive to recover any otherwise commercially exploitable gold deposits which we may find on our properties. While at this time the proposed amendment is no longer pending, this or similar changes to the law in the future could have a significant impact on our business.

ContentsView on SEC.gov

The text of this filing, as the company filed it with the SEC, without its images or exhibits. This is not investment advice.