Table of Contents

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)
x
ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D)15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018

2020
¨
TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(D)15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from       to

Commission file number:File No. 001-38387

MUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION

hymc-20201231_g1.jpg
HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware82-2657796

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware
(State or other jurisdiction of


incorporation or organization)

(I.R.S. Employer

Identification Number)

8181 E. Tufts Avenue, Suite 510Denver, Colorado

527 Madison Avenue, 6th Floor,   

New York, New York

10022
(Address of principal executive offices)Principal Executive Offices)
82-2657796
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
80237
(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number:(646) 747-9500

(303) 253-3267
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Title of Each Class:each classTrading Symbol(s)Name of Each Exchangeeach exchange on Which Registered:which registered
Class ACommon Stock, common stock,par value $0.0001 per share
HYMCThe NASDAQ StockNasdaq Capital Market LLC
Warrants to purchase one share of Class A Common StockHYMCWThe NASDAQ StockNasdaq Capital Market LLC
Units, each consisting of one share of Class AWarrants to purchase Common Stock and one WarrantHYMCZThe NASDAQNasdaq Capital Market
Warrants to purchase Common StockHYMCLThe Nasdaq Capital Market LLC

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None


Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.
Yes  ¨o  No x

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.
Yes ¨o No x


Indicate by check mark whether the registrantregistrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports),; and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  x    No  ¨

o

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).
Yes  x  No ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  x

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company”company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large accelerated filer¨Accelerated filer¨
Non-accelerated filerxSmaller reporting companyx
Emerging growth companyx

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management's assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).: Yes x  No ¨

As

The aggregate market value of the registrant's Common Stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2018,2020, the last business day of the registrant’sregistrants most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of the Class A common stock outstanding, other than shares held by persons who may be deemed affiliates of the registrant, computed by reference to the closing sales price for the Class A common stock on June 30, 2018, as reported on the NASDAQ Capital Market, was approximately $200,512,000. 

$86,679,426.

As of March 25, 2019,22, 2021, there were 5,200,00059,901,306 shares of Class Bthe Company’s common stock and 20,800,000no shares of Class A commonthe Company’s preferred stock issued and outstanding.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portion of the registrant issuedregistrant's Proxy Statement of the 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders are incorporated herein by reference in Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K to the extent stated herein. Such proxy statement will be filed with the Securities and outstanding. 

Exchange Commission within 120 days of the registrant's fiscal year ended December 31, 2020.

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HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Annual Report on Form 10-K
TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE
PART I
Item 1.Business5
Item 1A.Risk Factors23
Item 1B.Unresolved Staff Comments53
Item 2.Properties53
Item 3.Legal Proceedings53
Item 4.Mine Safety Disclosures53
PART II
Item 5.Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities54
Item 6.Selected Financial Data54
Item 7.Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations55
Item 7A.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk58
Item 8.Financial Statements and Supplementary Data58
Item 9.Changes



PART I
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020 (“2020 Form 10-K”) may constitute “forward-looking” statements as defined in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
59
Item 9A.Controls and Procedures59
Item 9B.Other Information59
PART III
Item 10.Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance60
Item 11.Executive Compensation66
Item 12.Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters66
Item 13.Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence68
Item 14.Principal Accounting Fees and Services70
PART IV
Item 15.Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules72
Item 16.Form 10-K Summary72

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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This report, including, without limitation, statements under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and(the “Securities Act”), Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These1934 (the “Exchange Act”), the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “PSLRA”) or in releases made by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), all as may be amended from time to time. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation and its subsidiaries (“Hycroft”) or industry results, to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by, among other things, the use of forward-looking terminology, includinglanguage, such as the words “believes,“plan,“estimates,“believe,“anticipates,“expect,“expects,“anticipate,“intends,“intend,“plans,“estimate,” “project,” “may,” “will,” “potential,“would,“projects,“could,“predicts,“should,“continue,“seeks,” or “should,“scheduled to,” or in each case, theirother similar words, or the negative of these terms or other variations of these terms or comparable terminology. There can be no assurancelanguage, or by discussion of strategy or intentions. These cautionary statements are being made pursuant to the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and the PSLRA with the intention of obtaining the benefits of the “safe harbor” provisions of such laws. Hycroft cautions investors that any forward-looking statements made by us are not guarantees or indicative of future performance as actual results will not materially differ from expectations. Such statements include, but are not limited to, any statements relating to our ability to consummate any acquisition or other business combination and any other statements that are not statements of current or historical facts. These statements are based on management’s current expectations, but actual results mayfuture events could differ materially due to various factors, including, but not limited to:

our ability to complete our initial business combination;
our success in retaining or recruiting, or changes required in, our officers, key employees or directors following our initial business combination;
our officers and directors allocating their time to other businesses and potentially having conflicts of interest with our business or in approving our initial business combination, as a result of which they would then receive expense reimbursements;
our potential ability to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination;
our pool of prospective target businesses;
failure to maintain the listing on, or the delisting of our securities from, NASDAQ or an inability to have our securities listed on NASDAQ or another national securities exchange following our initial business combination;
the ability of our officers and directors to generate a number of potential investment opportunities;
our public securities’ potential liquidity and trading;
the lack of a market for our securities;
the use of proceeds not held in the trust account or available to us from interest income on the trust account balance; or
our financial performance.

from those anticipated in the statements. The forward-looking statements contained in this report2020 Form 10-K are based on our current expectationsmade only as of the date hereof and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on us. Future developments affecting us maywe do not be those that we have, anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those factors described under the heading “Risk Factors.” Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or shouldundertake, any of our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, futuresubsequent events or otherwise, exceptunless required by law. For information identifying important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors section of this 2020 Form 10-K, and the Summary of Risk Factors in Item 1A. Risk Factors.

ITEM 1. BUSINESS
About the Company
Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation (formerly known as Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation) was incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware on August 28, 2017. In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, “we”, “us”, “our”, the “Company”, “Hycroft”, and "HYMC" refer to Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation and its subsidiaries. We are a U.S.-based gold producer focused on operating and developing its wholly owned Hycroft Mine in a safe, environmentally responsible, and cost-effective manner.
Our operating mine, the Hycroft Mine, is an open-pit heap leach operation located approximately 54 miles west of Winnemucca, Nevada. Mining operations at the Hycroft Mine were restarted in 2019. As part of the restart, Hycroft, along with third party consultants, completed the Hycroft Technical Report Summary, Heap Leaching Feasibility Study, prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Modernization of Property Disclosures for Mining Registrants, with an effective date of July 31, 2019 (the “Hycroft Technical Report”) for our proprietary two-stage heap oxidation and leach process for sulfide ore, which is discussed in further detail in Item 2. Properties. During the year ended December 31, 2020 we sold 24,892 ounces of gold and 136,238 ounces of silver. As of December 31, 2020, the Hycroft Mine had proven and probable mineral reserves of 11.9 million ounces of gold and 478.5 million ounces of silver, which are contained in oxide, transitional, and sulfide ores. We currently recover gold and silver through our heap leach process operations, while we continue to study and conduct testing of commercial production using our proprietary two-stage heap oxidation and leach process.
The Hycroft Mine, our sole operating property, is located outside of Winnemucca, Nevada. Our corporate headquarters is located at 8181 E. Tufts Avenue, Suite 510, Denver, Colorado 80237, and our telephone number is (303) 253-3267. Our website is www.hycroftmining.com.
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Recapitalization Transaction with MUDS
As discussed in Note 1 - Company Overview and Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction to the Notes to the Financial Statements, on May 29, 2020, we, formerly known as Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation (“MUDS”), consummated a business combination transaction (the “Recapitalization Transaction”) that resulted in MUDS Acquisition Sub, Inc. (“Acquisition Sub”) acquiring all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of the direct subsidiaries of Hycroft Mining Corporation (“Seller”) and substantially all of the other assets of Seller and assuming substantially all of the liabilities of Seller. In conjunction with the Recapitalization Transaction, Seller’s indebtedness existing prior to the Recapitalization Transaction was either repaid, exchanged for indebtedness of the Company, exchanged for shares of common stock or converted into shares of Seller common stock, and our post-Recapitalization Transaction indebtedness included amounts drawn under the Credit Agreement among MUDS, MUDS Holdco Inc., Allied VGH LLC, Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation, Hycroft Resources and Development, LLC Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector) Inc., and Sprott Resources Lending Corp. (“Sprott Credit Agreement”) and the assumption of the newly issued Subordinated Notes (as such are defined herein). Upon closing of the Recapitalization Transaction, our unrestricted cash available for use totaled $68.9 million.
Segment Information
The Hycroft Mine is our only operating segment and includes the operations, development, and exploration activities and contains 100% of our revenues and production costs. Corporate and Other includes corporate general and administrative costs. See Note 17 - Segment Information to the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information on our segments.
Principal Products, Revenues, and Market Overview
The principal products produced at the Hycroft Mine are unrefined gold and silver bars (doré) and in-process inventories (metal-laden carbons and slags), both of which are sent to third party refineries before being sold, generally at prevailing spot prices, to financial institutions or precious metals traders. Doré bars and metal-laden carbons and slags are sent to refineries to produce bullion that meets the required market standards of 99.95% pure gold and 99.90% pure silver. Under the terms of our refining agreements, doré bars and metal-laden carbons and slags are refined for a fee, and our share of the separately recovered refined gold and refined silver are credited to our account or delivered to our buyers.
Product Revenues and Customers
In 2020, revenues from gold and silver made up 94% and 6%, respectively, of our total revenue and, as such, we consider gold our principal product. In 2020, all of our revenues were derived from metal sales to two customers; however, we do not believe we have any dependencies on these customers due to the liquidity of the metal markets and the availability of other metal buyers and financial institutions.
Gold Uses
Gold has two main categories of use: fabrication and investment. Fabricated gold has a variety of end uses, including jewelry, electronics, dentistry, industrial and decorative uses, medals, medallions and coins. Gold investors buy gold bullion, coins and jewelry.
Gold Supply and Demand
The supply of gold consists of a combination of current production from mining and metal recycling and the draw-down of existing stocks of gold held by governments, financial institutions, industrial organizations and private individuals. Based on publicly available information, gold production from mines decreased slightly for 2020 compared to 2019 totaling approximately 3,401 metric tons (or 109.3 million troy ounces) and represented approximately 73.4% of the 2020 global gold supply. Gold demand in 2020 was approximately 3,760 tons (or 120.9 million troy ounces) and totaled approximately $214 billion in value. In 2020, gold demand by sector was comprised of jewelry (38%), bar and coin (24%), ETF investments (23%), technology (8%), and central bank purchases (7%).
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Gold Prices
The price of gold is volatile and is affected by many factors beyond our control, such as the sale or purchase of gold by central banks and financial institutions, inflation or deflation and monetary policies, fluctuation in the value of the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies, global and regional demand, and the political and economic conditions of major gold producing countries throughout the world. The following table presents the annual high, low, and average afternoon fixing prices for gold over the past ten years on the London Bullion Market (in U.S. dollars per ounce).
GOLD PRICESSILVER PRICES
YearHighLowAverageHighLowAverage
20181,3551,1781,26817.5213.9715.71
20191,5461,2701,39319.3114.3816.21
20202,0671,4741,77028.8912.0120.55

On March 22, 2021, the afternoon fixing price for gold and silver on the London Bullion Market was $1,736 per ounce and $25.74 per ounce, respectively.
Competition
The top 10 producers of gold comprise approximately one third of total worldwide mined gold production. We are a developing producer with a single mine. The Hycroft Mine has large gold and silver reserves with an expected average annual production of approximately 366,000 gold equivalent ounces, based on a 34-year mine life included in the Hycroft Technical Report. We have not fully developed our operation and we have not established our long-term production and cost structure. Our costs are expected to be determined by the location, grade and nature of our ore body, processing technologies applied to our ore, and costs including energy, labor and equipment. The metals markets are cyclical, and our ability to maintain our competitive position over the long-term is based on our ability to develop and cost effectively operate the Hycroft Mine in a safe and environmentally responsible manner.
We compete with other mining companies in connection with hiring and retaining qualified employees. There is substantial competition for qualified employees in the mining industry, some of which is with companies having substantially greater financial resources than us and a more stable history. As a result, we may have difficulty hiring and retaining qualified employees.
Please see Item 1A. Risk Factors —Industry Related Risks — We face intense competition in the mining industry, for additional discussion related to our current and potential competition.
Employees
At December 31, 2020, we had approximately 240 employees, of which 228 were employed at the Hycroft Mine. None of our employees are represented by unions.
COVID-19
We have implemented health and safety policies for employees, contractors, and visitors that follow guidelines from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). During 2020, especially the fourth quarter, our operations faced certain limitations due to COVID-19 related absences, however the impact did not significantly adversely affect our operations.
Please see Item 1A. Risk Factors — Industry Related Risks — The COVID-19 pandemic may adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations as well as Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations for additional discussion related to COVID-19.
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Government Regulation of Mining-Related Activities
Government Regulation
Mining operations and exploration activities are subject to various federal, state and local laws and regulations in the United States, which govern prospecting, development, mining, production, exports, taxes, labor standards, occupational health, waste disposal, protection of the environment, mine safety, hazardous substances and other matters. We have obtained or have pending applications for those licenses, permits or other authorizations currently required to conduct our current mining, exploration and other programs. We believe that we are in compliance in all material respects with applicable mining, health, safety and environmental statutes and the regulations passed thereunder in Nevada and the United States. Although we are not aware of any current claims, orders or directions relating to our business with respect to the foregoing laws and regulations, changes to, or more stringent application, interpretation, or enforcement of, such laws and regulations in Nevada, or in jurisdictions where we may operate in the future, could require additional capital expenditures and increased operating and/or reclamation costs, which could adversely impact the profitability levels of our projects.
On January 20, 2021, the Department of the Interior, Washington Office, issued order number 3395 (the “Order”) promulgating a suspension of authority for Department Bureaus and Offices to take actions including to take actions in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act; to approve plans of operation, or to amend existing plans of operation under the General Mining Law of 1872; or any notices to proceed under previous surface use authorizations that will authorize ground-disturbing activities. The suspension will remain in effect for 60 days from January 20, 2021, or until any of its provisions are amended, superseded, or revoked. The Order suspended the authority of the local offices of the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) to make decisions or to approve any new ground-disturbing actions under previous decisions related to the Company’s planned operations. At the time of the suspension of authority, the Company had no material proposed actions pending with the local office of the Bureau of Land Management, will proceed with currently approved actions for the duration of the anticipated 60-day suspension of authority, and is not currently aware of any material adverse effects from the suspension of authority based on the duration stated in the Order. The Company may require authorization to proceed with new ground-disturbing activities under previous authorizations prior to proceeding into the sulfide ore bodies planned for 2022, in the event the Order has not been amended, superseded, or revoked.
Environmental Regulation
Our mining projects are subject to various federal and state laws and regulations governing protection of the environment. These laws and regulations are continually changing and, in general, are becoming more restrictive. The federal laws and regulations, among other things:
impose strict, joint and several liability on current and former owners and operators of sites and on persons who disposed of or arranged for the disposal of hazardous substances found at such sites (the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act);
govern the generation, treatment, storage and disposal of solid waste and hazardous waste (the Federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act);
restrict the emission of air pollutants from many sources, including mining and processing activities (the Clean Air Act);
require federal agencies to integrate environmental considerations into their decision-making processes by evaluating the environmental impacts of their proposed actions, including the issuance of permits to mining facilities and assessing alternatives to these actions (the National Environmental Policy Act);
regulate the use of federal public lands to prevent undue and unnecessary degradation of the public lands (the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976);
restrict and control the discharge of pollutants and dredged and fill materials into waters of the United States (the Clean Water Act); and
regulate the drilling of subsurface injection wells (the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Underground Injection Control program promulgated thereunder).
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We cannot predict at this time what changes, if any, to federal laws or regulations may be requiredadopted or imposed by the new Biden Administration. At the state level, mining operations in Nevada are regulated by the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Division of Environmental Protection (the "Division"), which has the authority to implement and enforce many of the federal regulatory programs described above as well as state environmental laws and regulations. Compliance with these and other federal and state laws and regulations could result in delays in obtaining, or failure to obtain, government permits and approvals, delays in beginning or expanding operations, limitations on production levels, incurring additional costs for investigation or cleanup of hazardous substances, payment of fines, penalties or remediation costs for non-compliance, and post-mining closure, reclamation and bonding.
It is our policy to conduct business in a way that safeguards public health and the environment. We believe that our operations are, and will be, conducted in material compliance with applicable laws and regulations. However, our past and future activities in the United States may cause us to be subject to liability under applicable securities laws. Thesesuch laws and regulations. For information about the risks to our business related to environmental regulation, see the following risk factors in Item 1A. Risk Factors - Industry Related Risks:
Our operations are subject to numerous governmental permits that are difficult to obtain and others described under “Risk Factors”we may not be exhaustive.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involveable to obtain or renew all of the permits we require, or such permits may not be timely obtained or renewed;

Changes in environmental regulations could adversely affect our cost of operations or result in operations delays;
Environmental regulations could require us to make significant expenditures or expose us to potential liability; and
Our exploration and development operations are subject to extensive environmental regulations, which could result in the incurrence of additional costs and operational delays.
During 2020 and 2019, there were no material environmental incidents or non-compliance with any applicable environmental regulations on the properties now held by us, except as follows: On March 19, 2019, we executed an Administrative Order of Consent and agreed to a payment of $11,521 to the State of Nevada acting by and through the Division to settle a Finding of Alleged Violation and Order issued November 7, 2018 for non-compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act requirements to remove hazardous waste within 90 days of accumulation of such waste. Additionally, on December 11, 2019, the Division held an enforcement conference with our management to determine whether the issuance of Notices of Alleged Air Quality Violation Order No 2701 was or was not warranted. The Division issued a formal warning and has indicated that it did not intend to take any further action. We did not incur material capital expenditures for environmental control facilities during 2020 and 2019 and do not expect to incur any material expenditures in 2021 for such environmental control facilities.
Reclamation
We are required to mitigate long-term environmental impacts by stabilizing, contouring, re-sloping and re-vegetating various portions of a site after mining and mineral processing are completed, mitigating potential impacts to surface water and groundwater resources. These reclamation efforts will be conducted in accordance with detailed plans, which must be reviewed and approved by the appropriate regulatory agencies. Our reclamation obligations at the Hycroft Mine are secured by surface management surety bonds that meet the financial assurance requirements of the State of Nevada and the BLM. Our most recent reclamation cost estimate was approved by the BLM and the State of Nevada in July 2020. At December 31, 2020, our surface management surety bonds totaled $59.9 million, of which $58.3 million secures the financial assurance requirements for the Hycroft Mine, $1.0 million secures the financial assurance requirements for the adjacent water supply well field and exploration project, and $0.6 million secures the financial assurance requirements for an archaeological mitigation project. Based on the December 31, 2020 estimate, no material reclamation expenditures are expected to be incurred until 2047 and the reclamation work is projected to be completed by 2065. When we perform reclamation work in the future, the work will be planned to conform to our mining operations and will be required to be documented when completed under our governing permits with the government regulatory agencies. The reclamation obligation would be adjusted accordingly as allowed under current regulations, and the financial assurance requirements would be adjusted to account for the completed reclamation work. If we are required to comply with material unanticipated financial assurance requirements in the future, our financial position could be adversely affected, or our posted financial assurance may be insufficient. For financial information about our estimated future reclamation costs refer to Note 11 – Asset Retirement Obligation to our Consolidated Financial Statements.
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Mine Safety and Health Administration Regulations
Safety and health is a core value which is why we have mandatory mine safety and health programs that include employee and contractor training, risk management, workplace inspection, emergency response, accident investigation and program auditing. We consider these programs to be essential at all levels to ensure that our employees, contractors, and visitors only operate in a safe and healthy workplace.
Our operations and exploration properties are subject to regulation by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the “Mine Act”). Pursuant to Section 1503(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (the “Dodd-Frank Act”), issuers are required to disclose specified health and safety violations, orders and citations, related assessments and legal actions, and mining-related fatalities in periodic reports. MSHA inspects our mines on a regular basis and issues various citations and orders when it believes a violation has occurred under the Mine Act. The number of citations and orders charged against mining operations, and the dollar penalties assessed for such citations, have generally increased in recent years. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) requires us to provide a mine safety disclosure, which we have done in Part I - Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures of this Form 10-K.
Property Interests and Mining Claims
Our development activities are conducted in the State of Nevada. Mineral interests in Nevada may be owned by the United States, the State of Nevada, or private parties. Where prospective mineral properties are held by the United States, mineral rights may be acquired through the location of unpatented mineral claims upon unappropriated federal land. Where prospective mineral properties are owned by the State of Nevada or private parties, some type of property acquisition agreement is necessary in order for us to explore or develop such property. Mining claims are subject to the same risk of defective title that is common to all real property interests. Additionally, mining claims are self-initiated and self-maintained and, therefore, possess some unique vulnerabilities not associated with other types of property interests. It is impossible to ascertain the validity of unpatented mining claims solely from an examination of the public real estate records and, therefore, it can be difficult or impossible to confirm that all of the requisite steps have been followed for location and maintenance of a claim. For general information about our mineral properties and mining claims refer to Item 2. Properties. For information about the risks to our business related to our property interests and mining claims, see the following risk factors in Item 1A. Risk Factors - Industry Related Risks:
There are uncertainties as to title matters in the mining industry. Any defects in such title could cause us to lose our rights in mineral properties and jeopardize our business operations; and
Legislation has been proposed periodically that could, if enacted, significantly affect the cost of our operations on our unpatented mining claims or the amount of Net Proceeds Mineral Tax we pay to the State of Nevada.
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ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS
You should carefully review and consider the following risk factors and the other information contained in this 2020 Form 10-K. We may face additional risks and uncertainties because they relatethat are not presently known to eventsus, or that we currently deem immaterial, which may also impair our business or financial condition. If any of those risks actually occur, our business, financial condition and depend on circumstances thatresults of operations would suffer. The risks discussed below also include forward-looking statements, and our actual results may differ substantially from those discussed in these forward-looking statements. See also Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements above. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and notes to the financial statements included herein.
Summary of Risk Factors:
The following list provides a summary our risk factors discussed in further detail below:
Industry-related risks including:
Fluctuations in the prices of gold and silver;
Uncertainties concerning estimates of mineral reserves and mineral resources;
Uncertainties relating to the COVID-19 pandemic;
The intense competition within the mining industry;
The inherently hazardous nature of mining activities, including environmental risks;
Our insurance may not be adequate to cover all risks associated with our business, or cover the replacement costs of our assets or may not occurbe available for some risks;
Potential effects on our operations of U.S. federal and state governmental regulations, including environmental regulation and permitting requirements;
Cost of compliance with current and future government regulations;
Uncertainties relating to obtaining or retaining approvals and permits from governmental regulatory authorities;
Potential challenges to title in our mineral properties;
Risks associated with proposed legislation in Nevada that could significantly increase the costs or taxation of our operations; and
Changes to the climate and regulations and pending legislation regarding climate change.
Business-related risks including:
Risks related to our liquidity and going concern considerations;
Risks related to our ability to raise capital on favorable terms or at all;
Risks related to the proprietary two-stage heap oxidation and leach process at the Hycroft Mine and estimates of production;
Our ability to achieve our estimated production and sales rates and stay within our estimated operating and production costs and capital expenditure projections;
Risks related to a decline in our gold and silver production;
Our ability to successfully eliminate or meaningfully reduce processing and mining constraints; the results of our planned 2021 technical efforts and how the data resulting from such efforts could adversely impact processing technologies applied to our ore, future operations and profitability.
Risks related to our reliance on one mine with a new process;
Risks related to our limited experience with a largely untested process of oxidizing and heap leaching sulfide ore;
Uncertainties and risks related to our reliance on contractors and consultants;
Availability and cost of equipment, supplies, energy, or commodities;
The commercial success of, and risks relating to, our development activities;
Risks related to slope stability;
Risks related to our substantial indebtedness, including cross acceleration and our ability to generate sufficient cash to service our indebtedness;
Uncertainties resulting from the possible incurrence of operating and net losses in the future;
Uncertainties related to our ability to replace and expand our mineral reserves;
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The costs related to our land reclamation requirements;
The loss of key personnel or our failure to attract and retain personnel;
Risks related to technology systems and security breaches; and
Risks that our principal stockholders will be able to exert significant influence over matters submitted to stockholders for approval.
Risks related to our common stock and warrants, including:
Volatility in the price of our common stock and warrants;
Risks that warrants may expire worthless;
Anti–takeover provisions could make a third-party acquisition of us difficult; and
Risks related to limited access to our financial information, as we have elected to take advantage of the disclosure requirement exemptions granted to emerging growth companies and smaller reporting companies.
Industry-Related Risks
The market prices of gold and silver are volatile. A decline in gold and silver prices could result in decreased revenues, decreased net income, increased losses and decreased cash inflows which may negatively affect our business.
Gold and silver are commodities. Their prices fluctuate and are affected by many factors beyond our control, including interest rates, expectations regarding inflation, speculation, currency values, central bank activities, governmental decisions regarding the disposal of precious metals stockpiles, global and regional demand and production, political and economic conditions and other factors. The prices of gold and silver, as quoted by The London Bullion Market Association on December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, were $1,888 and $1,515 per ounce for gold, respectively, and $26.49 and $18.04 per ounce for silver, respectively. The prices of gold and silver may decline in the future. A substantial or extended decline in gold or silver prices would adversely impact our financial position, revenues, net income and cash flows, particularly in light of our current strategy of not engaging in hedging transactions with respect to gold or silver. In addition, sustained lower gold or silver prices may:
reduce revenue potential due to cessation of the mining of deposits, or portions of deposits, that have become uneconomic at the then-prevailing gold or silver price;
reduce or eliminate the profit, if any, that we currently expect from mining operations;
halt, delay, modify, or cancel plans for the mining of oxide, transitional, and sulfide ores or the development of new and existing projects;
make it more difficult for us to satisfy and/or service our debt obligations;
reduce existing mineral reserves by removing ores from mineral reserves that can no longer be economically processed at prevailing prices; and
cause us to recognize an impairment to the carrying values of long-lived assets.
Mineral reserve and mineral resource calculations are estimates only and are subject to uncertainty due to factors including metal prices, inherent variability of the ore and recoverability of metal in the mining process.
The calculation of mineral reserves, mineral resources and grades are estimates and depend upon geological interpretation and statistical inferences or assumptions drawn from drilling and sampling analysis, which may prove to be unpredictable. There is a degree of uncertainty attributable to the calculation of mineral reserves and mineral resources, and corresponding grades. Until mineral reserves and mineral resources are actually mined and processed, the quantity of ore and grades must be considered as an estimate only. In addition, the quantity of mineral reserves and mineral resources may vary depending on metal prices, which largely determine whether mineral reserves and mineral resources are classified as ore (economic to mine) or waste (uneconomic to mine). A decline in metal prices may result in previously reported mineral reserves (ore) becoming uneconomic to mine (waste). Current mineral reserve estimates were calculated using sales prices of $1,200 per ounce of gold price and $16.50 per ounce of silver. A material decline in the current price of gold or silver or material changes in our processing methods could require a reduction in our mineral reserve estimates. Any material change in the quantity of mineral reserves, mineral resources, mineralization, grade or stripping ratio may affect the economic viability of our properties. In addition, we can provide no assurance that gold and silver recoveries experienced in small-scale laboratory tests will be duplicated in larger scale tests under on-site conditions or during production.
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The COVID-19 pandemic may adversely impact our business, financial condition, and results of operations.
The COVID-19 global pandemic and efforts to reduce its spread have led to a significant decline of economic activity and significant disruption and volatility in global markets. An outbreak could adversely affect our operations if significant portions of our workforce are unable to work or travel effectively for a prolonged period because of government-mandated quarantines, closures, or other restrictions, then our business and financial operations will be significantly impacted and could result in a temporary shutdown of the Hycroft Mine. The continued spread of coronavirus without any impact from effective vaccines or therapeutic treatments may cause further financial instability, and disruptions to our supply chain, which could increase supply costs or prevent us from procuring the supplies necessary to operate the Hycroft Mine. We caution youcannot at this time predict the duration of the coronavirus pandemic or the impact of government regulations that forward-looking statementsmight be imposed in response of the pandemic; however, the coronavirus pandemic may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position, results of operations and cash flows.
We face intense competition in the mining industry.
The mining industry is intensely competitive, some of which is with large established mining companies with substantial mining capabilities and with greater financial and technical resources than ours. We compete with other mining companies in the recruitment and retention of qualified managerial and technical employees and in acquiring attractive mining claims. If we are unable to successfully attract and retain qualified employees, our development programs and/or our operations may be slowed down or suspended, which may adversely impact our development, financial condition and results of operations.
Mining development and processing operations pose inherent risks and costs that may negatively impact our business.
Mining development and processing operations involve many hazards and uncertainties, including, among others:
metallurgical or other processing problems;
ground or slope failures;
industrial accidents;
unusual and unexpected rock formations or water conditions;
environmental contamination or leakage;
flooding and periodic interruptions due to inclement or hazardous weather conditions or other acts of nature;
fires;
seismic activity;
organized labor disputes or work slow-downs or civil disturbances, including road closures or blockades;
pandemics adversely affecting the availability of workforces and supplies;
mechanical equipment failure and facility performance problems; and
the availability of critical materials, equipment and skilled labor.
These occurrences could result in damage to, or destruction of, our properties or production facilities, personal injury or death, environmental damage, delays in mining or processing, increased production costs, asset write downs, monetary losses and legal liability, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition and adversely affect our projected development and production estimates.
Our insurance may not guaranteescover all of the risks associated with our business.
The mining business is subject to risks and hazards, including, but not limited to, construction risks, environmental hazards, industrial accidents, the encountering of unusual or unexpected geological formations, slide-ins, flooding, earthquakes and periodic interruptions due to inclement or hazardous weather conditions. These occurrences could result in damage to, or destruction of, mineral properties mining equipment or production facilities, personal injury or death, environmental damage, reduced production and delays in mining, asset write-downs, monetary losses and possible legal liability. Insurance fully covering many of these risks is not generally available to us and if it is, we may elect not to obtain it because of the high premium costs or commercial impracticality. We do not currently carry business interruption insurance, but may obtain such insurance in the future. Any liabilities incurred for these risks and hazards could be significant and could materially and adversely affect our results of operations, cash flows and financial condition.
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Environmental regulations could require us to make significant expenditures or expose us to potential liability.
To the extent we become subject to environmental liabilities, the payment of such liabilities or the costs that we may incur, including costs to remedy environmental pollution, would reduce funds otherwise available to us and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations, and liquidity. If we are unable to fully remedy an environmental violation or release of hazardous substances, we might be required to suspend operations or enter into interim compliance measures pending completion of the required remedy or corrective action. The environmental standards that may ultimately be imposed at a mine site can vary and may impact the cost of remediation. Actual remedial costs may exceed the financial accruals that have been made for such remediation. Additionally, the timing of the remedial costs may be materially different from the current remediation plan. The potential exposure may be significant and could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.
Moreover, governmental authorities and private parties may bring lawsuits based upon damage to property or natural resources and injury to persons resulting from the environmental, health and safety impacts of our past and current operations, which could lead to the imposition of substantial fines, remediation costs, penalties, injunctive relief and other civil and criminal sanctions. Substantial costs and liabilities, including those required to restore the environment after the closure of mines, are inherent in our operations. We cannot provide any assurance that any such law, regulation, enforcement or private claim will not have a negative effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Our operations are subject to extensive environmental regulations, which could result in operational delays, penalties and costs.
All phases of our operations are subject to extensive federal and state environmental regulation, including those enacted under the following laws:
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act;
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act;
Clean Air Act;
National Environmental Policy Act;
Clean Water Act;
Safe Drinking Water Act;
Federal Land Policy and Land Management Act; and
Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act;
Additional regulatory authorities also have jurisdiction over some of our operations and mining projects including the Environmental Protection Agency, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, BLM, and the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
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These environmental regulations require us to obtain various operating permits, approvals and licenses and also impose standards and controls relating to development and production activities. For instance, we are required to hold a Nevada Reclamation Permit with respect to the Hycroft Mine. This permit mandates concurrent and post-mining reclamation of mines and requires the posting of reclamation bonds sufficient to guarantee the cost of mine reclamation. Changes to the amount required to be posted for reclamation bonds for our operations at the Hycroft Mine could materially affect our financial position, results of operations, cash flows and liquidity following consummation of the business combination. Also, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may designate critical habitat and suitable habitat areas it believes are necessary for survival of a threatened or endangered species. A critical habitat or suitable habitat designation could result in further material restrictions to land use and may materially delay or prohibit land access for our development. For example, we had to obtain certain permits associated with mining in the area of an eagle habitat. Failure to obtain such required permits or failure to comply with federal and state regulations could also result in delays in beginning or expanding operations, incurring additional costs for investigation or cleanup of hazardous substances, payment of penalties for non-compliance or discharge of pollutants, and post-mining closure, reclamation and bonding, all of which could have a material adverse impact on our financial performance, results of operations and liquidity.
Compliance with current and future government regulations may cause us to incur significant costs.
Our operations are subject to extensive federal and state legislation governing matters such as mine safety, occupational health, labor standards, prospecting, exploration, production, exports, toxic and hazardous substances, explosives, management of natural resources, land use, water use, air emissions, waste disposal, environmental review and taxes. Compliance with this and other legislation could require us to make significant financial outlays. The enactment of new legislation or more stringent enforcement of current legislation may increase costs, which could have a negative effect on our financial position, results of operations, and liquidity. We cannot predict at this time what changes, if any, to federal laws or regulations may be adopted or imposed by the new Biden Administration. We cannot provide any assurances that we will be able to adapt to these regulatory developments on a timely or cost-effective basis. Violations of these laws, regulations and other regulatory requirements could lead to substantial fines, penalties or other sanctions, including possible shutdown of the Hycroft Mine or future operations, as applicable.
Changes in environmental regulations could adversely affect our cost of operations or result in operational delays.
The regulatory environment in which we operate is evolving in a manner that will require stricter standards and enforcement, increased fines and penalties for non-compliance, more stringent environmental assessments of proposed projects and a heightened degree of responsibility for companies and their officers, directors and employees. New environmental laws and regulations or changes in existing environmental laws and regulations could have a negative effect on exploration activities, operations, production levels and methods of production.
We cannot predict at this time what changes, if any, to federal laws or regulations may be adopted or imposed by the new Biden Administration. We cannot provide any assurance that future changes in environmental laws and regulations will not adversely affect our current operations or future projects. Any changes to these laws and regulations could have an adverse impact on our financial performance and results of operations by, for example, requiring changes to operating constraints, technical criteria, fees or financial assurance requirements.
Our operations are subject to numerous governmental permits that are difficult to obtain and we may not be able to obtain or renew all of the permits we require, or such permits may not be timely obtained or renewed.
In the ordinary course of business we are required to obtain and renew governmental permits for our actualoperations, including in connection with our plans for heap leaching our sulfide ore at the Hycroft Mine. We will also need additional governmental permits to accomplish our long-term plans to mine sulfide ores, including without limitation, permits to allow construction of additional leach pad space. Obtaining or renewing the necessary governmental permits is a complex and time-consuming process involving costly undertakings by us. The duration and success of our efforts to obtain and renew permits are contingent upon many variables not within our control, including the interpretation of applicable requirements implemented by the permitting authority and intervention by third parties in any required environmental review. We may not be able to obtain or renew permits that are necessary to our operations on a timely basis or at all, and the cost to obtain or renew permits may exceed our estimates. Failure to comply with the terms of our permits may result in injunctions, fines, suspension or revocation of permits and other penalties. We can provide no assurance that we have been, or will at all times be, in full compliance with all of the terms of our permits or that we have all required permits. The costs and delays associated with compliance with these permits and with the permitting process could alter all or a portion of our life of mine plan, delay or stop us from proceeding with the operation or development of the Hycroft Mine or increase the costs of development or production, any or all of which may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developmentsliquidity.
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There are uncertainties as to title matters in the industrymining industry. Any defects in such title could cause us to lose our rights in mineral properties and jeopardize our business operations.
Our mineral properties consist of private mineral rights, leases covering private lands, leases of patented mining claims and unpatented mining claims. Areas of the Hycroft Mine are unpatented mining claims located on lands administered by the BLM, Nevada State office to which we have only possessory title. Because title to unpatented mining claims is subject to inherent uncertainties, it is difficult to determine conclusively ownership of such claims. These uncertainties relate to such things as sufficiency of mineral discovery, proper location and posting and marking of boundaries, and possible conflicts with other claims not determinable from descriptions of record. We believe a substantial portion of all mineral exploration, development and mining in the United States now occurs on unpatented mining claims, and this uncertainty is inherent in the mining industry.
The present status of our unpatented mining claims located on public lands allows us the right to mine and remove valuable minerals, such as precious and base metals, from the claims conditioned upon applicable environmental reviews and permitting programs. We also are generally allowed to use the surface of the land solely for purposes related to mining and processing the mineral-bearing ores. However, legal ownership of the land remains with the United States. We remain at risk that the mining claims may be forfeited either to the United States or to rival private claimants due to failure to comply with statutory requirements. Prior to 1994, a mining claim locator who was able to prove the discovery of valuable, locatable minerals on a mining claim, and to meet all other applicable federal and state requirements and procedures pertaining to the location and maintenance of federal unpatented mining claims, had the right to prosecute a patent application to secure fee title to the mining claim from the Federal government. The right to pursue a patent, however, has been subject to a moratorium since October 1994, through federal legislation restricting the BLM from accepting any new mineral patent applications. If we do not obtain fee title to our unpatented mining claims, we can provide no assurance that we will be able to obtain compensation in connection with the forfeiture of such claims.
There may be challenges to title to the mineral properties in which we operatehold a material interest. If there are title defects with respect to any properties, we might be required to compensate other persons or perhaps reduce our interest in the affected property. Also, in any such case, the investigation and resolution of title issues would divert our management’s time from ongoing production and development programs.
Legislation has been proposed periodically that could, if enacted, significantly affect the cost of our operations on our unpatented mining claims or the amount of Net Proceeds of Mineral Tax we pay to the State of Nevada.
Members of the U.S. Congress have periodically introduced bills which would supplant or alter the provisions of the Mining Law of 1872. Such bills have proposed, among other things, to either eliminate or greatly limit the right to a mineral patent and to impose a federal royalty on production from unpatented mining claims. Such proposed legislation could change the cost of holding unpatented mining claims and could significantly impact our ability to develop mineralized material on unpatented mining claims. A majority of our mining claims are unpatented claims. Although we cannot predict what legislated royalties might be, the enactment of these proposed bills could adversely affect the potential for development of our unpatented mining claims and the economics of our existing operating mines on federal unpatented mining claims. Passage of such legislation could adversely affect our financial performance and results of operations.
We are subject to Net Proceeds of Mineral Tax, which we refer to as “NPT,” to the State of Nevada on up to 5% of net proceeds generated from our Hycroft Mine. Net proceeds are calculated as the excess of gross yield over direct costs. Gross yield is determined as the value received when minerals are sold, exchanged for anything of value or removed from the state. Direct costs generally include the costs to develop, extract, produce, transport and refine minerals. From time to time Nevada legislators introduce bills which aim to increase the amount of NPT mining companies operating in the state pay. As of the date of this filing, there are two proposed amendments to the NPT that would change the calculation of the NPT. Both of the amendments increase the rate of the tax, but one of the amendments would base NPT on gross proceeds instead of net proceeds. If legislation is passed that increases the NPT we pay to the State of Nevada, our business, results of operations, and cash flows could be negatively impacted.
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Regulations and pending legislation governing issues involving climate change could result in increased operating costs, which could have a material adverse effect on our business.
A number of governments or governmental bodies have introduced or are contemplating regulatory changes in response to various climate change interest groups and the potential impact of climate change. Legislation and increased regulation regarding climate change could impose significant costs on us and our suppliers, including costs related to increased energy requirements, capital equipment, environmental monitoring and reporting and other costs to comply with such regulations. Any adopted future climate change regulations could also negatively impact our ability to compete with companies situated in areas not subject to such regulations. Given the emotion, political significance and uncertainty around the impact of climate change and how it should be dealt with, we cannot predict how legislation and regulation will affect our financial condition, operating performance and ability to compete. Furthermore, even without such regulation, increased awareness and any adverse publicity in the global marketplace about potential impacts on climate change by us or other companies in our industry could harm our reputation.
Climate change could have an adverse impact on our cost of operations.
The potential physical impacts of climate change on our operations are highly uncertain and would be particular to the area in which we operate. These climate changes may differinclude changes in rainfall and storm patterns and intensities, water shortages and changing temperatures. These changes in climate could adversely affect our mining operations, including by affecting the moisture levels and pH of ore on our leach pads, increase the cost of production at the Hycroft Mine and materially from those madeand adversely affect the financial performance of our operations.
Business-Related Risks
Due to uncertainty surrounding our ability to achieve sales, production, cost and other operating targets, as well as our ability to consummate a future financing transaction to provide additional working capital and to fund capital projects in the future, substantial doubt exists as to our ability to continue as a going concern. Our plans to alleviate the substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern may not be successful, and we may be forced to limit our business activities or suggested by the forward-looking statements contained in this report. In addition, even ifbe unable to continue as a going concern, which would have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
The financial statements of the Company have been prepared on a “going concern” basis, which contemplates the presumed continuation of the Company even though events and conditions exist that, when considered individually or in the aggregate, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern because it is probable that, without additional capital injections, we may be unable to meet our obligations as they become due within one year after the date of this 2020 Form 10-K.
We restarted operations in 2019 and have incurred net losses, negative operating cash flow and required cash flow from financing to meet our operating and capital spending needs for both the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. Based on our internal cash flow projection models, we currently forecast we will likely require additional cash from financing activities in less than 12 months from the filing date of this 2020 Form 10-K to meet our operating and investing requirements and future obligations as they become due. Our current cash flow projection models include the cash payments required pursuant to the Sprott Credit Agreement, which are currently estimated at $9.0 million over the next 12 months including interest payments.
Our ability to continue as a going concern is contingent upon increasing sales, by achieving higher cost-effective operating tonnages and recovery rates as planned as well securing additional funding for working capital, capital expenditures and other corporate expenses. You are cautioned that management’s expectations regarding our liquidity and capital resources are based on a number of assumptions that we believe are reasonable but could prove to be incorrect. For example, our expectations are based on assumptions regarding commodity prices, gold and silver recovery percentages and rates, production estimates, timing of oxidation, anticipated costs and other factors that are subject to a number of risks, many of which are beyond our control. If our assumptions prove to be incorrect, we may require additional financing sooner than we expect to continue to operate our business, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all and which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity, and developments in the industry in which we operate are consistent with the forward-looking statements contained in this report, those results or developmentsliquidity.
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We may need to raise additional capital, but such capital may not be indicativeavailable on favorable terms or at all.
The continuing operation of our Hycroft Mine and future development for mining and processing our mineral reserves and mineral resources will require significant investment. Failure to obtain sufficient financing may result in the delay or indefinite postponement of development or production at the Hycroft Mine. The covenants in the Sprott Credit Agreement could significantly limit our ability to secure new or additional credit facilities, increase our cost of borrowing, and make it difficult or impossible to raise additional capital on favorable terms or at all.
Our primary future cash requirements for 2021 will be to fund capital projects, leases for mining equipment, technical work, augment or recommission process plant equipment, and pay for corporate costs including debt service requirements under the Sprott Credit Agreement. As of December 31, 2020, we had cash of $56.4 million. Using current metal prices and our estimates of future metal sales volumes and costs, we currently expect to fund negative net cash flows from cash on hand during the fiscal year ending December 31, 2021. Future development of the Hycroft Mine may require additional capital to fund expenditures including refurbishing and commissioning the North Merrill-Crowe plant, additional leach pad expansions, additional process plant operations, mining fleet additions, material handling equipment, a rail spur, and working capital. You are cautioned that management’s expectations regarding our liquidity and capital resources are based on a number of assumptions that we believe are reasonable but could prove to be incorrect. For example, our expectations are based on assumptions regarding commodity prices, gold and silver recovery percentages and rates, production estimates, anticipated costs and other factors that are subject to a number of risks, many of which are beyond our control. If our assumptions prove to be incorrect, we may require additional financing sooner than we expect to continue to operate our business, which may not be available on favorable terms or at all and which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.
The estimation of the ultimate recovery of gold and silver from the Hycroft Mine, is based on standard industry sampling and estimating methods, which are subjective. Our results of operations, liquidity, and financial position may be negatively impacted if actual recoveries of gold and silver are lower than estimations.
We use several integrated steps to estimate the metal content of ore placed on the leach pad and the ultimate recovery of gold and silver based on the process projected to be applied to the various ore types. Although we refine our estimates as appropriate at each step in the process, the final amounts are not determined until a third-party smelter refines the doré or developmentsmetal-laden carbon and determines the final ounces of gold and silver available for sale. We then review this end result and reconcile it to the estimates we developed and used throughout the production process. Based on this review, we adjust our estimation procedures when appropriate. Due to the complexity of the estimation process and the number of steps involved, among other things, actual recoveries can vary from estimates, and the amount of the variation could be significant and could have a material adverse impact on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.
There is only limited experience of recovering gold and silver from sulfide ores using a proprietary two-stage heap oxidation and leach process and we may not be able to economically recover gold and silver.
The Hycroft Technical Report reflects extracting gold and silver from transitional and sulfide ores using a proprietary two-stage heap oxidation and leach process on transitional and sulfide ores using soda ash to manage pH and alkalinity during the oxidation process. However, the economic parameters described in subsequent periods.

3
the Hycroft Technical Report include a number of assumptions and estimates that could prove to be incorrect. Additionally, this proprietary two-stage heap oxidation and leach process to oxidize transitional and sulfide ores before heap leaching to extract gold and silver is a new and relatively untested process and it has not been widely accepted as a viable process. We cannot provide any assurance that the development and advancement of the Hycroft Mine using our proprietary two-stage heap and leach process will result in economically viable mining operations, yield new mineral reserves or mineral resources, enable us to convert other mineralized material (included within mineral resources identified by the Hycroft Technical Report), or be implemented on an economic and profitable basis.

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 Unless otherwise stated


Cost estimates of operating our Hycroft Mine are uncertain, which may adversely affect our expected production and profitability.
The expenditures to implement our proprietary two-stage heap oxidation and leach process, and access our sulfide ore, are considerable and changes in this report, or the context otherwise requires, references to:

·“Mudrick Capital” are to Mudrick Capital Management, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, and its affiliates, an affiliate of our sponsor;

·“Cantor” are to Cantor Fitzgerald & Co., the representative of the underwriters of our initial public offering;

·“common stock” are to our Class A common stock and our Class B common stock, collectively;

·“founder shares” are to shares of our Class B common stock initially purchased by our sponsor in a private placement prior to our initial public offering, and the shares of our Class A common stock issued upon the conversion thereof as described herein;

·“initial stockholders” are to our sponsor and any other holders of our founder shares (or their permitted transferees);

·“management” or our “management team” are to our officers and directors;

·“private placement warrants” are to the warrants issued to our sponsor and Cantor in a private placement simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering;

·“public shares” are to shares of our Class A common stock sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in such offering or thereafter in the open market);

·“public stockholders” are to the holders of our public shares, including our initial stockholders and management team to the extent our initial stockholders and/or members of our management team purchase public shares, provided that each initial stockholder’s and member of our management team’s status as a “public stockholder” shall only exist with respect to such public shares;

·“public warrants” are to our redeemable warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering (whether they were purchased in our initial public offering or thereafter in the open market) and to any private placement warrants or warrants issued upon conversion of working capital loans that are sold to third parties that are not initial purchasers or executive officers or directors (or permitted transferees) following the consummation of our initial business combination;

·“specified future issuance” are to an issuance of a class of equity or equity-linked securities to specified purchasers, which may include affiliates of Mudrick Capital and/or one or more investors in funds managed by Mudrick Capital, that we may determine to make in connection with financing our initial business combination, to the extent permitted under applicable regulatory and contractual requirements related to those funds and accounts;

·“sponsor” are to Mudrick Capital Acquisition Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company which is 100% owned by investment funds and separate accounts managed by Mudrick Capital;

·“warrants” are to our redeemable warrants, which includes the public warrants as well as the private placement warrants to the extent they are no longer held by the initial purchasers of the private placement warrants or their permitted transferees; and

·“we,” “us,” “company” or “our company” are to Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation.

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PART I

Item 1.Business

Overview

Weprocessing requirements, costs, construction schedules, commodity prices and other factors can adversely affect project economics and expected production and profitability. There are a blank check company formednumber of factors that can affect process requirements, costs and construction schedules and result in our assumptions and estimates about the anticipated benefits of a project being incorrect, including, among others:

changes in input commodity prices and labor costs;
process requirements vary by mineralogy and ore types;
changes in estimates of prices and quantities of required reagents for processing, including cyanide, soda ash and lime;
recovery rates of gold and silver from ore;
availability and terms of financing;
availability of labor, energy, transportation, equipment, and infrastructure;
changes in anticipated tonnage, grade and metallurgical characteristics of the ore to be mined and processed;
difficulty of estimating construction costs over a period of years;
delays in completing any environmental review or in obtaining environmental or other governmental permits;
weather and severe climate impacts; and
potential delays related to civil disturbances or social and community issues.
We have previously recovered gold and silver from oxide and transitional ores at the Hycroft Mine through our heap leach operations. In connection with our restarted mining operations, in addition to mining oxide ore, the Hycroft Technical Report reflects mining gold and silver sulfide ore using a modified heap leach process, in which soda ash is used in a two-stage heap oxidation and leach process. However, it is important to note that the economic parameters described in a feasibility study, such as the Hycroft Technical Report, include a Delaware corporationnumber of assumptions and estimates that could prove to be incorrect. We use feasibility studies to make a reasoned determination of whether to proceed with a project and to support the required financing for a project, but you should not assume that the purposeeconomic analysis contained in a feasibility study is a guarantee of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganizationfuture performance as projected in the feasibility study or similar business combination withthat the estimated net present value or internal rates of return will be achieved. Actual results may differ materially. In particular, the processing of sulfide ore at the Hycroft Mine is uncertain and, therefore, the process requirements, recovery rates, reagent requirement assumptions, costs and timing of the commencement of the production of sulfide ore operations at the Hycroft Mine could vary greatly from our estimates. Further, we will continue to monitor and evaluate other processing technologies for their potential to process certain sulfide ores, but such technologies may not be economical.
We may not achieve our production and/or sales estimates and our costs may be higher than our estimates, thereby reducing our cash flows and negatively impacting our results of operations and liquidity.
We prepare estimates of future production, sales, and costs for our operations. We develop our estimates based on, among other things, mining experience, processing and mining fleet equipment reliability, operational efficiencies, recovery methods, mineral reserve and mineral resource estimates, assumptions regarding ground conditions and physical characteristics of ores (such as hardness and presence or absence of certain metallurgical characteristics), costs to construct new leach pads and estimated rates and costs of mining and processing. All of our estimates are subject to numerous uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. Our actual production and/or sales may be lower than our estimates and our actual costs may be higher than our estimates, which could negatively impact our cash flows and results of operations. While we believe that our estimates are reasonable at the time they are made, actual results will vary and such variations may be material. These estimates are speculative in nature, and it may be the case that one or more businesses, which we referof the assumptions underlying such projections and estimates may not materialize. You are cautioned not to throughoutplace undue reliance on the projections and estimates set forth in this Report as our initial business combination. While we2020 Form 10-K or any document incorporated by reference.
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Plans for eliminating or reducing processing and mining constraints and planned technical efforts in 2021, each aimed at positioning us for a future ramp up in production, may pursue an initial business combination target in any stage of its corporate evolution, we have focused our search on companies that have recently emerged from bankruptcy court protection, often referred to as post-bankruptcy or post-restructured companies. Our management team and Mudrick Capital, an affiliate of our sponsor, have extensive experience investing in post-restructured companies. We believe that this experience makes us very well situated to identify, source, negotiate and execute a business combination at a favorable valuation with an attractive post-restructured company.

Business Strategy

Our business strategy is to identify, combine with and maximize the value of a company that has recently emerged from bankruptcy court protection. In particular, we believe that many post-restructured companies suffer from a valuation discount due to their opaqueness, complexity, non-long term ownership base and overall illiquidity. We believe that our in depth understanding of restructurings and post-restructuring company analysis, coupled with the more liquid publicly traded vehicle the company offers in an initial business combination,not be successful, could result in significant value creation for our stockholders. Creating value for our stockholders is the ultimate goal of this business strategy.

Post-restructured companies can provide an attractive investment opportunity due to the unique set of circumstances surrounding balance sheet restructurings and post-restructured equities. First, balance sheets are typically restructured by swapping old debt for new equity. This often results in an equity ownership base comprised of former creditors that may not be long-term holders of the new company’s equity, resulting in a technical overhang. Second, post-restructured companies are often difficult to analyze, as the new company can have a different balance sheet, different cost structure, different asset base and sometimes a different management team relative to the pre-restructured company. This can result in historical financial reporting being less relevant than traditional, non-restructured companies. This difficulty can be exacerbated by a lack of institutional research coverage often found in post-restructured companies. Finally, in many instances, a number of the turnaround initiatives undertaken before and during the balance sheet restructuring have yet to manifest themselvesinformation which could adversely impact conclusions in the operatingHycroft Technical Report and/or could provide data, information or test results that could materially and adversely impact our processing technology, potential future output, results of operations and profitability.

In 2021, we expect to continue to more fully evaluate potential opportunities while we also position the new company, resulting in a valuation that may not fully reflectHycroft Mine for ramping up production at the future positive operating resultsappropriate time. We intend to focus much of the company.

Dueour technical efforts for 2021 on, among other things, (1) using our internal technical team to the large size of many distressed credit investment firms, we have observed that in recent years many post-restructured companies often have highly concentrated ownership structures upon emerging from bankruptcy. In many instances, this limits these companies’ abilities to emerge as public companies due their limited number of shareholders. This situation is often exacerbated for mid-cap and small-cap companies. In our experience, it is quite common for five or six former creditors to control significantly more than half of the new company’s equity. This can result in such private companies trading at material discounts to their publicly traded peers. In our opinion, this private market discount makes post-restructured equities particularly attractive candidates for a publicly traded blank check company such as ours.

Investments in post-restructured equities are subject to various risks. Investments in such companies are speculative, prices are volatile, and market movements are difficult to predict. Supply and demand for distressed securities change rapidly and are affected bycomplete a variety of market factors overtechnical analyses and studies; (2) further refine operating parameters of our proprietary two-stage heap oxidation and leach process in order to position ourselves for large-scale application of the oxidation heap leach; and (3) engaging engineering firms to assess and evaluate potential design changes to the current leach pad and unit operations to better support the sulfide oxidation process. While each of these actions is intended to provide us with additional data on which we havecan assess potential efficiencies and operational improvements and such information provided from these activities could result in updates to the existing Hycroft Technical Report or a new Technical Report including consideration of multiple processing technologies, no control and which may reduceassurances can be given that the poolresults of profitable investment opportunities. Moreover,this ongoing technical work in 2021 will enhance or improve our ability to identify undervalued investment opportunitiesefficiently and successfully access the ore within the Hycroft Mine. Further, while these technical efforts are intended to allow us to ramp up the Hycroft Mine at the appropriate time, that fitfuture ramp up is dependent on eliminating current mining and processing constraints. We expect that we will need to acquire an expanded mining fleet capable of mining targeted production rates, and recruit and train operators and maintenance staff. Additional resources must also be spent on enhancing our business strategy involves a high degree of uncertainty, and no assuranceprocessing plant capabilities. No assurances can be given that we will be able to successfully eliminate these mining and processing constraints.

As information, test results, and data becomes available to us resulting from our 2021 technical efforts, that information may lead us to modify the scope, nature, and timing of technical, testing, engineering, and growth planning work actually performed. If the results of our technical efforts do not result in increased efficiencies and capabilities and/or if our attempts to eliminate mining and processing constraints are not successful, each of those events could have a material adverse impact on our potential future output, results of operations and profitability.
We currently depend on a single mine and there is no assurance that we will not incur any interruptions or stoppages in our mining activities which would have an adverse effect on our results of operations and financial condition.
The Hycroft Mine is our only mining property. We can provide no assurance that we will be successful in profitably operating the Hycroft Mine using the oxide leach process, the proprietary two-stage heap oxidization and leach process for sulfide ore, or alternative processing technologies. Further, any interruption in our ability to operate the Hycroft Mine, such as, but not limited to, a pandemic, natural disaster, loss of material permits, extended supply interruptions, processing interruptions or difficulties or labor strike would have a material adverse effect on our ability to produce gold and silver and to generate revenue and liquidity.
We cannot be certain that our future development activities will be commercially successful.
Substantial expenditures are required to construct and operate the Hycroft Mine including additional equipment and infrastructure such as additional leach pads to extract gold and silver from our sulfide ore utilizing the new metallurgical processes described in the Hycroft Technical Report, to further develop our Hycroft Mine to identify new mineral reserves and mineral resources, and to expand or establish mineral reserves and mineral resources through drilling and analysis. We cannot provide assurance that our process to extract gold and silver from sulfide ore using a proprietary two-stage heap oxidation and leach process can be maintained on an economic and profitable basis, that any mineral reserves or mineral resources discovered will be in sufficient quantities to justify commercial operations or that the funds required for development can be obtained on a timely or economic basis. A number of factors, including costs, actual mineralization, consistency and reliability of ore grades and commodity and reagent quantities and prices affect successful project development. The efficient operation of processing facilities, the existence of competent operational management, as well as the availability and reliability of appropriately skilled and experienced consultants also can affect successful project development. We can provide no assurance that the development and advancement of the Hycroft Mine sulfide leaching operations will result in economically viable mining operations or yield new mineral reserves or resources.
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Our reliance on third party contractors and consultants to conduct our operations and construction projects exposes us to risks.
In connection with the operation of the Hycroft Mine, we contract and engage third party contractors and consultants to assist with aspects of our operations and related construction projects, including construction of new leach pads, maintenance, repair and improvements to our crushing and processing facilities, and mining of our ore and waste. As a result, our operations and construction projects are subject to a number of risks, some of which are outside our control, including:
negotiating agreements with contractors and consultants on acceptable terms;
the inability to replace a contractor or consultant and their operating equipment in the event that either party terminates the agreement;
reduced control over those aspects of operations which are the responsibility of the contractor or consultant;
failure of a contractor or consultant to perform under their agreement or disputes relative to their performance;
interruption of operations or increased costs in the event that a contractor or consultant ceases their business due to insolvency or other unforeseen events;
failure of a contractor or consultant to comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements, to the extent they are responsible for such opportunities. compliance; and
problems of a contractor or consultant with managing their workforce, labor unrest or other employment issues.
In addition, we may incur liability to third parties as a result of the actions of our contractors or consultants. The occurrence of one or more of these risks could decrease our gold and silver production, increase our costs, interrupt or delay our mining operations or our ability to access our ores, and adversely affect our liquidity, results of operations and financial position.
A shortage of equipment and supplies and/or the time it takes such items to arrive at our Hycroft Mine could adversely affect our ability to operate our business.
We are dependent on various supplies and equipment to engage in mining and development operations. The shortage of such supplies, equipment and parts and/or the time it takes such items to arrive at our Hycroft Mine could have a material adverse effect on our ability to carry out our operations and develop the Hycroft Mine, and therefore limit or increase the cost of production. Such shortages could also result in increased construction costs and cause delays in expansion projects.
The inability to obtain soda ash or delays in obtaining soda ash could adversely affect our ability to profitably operate our business.
There are a limited number of suppliers that produce and supply soda ash and to our knowledge, such suppliers do not typically mine soda ash in excess of what they believe they can sell. We entered into a three-year agreement with a soda ash supplier in April 2019 to provide soda ash for our operations. However, if the contracted supplier cancels the contract, is unable to produce and supply enough soda ash or ceases operations because of the large quantities of soda ash required in our operations, we may have to temporarily stop mining until we can obtain a new contract to purchase soda ash. Further, we cannot provide any assurance as to the costs that we might incur in obtaining soda ash from a substitute supplier which could materially and adversely affect the profitability and cash flows of our mining operations.
Changes in the cost or supply of energy or commodities used in operations may adversely affect the profitability of our operations and our financial condition.
Our mining operation requires significant quantities of energy. Our principal energy sources are electricity and diesel fuel. We rely upon third parties for our supply of energy resources consumed in our mining activities. Energy prices can be affected by numerous factors beyond our control, including global and regional supply and demand, political and economic conditions, and applicable regulatory regimes. The prices of various sources of energy may increase significantly from current levels. An increase in energy prices could materially and adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Disruptions in the supply of our energy resources could temporarily impair our ability to produce gold and silver or delay any expansion projects or plans. Our mining operation is in a remote location requiring the long-distance transmission of power. A disruption in the transmission of energy, inadequate energy transmission infrastructure or the termination of any of our energy supply contracts could interrupt our energy supply and adversely affect our operations or expansion projects.
Our production costs are also affected by the prices of commodities we consume or use in our operations, such as diesel fuel, sodium cyanide, soda ash, lime, tires, and explosives. The prices of such commodities are influenced by supply and demand trends affecting the mining industry in general and other factors outside our control. Increases in the price for materials consumed in our mining and production activities could materially and adversely affect our liquidity, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.
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We may be adversely affected by challenges relating to slope stability.
Our open pit mine gets deeper and creates a larger footprint as we mine it, presenting certain geotechnical challenges including the possibility of slope failure. If we are required to decrease pit slope angles or provide additional road access to prevent such a failure, our stated mineral reserves could be negatively affected. Further, hydrological conditions relating to pit slopes, removal of material displaced by slope failures and increased stripping requirements could also negatively affect our stated mineral reserves. We cannot provide any assurances that we will not have to take additional action to maintain slope stability in the future or that our actions taken to date will be sufficient. Unexpected failure or additional requirements to prevent slope failure may negatively affect our results of operations and financial condition, as well as have the effect of diminishing our stated mineral reserves.
The Sprott Credit Agreement imposes significant operating and financial restrictions that may limit our ability to operate our business.
The Sprott Credit Agreement imposes significant operating and financial restrictions on us and our restricted subsidiaries. These restrictions will limit our ability and the ability of our restricted subsidiaries to, among other things, as applicable:
incur additional debt;
pay dividends or make other restricted payments, including certain investments;
create or permit certain liens;
sell assets;
engage in certain transactions with affiliates; and
consolidate or merge with or into other companies, or transfer all or substantially all of our assets or the assets of our restricted subsidiaries.
These restrictions could limit our ability to finance our future operations or capital needs, make acquisitions or pursue available business opportunities.
In addition, the Sprott Credit Agreement will require us to comply with a number of customary covenants, including:
covenants related to the delivery of monthly, quarterly and annual financial statements, budgets and annual projections;
maintaining required insurance;
compliance with laws (including environmental);
compliance with ERISA;
maintenance of ownership of 100% of Hycroft Mine;
restrictions on consolidations, mergers or sales of assets;
limitations on liens;
limitations on issuance of certain equity interests;
limitations on issuance of additional indebtedness;
limitations on transactions with affiliates; and
other customary covenants.
We cannot assure you that we will satisfy these covenants or that our lenders will waive any future failure to do so. A breach of any of the covenants under the Sprott Credit Agreement could result in a default. See Note 9 – Debt, Net to the Notes to the Financial Statements for further information. If a default occurs under the Sprott Credit Agreement and/or the Royalty Agreement among Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation, its wholly owned subsidiary Hycroft Resources and Development, LLC and Sprott Private Resource Lending II (CO) Inc., (“Sprott Royalty Agreement”), the lenders could elect to declare the debt, together with accrued interest and other fees, to be immediately due and payable and proceed against the collateral securing that debt, which, in the case of the Sprott Credit Agreement and the Sprott Royalty Agreement, constitutes all or substantially all of our assets.
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Our substantial indebtedness could adversely affect our financial condition.
As of December 31, 2020, we had substantial outstanding indebtedness under the Sprott Credit Agreement and the Subordinated Notes. Subject to the limits and terms contained in the Sprott Credit Agreement, if we are able to incur additional debt or grant additional security interests from time to time to finance working capital, capital expenditures, investments or acquisitions, or for other purposes, then the risks related to our high level of debt could intensify. Our high level of debt and royalty payment obligations could:
make it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to our outstanding debt;
require a substantial portion of our cash flows to be dedicated to debt service and/or royalty payments instead of other purposes, thereby reducing the amount of cash flows available for working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions and other general corporate purposes;
limit our ability to obtain additional financing to fund future working capital, capital expenditures, acquisitions or other general corporate requirements;
increase our vulnerability to commodity price volatility, including increases in prices of commodities that we purchase and decreases in prices of gold and silver that we sell, each as part of our operations, general adverse economic and industry conditions;
limit our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in the industry in which we compete;
place us at a disadvantage compared to other, less leveraged competitors; and
increase our cost of borrowing.
Any of the above-listed factors could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to meet our payment obligations under our debt, and the price of our common stock. The Sprott Credit Agreement contains restrictive covenants that limit our ability to engage in activities that may be in our long-term best interest. Our failure to comply with those covenants could result in an event of default which, if not cured or waived, could result in the acceleration of nearly all of our debt.
If we default on our obligations to pay any of our indebtedness or otherwise default under the agreements governing our indebtedness, lenders could accelerate such debt and we may be subject to restrictions on the payment of our other debt obligations or cause a cross-acceleration.
Any default under the agreements governing our indebtedness that is not waived by the required lenders or holders of such indebtedness, and the remedies sought by the holders of such indebtedness, could prevent us from paying principal, premium, if any, and interest on other debt instruments. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow or are otherwise unable to obtain funds necessary to meet required payments of principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness and royalty payment obligations, or if we otherwise fail to comply with the various covenants in any agreement governing our indebtedness, we would be in default under the terms of the agreements governing such indebtedness and other indebtedness under the cross-default and cross-acceleration provisions of such agreements. In the event of such default:
the lenders or holders of such indebtedness could elect to terminate any commitments thereunder, declare all the funds borrowed thereunder to be due and payable and, if not promptly paid, in the case of our secured debt, institute foreclosure proceedings against our assets; and
even if these lenders or holders do not declare a default, they may be able to cause all of our available cash to be used to repay indebtedness owed to them.
As a result of such default and any actions the lenders may take in response thereto, we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.
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We may not be able to generate sufficient cash to service all of our indebtedness and may be forced to take other actions to satisfy our obligations under our indebtedness, which may not be successful.
Our ability to make scheduled payments on our debt and royalty obligations or refinance our debt obligations (if necessary) depends on our financial condition and operating performance, which are subject to prevailing economic and competitive conditions and to certain financial, business, legislative, regulatory and other factors beyond our control, including the market prices of gold and silver. We may be unable to maintain a level of cash flow from operating activities sufficient to permit us to pay the principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness and our royalty obligations.
If our cash flows and capital resources are insufficient to fund our debt service obligations and our royalty obligations, we could face substantial liquidity problems and could be forced to reduce or delay investments and capital expenditures or to dispose of material assets, seek additional debt or equity capital or restructure or refinance our indebtedness. We may not be able to effect any such alternative measures, if necessary, on commercially reasonable terms or at all and, even if successful, those alternative actions may not allow us to meet our scheduled debt service obligations. The Sprott Credit Agreement restricts our ability to dispose of assets and use the proceeds from those dispositions and may also restrict our ability to raise debt to be used to repay other indebtedness when it becomes due. We may not be able to consummate those dispositions or to obtain proceeds in an amount sufficient to meet any debt service and royalty payment obligations then due.
In addition, we conduct a substantial periodportion of time before realizing their anticipated value and returns generated from such investmentsour operations through our subsidiaries, certain of which in the future may not adequately compensatebe guarantors of our indebtedness. Accordingly, repayment of our indebtedness is dependent on the generation of cash flow by our subsidiaries and their ability to make such cash available to us, by dividend, debt repayment or otherwise. Unless they are guarantors of our indebtedness, our subsidiaries do not have any obligation to pay amounts due on our indebtedness or to make funds available for that purpose. Our subsidiaries may not be able to, or may not be permitted to, make distributions to enable us to make payments in respect of our indebtedness. Each subsidiary is a distinct legal entity, and, under certain circumstances, legal and contractual restrictions may limit our ability to obtain cash from our subsidiaries. In the event that we do not receive distributions from our subsidiaries, we may be unable to make required principal and interest payments on our indebtedness.
Our inability to generate sufficient cash flows to satisfy our debt and royalty obligations, or to refinance our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all, would materially and adversely affect our financial position and results of operations and our ability to satisfy our obligations.
If we cannot make scheduled payments on our debt, we will be in default and the lenders under the Sprott Credit Agreement and the Sprott Royalty Agreement could foreclose against the assets securing their borrowings and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.
Our lack of exploration activities will lead to our inability to replace depleted mineral reserves.
To maintain production levels over time we must replace depleted reserves by exploiting known ore bodies and locating new deposits. We have plans to continue exploration related to the mining and processing of gold and silver contained in ore within the Hycroft Mine, which may include areas surrounding the Hycroft Mine operating properties. There can be no assurance that such projects will be successful. Our mineral base will decline if reserves are mined without adequate replacement, and we may not be able to sustain production beyond the currently contemplated mine life, based on projected production rates. As a result, our revenues from the future sale of gold and silver may decline, resulting in lower income and reduced growth. Further, we expect to encounter strong competition from other mining companies in connection with the acquisition of properties producing or capable of producing gold and silver. If or when we attempt to acquire new properties, we will face competition from many of these companies that have greater financial resources than we do. Consequently, we may be unable to replace and expand current mineral reserves through the acquisition of new mining properties or interests therein on terms we consider acceptable.
Land reclamation requirements for the Hycroft Mine may be burdensome and expensive and include requirements that we provide financial assurance supporting those requirements.
Land reclamation requirements are generally imposed on companies with mining operations in order to minimize long-term effects of land disturbance. Reclamation may include requirements to control dispersion of potentially deleterious effluents, treat ground and surface water to drinking water standards, and reasonably re-establish pre-disturbance landforms and vegetation.
In order to carry out reclamation obligations imposed on us in connection with our activities, we must allocate financial resources that might otherwise be spent on further development programs. We have established a provision for our reclamation obligations on the Hycroft Mine property, as appropriate, but this provision may not be adequate. If we are required to carry out unanticipated reclamation work, our financial position could be adversely affected.
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We are also required by U.S. federal and state laws and regulations to provide financial assurance sufficient to allow a third party to implement approved reclamation plans for the Hycroft Mine if we are unable to do so. Third party financial assurances may not be available to us or we may elect not to obtain it because of the high costs, associated collateral requirements may be too expensive or it may be commercially impractical which could adversely affect our financial position.
If we lose key personnel or are unable to attract and retain additional personnel, we may be unable to develop our business.
Our development in the future will be highly dependent on the efforts of key management employees, specifically, Diane Garrett, our President and Chief Executive Officer, Stanton Rideout, our Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, John (Jack) Henris, our Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and other key employees that we may hire in the future. We will need to recruit and retain other qualified managerial and technical employees to build and maintain our operations. If we are unable to successfully recruit and retain such persons, our development and growth could be significantly curtailed.
We are dependent upon information technology systems that are subject to disruption, damage, failure and risks associated with implementation and integration.
We are 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, extortion to prevent or the unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information and the corruption of data. Given the unpredictability of the timing, nature and scope of information technology disruptions, we could potentially be subject to production downtimes, operational delays, extortion, 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, financial condition or results of operations.
We could also be adversely affected by system or network disruptions if new or upgraded information technology systems are defective, not installed properly or not properly integrated into our operations. System modification failures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations and could, if not successfully implemented, adversely impact the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial risks assumed. reporting.
The three largest stockholders of the Company are able to exert significant influence over matters submitted to stockholders for approval, which could delay or prevent a change in corporate control or result in the entrenchment of management or the Board of Directors, possibly conflicting with the interests of our other stockholders.
As of December 31, 2020, Mudrick Capital Management LP, (“Mudrick Capital”), Whitebox Advisors LLC (“Whitebox”), and Highbridge Capital Management LLC, (“Highbridge”) beneficially owned approximately 42%, 20% and 13% of the outstanding shares of our common stock, respectively. Because of their significant stockholdings, each of Mudrick Capital, Whitebox and Highbridge could exert significant influence in determining the outcome of corporate actions requiring stockholder approval and otherwise influence our business. This influence could have the effect of delaying or preventing a change in control of the Company or entrenching management or the Board of Directors, which could conflict with the interests of other stockholders and, consequently, could adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
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Risks related to our Common Stock and Warrants
The market price of our shares of common stock and publicly traded warrants may fluctuate widely.
The trading price of our common stock and warrants listed for trading may fluctuate substantially and may be lower than current price. This may be especially true for companies like ours with a small public float. If an active market for our securities continues, the trading price of our securities could be volatile and subject to wide fluctuations. The trading price of our common stock and warrants depends on many factors, many of which are beyond our control and may not be related to our operating performance. These fluctuations could cause you to lose all or part of your investment in our common stock and/or warrants. Any of the factors listed below could have an adverse effect on your investment in our securities and our securities may trade at prices significantly below the price you paid for them. In such circumstances, the trading price of our securities may not recover and may experience a further decline.
Factors affecting the trading price of our securities may include:
actual or anticipated fluctuations in our financial results or the financial results of companies perceived to be similar to the Company;
changes in the market’s expectations about our operating results;
the public’s reaction to our press releases, other public announcements and filings with the SEC;
speculation in the press or investment community;
actual or anticipated developments in our business or our competitors’ businesses or the competitive landscape generally;
the operating results failing to meet the expectation of securities analysts or investors in a particular period;
changes in financial estimates and recommendations by securities analysts concerning the Company or the market in general;
operating and stock price performance of other companies that investors deem comparable to the Company;
changes in laws and regulations affecting our business;
commencement of, or involvement in, litigation involving the Company;
changes in our capital structure, such as future issuances of securities or the incurrence of additional debt;
the volume of our common stock available for public sale;
any major change in the Board of Directors or management;
sales of substantial amounts of our common stock by our directors, officers or significant stockholders or the perception that such sales could occur; and
general economic and political conditions such as recessions, interest rates, “trade wars,” reductions in precious metals prices, increases in fuel and other commodity prices used in the operation of our business, currency fluctuations and acts of war or terrorism.
Broad market and industry factors may materially harm the market price of our securities irrespective of our operating performance. The stock market in general and Nasdaq Capital Market have experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of the particular companies affected. The trading prices and valuations of these stocks, and of our securities, may not be predictable. A loss of investor confidence in the market for the stocks of other companies that investors perceive to be similar to the Company could depress our stock price regardless of our business, prospects, financial conditions or results of operations. Broad market and industry factors, as well as general economic, political and market conditions such as recessions or interest rate changes, may seriously affect the market price of our common stock and warrants, regardless of our actual operating performance. These fluctuations may be even more pronounced in the trading market for our stock shortly following the business combination. A decline in the market price of our securities also could adversely affect our ability to issue additional securities and our ability to obtain additional financing in the future.
In addition, in the past, following periods of volatility in the overall market and the market prices of particular companies’ securities, securities class action litigations have often been instituted against these companies. Litigation of this type, if instituted against us, could result in substantial costs and a diversion of our management’s attention and resources. Any adverse determination in any such litigation or any amounts paid to settle any such actual or threatened litigation could require that we make significant payments.
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There is no guarantee that weour outstanding public warrants will be able to achieve our investment objectives or provide any return on invested capital.

5

Business Combination Criteria

Consistent with our business strategy, we have identified the following general criteria that we believe are important in evaluating candidates for our initial business combination. While we utilize these criteria in evaluating business combination opportunities, we expect that no individual criterion will entirely determine a decision to pursue a particular opportunity. Further, any particular initial business combination opportunity that we ultimately determine to pursue may not meet one or more of these criteria.

1.Post-Restructured Companies. We seek candidates that have recently restructured their balance sheet. We believe that post-restructured companies may be valued at a discount to their publicly traded peers due to the non-long term nature of their ownership base (former creditors are typically the new equity owners post-restructuring), the complexity in understanding their restructuring, the lack of clarity and information regarding their financial performance, the concentrated nature of their ownership base and the lack of a publicly traded equity, among other reasons. We also believe that post-restructured companies are where we have the strongest network to identify opportunities and the greatest ability and experience to provide shareholder value.

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2.Middle-Market Companies. We seek candidates with an enterprise value of approximately $500 million to $1 billion, determined in the sole discretion of our officers and directors according to reasonably accepted valuation standards and methodologies. We believe that post-restructured middle-market companies suffer from a larger valuation discount to their publicly traded peers than larger companies. We also believe that post-restructured middle-market companies have a more difficult time accessing the public markets compared to their larger peers, and therefore could benefit more from an initial business combination with our company.

​3.Market Leaders with Stable Cash Flows. We target companies that restructured their balance sheets due to a bad balance sheet, and not a bad business. We seek candidates that are market leaders in their industry, and have stable, defensible and predictable cash flows.

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4.Discount to Publicly Traded Peers. We intend to seek candidates that are valued in the private market at a significant discount to their publicly traded peers. We believe that this discount will facilitate the initial business combination negotiation by allowing the opportunity for liquidity and multiple expansion for the targets’ current shareholders, while at the same time allowing meaningful upside for our stockholders post-business combination.

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5.Strong Management Teams. We target businesses that have strong, experienced management teams. We also may be able to assist with potential management additions from our network of experienced turnaround professionals. Additionally, we may seek to optimize the management team of a potential target business by introducing board members with relevant insight and experience.

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6.Benefit from Being a Public Company. We intend to pursue a business combination with a company that will benefit from being publicly traded and can effectively utilize the broader access to capital and public profile that are associated with being a publicly traded company.

​These criteria are not intended to be exhaustive. Any evaluation relating to the merits of a particular initial business combination may be based, to the extent relevant, on these general guidelines as well as other considerations, factors and criteria that our management team may deem relevant. In the event that we decide to enter into our initial business combination with a target business that does not meet the above criteria and guidelines, we will disclose that the target business does not meet the above criteria in our stockholder communications related to our initial business combination, which, as discussed in this Report, wouldever be in the formmoney, and they may expire worthless and the terms of proxy solicitation materials or tender offer documents that we would file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

6

Initial Business Combination

NASDAQ rules require that we must complete one or more business combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the value of the assets held in the trust account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissions and taxes payable on the interest earned on the trust account) at the time of our signing a definitive agreement in connection with our initial business combination. Our board of directors will make the determination as to the fair market value of our initial business combination. If our board of directors is not able to independently determine the fair market value of our initial business combination, we will obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm with respect to the satisfaction of such criteria. While we consider it unlikely that our board of directors will not be able to make an independent determination of the fair market value of our initial business combination, itwarrants may be unableamended.

We have 34,289,898 publicly traded warrants outstanding that entitle holders to do so if it is less familiar or experienced with the businesspurchase one share of a particular target or if there is a significant amount of uncertainty as to the value of a target’s assets or prospects.

We may, at our option, pursue a business combination opportunity jointly with one or more entities affiliated with Mudrick Capital and/or one or more investors in funds or separate accounts managed by Mudrick Capital, which we refer to as an “Affiliated Joint Acquisition.” Any such parties would co-invest only if  (i) permitted by applicable regulatory and other legal limitations; (ii) we and Mudrick Capital considered a transaction to be mutually beneficial to us as well as the affiliated entity; and (iii) other business reasons exist to do so, such as the strategic merits of including such co-investors, the need for additional capital beyond the amount held in our trust account to fund the initial business combination and/or the desire to obtain committed capital for closing the initial business combination. An Affiliated Joint Acquisition may be effected through a co-investment with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the initial business combination by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. We refer to this potential future issuance, or a similar issuance to other specified purchasers, as a “specified future issuance” throughout this Report. Any such Affiliated Joint Acquisition or specified future issuance would be in addition to, and would not include, the forward purchase securities issued pursuant to the forward purchase contract. The amount and other terms and conditions of any such specified future issuance would be determined at the time thereof. We are not obligated to make any specified future issuance and may determine not to do so. This is not an offer for any specified future issuance. Pursuant to the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B common stock, any such specified future issuance would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio such that our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon completion of our initial public offering plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance, unless the holders of a majority of the then-outstanding shares of Class B common stock agreed to waive such adjustment with respect to the specified future issuance at the time thereof. We cannot determine at this time whether a majority of the holders of our Class B common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share for a period of five years from the timeMay 29, 2020 Recapitalization Transaction. On October 6, 2020, we issued 9,583,334 units in an underwritten public offering at an offering price to of any such specified future issuance would agree$9.00 per unit, with each unit consisting of one share of our common stock and one warrant to waive such adjustment to the conversion ratio. They may waive such adjustment due to (but not limited to) the following: (i) closing conditions which are partpurchase one share of the agreement for our initial business combination; (ii) negotiation with Class A stockholders on structuringcommon stock at an initial business combination; (iii) negotiation with parties providing financing which would trigger the anti-dilution provisionsexercise price of the Class B common stock; or (iv)$10.50 per share.

Additionally, as part of the Affiliated Joint Acquisition. If such adjustment is not waived,Recapitalization Transaction, we assumed the specified future issuance would not reduceobligations and liabilities under that certain warrant agreement, dated as of October 22, 2015, by and between Seller and Computershare Inc., a Delaware corporation, and its wholly owned subsidiary Computershare Trust Company, N.A., a federally chartered trust company, collectively as initial warrant agent; and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC was named as the percentage ownershipsuccessor warrant agent (the “Seller Warrant Agreement”). Pursuant to the assumption of holders of our Class B common stock, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A common stock. If such adjustment is waived,Seller Warrant Agreement, the specified future issuance would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of both classeswarrants issued thereunder (the “Seller Warrants”) became exercisable into shares of our common stock. The issuanceAs of March 22, 2020, the forward purchase securities will not result in such an adjustment toexercise price for the conversionSeller Warrants was $40.31 per share of our Class B common stock.

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We anticipate structuring our initial business combination either (i) in such a way soThere is no guarantee that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will ownany or acquire 100% of the equity interests or assets of the target business or businesses, or (ii) in such a way so that the post-transaction company owns or acquires less than 100% of such interests or assets of the target business in order to meet certain objectives of the target management team or stockholders, or for other reasons, including an Affiliated Joint Acquisition as described above. However, we will only complete an initial business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. Even if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post-transaction company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% controlling interestpublic warrants will ever be in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares, our stockholders immediatelymoney prior to our initial business combination could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares subsequent to our initial business combination. If less than 100% oftheir expiration, and as such, the equity interests or assets of a target business or businesses are owned or acquired by the post-transaction company, the portion of such business or businesses that is owned or acquired is what will be taken into account for purposes of NASDAQ’s 80% of net assets test. If the initial business combination involves more than one target business, the 80% of net assets test will be based on the aggregate value of all of the transactions and we will treat the target businesses together as the initial business combination for purposes of a tender offer or for seeking stockholder approval, as applicable.

Our Business Combination Process

In evaluating prospective business combinations, we will conduct a thorough due diligence review process that encompasses, among other things, a review of historical and projected financial and operating data, meetings with management and their advisors (if applicable), on-site inspection of facilities and assets, discussion with customers and suppliers, legal reviews and other reviews as we deem appropriate. We also utilize our expertise and Mudrick Capital’s expertise analyzing post-restructured companies and evaluating operating projections, financial projections and determining the appropriate return expectations given the risk profile of the target business.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Mudrick Capital, investment funds or separate accounts advised by Mudrick Capital or our officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with a company that is affiliated with Mudrick Capital, investment funds advised by Mudrick Capital or our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a forward purchase contract with us, to purchase, in a private placement for gross proceeds of $25,000,000 to occur concurrently with the consummation of our initial business combination, 2,500,000 of our units on substantially the same terms as the sale of unitswarrants may expire worthless.

Anti-takeover provisions contained in our initial public offering at $10.00 per unit,charter and 625,000 shares of Class A common stock. The funds from the sale of units be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in the initial business combination; any excess funds from this private placement will be used for working capital in the post-transaction company. This commitment is independent of the percentage of stockholders electing to redeem their public shares and provides us with a minimum funding level for the initial business combination.

Investment funds or separate accounts advised by Mudrick Capital indirectly own founder shares and/or private placement warrants. Additionally, Mr. Mudrick or Mudrick Capital is the beneficial owner of founder shares and/or private placement warrants by virtue of exercising investment power of such shares or warrants on behalf of such investment funds or separate accounts. Because of this ownership, Mudrick Capital, investment funds or separate accounts advised by Mudrick Capital and our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest in determining whether a particular target business is an appropriate business with which to effectuate our initial business combination. Further, each of our officers and directors may have a conflict of interest with respect to evaluating a particular business combination if the retention or resignation of any such officers and directors were to be included by a target business as a condition to any agreement with respect to our initial business combination.

All of the members of our management team are employed by Mudrick Capital. Mudrick Capital is continuously made aware of potential business opportunities, one or more of which we may desire to pursue for an initial business combination; we have not, however, selected any specific business combination target and we have not, nor has anyone on our behalf, initiated any substantive discussions, directly or indirectly, with any business combination target.

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Mudrick Capital and each of our officers and directors presently has, and any of them in the future may have additional, fiduciary or contractual obligations to other entities pursuant to which such officer or director is required to present a business combination opportunity. Accordingly, if any of our officers or directors becomes aware of a business combination opportunity which is suitable for an entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such opportunity to such entity. We believe, however, that the fiduciary duties or contractual obligations of Mudrick Capital and our officers or directors will not materially affect our ability to complete our initial business combination. In addition to the forward purchase obligation described elsewhere in this Report, we may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which Mudrick Capital, investment funds advised by Mudrick Capital or an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the initial business combination by making a specified future issuance to any such entity. Any such Affiliated Joint Acquisition or specified future issuance would be in addition to, and would not include, the forward purchase securities issued pursuant to the forward purchase contract. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation will provide that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.

Our sponsor, officers and directors and Mudrick Capital have agreed not to participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of any other special purpose acquisition company with a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020.

Our Management Team

Members of our management team are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time that any member of our management team devotes in any time period varies based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the current stage of the business combination process.

We believe our management team’s operating and transaction experience and relationships with companies provide us with a substantial number of potential business combination targets. Over the course of their careers, the members of our management team have developed a broad network of contacts and corporate relationships in various industries in connection with distressed credit and post-restructured equities investing. This network has grown through the activities of our management team sourcing, acquiring and financing businesses, our management team’s relationships with sellers, financing sources and target management teams and the experience of our management team in executing transactions under varying economic and financial market conditions.

Status as a Public Company

We believe our structure makes us an attractive business combination partner to target businesses. As a public company, we offer a target business an alternative to the traditional initial public offering through a merger or other business combination with us. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would have greater access to capital and additional means of creating management incentives that are better aligned with stockholders’ interests than it would as a private company. A target business can further benefit by augmenting its profile among potential new customers and vendors and aid in attracting talented employees. In a business combination transaction with us, the owners of the target business may, for example, exchange their shares of stock in the target business for our shares of Class A common stock (or shares of a new holding company) or for a combination of our shares of Class A common stock and cash, allowing us to tailor the consideration to the specific needs of the sellers.

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Although there are various costs and obligations associated with being a public company, we believe target businesses will find this method a more expeditious and cost effective method to becoming a public company than the typical initial public offering. The typical initial public offering process takes a significantly longer period of time than the typical business combination transaction process, and there are significant expenses in the initial public offering process, including underwriting discounts and commissions, marketing and road show efforts that may not be present to the same extent in connection with an initial business combination with us.

Furthermore, once a proposed initial business combination is completed, the target business will have effectively become public, whereas an initial public offering is always subject to the underwriters’ ability to complete the offering,bylaws, as well as general market conditions,provisions of Delaware law, could impair a takeover attempt.

Our charter contains provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together, these provisions may make it more difficult to remove management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities. These provisions include:
no cumulative voting in the offeringelection of directors, which limits the ability of minority stockholders to elect director candidates;
the right of our Board of Directors to appoint a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the Board of Directors or the resignation, death or removal of a director in certain circumstances, which prevents stockholders from occurring or could have negative valuation consequences. Following an initial business combination, we believe the target business would then have greater accessbeing able to capital and an additional meansfill vacancies our Board of providing management incentives consistent with stockholders’ interestsDirectors;
a prohibition on stockholders calling a special meeting and the requirement that a meeting of stockholders may only be called by members our Board of Directors, which may delay the ability of our stockholders to use itsforce consideration of a proposal or to take action, including the removal of directors;
the ability of our Board of Directors to determine whether to issue shares as currency for acquisitions. Being a public company can offer further benefits by augmenting a company’s profile among potential new customersof preferred stock and vendorsto determine the price and aid in attracting talented employees.

While we believe that our structureother terms of those shares, including preferences and our management team’s backgrounds makes us an attractive business partner, some potential target businesses may view our status as a blank check company, such as our lack of an operating history and our ability to seekvoting rights, without stockholder approval, which could be used to significantly dilute the ownership of any proposed initial business combination, negatively.

a hostile acquirer;

limiting the liability of, and providing indemnification to, the directors and officers; and
advance notice procedures that stockholders must comply with in order to nominate candidates to our Board of Directors or to propose matters to be acted upon at a meeting of stockholders, which may discourage or deter a potential acquirer from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect the acquirer’s own slate of directors or otherwise attempting to obtain control of the Company.
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We are an "emerging growth company" and a "smaller reporting company," and the reduced disclosure requirements applicable to us as such may make our common stock less attractive to our stockholders.
We qualify as an “emerging growth company,”company” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Securities Act, as modified by the JOBSJumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, which we refer to as the “JOBS Act. As such, we are eligiblehave elected to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not “emergingemerging growth companies”companies for as long as we continue to be an emerging growth company, including but not limited to, not being required to comply with(i) the independent registered public accounting firmexemption from the auditor attestation requirements ofwith respect to internal control over financial reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, (ii) the exemptions from say-on-pay, say-on-frequency and say-on-golden parachute voting requirements and (iii) reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in ourits periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. If some investors find our securities less attractive asstatements. As a result, thereour stockholders may be a less active trading market for our securities and the prices of our securities may be more volatile.

In addition, Section 107 of the JOBS Act also provides that an “emerging growth company” can take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. In other words, an “emerging growth company” can delay the adoption ofnot have access to certain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. We intend to take advantage of the benefits of this extended transition period.

information they deem important. We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlierearliest of  (1)(i) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following February 12, 2023, the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering,IPO, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our Class A common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the prior June 30th, and (2) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities during the prior three-year period.

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Financial Position

With funds available for an initial business combination initially in the amount of approximately $205,637,000 as of December 31, 2018, after payment of  $7,280,000 of deferred underwriting fees, and in addition to the proceeds from the $25,000,000 forward purchase contract to purchase 2,500,000 units by our sponsor, in each case before fees and expenses associated with our initial business combination, we offer a target business a variety of options such as creating a liquidity event for its owners, providing capital for the potential growth and expansion of its operations or strengthening its balance sheet by reducing its debt or leverage ratio. Because we are able to complete our initial business combination using our cash, debt or equity securities, or a combination of the foregoing, we have the flexibility to use the most efficient combination that will allow us to tailor the consideration to be paid to the target business to fit its needs and desires. However, there can be no assurance that third party financing will be available to us.

Significant Activities Since Inception

On February 12, 2018, the Company consummated its IPO of 20,000,000 units (the “Initial Units”). On February 28, 2018, in connection with the partial exercise of the underwriters’ 3,000,000 unit over-allotment option, the Company consummated the sale of 800,000 units (the “Over-Allotment Units”; collectively with the Initial Units, the “Units”). Each Unit consists of one share of Class A common stock, $0.0001 par value per share (“Class A Common Stock”), and one warrant (“Public Warrant”), each warrant entitling the holder to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock at $11.50 per share. The Units were sold at an offering price of $10.00 per Unit, generating gross proceeds of $208,000,000. As a result of the underwriters’ partial exercise of the over-allotment option, the Company’s sponsor forfeited 550,000 shares of Class B Common Stock. Simultaneously with the consummation of the IPO and the sale of the Units, the Company consummated the private placement (“Private Placement”) of an aggregate of 7,740,000 warrants (“Placement Warrants”) at a price of $1.00 per Placement Warrant, generating total proceeds of $7,740,000.

A total of $210,080,000 million of the net proceeds from our initial public offering (including the partial over-allotment) and the private placement were deposited in a trust account established for the benefit of the Company’s public stockholders.    

Our units began trading on February 8, 2018 on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol MUDSU. Commencing on March 12, 2018, the securities comprising the units began separate trading. The units, common stock, and warrants are trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbols “MUDSU,” “MUDS” and “MUDSW,” respectively.

Effecting Our Initial Business Combination

We are not presently engaged in, and we will not engage in, any operations until the consummation of our initial business combination. We intend to effectuate our initial business combination using cash from the proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of the private placement warrants and from the $25,000,000 forward purchase contract to purchase 2,500,000 units by our sponsor, the proceeds of the sale of our shares in connection with our initial business combination (pursuant to forward purchase agreements or backstop agreements we may enter into following the consummation of our initial public offering or otherwise), shares issued to the owners of the target, debt issued to bank or other lenders or the owners of the target, or a combination of the foregoing. We may seek to complete our initial business combination with a company or business that may be financially unstable or in its early stages of development or growth, which would subject us to the numerous risks inherent in such companies and businesses.

If our initial business combination is paid for using equity or debt securities, or not all of the funds released from the trust account are used for payment of the consideration in connection with our initial business combination or used for redemptions of our Class A common stock, we may apply the balance of the cash released to us from the trust account, as well as the $25,000,000 private placement described elsewhere in this Report, for general corporate purposes, including for maintenance or expansion of operations of the post-transaction company, the payment of principal or interest due on indebtedness incurred in completing our initial business combination, to fund the purchase of other companies or for working capital.

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In addition to the $25,000,000 private placement described elsewhere in this Report, we may seek to raise additional funds through a private offering of debt or equity securities in connection with the completion of our initial business combination (which may include a specified future issuance), and we may effectuate our initial business combination using the proceeds of such offering rather than using the amounts held in the trust account. In addition, we intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, and may as a result be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws, we would expect to complete such financing only simultaneously with the completion of our initial business combination. In the case of an initial business combination funded with assets other than the trust account assets, our proxy materials or tender offer documents disclosing the initial business combination would disclose the terms of the financing and, only if required by law, we would seek stockholder approval of such financing. There are no prohibitions on our ability to raise funds privately, including pursuant to any specified future issuance, or through loans in connection with our initial business combination.

Sources of Target Businesses

Target business candidates have been brought to our attention from various unaffiliated sources, including investment bankers and investment professionals. These sources have also introduced us to target businesses in which they think we may be interested on an unsolicited basis, since many of these sources will have read our public filings and know what types of businesses we are targeting. Our officers and directors, as well as our sponsor and their affiliates that specialize in business acquisitions bring to our attention target business candidates that they become aware of through their business contacts as a result of formal or informal inquiries or discussions they may have, as well as attending trade shows or conventions. In addition, we have received a number of proprietary deal flow opportunities that would not otherwise necessarily be available to us as a result of the business relationships of our officers and directors and our sponsor and their affiliates. We may engage professional firms or other individuals in the future, in which event we may pay a finder’s fee, consulting fee, advisory fee or other compensation to be determined in an arm’s length negotiation based on the terms of the transaction. We will engage a finder only to the extent our management determines that the use of a finder may bring opportunities to us that may not otherwise be available to us or if finders approach us on an unsolicited basis with a potential transaction that our management determines is in our best interest to pursue. Payment of finder’s fees is customarily tied to completion of a transaction, in which case any such fee will be paid out of the funds held in the trust account. In no event, however, will our sponsor or any of our existing officers or directors, or any entity with which our sponsor or officers are affiliated, be paid any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation by the company prior to, or in connection with any services rendered for any services they render in order to effectuate, the completion of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). None of our sponsor, executive officers or directors, or any of their respective affiliates, will be allowed to receive any compensation, finder’s fees or consulting fees from a prospective business combination target in connection with a contemplated initial business combination. We have agreed to pay our sponsor a total of  $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and to reimburse our sponsor for any out-of-pocket expenses related to identifying, investigating and completing an initial business combination. Some of our officers and directors may enter into employment or consulting agreements with the post-transaction company following our initial business combination. The presence or absence of any such fees or arrangements will not be used as a criterion in our selection process of an initial business combination candidate.

We are not prohibited from pursuing an initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors or making the initial business combination through a joint venture or other form of shared ownership with our sponsor, officers or directors. In the event we seek to complete our initial business combination with an initial business combination target that is affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors, we, or a committee of independent directors, would obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that such an initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. We are not required to obtain such an opinion in any other context.

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If any of our officers or directors becomes aware of an initial business combination opportunity that falls within the line of business of any entity to which he or she has pre-existing fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she may be required to present such business combination opportunity to such entity prior to presenting such business combination opportunity to us. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us. We may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which Mudrick Capital or an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the initial business combination by making a specified future issuance to any such entity. Any such Affiliated Joint Acquisition or specified future issuance would be in addition to, and would not include, the forward purchase securities issued pursuant to the forward purchase contract.

Lack of Business Diversification

For an indefinite period of time after the completion of our initial business combination, the prospects for our success may depend entirely on the future performance of a single business. Unlike other entities that have the resources to complete business combinations with multiple entities in one or several industries, it is probable that we will not have the resources to diversify our operations and mitigate the risks of being in a single line of business. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may:

·subject us to negative economic, competitive and regulatory developments, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact on the particular industry in which we operate after our initial business combination, and

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·cause us to depend on the marketing and sale of a single product or limited number of products or services.

Limited Ability to Evaluate the Target’s Management Team

Although we closely scrutinize the management of a prospective target business when evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with that business, our assessment of the target business’ management may not prove to be correct. In addition, the future management may not have the necessary skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company. Furthermore, the future role of members of our management team, if any, in the target business cannot presently be stated with any certainty. The determination as to whether any of the members of our management team will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination. While it is possible that one or more of our directors will remain associated in some capacity with us following our initial business combination, it is unlikely that any of them will devote their full efforts to our affairs subsequent to our initial business combination. Moreover, we cannot assure you that members of our management team will have significant experience or knowledge relating to the operations of the particular target business.

We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with the combined company. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with the combined company will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

Following an initial business combination, we may seek to recruit additional managers to supplement the incumbent management of the target business. We cannot assure you that we will have the ability to recruit additional managers, or that additional managers will have the requisite skills, knowledge or experience necessary to enhance the incumbent management.

Stockholders May Not Have the Ability to Approve Our Initial Business Combination

We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC. However, we will seek stockholder approval if it is required by law or applicable stock exchange rule, or we may decide to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. Presented in the table below is a graphic explanation of the types of initial business combinations we may consider and whether stockholder approval is currently required under Delaware law for each such transaction.

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Type of TransactionWhether 
Stockholder 
Approval is 
Required
Purchase of assets No 
Purchase of stock of target not involving a merger with the companyNo
Merger of target into a subsidiary of the companyNo
Merger of the company with a targetYes

Under NASDAQ’s listing rules, stockholder approval would be required for our initial business combination if, for example:

·we issue shares of Class A common stock that will be equal to or in excess of 20% of the number of shares of our Class A common stock then outstanding;

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·any of our directors, officers or substantial stockholders (as defined by NASDAQ rules) has a 5% or greater interest (or such persons collectively have a 10% or greater interest), directly or indirectly, in the target business or assets to be acquired or otherwise and the present or potential issuance of common stock could result in an increase in outstanding common shares or voting power of 5% or more; or

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·the issuance or potential issuance of common stock will result in our undergoing a change of control.

Permitted Purchases of our Securities

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination. There is no limit on the number of shares our initial stockholders, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase in such transactions, subject to compliance with applicable law and NASDAQ rules. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. If they engage in such transactions, they will not make any such purchases when they are in possession of any material nonpublic information not disclosed to the seller or if such purchases are prohibited by Regulation M under the Exchange Act. We do not currently anticipate that such purchases, if any, would constitute a tender offer subject to the tender offer rules under the Exchange Act or a going-private transaction subject to the going-private rules under the Exchange Act; however, if the purchasers determine at the time of any such purchases that the purchases are subject to such rules, the purchasers will comply with such rules. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements. None of the funds held in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions prior to completion of our initial business combination.

The purpose of any such purchases of shares could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our shares of Class A common stock or warrants may be reduced and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, which may make it difficult to maintain or obtain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

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Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates anticipate that they may identify the stockholders with whom our sponsor, officers, directors or their affiliates may pursue privately negotiated purchases by either the stockholders contacting us directly or by our receipt of redemption requests submitted by stockholders following our mailing of proxy materials in connection with our initial business combination. To the extent that our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates enter into a private purchase, they would identify and contact only potential selling stockholders who have expressed their election to redeem their shares for a pro rata share of the trust account or vote against our initial business combination, whether or not such stockholder has already submitted a proxy with respect to our initial business combination. Our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates will only purchase shares if such purchases comply with Regulation M under the Exchange Act and the other federal securities laws.

Any purchases by our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates who are affiliated purchasers under Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act will only be made to the extent such purchases are able to be made in compliance with Rule 10b-18, which is a safe harbor from liability for manipulation under Section 9(a)(2) and Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Rule 10b-18 has certain technical requirements that must be complied with in order for the safe harbor to be available to the purchaser. Our sponsor, officers, directors and/or their affiliates will not make purchases of common stock if the purchases would violate Section 9(a)(2) or Rule 10b-5 of the Exchange Act. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchases are subject to such reporting requirements.

Redemption Rights for Public Stockholders upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination

We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account as of two business days prior to the consummation of the initial business combination including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, subject to the limitations described herein. The amount in the trust account was 10.24 per public share as of December 31, 2018. The per-share amount we will distribute to investors who properly redeem their shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions we will pay to the underwriters. Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to any founder shares and any public shares held by them in connection with the completion of our initial business combination.

Manner of Conducting Redemptions

We will provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their shares of Class A common stock upon the completion of our initial business combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the initial business combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors such as the timing of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would require us to seek stockholder approval under the law or stock exchange listing requirement. Under NASDAQ rules, asset acquisitions and stock purchases would not typically require stockholder approval while direct mergers with our company where we do not survive and any transactions where we issue more than 20% of our outstanding common stock or seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation would require stockholder approval. If we structure an initial business combination with a target company in a manner that requires stockholder approval, we will not have discretion as to whether to seek a stockholder vote to approve the proposed initial business combination. We may conduct redemptions without a stockholder vote pursuant to the tender offer rules of the SEC unless stockholder approval is required by law or stock exchange listing requirements or we choose to seek stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons. So long as we obtain and maintain a listing for our securities on NASDAQ, we are required to comply with such rules.

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If a stockholder vote is not required and we do not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:

·conduct the redemptions pursuant to Rule 13e-4 and Regulation 14E of the Exchange Act, which regulate issuer tender offers, and

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·file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing our initial business combination which contain substantially the same financial and other information about the initial business combination and the redemption rights as is required under Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies.

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Upon the public announcement of our initial business combination, we or our sponsor will terminate any plan established in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 to purchase shares of our Class A common stock in the open market if we elect to redeem our public shares through a tender offer, to comply with Rule 14e-5 under the Exchange Act.

In the event we conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, our offer to redeem will remain open for at least 20 business days, in accordance with Rule 14e-1(a) under the Exchange Act, and we will not be permitted to complete our initial business combination until the expiration of the tender offer period. In addition, the tender offer will be conditioned on public stockholders not tendering more than a specified number of public shares which are not purchased by our sponsor, which number will be based on the requirement that we may not redeem public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. If public stockholders tender more shares than we have offered to purchase, we will withdraw the tender offer and not complete the initial business combination.

If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law or stock exchange listing requirement, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, we will, pursuant to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation:

·conduct the redemptions in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant to Regulation 14A of the Exchange Act, which regulates the solicitation of proxies, and not pursuant to the tender offer rules, and

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·file proxy materials with the SEC.

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In the event that we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, we will distribute proxy materials and, in connection therewith, provide our public stockholders with the redemption rights described above upon completion of the initial business combination.

If we seek stockholder approval, we will complete our initial business combination only if a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock voted are voted in favor of the initial business combination. A quorum for such meeting will consist of the holders present in person or by proxy of shares of outstanding capital stock of the company representing a majority of the voting power of all outstanding shares of capital stock of the company entitled to vote at such meeting. Our initial stockholders will count toward this quorum and pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares and any public shares purchased (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions) in favor of our initial business combination. For purposes of seeking approval of the majority of our outstanding shares of common stock voted, non-votes will have no effect on the approval of our initial business combination once a quorum is obtained. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need only 5,200,000, or 25%, of the 20,800,000 public shares to be voted in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all outstanding shares are voted) in order to have our initial business combination approved. We intend to give approximately 30 days (but not less than 10 days nor more than 60 days) prior written notice of any such meeting, if required, at which a vote shall be taken to approve our initial business combination. These quorum and voting thresholds, and the voting agreements of our initial stockholders, may make it more likely that we will consummate our initial business combination. Each public stockholder may elect to redeem its public shares irrespective of whether they vote for or against the proposed transaction.

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Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. For example, the proposed initial business combination may require: (i) cash consideration to be paid to the target or its owners, (ii) cash to be transferred to the target for working capital or other general corporate purposes or (iii) the retention of cash to satisfy other conditions in accordance with the terms of the proposed initial business combination. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, and all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof.

Limitation on Redemption upon Completion of our Initial Business Combination if we Seek Stockholder Approval

Notwithstanding the foregoing, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” Such restriction shall also be applicable to our affiliates. We believe this restriction will discourage stockholders from accumulating large blocks of shares, and subsequent attempts by such holders to use their ability to exercise their redemption rights against a proposed initial business combination as a means to force us or our management to purchase their shares at a significant premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. Absent this provision, a public stockholder holding more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering could threaten to exercise its redemption rights if such holder’s shares are not purchased by us or our management at a premium to the then-current market price or on other undesirable terms. By limiting our stockholders’ ability to redeem no more than 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering without our prior consent, we believe we will limit the ability of a small group of stockholders to unreasonably attempt to block our ability to complete our initial business combination, particularly in connection with an initial business combination with a target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination.

Tendering Stock Certificates in Connection with a Tender Offer or Redemption Rights

We may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents or proxy materials mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically using the Depository Trust Company’s DWAC (Deposit/Withdrawal At Custodian) System, at the holder’s option. The tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will indicate whether we are requiring public stockholders to satisfy such delivery requirements. Accordingly, a public stockholder would have from the time we send out our tender offer materials until the close of the tender offer period, or up to two days prior to the vote on the initial business combination if we distribute proxy materials, as applicable, to tender its shares if it wishes to seek to exercise its redemption rights. Given the relatively short exercise period, it is advisable for stockholders to use electronic delivery of their public shares.

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There is a nominal cost associated with the above-referenced tendering process and the act of certificating the shares or delivering them through the DWAC System. The transfer agent will typically charge the tendering broker $80.00 and it would be up to the broker whether or not to pass this cost on to the redeeming holder. However, this fee would be incurred regardless of whether or not we require holders seeking to exercise redemption rights to tender their shares. The need to deliver shares is a requirement of exercising redemption rights regardless of the timing of when such delivery must be effectuated.

Any request to redeem such shares, once made, may be withdrawn at any time up to the date set forth in the tender offer materials or the date of the stockholder meeting set forth in our proxy materials, as applicable. Furthermore, if a holder of a public share delivered its certificate in connection with an election of redemption rights and subsequently decides prior to the applicable date not to elect to exercise such rights, such holder may simply request that the transfer agent return the certificate (physically or electronically). It is anticipated that the funds to be distributed to holders of our public shares electing to redeem their shares will be distributed promptly after the completion of our initial business combination.

If our initial business combination is not approved or completed for any reason, then our public stockholders who elected to exercise their redemption rights would not be entitled to redeem their shares for the applicable pro rata share of the trust account. In such case, we will promptly return any certificates delivered by public holders who elected to redeem their shares.

If our initial proposed initial business combination is not completed, we may continue to try to complete an initial business combination with a different target until February 12, 2020.

Redemption of Public Shares and Liquidation if no Initial Business Combination

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we will have until February 12, 2020 to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. There will be no redemption rights or liquidating distributions with respect to our warrants, which will expire worthless if we fail to complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020.

Our sponsor, officers and directors have entered into a letter agreement with us, pursuant to which they have waived their rights to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to any founder shares held by them if we fail to complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020. However, if our sponsor, officers or directors acquire public shares, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the trust account with respect to such public shares if we fail to complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020.

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Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020 or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. However, we may not redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules). If this optional redemption right is exercised with respect to an excessive number of public shares such that we cannot satisfy the net tangible asset requirement (described above), we would not proceed with the amendment or the related redemption of our public shares at such time.

We expect that all costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, as well as payments to any creditors, will be funded from amounts remaining out of the approximately $535,946 of proceeds held outside the trust account (as of December 31, 2018), although we cannot assure you that there will be sufficient funds for such purpose. We will depend on sufficient interest being earned on the proceeds held in the trust account to pay any franchise and income tax obligations we may owe. However, if those funds are not sufficient to cover the costs and expenses associated with implementing our plan of dissolution, to the extent that there is any interest accrued in the trust account not required to pay franchise and income taxes on interest income earned on the trust account balance, we may request the trustee to release to us an additional amount of up to $100,000 of such accrued interest to pay those costs and expenses.

If we were to expend all of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, other than the proceeds deposited in the trust account, and without taking into account interest, if any, earned on the trust account, the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders upon our dissolution would be approximately $10.10 as of December 31, 2018. The proceeds deposited in the trust account could, however, become subject to the claims of our creditors which would have higher priority than the claims of our public stockholders. We cannot assure you that the actual per-share redemption amount received by stockholders will not be substantially less than $10.10. Under Section 281(b) of the DGCL, our plan of dissolution must provide for all claims against us to be paid in full or make provision for payments to be made in full, as applicable, if there are sufficient assets. These claims must be paid or provided for before we make any distribution of our remaining assets to our stockholders. While we intend to pay such amounts, if any, we cannot assure you that we will have funds sufficient to pay or provide for all creditors’ claims.

Although we have sought, and will continue to seek, to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, there is no guarantee that they will execute such agreements or even if they execute such agreements that they would be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account including but not limited to fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain an advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm, and Cantor, the underwriters of the offering, did not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.

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In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of (i) $10.10 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.10 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below (i) $10.10 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its indemnification obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations. While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment may choose not to do so if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. We have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations and we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that due to claims of creditors the actual value of the per-share redemption price will not be less than $10.10 per public share.

We will seek to reduce the possibility that our sponsor will have to indemnify the trust account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the trust account. Our sponsor will also not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters in our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. We will have access to up to approximately $212,916,691 (as of December 31, 2018) from the proceeds of our initial public offering with which to pay any such potential claims (including costs and expenses incurred in connection with our liquidation, currently estimated to be no more than approximately $100,000). In the event that we liquidate and it is subsequently determined that the reserve for claims and liabilities is insufficient, stockholders who received funds from our trust account could be liable for claims made by creditors.

Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020 may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If the corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution.

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Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020, is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. Accordingly, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following by February 12, 2020 and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with those procedures. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend well beyond the third anniversary of such date.

Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the subsequent 10 years. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations are limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. As described above, pursuant to the obligation contained in our underwriting agreement, we have sought, and will continue to seek, to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses or other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account. As a result of this obligation, the claims that could be made against us are significantly limited and the likelihood that any claim that would result in any liability extending to the trust account is remote. Further, our sponsor may be liable only to the extent necessary to ensure that the amounts in the trust account are not reduced below (i) $10.10 per public share or (ii) such lesser amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, due to reductions in value of the trust assets, in each case net of the amount of interest withdrawn to pay taxes and will not be liable as to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. In the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, our sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third-party claims.

If we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, we cannot assure you we will be able to return $10.10 per share to our public stockholders. Additionally, if we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover some or all amounts received by our stockholders. Furthermore, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or may have acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and our company to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors. We cannot assure you that claims will not be brought against us for these reasons.

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Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earlier to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly tendered in connection with a stockholder vote to amend any provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, and (iii) the redemption of all of our public shares if we are unable to complete our business combination by February 12, 2020, subject to applicable law. In no other circumstances will a stockholder have any right or interest of any kind to or in the trust account. In the event we seek stockholder approval in connection with our initial business combination, a stockholder’s voting in connection with the initial business combination alone will not result in a stockholder’s redeeming its shares to us for an applicable pro rata share of the trust account. Such stockholder must have also exercised its redemption rights as described above. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with a stockholder vote.

Competition

In identifying, evaluating and selecting a target business for our initial business combination, we have encountered, and may continue to encounter, intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including other blank check companies, private equity groups and leveraged buyout funds, and operating businesses seeking strategic business combinations. Many of these entities are well established and have extensive experience identifying and effecting business combinations directly or through affiliates. Moreover, many of these competitors possess greater financial, technical, human and other resources than we do. Our ability to acquire larger target businesses is limited by our available financial resources. This inherent limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the initial business combination of a target business. Furthermore, our obligation to pay cash in connection with our public stockholders who exercise their redemption rights may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination and our outstanding warrants, and the future dilution they potentially represent, may not be viewed favorably by certain target businesses. Either of these factors may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination.

Employees

We currently have five officers. These individuals are not obligated to devote any specific number of hours to our matters but they devote as much of their time as they deem necessary to our affairs until we have completed our initial business combination. The amount of time they devote in any time period varies based on whether a target business has been selected for our initial business combination and the stage of the initial business combination process we are in. We do not intend to have any full time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination.

Periodic Reporting and Financial Information

Our units, Class A common stock and warrants are registered under the Exchange Act and have reporting obligations, including the requirement that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with the SEC. We in accordance with the requirements of the Exchange Act, this Report contains, and future annual reports will contain, financial statements audited and reported on by our independent registered public accountants.

We will provide stockholders with audited financial statements of the prospective target business as part of the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials sent to stockholders to assist them in assessing the target business. In all likelihood, these financial statements will need to be prepared in accordance with, or reconciled to, GAAP, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances, and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential targets we may conduct an initial business combination with because some targets may be unable to provide such statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame. We cannot assure you that any particular target business identified by us as a potential business combination candidate will have financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP or that the potential target business will be able to prepare its financial statements in accordance with the requirements outlined above. To the extent that these requirements cannot be met, we may not be able to acquire the proposed target business. While this may limit the pool of potential business combination candidates, we do not believe that this limitation will be material.

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We will be required to evaluate our internal control procedures for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2019 as required by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Only in the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, and no longer an emerging growth company, or an accelerated filer will we be required to have our internal control procedures audited. A target company may not be in compliance with the provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of their internal controls. The development of the internal controls of any such entity to achieve compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increase the time and costs necessary to complete any such business combination.

We will remain an emerging growth company until the earlier of  (1) the last day of the fiscal year (a) following the fifth anniversary of the completion of our initial public offering, (b) in which we have total annual gross revenue of at least $1.07 billion, or (c) in which we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer, which means the market value of our shares of Class A common stock that are held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of the last business day of the Company’s prior June 30th,second fiscal quarter, and (2)(ii) the date on which we have issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt during the prior three-year period.

Item 1A.Risk Factors

You should consider carefully the risk factors described below, together with the other information contained in this report, including the financial statements and the notes thereto. This report also contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements as a result of specific factors, including the risks described below. The risk factors described below are not necessarily exhaustive and you are encouraged to perform your own investigation with respect to us and our business.

We are a company with no operating history and no revenues, and you have no basis on which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective.

We are a company with no operating results. Because we lack an operating history, you have no basis upon which to evaluate our ability to achieve our business objective of completing our initial business combination with one or more target businesses. We may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we fail to complete our initial business combination, we will never generate any operating revenues.

Our auditors have expressed substantial doubt as to our ability to continue as a going concern in their report.

In its report on our financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018, our independent registered public accounting firm included an explanatory paragraph expressing substantial doubt regarding our ability to continue as a going concern. A “going concern” opinion means, in general, that our independent registered public accounting firm has substantial doubt about our ability to continue our operations unless we complete a business combination by February 12, 2020.

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Our public stockholders may not be afforded an opportunity to vote on our proposed initial business combination, which means we may complete our initial business combination even though a majority of our public stockholders do not support such a combination.

We may choose not to hold a stockholder vote to approve our initial business combination unless the initial business combination would require stockholder approval under applicable law or stock exchange listing requirements or if we decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons. Except as required by law, the decision as to whether we will seek stockholder approval of a proposed initial business combination or will allow stockholders to sell their shares to us in a tender offer will be made by us, solely in our discretion, and will be based on a variety of factors, such as the timingaddition, Section 107 of the transaction and whether the terms of the transaction would otherwise require us to seek stockholder approval. Accordingly, we may complete our initial business combination even if holders of a majority of our public shares do not approve of the initial business combination we complete.

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our initial stockholders have agreed to vote in favor of such initial business combination, regardless of how our public stockholders vote.

Pursuant to the letter agreement, our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed to vote their founder shares, as well as any public shares purchased (including in open market and privately negotiated transactions), in favor of our initial business combination. As a result, in addition to our initial stockholders’ founder shares, we would need only 5,200,000, or 25%, of the 20,800,000 public shares sold in our initial public offering to be voted in favor of an initial business combination (assuming all outstanding shares are voted) in order to have our initial business combination approved. Our initial stockholders own shares representing 20% of our outstanding shares of common stock. Accordingly, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, the agreement by our initial stockholders to vote in favor of our initial business combination will increase the likelihood that we will receive the requisite stockholder approval for such initial business combination.

Your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination will be limited to the exercise of your right to redeem your shares from us for cash, unless we seek stockholder approval of the initial business combination.

At the time of your investment in us, you will not be provided with an opportunity to evaluate the specific merits or risks of our initial business combination. Since our board of directors may complete an initial business combination without seeking stockholder approval, public stockholders may not have the right or opportunity to vote on the initial business combination, unless we seek such stockholder vote. Accordingly, if we do not seek stockholder approval, your only opportunity to affect the investment decision regarding a potential business combination may be limited to exercising your redemption rights within the period of time (which will be at least 20 business days) set forth in our tender offer documents mailed to our public stockholders in which we describe our initial business combination.

The ability of our public stockholders to redeem their shares for cash may make our financial condition unattractive to potential business combination targets, which may make it difficult for us to enter into an initial business combination with a target.

We may seek to enter into an initial business combination agreement with a prospective target that requires as a closing condition that we have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. While we have access to the proceeds from the $25,000,000 private placement from our sponsor, if too many public stockholders exercise their redemption rights, we would not be able to meet such closing condition and, as a result, would not be able to proceed with the initial business combination. Furthermore, in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (so that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. Consequently, if accepting all properly submitted redemption requests would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions or such greater amount necessary to satisfy a closing condition as described above, we would not proceed with such redemption and the related business combination and may instead search for an alternate business combination. Prospective targets will be aware of these risks and, thus, may be reluctant to enter into an initial business combination with us.

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The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares may not allow us to complete the most desirable business combination or optimize our capital structure.

At the time we enter into an agreement for our initial business combination, we will not know how many stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, and therefore will need to structure the transaction based on our expectations as to the number of shares that will be submitted for redemption. If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, we will need to reserve a portion of the cash in the trust account to meet such requirements, or arrange for third party financing. In addition, if a larger number of shares are submitted for redemption than we initially expected, we may need to restructure the transaction to reserve a greater portion of the cash in the trust account or arrange for third party financing. Raising additional third party financing may involve dilutive equity issuances or the incurrence of indebtedness at higher than desirable levels. Furthermore, this dilution would increase to the extent that the anti-dilution provision of the Class B common stock result in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock at the time of our business combination. The above considerations may limit our ability to complete the most desirable business combination available to us or optimize our capital structure. The amount of the deferred underwriting commissions payable to the underwriters will not be adjusted for any shares that are redeemed in connection with an initial business combination. The per-share amount we will distribute to stockholders who properly exercise their redemption rights will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commission and after such redemptions, the per-share value of shares held by non-redeeming stockholders will reflect our obligation to pay the deferred underwriting commissions.

The ability of our public stockholders to exercise redemption rights with respect to a large number of our shares could increase the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful and that you would have to wait for liquidation in order to redeem your stock.

If our initial business combination agreement requires us to use a portion of the cash in the trust account to pay the purchase price, or requires us to have a minimum amount of cash at closing, the probability that our initial business combination would be unsuccessful is increased. If our initial business combination is unsuccessful, you would not receive your pro rata portion of the trust account until we liquidate the trust account. If you are in need of immediate liquidity, you could attempt to sell your stock in the open market; however, at such time our stock may trade at a discount to the pro rata amount per share in the trust account. In either situation, you may suffer a material loss on your investment or lose the benefit of funds expected in connection with our redemption until we liquidate or you are able to sell your stock in the open market.

The requirement that we complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame may give potential target businesses leverage over us in negotiating an initial business combination and may decrease our ability to conduct due diligence on potential business combination targets as we approach our dissolution deadline, which could undermine our ability to complete our initial business combination on terms that would produce value for our stockholders.

Any potential target business with which we enter into negotiations concerning an initial business combination will be aware that we must complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020. Consequently, such target business may obtain leverage over us in negotiating an initial business combination, knowing that if we do not complete our initial business combination with that particular target business, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination with any target business. This risk will increase as we get closer to the timeframe described above. In addition, we may have limited time to conduct due diligence and may enter into our initial business combination on terms that we would have rejected upon a more comprehensive investigation.

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We may not be able to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame, in which case we would cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up and we would redeem our public shares and liquidate, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.24 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2018), or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporationJOBS Act also provides that we must complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020. We may not be able to find a suitable target business and complete our initial business combination within such time period. If we have not completed our initial business combination within such time period, we will: (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the public shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account including interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of our remaining stockholders and our board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to our obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law. In such case, our public stockholders may only receive $10.24 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2018), and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.24 per share on the redemption of their shares.

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors and their affiliates may elect to purchase shares or warrants from public stockholders, which may influence a vote on a proposed initial business combination and reduce the public “float” of our Class A common stock.

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates may purchase shares or public warrants or a combination thereof in privately negotiated transactions or in the open market either prior to or following the completion of our initial business combination, although they are under no obligation to do so. However, they have no current commitments, plans or intentions to engage in such transactions and have not formulated any terms or conditions for any such transactions. None of the funds in the trust account will be used to purchase shares or public warrants in such transactions.

Such a purchase may include a contractual acknowledgement that such stockholder, although still the record holder of our shares is no longer the beneficial owner thereof and therefore agrees not to exercise its redemption rights. In the event that our sponsor, directors, officers, advisors or their affiliates purchase shares in privately negotiated transactions from public stockholders who have already elected to exercise their redemption rights, such selling stockholders would be required to revoke their prior elections to redeem their shares. The purpose of such purchases could be to vote such shares in favor of the initial business combination and thereby increase the likelihood of obtaining stockholder approval of the initial business combination, or to satisfy a closing condition in an agreement with a target that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash at the closing of our initial business combination, where it appears that such requirement would otherwise not be met. The purpose of any such purchases of public warrants could be to reduce the number of public warrants outstanding or to vote such warrants on any matters submitted to the warrantholders for approval in connection with our initial business combination. Any such purchases of our securities may result in the completion of our initial business combination that may not otherwise have been possible. Any such purchases will be reported pursuant to Section 13 and Section 16 of the Exchange Act to the extent such purchasers are subject to such reporting requirements.

In addition, if such purchases are made, the public “float” of our Class A common stock or public warrants and the number of beneficial holders of our securities may be reduced, possibly making it difficult to obtain or maintain the quotation, listing or trading of our securities on a national securities exchange.

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If a stockholder fails to receive notice of our offer to redeem our public shares in connection with our initial business combination, or fails to comply with the procedures for tendering its shares, such shares may not be redeemed.

We will comply with the tender offer rules or proxy rules, as applicable, when conducting redemptions in connection with our initial business combination. Despite our compliance with these rules, if a stockholder fails to receive our tender offer or proxy materials, as applicable, such stockholder may not become aware of the opportunity to redeem its shares. In addition, proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, that we will furnish to holders of our public shares in connection with our initial business combination will describe the various procedures that must be complied with in order to validly tender or redeem public shares. For example, we may require our public stockholders seeking to exercise their redemption rights, whether they are record holders or hold their shares in “street name,” to either tender their certificates to our transfer agent prior to the date set forth in the tender offer documents mailed to such holders, or up to two business days prior to the vote on the proposal to approve the initial business combination in the event we distribute proxy materials, or to deliver their shares to the transfer agent electronically. In the event that a stockholder fails to comply with these or any other procedures, its shares may not be redeemed.

You will not have any rights or interests in funds from the trust account, except under certain limited circumstances. To liquidate your investment, therefore, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.

Our public stockholders will be entitled to receive funds from the trust account only upon the earliest to occur of: (i) our completion of an initial business combination, and then only in connection with those shares of Class A common stock that such stockholder properly elected to redeem, subject to the limitations described herein, (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity and (iii) the redemption of our public shares if we are unable to complete an initial business combination by February 12, 2020, subject to applicable law and as further described herein. In no other circumstances will a public stockholder have any right or interest of any kind in the trust account. Holders of warrants will not have any right to the proceeds held in the trust account with respect to the warrants. Accordingly, to liquidate your investment, you may be forced to sell your public shares or warrants, potentially at a loss.

NASDAQ may delist our securities from trading on its exchange, which could limit investors’ ability to make transactions in our securities and subject us to additional trading restrictions.

Our securities are currently listed on NASDAQ. However, we cannot guarantee that our securities will continue to be listed on NASDAQ. Although the minimum initial listing standards set forth in the NASDAQ listing standards, we cannot assure you that our securities will be, or will continue to be, listed on NASDAQ in the future or prior to our initial business combination. In order to continue listing our securities on NASDAQ prior to our initial business combination, we must maintain certain financial, distribution and stock price levels. Generally, we must maintain a minimum amount in stockholders’ equity (generally $2,500,000) and a minimum number of holders of our securities (generally 300 public holders). Additionally, in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to demonstrate compliance with NASDAQ’s initial listing requirements, which are more rigorous than NASDAQ’s continued listing requirements, in order to continue to maintain the listing of our securities on NASDAQ. For instance, our stock price would generally be required to be at least $4.00 per share, our stockholders’ equity would generally be required to be at least $5.0 million and we would be required to have a minimum of 300 round lot holders of our securities. We cannot assure you that we will be able to meet those initial listing requirements at that time.

If NASDAQ delists our securities from trading on its exchange and we are not able to list our securities on another national securities exchange, we expect our securities could be quoted on an over-the-counter market. If this were to occur, we could face significant material adverse consequences, including:

•a limited availability of market quotations for our securities;

​•reduced liquidity for our securities;

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​•a determination that our Class A common stock is a “penny stock” which will require brokers trading in our Class A common stock to adhere to more stringent rules and possibly result in a reduced level of trading activity in the secondary trading market for our securities;

​•a limited amount of news and analyst coverage; and

​•a decreased ability to issue additional securities or obtain additional financing in the future.

​ 

The National Securities Markets Improvement Act of 1996, which is a federal statute, prevents or preempts the states from regulating the sale of certain securities, which are referred to as “covered securities.” Because our units, Class A common stock and warrants are listed on NASDAQ, our units, Class A common stock and warrants are covered securities. Although the states are preempted from regulating the sale of our securities, the federal statute does allow the states to investigate companies if there is a suspicion of fraud, and, if there is a finding of fraudulent activity, then the states can regulate or bar the sale of covered securities in a particular case. While we are not aware of a state having used these powers to prohibit or restrict the sale of securities issued by blank check companies, other than the State of Idaho, certain state securities regulators view blank check companies unfavorably and might use these powers, or threaten to use these powers, to hinder the sale of securities of blank check companies in their states. Further, if we were no longer listed on NASDAQ, our securities would not be covered securities and we would be subject to regulation in each state in which we offer our securities, including in connection with our initial business combination.

You will not be entitled to protections normally afforded to investors of many other blank check companies.

Since the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants are intended to be used to complete an initial business combination with a target business that had not been identified, we may be deemed to be a “blank check” company under the United States securities laws. However, because had net tangible assets in excess of $5,000,000 upon the completion of our initial offering and the sale of the private placement warrants and filed a Current Report on Form 8-K, including audit balance sheet demonstrating this fact, we are exempt from rules promulgated by the SEC to protect investors in blank check companies, such as Rule 419. Accordingly, investors will not be afforded the benefits or protections of those rules. Among other things, this means we will have a longer period of time to complete our initial business combination than do companies subject to Rule 419. Moreover, if our initial public offering were subject to Rule 419, that rule would prohibit the release of any interest earned on funds held in the trust account to us unless and until the funds in the trust account were released to us in connection with our completion of an initial business combination.

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules, and if you or a “group” of stockholders are deemed to hold in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock, you will lose the ability to redeem all such shares in excess of 15% of our Class A common stock.

If we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and we do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Exchange Act), will be restricted from seeking redemption rights with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% of the shares sold in our initial public offering without our prior consent, which we refer to as the “Excess Shares.” However, we would not be restricting our stockholders’ ability to vote all of their shares (including Excess Shares) for or against our initial business combination. Your inability to redeem the Excess Shares will reduce your influence over our ability to complete our initial business combination and you could suffer a material loss on your investment in us if you sell Excess Shares in open market transactions. Additionally, you will not receive redemption distributions with respect to the Excess Shares if we complete our initial business combination. And as a result, you will continue to hold that number of shares exceeding 15% and, in order to dispose of such shares, would be required to sell your stock in open market transactions, potentially at a loss.

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Because of our limited resources and the significant competition for business combination opportunities, it may be more difficult for us to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.24 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2018) on our redemption of our public shares, or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

We have encountered, and expect to continue to encounter, intense competition from other entities having a business objective similar to ours, including private investors (which may be individuals or investment partnerships), other blank check companies and other entities competing for the types of businesses we intend to acquire. Many of these individuals and entities are well-established and have extensive experience in identifying and effecting, directly or indirectly, acquisitions of companies operating in or providing services to various industries. Many of these competitors possess greater technical, human and other resources or more industry knowledge than we do, and our financial resources will be relatively limited when contrasted with those of many of these competitors. While we believe there are numerous target businesses we could potentially acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, our ability to compete with respect to the acquisition of certain target businesses that are sizable will be limited by our available financial resources. This inherent competitive limitation gives others an advantage in pursuing the acquisition of certain target businesses. Furthermore, because we are obligated to pay cash for the shares of Class A common stock which our public stockholders redeem in connection with our initial business combination, target companies will be aware that this may reduce the resources available to us for our initial business combination. This may place us at a competitive disadvantage in successfully negotiating an initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.24 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2018) on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.24 per share upon our liquidation.

If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient to allow us to operate until at least February 12, 2020, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination, in which case our public stockholders may only receive $10.24 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2018), or less than such amount in certain circumstances, and our warrants will expire worthless.

The funds available to us outside of the trust account may not be sufficient to allow us to operate until at least February 12, 2020, assuming that our initial business combination is not completed during that time. We believe that the funds available to us outside of the trust account are sufficient to allow us to operate until at least by February 12, 2020; however, we cannot assure you that our estimate is accurate. Of the funds available to us, we could use a portion of the funds available to us to pay fees to consultants to assist us with our search for a target business. We could also use a portion of the funds as a down payment or to fund a “no-shop” provision (a provision in letters of intent or merger agreements designed to keep target businesses from “shopping” around for transactions with other companies on terms more favorable to such target businesses) with respect to a particular proposed initial business combination, although we do not have any current intention to do so. If we entered into a letter of intent or merger agreement where we paid for the right to receive exclusivity from a target business and were subsequently required to forfeit such funds (whether as a result of our breach or otherwise), we might not have sufficient funds to continue searching for, or conduct due diligence with respect to, a target business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.24 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2018) on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.24 per share upon our liquidation.

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If the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants not being held in the trust account are insufficient, it could limit the amount available to fund our search for a target business or businesses and complete our initial business combination and we will depend on loans from our sponsor or management team to fund our search for an initial business combination, to pay our franchise and income taxes and to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination.

Of the net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, only approximately $535,946 (as of December 31, 2018) is available to us outside the trust account to fund our working capital requirements. If we are required to seek additional capital, we would need to borrow funds from our sponsor, management team or other third parties to operate or may be forced to liquidate. None of our sponsor, members of our management team nor any of their affiliates is under any obligation to advance funds to us in such circumstances. Any such advances would be repaid only from funds held outside the trust account or from funds released to us upon completion of our initial business combination. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into private placement-equivalent warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Prior to the completion of our initial business combination, we do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account. If we are unable to obtain these loans, we may be unable to complete our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination because we do not have sufficient funds available to us, we will be forced to cease operations and liquidate the trust account. Consequently, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.24 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2018) on our redemption of our public shares, and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.24 per share on the redemption of their shares.

Subsequent to the completion of our initial business combination, we may be required to take write-downs or write-offs, restructuring and impairment or other charges that could have a significant negative effect on our financial condition, results of operations and our stock price, which could cause you to lose some or all of your investment.

Even if we conduct extensive due diligence on a target business with which we combine, we cannot assure you that this diligence will surface all material issues that may be present inside a particular target business, that it would be possible to uncover all material issues through a customary amount of due diligence, or that factors outside of the target business and outside of our control will not later arise. As a result of these factors, we may be forced to later write-down or write-off assets, restructure our operations, or incur impairment or other charges that could result in our reporting losses. Even if our due diligence successfully identifies certain risks, unexpected risks may arise and previously known risks may materialize in a manner not consistent with our preliminary risk analysis. Even though these charges may be non-cash items and not have an immediate impact on our liquidity, the fact that we report charges of this nature could contribute to negative market perceptions about us or our securities. In addition, charges of this nature may cause us to violate net worth or other covenants to which we may be subject as a result of assuming pre-existing debt held by a target business or by virtue of our obtaining debt financing to partially finance the initial business combination. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the initial business combination constituted an actionable material misstatement or omission.

If third parties bring claims against us, the proceeds held in the trust account could be reduced and the per-share redemption amount received by stockholders may be less than $10.24 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2018).

Our placing of funds in the trust account may not protect those funds from third-party claims against us. Although we will seek to have all vendors, service providers, prospective target businesses and other entities with which we do business execute agreements with us waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the trust account for the benefit of our public stockholders, such parties may not execute such agreements, or even if they execute such agreements they may not be prevented from bringing claims against the trust account, including, but not limited to, fraudulent inducement, breach of fiduciary responsibility or other similar claims, as well as claims challenging the enforceability of the waiver, in each case in order to gain advantage with respect to a claim against our assets, including the funds held in the trust account. If any third party refuses to execute an agreement waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account, our management will perform an analysis of the alternatives available to it and will only enter into an agreement with a third party that has not executed a waiver if management believes that such third party’s engagement would be significantly more beneficial to us than any alternative. WithumSmith+Brown, PC, our independent registered public accounting firm, and the underwriters of our initial public offering, did not execute agreements with us waiving such claims to the monies held in the trust account.

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Examples of possible instances where we may engage a third party that refuses to execute a waiver include the engagement of a third party consultant whose particular expertise or skills are believed by management to be significantly superior to those of other consultants that would agree to execute a waiver or in cases where management is unable to find a service provider willing to execute a waiver. In addition, there is no guarantee that such entities will agree to waive any claims they may have in the future as a result of, or arising out of, any negotiations, contracts or agreements with us and will not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason. Upon redemption of our public shares, if we are unable to complete our initial business combination within the prescribed timeframe, or upon the exercise of a redemption right in connection with our initial business combination, we will be required to provide for payment of claims of creditors that were not waived that may be brought against us within the 10 years following redemption. Accordingly, the per-share redemption amount received by public stockholders could be less than the $10.10 per share initially held in the trust account, due to claims of such creditors. Pursuant to a letter agreement, our sponsor has agreed that it will be liable to us if and to the extent any claims by a third party for services rendered or products sold to us, or a prospective target business with which we have entered into a written letter of intent, confidentiality or similar agreement or business combination agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the trust account to below the lesser of  (i) $10.10 per public share and (ii) the actual amount per public share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account, if less than $10.10 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, less taxes payable, provided that such liability will not apply to any claims by a third party or prospective target business who executed a waiver of any and all rights to the monies held in the trust account (whether or not such waiver is enforceable) nor will it apply to any claims under our indemnity of the underwriters of our initial public offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. However, we have not asked our sponsor to reserve for such indemnification obligations, nor have we independently verified whether our sponsor has sufficient funds to satisfy its indemnity obligations and believe that our sponsor’s only assets are securities of our company. Therefore, we cannot assure you that our sponsor would be able to satisfy those obligations. None of our officers or directors will indemnify us for claims by third parties including, without limitation, claims by vendors and prospective target businesses.

Our directors may decide not to enforce the indemnification obligations of our sponsor, resulting in a reduction in the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders.

In the event that the proceeds in the trust account are reduced below the lesser of  (i) $10.10 per share and (ii) the actual amount per share held in the trust account as of the date of the liquidation of the trust account if less than $10.10 per share due to reductions in the value of the trust assets, in each case net of the interest which may be withdrawn to pay taxes, and our sponsor asserts that it is unable to satisfy its obligations or that it has no indemnification obligations related to a particular claim, our independent directors would determine whether to take legal action against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations.

While we currently expect that our independent directors would take legal action on our behalf against our sponsor to enforce its indemnification obligations to us, it is possible that our independent directors in exercising their business judgment and subject to their fiduciary duties may choose not to do so in any particular instance if, for example, the cost of such legal action is deemed by the independent directors to be too high relative to the amount recoverable or if the independent directors determine that a favorable outcome is not likely. If our independent directors choose not to enforce these indemnification obligations, the amount of funds in the trust account available for distribution to our public stockholders may be reduced below $10.10 per share.

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We may not have sufficient funds to satisfy indemnification claims of our directors and executive officers.

We have agreed to indemnify our officers and directors to the fullest extent permitted by law. However, our officers and directors have agreed to waive any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies in the trust account and to not seek recourse against the trust account for any reason whatsoever. Accordingly, any indemnification provided will be able to be satisfied by us only if  (i) we have sufficient funds outside of the trust account or (ii) we consummate an initial business combination. Our obligation to indemnify our officers and directors may discourage stockholders from bringing a lawsuit against our officers or directors for breach of their fiduciary duty. These provisions also may have the effect of reducing the likelihood of derivative litigation against our officers and directors, even though such an action, if successful, might otherwise benefit us and our stockholders. Furthermore, a stockholder’s investment may be adversely affected to the extent we pay the costs of settlement and damage awards against our officers and directors pursuant to these indemnification provisions.

If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, a bankruptcy court may seek to recover such proceeds, and we and our board may be exposed to claims of punitive damages.

If, after we distribute the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, any distributions received by stockholders could be viewed under applicable debtor/creditor and/or bankruptcy laws as either a “preferential transfer” or a “fraudulent conveyance.” As a result, a bankruptcy court could seek to recover all amounts received by our stockholders. In addition, our board of directors may be viewed as having breached its fiduciary duty to our creditors and/or having acted in bad faith, thereby exposing itself and us to claims of punitive damages, by paying public stockholders from the trust account prior to addressing the claims of creditors.

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the claims of creditors in such proceeding may have priority over the claims of our stockholders and the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

If, before distributing the proceeds in the trust account to our public stockholders, we file a bankruptcy petition or an involuntary bankruptcy petition is filed against us that is not dismissed, the proceeds held in the trust account could be subject to applicable bankruptcy law, and may be included in our bankruptcy estate and subject to the claims of third parties with priority over the claims of our stockholders. To the extent any bankruptcy claims deplete the trust account, the per-share amount that would otherwise be received by our stockholders in connection with our liquidation may be reduced.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, we may be required to institute burdensome compliance requirements and our activities may be restricted, which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

If we are deemed to be an investment company under the Investment Company Act, our activities may be restricted, including:

•restrictions on the nature of our investments; and

​•restrictions on the issuance of securities, each of which may make it difficult for us to complete our initial business combination.

​In addition, we may have imposed upon us burdensome requirements, including:

•registration as an investment company;

​•adoption of a specific form of corporate structure; and

​•reporting, record keeping, voting, proxy and disclosure requirements and other rules and regulations.

​ 

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In order not to be regulated as an investment company under the Investment Company Act, unless we can qualify for an exclusion, we must ensure that we are engaged primarily in a business other than investing, reinvesting or trading in securities and that our activities do not include investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading “investment securities” constituting more than 40% of our total assets (exclusive of U.S. government securities and cash items) on an unconsolidated basis. Our business will be to identify and complete an initial business combination and thereafter to operate the post-transaction business or assets for the long term. We do not plan to buy businesses or assets with a view to resale or profit from their resale. We do not plan to buy unrelated businesses or assets or to be a passive investor.

We do not believe that our anticipated principal activities subject us to the Investment Company Act. To this end, the proceeds held in the trust account may only be invested in United States “government securities” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act having a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 promulgated under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Pursuant to the trust agreement, the trustee is not permitted to invest in other securities or assets. By restricting the investment of the proceeds to these instruments, and by having a business plan targeted at acquiring and growing businesses for the long term (rather than on buying and selling businesses in the manner of a merchant bank or private equity fund), we intend to avoid being deemed an “investment company” within the meaning of the Investment Company Act. The trust account is intended as a holding place for funds pending the earliest to occur of: (i) the completion of our initial business combination; (ii) the redemption of any public shares properly submitted in connection with a stockholder vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity; or (iii) absent an initial business combination by February 12, 2020, our return of the funds held in the trust account to our public stockholders as part of our redemption of the public shares. If we do not invest the proceeds as discussed above, we may be deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act. If we were deemed to be subject to the Investment Company Act, compliance with these additional regulatory burdens would require additional expenses for which we have not allotted funds and may hinder our ability to complete an initial business combination or may result in our liquidation. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.24 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2018) on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

Changes in laws or regulations, or a failure to comply with any laws and regulations, may adversely affect our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and results of operations.

We are subject to laws and regulations enacted by national, regional and local governments. In particular, we are required to comply with certain SEC and other legal requirements. Compliance with, and monitoring of, applicable laws and regulations may be difficult, time consuming and costly.

Those laws and regulations and their interpretation and application may also change from time to time and those changes could have a material adverse effect on our business, investments and results of operations. In addition, a failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations, as interpreted and applied, could have a material adverse effect on our business, including our ability to negotiate and complete our initial business combination and results of operations.

Our stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against us to the extent of distributions received by them upon redemption of their shares.

Under the DGCL, stockholders may be held liable for claims by third parties against a corporation to the extent of distributions received by them in a dissolution. The pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020 offering may be considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law. If a corporation complies with certain procedures set forth in Section 280 of the DGCL intended to ensure that it makes reasonable provision for all claims against it, including a 60-day notice period during which any third-party claims can be brought against the corporation, a 90-day period during which the corporation may reject any claims brought, and an additional 150-day waiting period before any liquidating distributions are made to stockholders, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. However, it is our intention to redeem our public shares as soon as reasonably possible following the 24th month from the closing of our initial public offering in the event we do not complete our initial business combination and, therefore, we do not intend to comply with the foregoing procedures.

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Because we will not be complying with Section 280, Section 281(b) of the DGCL requires us to adopt a plan, based on facts known to us at such time that will provide for our payment of all existing and pending claims or claims that may be potentially brought against us within the 10 years following our dissolution. However, because we are a blank check company, rather than an operating company, and our operations will be limited to searching for prospective target businesses to acquire, the only likely claims to arise would be from our vendors (such as lawyers, investment bankers, etc.) or prospective target businesses. If our plan of distribution complies with Section 281(b) of the DGCL, any liability of stockholders with respect to a liquidating distribution is limited to the lesser of such stockholder’s pro rata share of the claim or the amount distributed to the stockholder, and any liability of the stockholder would likely be barred after the third anniversary of the dissolution. We cannot assure you that we will properly assess all claims that may be potentially brought against us. As such, our stockholders could potentially be liable for any claims to the extent of distributions received by them (but no more) and any liability of our stockholders may extend beyond the third anniversary of such date. Furthermore, if the pro rata portion of our trust account distributed to our public stockholders upon the redemption of our public shares in the event we do not complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020 is not considered a liquidating distribution under Delaware law and such redemption distribution is deemed to be unlawful (potentially due to the imposition of legal proceedings that a party may bring or due to other circumstances that are currently unknown), then pursuant to Section 174 of the DGCL, the statute of limitations for claims of creditors could then be six years after the unlawful redemption distribution, instead of three years, as in the case of a liquidating distribution.

We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders until after the consummation of our initial business combination, which could delay the opportunity for our stockholders to elect directors.

In accordance with NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until no later than one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NASDAQ. Under Section 211(b) of the DGCL, we are, however, required to hold an annual meeting of stockholders for the purposes of electing directors in accordance with our bylaws unless such election is made by written consent in lieu of such a meeting. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, and thus we may not be in compliance with Section 211(b) of the DGCL, which requires an annual meeting. Therefore, if our stockholders want us to hold an annual meeting prior to the consummation of our initial business combination, they may attempt to force us to hold one by submitting an application to the Delaware Court of Chancery in accordance with Section 211(c) of the DGCL.

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We have not registered the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants under the Securities Act or any state securities laws, and such registration may not be in place when an investor desires to exercise warrants, thus precluding such investor from being able to exercise its warrants except on a cashless basis. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of warrants is not registered, qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless.

We have not registered the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants issued in our initial public offering under the Securities Act or any state securities laws. However, under the terms of the warrant agreement, we have agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closing of our initial business combination, we will use our best efforts to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration under the Securities Act of the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants and thereafter will use our best efforts to cause the same to become effective within 60 business days following our initial business combination and to maintain a current prospectus relating to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, until the expiration of the warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. We cannot assure you that we will be able to do so if, for example, any facts or events arise which represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement or prospectus, the financial statements contained or incorporated by reference therein are not current or correct or the SEC issues a stop order. If the shares issuable upon exercise of the warrants issued in our initial public offering are not registered under the Securities Act, we will be required to permit holders to exercise their warrants on a cashless basis. However, no warrant will be exercisable for cash or on a cashless basis, and we will not be obligated to issue any shares to holders seeking to exercise their warrants, unless the issuance of the shares upon such exercise is registered or qualified under the securities laws of the state of the exercising holder, or an exemption from registration is available. Notwithstanding the above, if our Class A common stock is at the time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a “cashless basis” in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. In no event will we be required to net cash settle any warrant, or issue securities or other compensation in exchange for the warrants in the event that we are unable to register or qualify the shares underlying the warrants under applicable state securities laws and there is no exemption available. If the issuance of the shares upon exercise of the warrants is not so registered or qualified or exempt from registration or qualification, the holder of such warrant will not be entitled to exercise such warrant and such warrant may have no value and expire worthless. In such event, holders who acquired their warrants as part of a purchase of units will have paid the full unit purchase price solely for the shares of Class A common stock included in the units. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us in our initial public offering. However, there may be instances in which holders of our public warrants may be unable to exercise such public warrants but holders of our private warrants may be able to exercise such private warrants.

If you exercise your public warrants on a “cashless basis,” you will receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.

There are circumstances in which the exercise of the public warrants may be required or permitted to be made on a cashless basis. First, if a registration statement covering the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants is not effective by the 60th business day after the closing of our initial business combination, warrantholders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act or another exemption. Second, if our Class A common stock is at any time of any exercise of a warrant not listed on a national securities exchange such that it satisfies the definition of a “covered security” under Section 18(b)(1) of the Securities Act, we may, at our option, require holders of public warrants who exercise their warrants to do so on a cashless basis in accordance with Section 3(a)(9) of the Securities Act and, in the event we so elect, we will not be required to file or maintain in effect a registration statement, and in the event we do not so elect, we will use our best efforts to register or qualify the shares under applicable blue sky laws to the extent an exemption is not available. Third, if we call the public warrants for redemption, our management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise warrants to do so on a cashless basis. In the event of an exercise on a cashless basis, a holder would pay the warrant exercise price by surrendering the warrants for that number of shares of Class A common stock equal to the quotient obtained by dividing (x) the product of the number of shares of Class A common stock underlying the warrants, multiplied by the difference between the exercise price of the warrants and the “fair market value” (as defined in the next sentence) by (y) the fair market value. The “fair market value” is the average reported last sale price of the Class A common stock for the 10 trading days ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the notice of exercise is received by the warrant agent or on which the notice of redemption is sent to the holders of warrants, as applicable. As a result, you would receive fewer shares of Class A common stock from such exercise than if you were to exercise such warrants for cash.

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The grant of registration rights to our initial stockholders may make it more difficult to complete our initial business combination, and the future exercise of such rights may adversely affect the market price of our Class A common stock.

Pursuant to a registration rights agreement, our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees can demand that we register the private placement warrants, the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the founder shares and the private placement warrants and the securities issuable pursuant to the forward purchase contract held, or to be held, by them and holders of warrants that may be issued upon conversion of working capital loans may demand that we register such warrants or the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of such warrants. We will bear the cost of registering these securities. The registration and availability of such a significant number of securities for trading in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock. In addition, the existence of the registration rights may make our initial business combination more costly or difficult to conclude. This is because the stockholders of the target business may increase the equity stake they seek in the combined entity or ask for more cash consideration to offset the negative impact on the market price of our Class A common stock that is expected when the securities owned by our initial stockholders or holders of working capital loans or their respective permitted transferees are registered.

Because we are not limited to evaluating a target business in a particular industry sector, you are unable to ascertain the merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations.

We seek to complete an initial business combination with companies that have recently emerged from bankruptcy court protection but may also pursue other business combination opportunities, except that we will not, under our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, be permitted to effectuate our initial business combination with another blank check company or similar company with nominal operations. There is currently no basis to evaluate the possible merits or risks of any particular target business’s operations, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, financial condition or prospects. To the extent we complete our initial business combination, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the business operations with which we combine. For example, if we combine with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of sales or earnings, we may be affected by the risks inherent in the business and operations of a financially unstable or a development stage entity. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we cannot assure you that we will properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors or that we will have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our units will ultimately prove to be more favorable to investors than a direct investment, if such opportunity were available, in a business combination target. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their securities. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value unless they are able to successfully claim that the reduction was due to the breach by our officers or directors of a duty of care or other fiduciary duty owed to them, or if they are able to successfully bring a private claim under securities laws that the proxy solicitation or tender offer materials, as applicable, relating to the business combination contained an actionable material misstatement or material omission.

Past performance by Mudrick Capital, including our management team, may not be indicative of future performance of an investment in the Company.

Information regarding performance by, or businesses associated with, Mudrick Capital and its affiliates is presented for informational purposes only. Past performance by Mudrick Capital, including our management team, is not a guarantee either (i) of success with respect to any business combination we may consummate or (ii) that we will be able to locate a suitable candidate for our initial business combination. You should not rely on the historical record of Mudrick Capital’s or our management team’s performance as indicative of our future performance of an investment in the company or the returns the company will, or is likely to, generate going forward. Our officers and directors have not had experience with blank check companies or special purpose acquisition companies in the past.

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We may seek business combination opportunities in industries or sectors which may or may not be outside of our management’s area of expertise.

Although we are focused on identifying post-bankruptcy companies, we will consider an initial business combination outside of our management’s area of expertise if an initial business combination candidate is presented to us and we determine that such candidate offers an attractive business combination opportunity for our company or we are unable to identify a suitable candidate in this sector after having expanded a reasonable amount of time and effort in an attempt to do so. Although our management will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in any particular business combination candidate, we cannot assure you that we will adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. We also cannot assure you that an investment in our securities will not ultimately prove to be less favorable to investors than a direct investment, if an opportunity were available, in an initial business combination candidate. In the event we elect to pursue a business combination outside of the areas of our management’s expertise, our management’s expertise may not be directly applicable to its evaluation or operation, and the information contained in this Report regarding the areas of our management’s expertise would not be relevant to an understanding of the business that we elect to acquire. As a result, our management may not be able to adequately ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following our initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines that we believe are important in evaluating prospective target businesses, we may enter into our initial business combination with a target that does not meet such criteria and guidelines, and as a result, the target business with which we enter into our initial business combination may not have attributes entirely consistent with our general criteria and guidelines.

Although we have identified general criteria and guidelines for evaluating prospective target businesses, it is possible that a target business with which we enter into our initial business combination will not have all of these positive attributes. If we complete our initial business combination with a target that does not meet some or all of these guidelines, such combination may not be as successful as a combination with a business that does meet all of our general criteria and guidelines. In addition, if we announce a prospective business combination with a target that does not meet our general criteria and guidelines, a greater number of stockholders may exercise their redemption rights, which may make it difficult for us to meet any closing condition with a target business that requires us to have a minimum net worth or a certain amount of cash. In addition, if stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or we decide to obtain stockholder approval for business or other legal reasons, it may be more difficult for us to attain stockholder approval of our initial business combination if the target business does not meet our general criteria and guidelines. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.24 (as of December 31, 2018) per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.24 per share on the redemption of their shares.

We may seek business combination opportunities with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenue, cash flow or earnings, which could subject us to volatile revenues, cash flows or earnings or difficulty in retaining key personnel.

To the extent we complete our initial business combination with a financially unstable business or an entity lacking an established record of revenues or earnings, we may be affected by numerous risks inherent in the operations of the business with which we combine. These risks include volatile revenues or earnings and difficulties in obtaining and retaining key personnel. Although our officers and directors will endeavor to evaluate the risks inherent in a particular target business, we may not be able to properly ascertain or assess all of the significant risk factors and we may not have adequate time to complete due diligence. Furthermore, some of these risks may be outside of our control and leave us with no ability to control or reduce the chances that those risks will adversely impact a target business.

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We are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm or from an independent accounting firm, and consequently, you may have no assurance from an independent source that the price we are paying for the business is fair to our company from a financial point of view.

Unless we complete our initial business combination with an affiliated entity or our board cannot independently determine the fair market value of the target business or businesses, we are not required to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA or from an independent accounting firm that the price we are paying is fair to our company from a financial point of view. If no opinion is obtained, our stockholders will be relying on the judgment of our board of directors, who will determine fair market value based on standards generally accepted by the financial community. Such standards used will be disclosed in our proxy materials or tender offer documents, as applicable, related to our initial business combination.

We may issue additional common stock or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination. We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon the conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Any such issuances would dilute the interest of our stockholders and likely present other risks.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation authorizes the issuance of up to 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, 10,000,000 shares of Class B common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.0001 per share. There are 52,500,000 and 5,000,000 authorized but unissued shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, respectively, available for issuance, which amount takes into account the shares of Class A common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise of outstanding warrants but not the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of Class B common stock. There are currently no shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding. Shares of Class B common stock are convertible into shares of our Class A common stock initially at a one-for-one ratio but subject to adjustment as set forth herein, including in certain circumstances in which we issue Class A common stock or equity-linked securities related to our initial business combination. Shares of Class B common stock are also convertible at the option of the holder at any time. These amounts exclude the issuance of 2,500,000 units issuable pursuant to our sponsor’s forward purchase contract and an additional 625,000 shares of Class A common stock issuable to our sponsor at the time of the initial business combination.

We may issue a substantial number of additional shares of common or preferred stock to complete our initial business combination (including pursuant to a specified future issuance) or under an employee incentive plan after completion of our initial business combination (although our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we may not issue securities that can vote with common stockholders on matters related to our pre-initial business combination activity). We may also issue shares of Class A common stock upon conversion of the Class B common stock at a ratio greater than one-to-one at the time of our initial business combination as a result of the anti-dilution provisions contained in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. However, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides, among other things, that prior to our initial business combination, we may not issue additional shares of capital stock that would entitle the holders thereof to (i) receive funds from the trust account or (ii) vote on any initial business combination. These provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, like all provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, may be amended with the approval of our stockholders. However, our executive officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they will not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, including interest (which interest shall be net of taxes payable), divided by the number of then outstanding public shares.


The issuance of additional shares of common or preferred stock:

may significantly dilute the equity interest of existing investors;

may subordinate the rights of holders of common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;

could cause a change of control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock are issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors; and

may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our units, Class A common stock and/or warrants.

 ​

Resources could be wasted in researching business combinations that are not completed, which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.24 per share (as of December 31, 2018), or less than such amount in certain circumstances, on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless.

We anticipate that investigation of each specific target business and the negotiation, drafting and execution of relevant agreements, disclosure documents and other instruments requires substantial management time and attention and substantial costs for accountants, attorneys, consultants and others. If we decide not to complete a specific initial business combination, the costs incurred up to that point for the proposed transaction likely would not be recoverable. Furthermore, if we reach an agreement relating to a specific target business, we may fail to complete our initial business combination for any number of reasons including those beyond our control. Any such event will result in a loss to us of the related costs incurred which could materially adversely affect subsequent attempts to locate and acquire or merge with another business. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.24 per share on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In certain circumstances, our public stockholders may receive less than $10.24 per share on the redemption of their shares

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination and to be successful thereafter will be dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel, some of whom may join us following our initial business combination. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.

Our ability to successfully effect our initial business combination is dependent upon the efforts of our key personnel. The role of our key personnel in the target business, however, cannot presently be ascertained. Although some of our key personnel may remain with the target business in senior management or advisory positions following our initial business combination, it is likely that some or all of the management of the target business will remain in place. While we intend to closely scrutinize any individuals we employ after our initial business combination, we cannot assure you that our assessment of these individuals will prove to be correct. These individuals may be unfamiliar with the requirements of operating a company regulated by the SEC, which could cause us to have to expend time and resources helping them become familiar with such requirements. In addition, the officers and directors of an initial business combination candidate may resign upon completion of our initial business combination. The departure of an initial business combination target’s key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business. The role of an initial business combination candidate’s key personnel upon the completion of our initial business combination cannot be ascertained at this time. Although we contemplate that certain members of an initial business combination candidate’s management team will remain associated with the initial business combination candidate following our initial business combination, it is possible that members of the management of an initial business combination candidate will not wish to remain in place. The loss of key personnel could negatively impact the operations and profitability of our post-combination business.

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Mudrick Capital’s financial position could change, negatively impacting its role in helping us complete our initial business combination.

Mudrick Capital’s financial position could be negatively impacted due to a variety of factors, including lower management fees and/or performance fees and higher operating expenses. From time to time, Mudrick Capital may be a party to lawsuits, which if resolved in an unfavorable manner for Mudrick Capital, could have a material impact on Mudrick Capital’s financial position. To the extent Mudrick Capital’s financial position is less stable, it may have difficulty retaining certain key investment professionals, which could negatively impact Mudrick Capital’s ability to help us complete our initial business combination.

We are dependent upon our executive officers and directors and their departure could adversely affect our ability to operate.

Our operations are dependent upon a relatively small group of individuals and, in particular, our executive officers and directors. We believe that our success depends on the continued service of our executive officers and directors, at least until we have completed our initial business combination. We do not have an employment agreement with, or key-man insurance on the life of, any of our directors or executive officers. The unexpected loss of the services of one or more of our directors or executive officers could have a detrimental effect on us.

Our key personnel may negotiate employment or consulting agreements with a target business in connection with a particular business combination. These agreements may provide for them to receive compensation following our initial business combination and as a result, may cause them to have conflicts of interest in determining whether a particular business combination is the most advantageous.

Our key personnel may be able to remain with the company after the completion of our initial business combination only if they are able to negotiate employment or consulting agreements in connection with the initial business combination. Such negotiations would take place simultaneously with the negotiation of the initial business combination and could provide for such individuals to receive compensation in the form of cash payments and/or our securities for services they would render to us after the completion of the initial business combination. The personal and financial interests of such individuals may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business. However, we believe the ability of such individuals to remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination will not be the determining factor in our decision as to whether or not we will proceed with any potential business combination. There is no certainty, however, that any of our key personnel will remain with us after the completion of our initial business combination. We cannot assure you that any of our key personnel will remain in senior management or advisory positions with us. The determination as to whether any of our key personnel will remain with us will be made at the time of our initial business combination.

We may have a limited ability to assess the management of a prospective target business and, as a result, may effect our initial business combination with a target business whose management may not have the skills, qualifications or abilities to manage a public company, which could, in turn, negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.

When evaluating the desirability of effecting our initial business combination with a prospective target business, our ability to assess the target business’s management may be limited due to a lack of time, resources or information. Our assessment of the capabilities of the target’s management, therefore, may prove to be incorrect and such management may lack the skills, qualifications or abilities we suspected. Should the target’s management not possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to manage a public company, the operations and profitability of the post-combination business may be negatively impacted. Accordingly, any stockholders who choose to remain stockholders following the initial business combination could suffer a reduction in the value of their shares. Such stockholders are unlikely to have a remedy for such reduction in value.

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Our officers and directors allocate their time to other businesses thereby causing conflicts of interest in their determination as to how much time to devote to our affairs. This conflict of interest could have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Our officers and directors are not required to, and do not, commit their full time to our affairs, which may result in a conflict of interest in allocating their time between our operations and our search for an initial business combination and their other businesses. We do not intend to have any full-time employees prior to the completion of our initial business combination. Each of our officers is engaged in other business endeavors for which he may be entitled to substantial compensation and our officers are not obligated to contribute any specific number of hours per week to our affairs. In particular, all of our officers and directors are employed by Mudrick Capital, which is an investment manager to various public and private investment funds, which make investments in securities or other interests of or relating to companies in industries we may target for our initial business combination. Our independent directors may also serve as officers or board members for other entities. If our officers’ and directors’ other business affairs require them to devote substantial amounts of time to such affairs in excess of their current commitment levels, it could limit their ability to devote time to our affairs which may have a negative impact on our ability to complete our initial business combination.

Certain of our officers and directors are now, and all of them may in the future become, affiliated with entities engaged in business activities similar to those intended to be conducted by us and, accordingly, may have conflicts of interest in allocating their time and determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented.

Until we consummate our initial business combination, we will continue to engage in the business of identifying and combining with one or more businesses. Our sponsor and officers and directors are, and may in the future become, affiliated with entities (such as operating companies or investment vehicles) that are engaged in a similar business, although they may not participate in the formation of, or become an officer or director of, any other special purpose acquisition companies with a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act until we have entered into a definitive agreement regarding our initial business combination or we have failed to complete our initial business combination within by February 12, 2020.

Our officers and directors also may become aware of business opportunities which may be appropriate for presentation to us and the other entities to which they owe certain fiduciary or contractual duties.

Accordingly, they may have conflicts of interest in determining to which entity a particular business opportunity should be presented. These conflicts may not be resolved in our favor and a potential target business may be presented to another entity prior to its presentation to us. Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that we renounce our interest in any corporate opportunity offered to any director or officer unless such opportunity is expressly offered to such person solely in his or her capacity as a director or officer of our company and such opportunity is one we are legally and contractually permitted to undertake and would otherwise be reasonable for us to pursue, and to the extent the director or officer is permitted to refer that opportunity to us without violating another legal obligation.

Our officers, directors, security holders and their respective affiliates may have competitive pecuniary interests that conflict with our interests.

We have not adopted a policy that expressly prohibits our directors, officers, security holders or affiliates from having a direct or indirect pecuniary or financial interest in any investment to be acquired or disposed of by us or in any transaction to which we are a party or have an interest. In fact, we may enter into an initial business combination with a target business that is affiliated with our sponsor, our directors or officers, although we do not intend to do so, or we may acquire a target business through an Affiliated Joint Acquisition with one or more affiliates of Mudrick Capital. We do not have a policy that expressly prohibits any such persons from engaging for their own account in business activities of the types conducted by us. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours.

In particular, Mudrick Capital and its affiliates also are focused on investments in the distressed debt and post-restructured company sector. As a result, there may be substantial overlap between companies that would be a suitable business combination for us and companies that would make an attractive target for such other affiliates.

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We may engage in an initial business combination with one or more target businesses that have relationships with entities that may be affiliated with our sponsor, officers, directors or existing holders which may raise potential conflicts of interest.

In light of the involvement of our sponsor, officers and directors with other entities, we may decide to acquire one or more businesses affiliated with our sponsor, officers or directors. Our directors also serve as officers and board members for other entities. Such entities may compete with us for business combination opportunities. Despite our agreement to obtain an opinion from an independent investment banking firm that is a member of FINRA, or from an independent accounting firm, regarding the fairness to our stockholders from a financial point of view of an initial business combination with one or more domestic or international businesses affiliated with our officers, directors or existing holders, potential conflicts of interest still may exist and, as a result, the terms of the initial business combination may not be as advantageous to our public stockholders as they would be absent any conflicts of interest. In order to satisfy applicable regulatory or other legal requirements applicable to an Affiliated Joint Acquisition, our initial business combination may be effected on less favorable terms than otherwise would apply if the initial business combination were not an Affiliated Joint Acquisition.

We may acquire a target business through an Affiliated Joint Acquisition with one or more affiliates of Mudrick Capital. This may result in conflicts of interest as well as dilutive issuances of our securities.

We may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity affiliated with Mudrick Capital. Any such parties would co-invest only if  (i) permitted by applicable regulatory and other legal limitations; (ii) we and Mudrick Capital considered a transaction to be mutually beneficial to us as well as the affiliated entity; and (iii) other business reasons exist to do so, such as the strategic merits of including such co-investors, the need for additional capital beyond the amount held in our trust account to fund the initial business combination and/or the desire to obtain committed capital for closing the initial business combination. An Affiliated Joint Acquisition may be effected through a co-investment with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the initial business combination by issuing to such parties a class of equity or equity-linked securities. Accordingly, such persons or entities may have a conflict between their interests and ours. Any such Affiliated Joint Acquisition or specified future issuance would be in addition to, and would not include, the forward purchase securities issued pursuant to the forward purchase contract.

In addition, any specified future issuance in connection with Affiliated Joint Acquisition would trigger the anti-dilution provisions of our Class B common stock, which, unless waived, would result in an adjustment to the conversion ratio of our Class B common stock such that our initial stockholders and their permitted transferees, if any, would retain their aggregate percentage ownership at 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock currently outstanding plus all shares issued in the specified future issuance. If such adjustment is not waived as described elsewhere in this Report, the specified future issuance would not reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class B common stock, but would reduce the percentage ownership of holders of our Class A common stock. The issuance of the forward purchase securities will not result in such an adjustment to the conversion of our Class B common stock.

Since our sponsor, officers and directors will lose their entire investment in us if our initial business combination is not completed, a conflict of interest may arise in determining whether a particular business combination target is appropriate for our initial business combination.

On September 25, 2017, our sponsor purchased an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares for an aggregate purchase price of  $25,000, or approximately $0.004 per share. The number of founder shares issued was determined based on the expectation that such founder shares would represent 20% of the outstanding shares after our initial public offering. The founder shares will be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. In addition, our sponsor and Cantor purchased an aggregate of 7,500,000 warrants (or 8,400,000 warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) at a price of  $1.00 per warrant (6,500,000 warrants by our sponsor (or 7,250,000 warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full)) and 1,000,000 warrants by Cantor (or 1,150,000 warrants if the over-allotment option is exercised in full) for an aggregate purchase price of  $7,500,000, or $8,400,000 if the over-allotment option is exercised in full, or $1.00 per warrant, that will also be worthless if we do not complete an initial business combination. Holders of founder shares have agreed (A) to vote any shares owned by them in favor of any proposed initial business combination and (B) not to redeem any founder shares in connection with a stockholder vote to approve a proposed initial business combination. In addition, we may obtain loans from our sponsor, affiliates of our sponsor or an officer or director. The personal and financial interests of our officers and directors may influence their motivation in identifying and selecting a target business combination, completing an initial business combination and influencing the operation of the business following the initial business combination.

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We may issue notes or other debt securities, or otherwise incur substantial debt, to complete an initial business combination, which may adversely affect our leverage and financial condition and thus negatively impact the value of our stockholders’ investment in us.

Although we have no commitments as of the date of this Report to issue any notes or other debt securities, or to otherwise incur outstanding debt, we may choose to incur substantial debt to complete our initial business combination. We have agreed that we will not incur any indebtedness unless we have obtained from the lender a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to the monies held in the trust account. As such, no issuance of debt will affect the per-share amount available for redemption from the trust account. Nevertheless, the incurrence of debt could have a variety of negative effects, including:

default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;

acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;

our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand;

our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding;

our inability to pay dividends on our common stock;

using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes;

limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;

increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation;

limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and

other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.

We may only be able to complete one business combination with the proceeds of our initial public offering, the sale of the private placement warrants and the $25,000,000 forward purchase contract, which will cause us to be solely dependent on a single business which may have a limited number of services and limited operating activities. This lack of diversification may negatively impact our operating results and profitability.

Of the net proceeds from our initial public offering and the sale of the private placement warrants, $212,916,691 is available to complete our initial business combination and pay related fees and expenses (which includes up to $ 7,000,000 for the payment of deferred underwriting commissions). In addition, our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a forward purchase contract with us, to purchase, in a private placement for gross proceeds of $25,000,000 to occur concurrently with the consummation of our initial business combination, 2,500,000 of our units on substantially the same terms as the sale of units in our initial public offering at $10.00 per unit, and 625,000 shares of Class A common stock.


We may effectuate our initial business combination with a single target business or multiple target businesses simultaneously or within a short period of time. However, we may not be able to effectuate our initial business combination with more than one target business because of various factors, including the existence of complex accounting issues and the requirement that we prepare and file pro forma financial statements with the SEC that present operating results and the financial condition of several target businesses as if they had been operated on a combined basis. By completing our initial business combination with only a single entity, our lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory developments. Further, we would not be able to diversify our operations or benefit from the possible spreading of risks or offsetting of losses, unlike other entities which may have the resources to complete several business combinations in different industries or different areas of a single industry. In addition, we intend to focus our search for an initial business combination in a single industry.

Accordingly, the prospects for our success may be:

solely dependent upon the performance of a single business, property or asset, or

dependent upon the development or market acceptance of a single or limited number of products, processes or services.

This lack of diversification may subject us to numerous economic, competitive and regulatory risks, any or all of which may have a substantial adverse impact upon the particular industry in which we may operate subsequent to our initial business combination.

We may attempt to simultaneously complete business combinations with multiple prospective targets, which may hinder our ability to complete our initial business combination and give rise to increased costs and risks that could negatively impact our operations and profitability.

If we determine to simultaneously acquire several businesses that are owned by different sellers, we will need for each of such sellers to agree that our purchase of its business is contingent on the simultaneous closings of the other business combinations, which may make it more difficult for us, and delay our ability, to complete our initial business combination. We do not, however, intend to purchase multiple businesses in unrelated industries in conjunction with our initial business combination. With multiple business combinations, we could also face additional risks, including additional burdens and costs with respect to possible multiple negotiations and due diligence investigations (if there are multiple sellers) and the additional risks associated with the subsequent assimilation of the operations and services or products of the acquired companies in a single operating business. If we are unable to adequately address these risks, it could negatively impact our profitability and results of operations.

We may attempt to complete our initial business combination with a private company about which little information is available, which may result in an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

In pursuing our initial business combination strategy, we may seek to effectuate our initial business combination with a privately held company. Very little public information generally exists about private companies, and we could be required to make our decision on whether to pursue a potential initial business combination on the basis of limited information, which may result in an initial business combination with a company that is not as profitable as we suspected, if at all.

Our management may not be able to maintain control of a target business after our initial business combination.

We may structure an initial business combination so that the post-transaction company in which our public stockholders own shares will own less than 100% of the equity interests or assets of a target business, but we will only complete such business combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for us not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act. We will not consider any transaction that does not meet such criteria. Even if the post-transaction company owns 50% or more of the voting securities of the target, our stockholders prior to the initial business combination may collectively own a minority interest in the post business combination company, depending on valuations ascribed to the target and us in the initial business combination. For example, we could pursue a transaction in which we issue a substantial number of new shares of Class A common stock in exchange for all of the outstanding capital stock of a target. In this case, we would acquire a 100% interest in the target. However, as a result of the issuance of a substantial number of new shares of common stock, our stockholders immediately prior to such transaction could own less than a majority of our outstanding shares of common stock subsequent to such transaction. In addition, other minority stockholders may subsequently combine their holdings resulting in a single person or group obtaining a larger share of the company’s stock than we initially acquired. Accordingly, this may make it more likely that our management will not be able to maintain our control of the target business. We cannot provide assurance that, upon loss of control of a target business, new management will possess the skills, qualifications or abilities necessary to profitably operate such business.

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We do not have a specified maximum redemption threshold. The absence of such a redemption threshold may make it possible for us to complete an initial business combination with which a substantial majority of our stockholders do not agree.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation does not provide a specified maximum redemption threshold, except that in no event will we redeem our public shares in an amount that would cause our net tangible assets to be less than $5,000,001 upon consummation of our initial business combination and after payment of underwriters’ fees and commissions (such that we are not subject to the SEC’s “penny stock” rules) or any greater net tangible asset or cash requirement which may be contained in the agreement relating to our initial business combination. As a result, we may be able to complete our initial business combination even though a substantial majority of our public stockholders do not agree with the transaction and have redeemed their shares or, if we seek stockholder approval of our initial business combination and do not conduct redemptions in connection with our initial business combination pursuant to the tender offer rules, have entered into privately negotiated agreements to sell their shares to our sponsor, officers, directors, advisors or their affiliates. In the event the aggregate cash consideration we would be required to pay for all shares of Class A common stock that are validly submitted for redemption plus any amount required to satisfy cash conditions pursuant to the terms of the proposed initial business combination exceed the aggregate amount of cash available to us, we will not complete the initial business combination or redeem any shares, all shares of Class A common stock submitted for redemption will be returned to the holders thereof, and we instead may search for an alternate business combination.

In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and other governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation or governing instruments in a manner that will make it easier for us to complete our initial business combination that our stockholders may not support.

In order to effectuate an initial business combination, blank check companies have, in the recent past, amended various provisions of their charters and modified governing instruments, including their warrant agreements. For example, blank check companies have amended the definition of business combination, increased redemption thresholds and extended the time to consummate an initial business combination and, with respect to their warrants, amended their warrant agreements to require the warrants to be exchanged for cash and/or other securities. Amending our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, and amending our warrant agreement requires a vote of holders of at least 65% of the public warrants. In addition, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires us to provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their public shares for cash if we propose an amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (A) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2020 or (B) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity. To the extent any such amendments would be deemed to fundamentally change the nature of any securities offered through this registration statement, we would register, or seek an exemption from registration for, the affected securities. We cannot assure you that we will not seek to amend our charter or governing instruments or extend the time to consummate an initial business combination in order to effectuate our initial business combination.

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The provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation that relate to our pre-business combination activity (and corresponding provisions of the agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account), including an amendment to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors will receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated, may be amended with the approval of holders of 65% of our common stock, which is a lower amendment threshold than that of some other blank check companies. It may be easier for us, therefore, to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and the trust agreement to facilitate the completion of an initial business combination that some of our stockholders may not support.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation provides that any of its provisions related to pre-initial business combination activity (including the requirement to deposit proceeds of our initial public offering and the private placement of warrants into the trust account and not release such amounts except in specified circumstances, and to provide redemption rights to public stockholders as described herein and including to permit us to withdraw funds from the trust account such that the per share amount investors receive upon any redemption or liquidation is substantially reduced or eliminated) may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon, and corresponding provisions of the trust agreement governing the release of funds from our trust account may be amended if approved by holders of 65% of our common stock entitled to vote thereon. In all other instances, our amended and restated certificate of incorporation may be amended by holders of a majority of our outstanding common stock entitled to vote thereon, subject to applicable provisions of the DGCL or applicable stock exchange rules. We may not issue additional securities that can vote on amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation. Our initial stockholders, who collectively beneficially own 20% of our common stock, participate in any vote to amend our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and/or trust agreement and have the discretion to vote in any manner they choose. As a result, we may be able to amend the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation which govern our pre-initial business combination behavior more easily than some other blank check companies, and this may increase our ability to complete an initial business combination with which you do not agree. Our stockholders may pursue remedies against us for any breach of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation.

Our sponsor, officers and directors have agreed, pursuant to a written agreement with us, that they do not propose any amendment to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation (i) to modify the substance or timing of our obligation to redeem 100% of our public shares if we do not complete our initial business combination by February 12, 2018 or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-initial business combination activity, unless we provide our public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock upon approval of any such amendment at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the trust account, divided by the number of then outstanding public shares. These agreements are contained in a letter agreement that we have entered into with our sponsor, officers and directors. Our stockholders are not parties to, or third-party beneficiaries of, these agreements and, as a result, do not have the ability to pursue remedies against our sponsor, officers or directors for any breach of these agreements. As a result, in the event of a breach, our stockholders would need to pursue a stockholder derivative action, subject to applicable law.

We may be unable to obtain additional financing to complete our initial business combination or to fund the operations and growth of a target business, which could compel us to restructure or abandon a particular business combination.

We intend to target businesses larger than we could acquire with the net proceeds of our initial public offering, the sale of the private placement warrants as well as the $25,000,000 private placement to be made by our sponsor. As a result, we may be required to seek additional financing to complete such proposed initial business combination. We cannot assure you that such financing will be available on acceptable terms, if at all. To the extent that additional financing proves to be unavailable when needed to complete our initial business combination, we would be compelled to either restructure the transaction or abandon that particular business combination and seek an alternative target business candidate. Further, the amount of additional financing we may be required to obtain could increase as a result of future growth capital needs for any particular transaction, the depletion of the available net proceeds in search of a target business, the obligation to repurchase for cash a significant number of shares from stockholders who elect redemption in connection with our initial business combination and/or the terms of negotiated transactions to purchase shares in connection with our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may receive only approximately $10.10 per share plus any pro rata interest earned on the funds held in the trust account and not previously released to us to pay our franchise and income taxes on the liquidation of our trust account and our warrants will expire worthless. In addition, even if we do not need additional financing to complete our initial business combination, we may require such financing to fund the operations or growth of the target business. The failure to secure additional financing outside of the forward purchase contract could have a material adverse effect on the continued development or growth of the target business. None of our officers, directors or stockholders is required to provide any financing to us in connection with or after our initial business combination. If we are unable to complete our initial business combination, our public stockholders may only receive approximately $10.24 per share (based on the trust account balance as of December 31, 2018) on the liquidation of our trust account, and our warrants will expire worthless.

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In evaluating a prospective target business for our initial business combination, our management will rely on the availability of all of the funds from the sale of the forward purchase securities to be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in the initial business combination. If the sale of some or all of the forward purchase securities fails to close, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination.

Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a forward purchase contract with us, to purchase, in a private placement for gross proceeds of $25,000,000 to occur concurrently with the consummation of our initial business combination, 2,500,000 of our units on substantially the same terms as the sale of units in our initial public offering at $10.10 per unit, and 625,000 shares of Class A common stock. The funds from the sale of the forward purchase securities are expected to be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in our initial business combination, and may be used to pay expenses in connection with our initial business combination or for working capital in the post-transaction company. The obligations under the forward purchase contract do not depend on whether any public stockholders elect to redeem their shares in connection with our initial business combination and provide us with a minimum funding level for the initial business combination. However, if the sale of the forward purchase securities does not close by reason of the failure of our sponsor to abide by its contractual obligation to fund the purchase price for the forward purchase securities, either because our sponsor lacks sufficient funds or because our sponsor determines that it is not in the best interest of our sponsor or its members to fund the purchase price for the forward purchase securities, we may lack sufficient funds to consummate our initial business combination, or we may need to seek alternative financing. In the event of any such failure to fund by our sponsor, we may not be able to obtain additional funds to account for such shortfall on terms favorable to us or at all. Any such shortfall may also reduce the amount of funds that we have available for working capital of the post-business combination company. We have not obligated the sponsor to reserve funds to satisfy its obligations under the forward purchase contract.

Our initial stockholders may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support.

Our initial stockholders own shares representing 20% of our issued and outstanding shares of common stock excluding the securities issuable pursuant to the forward purchase contract). Accordingly, they may exert a substantial influence on actions requiring a stockholder vote, potentially in a manner that you do not support, including amendments to our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and approval of major corporate transactions. If our initial stockholders purchase any units in our initial public offering or if our initial stockholders purchase any additional shares of common stock in the aftermarket or in privately negotiated transactions, this would increase their control. Factors that would be considered in making such additional purchases would include consideration of the current trading price of our Class A common stock. In addition, our board of directors, whose members were elected by our initial stockholders, is and will be divided into three classes, each of which will generally serve for a term of three years with only one class of directors being elected in each year. We may not hold an annual meeting of stockholders to elect new directors prior to the completion of our initial business combination, in which case all of the current directors will continue in office until at least the completion of the initial business combination. If there is an annual meeting, as a consequence of our “staggered” board of directors, only a minority of the board of directors will be considered for election and our initial stockholders, because of their ownership position, will have considerable influence regarding the outcome. Accordingly, our initial stockholders will continue to exert control at least until the completion of our initial business combination.

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We may amend the terms of the warrants in a manner that may be adverse to holders of public warrants with the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants. As a result, the exercise price of your warrants could be increased, the exercise period could be shortened and the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant could be decreased, all without your approval.

Our warrants have been issued in registered form under a warrant agreement between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and us. The warrant agreement provides that the terms of the warrants may be amended without the consent of any holder to cure any ambiguity or correct any defective provision, but requires the approval by the holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants to make any change that adversely affects the interests of the registered holders of public warrants. Accordingly, we may amend the terms of the public warrants in a manner adverse to a holder if holders of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants approve of such amendment. Although our ability to amend the terms of the public warrants with the consent of at least 65% of the then outstanding public warrants is unlimited, examples of such amendments could be amendments to, among other things, increase the exercise price of the warrants, convert the warrants into cash or stock, shorten the exercise period or decrease the number of shares of our Class A common stock purchasable upon exercise of a warrant.

We may redeem your unexpired warrants prior to their exercise at a time that is disadvantageous to you, thereby making your warrants worthless.

We have the ability to redeem outstanding warrants at any time after they become exercisable and prior to their expiration, at a price of  $0.01 per warrant, provided that the last reported sales price of our Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share (as adjusted for stock splits, stock dividends, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within a 30 trading-day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which we give proper notice of such redemption and provided certain other conditions are met. If and when the warrants become redeemable by us, we may not exercise our redemption right if the issuance of shares of common stock upon exercise of the warrants is not exempt from registration or qualification under applicable state blue sky laws or we are unable to effect such registration or qualification. We will use our best efforts to register or qualify such shares of common stock under the blue sky laws of the state of residence in those states in which the warrants were offered by us in our initial public offering. Redemption of the outstanding warrants could force you (i) to exercise your warrants and pay the exercise price therefor at a time when it may be disadvantageous for you to do so, (ii) to sell your warrants at the then-current market price when you might otherwise wish to hold your warrants or (iii) to accept the nominal redemption price which, at the time the outstanding warrants are called for redemption, is likely to be substantially less than the market value of your warrants. None of the private placement warrants will be redeemable by us so long as they are held by the sponsor or its permitted transferees.

Our warrants and founder shares may have an adverse effect on the market price of our Class A common stock and make it more difficult to effectuate our initial business combination.

We issued warrants to purchase 20,800,000 shares of our Class A common stock as part of the units offered in our initial public offering and, simultaneously with the closing of our initial public offering, we will be issuing in a private placement warrants to purchase an aggregate of 7,740,000 issued shares of Class A common stock at $11.50 per share. Our initial stockholders currently own an aggregate of 5,200,000 founder shares. The founder shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. Furthermore, our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a forward purchase contract with us, to purchase, in a private placement for gross proceeds of  $25,000,000 to occur concurrently with the consummation of our initial business combination, 2,500,000 of our units on substantially the same terms as the sale of units in our initial public offering at $10.10 per unit, and 625,000 shares of Class A common stock. In addition, if our sponsor makes any working capital loans, up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be converted into warrants, at the price of  $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. Such warrants would be identical to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period.


To the extent we issue shares of Class A common stock to effectuate an initial business combination, the potential for the issuance of a substantial number of additional shares of Class A common stock upon exercise of these warrants and conversion rights could make us a less attractive business combination vehicle to a target business. Any such issuance will increase the number of issued and outstanding shares of our Class A common stock and reduce the value of the shares of Class A common stock issued to complete the initial business combination. Therefore, our warrants and founder shares may make it more difficult to effectuate an initial business combination or increase the cost of acquiring the target business.

The private placement warrants are identical to the warrants sold as part of the units in our initial public offering except that, so long as they are held by our sponsor or its permitted transferees, (i) they will not be redeemable by us, (ii) they (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of these warrants) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by our sponsor until 30 days after the completion of our initial business combination and (iii) they may be exercised by the holders on a cashless basis.

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and divert management’s attention.

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes Oxley Act”), the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the listing requirements of NASDAQ and other applicable securities rules and regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations increase our legal and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources, particularly after we are no longer an “emerging growth company.” The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires, among other things, that we maintain effective disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. In order to maintain and, if required, improve our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting to meet this standard, significant resources and management oversight may be required. As a result, management’s attention may be diverted from other business concerns, which could adversely affect our business and operating results. We may need to hire more employees in the future or engage outside consultants to comply with these requirements, which will increase our costs and expenses.

Because we must furnish our stockholders with target business financial statements, we may lose the ability to complete an otherwise advantageous initial business combination with some prospective target businesses.

The federal proxy rules require that a proxy statement with respect to a vote on an initial business combination meeting certain financial significance tests include historical and/or pro forma financial statement disclosure in periodic reports. We will include the same financial statement disclosure in connection with our tender offer documents, whether or not they are required under the tender offer rules. These financial statements may be required to be prepared in accordance with, or be reconciled to, accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, or international financial reporting standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board, or IFRS, depending on the circumstances and the historical financial statements may be required to be audited in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), or PCAOB. These financial statement requirements may limit the pool of potential target businesses we may acquire because some targets may be unable to provide such financial statements in time for us to disclose such statements in accordance with federal proxy rules and complete our initial business combination within the prescribed time frame.

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We are an emerging growth company within the meaning of the Securities Act, and if wecan take advantage of certain exemptionsthe exemption from disclosure requirements available to emerging growth companies, this could make our securities less attractive to investors and may make it more difficult to compare our performancecomplying with other public companies.

We are an “emerging growth company” within the meaningnew or revised accounting standards provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act as modified by the JOBS Act, andlong as we may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required to comply with the auditor attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in our periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved. As a result, our stockholders may not have access to certain information they may deem important. We could bequalify as an emerging growth company for up to five years, although circumstances could cause us to lose that status earlier, including if the market value of our Class A common stock held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, in which case we would no longer be ancompany. An emerging growth company ascan therefore delay the adoption of the following December 31. We cannot predict whether investors will find our securities less attractive because we will rely on these exemptions. If some investors find our securities less attractive as a result of our reliance on these exemptions, the trading prices of our securities may be lower than they otherwise would be, there may be a less active trading market for our securities and the trading prices of our securities may be more volatile.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financialcertain accounting standards until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective or do not have a class of securities registered under the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards.companies. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies, but any such an election to opt out is irrevocable. We have elected not to opt out of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, we, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparison of our financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company whichthat has opted out of using the extended transition period difficult or impossible because of the potential differences in accountantaccounting standards used.

Compliance

We are also a “smaller reporting company”, and we will remain a smaller reporting company until the fiscal year following the determination that our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is $250 million or more measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter, or our annual revenues are $100 million or more during the most recently completed fiscal year and our voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates is $700 million or more measured on the last business day of our second fiscal quarter. Similar to emerging growth companies, smaller reporting companies are able to provide simplified executive compensation disclosure and have certain other reduced disclosure obligations, underincluding, among other things, being required to provide only two years of audited financial statements. Our stockholders may find our common stock less attractive as a result of our status as an “emerging growth company” and “smaller reporting company” and our reliance on the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may make it more difficult for usreduced disclosure requirements afforded to effectuatethese companies.
ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
24

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES
Our sole property is the Hycroft Mine. The Hycroft Mine is an open-pit (surface) gold and silver mine with a long history of operations as discussed below. Commencing in January 2019, Hycroft Mining Corporation (the "Seller") began efforts to restart mining operations. During the first quarter of 2019, the Seller worked to bring our initial business combination, require substantial financialsix haul trucks, two hydraulic shovels and management resources, and increaseone wheel loader back into operation. In addition, the time and costs of completing an initial business combination.

Section 404Seller began the rehabilitation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act requirescrushing system and the construction of leach pad space to enable mining operations to begin in the second quarter of 2019. Initial gold and silver production occurred in August 2019. During 2020, the rehabilitation of the crushing system was completed, additional mobile fleet equipment was rented, headcount increased, repairs and restoration of processing facilities were continued, and the construction of a new leach pad expansion and related infrastructure began. The North Merrill-Crowe processing and refining facility continues on care and maintenance and it will require expenditures to restore it to operational status.

Hycroft Technical Report
The information that we evaluate and report on our system of internal controls beginning with our Annual Report on Form 10-Kfollows relating to the Hycroft Mine is derived, for the year ending December 31, 2019. Onlymost part, from, and in some instances is an extract from, the event we are deemed to be a large accelerated filer or an accelerated filer will we be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. Further, for as long as we remain an emerging growth company, we will not be required to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirement on our internal control over financial reporting. The fact that we are a blank check company makes compliance with the requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act particularly burdensome on us as compared to other public companies because a target company with which we seek to complete our initial business combination may not beHycroft Technical Report prepared in compliance with the provisionsSEC’s Modernization of Property Disclosures for Mining Registrants. Portions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act regarding adequacy of its internal controls. The developmentfollowing information are based on assumptions, qualifications and procedures that are not fully described herein. Reference should be made to the full text of the internal controlHycroft Technical Report, incorporated herein by reference and made a part of any such entity to achieve compliancethis 2020 Form 10-K, as previously filed with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may increaseSEC on February 14, 2020.
Overview and Highlights
The Hycroft Mine Technical Report contemplates average annual production of approximately 366,000 gold equivalent ounces, based on a 34-year mine life for mining and processing mineral reserves. As of December 31, 2020, we had not yet begun the time and costs necessaryramp up of our operations to complete any such business combination.

Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may inhibit a takeover of us, which could limit the price investors might be willing to payproduction levels contemplated in the futureHycroft Technical Report and, as such, we are producing gold and silver at a much lower rate. Our 2021 production plan will allow us to maintain our existing workforce and the decision to delay ramp up to high production levels will allow us time to optimize our mining plan, take additional steps to define our ore body, and resolve technical issues to better understand the proprietary two-stage heap oxidation and leach process and evaluate the proposed oxidation process for our Class A common stocktransitional and could entrench management.

Our amendedsulfide ores, and restated certificate of incorporation contain provisionsallow us to evaluate implementing additional processing technologies that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposalsbe more profitable for certain ore types. Our current plans focus our efforts on placing the Hycroft Mine in a position for a future ramp up of production at the appropriate time.

The Hycroft Technical Report sets forth a novel process for processing sulfide ore and assumes that stockholderswe will utilize a substantial amount of existing infrastructure at the Hycroft Mine including administration buildings, mobile maintenance shop, light vehicle maintenance shop, warehouse, leach pads, crushing system, a refinery, and two Merrill-Crowe process plants, after refurbishment. Additionally, a second refinery is planned using existing equipment. In order to ramp up and maintain our operation to tonnage and production levels contemplated by the Hycroft Technical Report, we will need to construct additional leach pad space, add crusher capacity, add material handling systems, and construct a rail spur and storage space among other projects. In addition to infrastructure additions, we will need to significantly expand our mobile mining fleet and workforce, and perform repairs and maintenance to existing infrastructure, particularly the North Merrill-Crowe process plant. In the event that we determine to implement additional processing technologies and/or materially change our assumptions for consumption of reagents or metallurgical recovery rates, we may consider to beupdate or file a new technical report in their best interests. These provisions includethe future. We currently have established goals and budgeted estimated costs for this work in 2021 or 2022.
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Hycroft Mine
For a staggered board of directors and the abilitydetailed discussion of the board of directors to designate the terms ofHycroft Mine’s operating and issue new series of preferred shares, which may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.


We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Delaware law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together these provisions may make the removal of management more difficult and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.

U.S. federal income tax reform could adversely affect us and holders of our units.

On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law H.R. 1, originally known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” which significantly reformed the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The new legislation, among other things, changes the U.S. federal tax rates, imposes significant additional limitations on the deductibility of interest, allows the expensing of capital expenditures, and puts into effect the migration from a “worldwide” system of taxation to a territorial system. We continue to examine the impact this tax reform legislation may have on us. The impact of this tax reform, or of any future administrative guidance interpreting provisions thereof, on holders of our units is uncertain and could be adverse. This Report does not discuss any such tax legislation or the manner in which it might affect holders of our units. We urge prospective investors to consult with their legal and tax advisors with respect to any such legislation and the potential tax consequences of investing in our units.

Provisions in our amended and restated certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.

Our amended and restated certificate of incorporation requires, to the fullest extent permitted by law, that derivative actions brought in our name, actions against directors, officers and employees for breach of fiduciary duty and other similar actions may be brought only in the Court of Chancery in the State of Delaware and, if brought outside of Delaware, the stockholder bringing such suit will be deemed to have consented to service of process on such stockholder’s counsel. This provision may have the effect of discouraging lawsuits against our directors and officers.

Cyber incidents or attacks directed at us could result in information theft,production data, corruption, operational disruption and/or financial loss.

We depend on digital technologies, including information systems, infrastructure and cloud applications and services, including those of third parties with which we may deal. Sophisticated and deliberate attacks on, or security breaches in, our systems or infrastructure, or the systems or infrastructure of third parties or the cloud, could lead to corruption or misappropriation of our assets, proprietary information and sensitive or confidential data. As an early stage company without significant investments in data security protection, we may not be sufficiently protected against such occurrences. We may not have sufficient resources to adequately protect against, or to investigate and remediate any vulnerability to, cyber incidents. It is possible that any of these occurrences, or a combination of them, could have adverse consequences on our business and lead to financial loss.

If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to a variety of additional risks that may negatively impact our operations.

If we effect our initial business combination with a company with operations or opportunities outside of the United States, we would be subject to any special considerations or risks associated with companies operating in an international setting, including any of the following:

·higher costs and difficulties inherent in managing cross-border business operations and complying with different commercial and legal requirements of overseas markets;

·rules and regulations regarding currency redemption;

·complex corporate withholding taxes on individuals;

·laws governing the manner in which future business combinations may be effected;

·tariffs and trade barriers;

·regulations related to customs and import/export matters;

·longer payment cycles and challenges in collecting accounts receivable;

·tax issues, including but not limited to tax law changes and variations in tax laws as compared to the United States;

·currency fluctuations and exchange controls;

·rates of inflation;

·cultural and language differences;

·employment regulations;

·crime, strikes, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist attacks, natural disasters and wars;

·deterioration of political relations with the United States; and

·government appropriations of assets.

We may not be able to adequately address these additional risks. If we were unable to do so, our operations might suffer, which may adversely impact our results of operations and financial condition.

Investments in post-restructured equities are subject to various risks.

Business combinations with post-restructured entities entail special considerations and risks. If we are successful in completing a business combination with such a target business, we may be subject to, and possibly adversely affected by, the following risks:

·investments in such companies are speculative, prices are volatile, and market movements are difficult to predict;
·supply and demand for distressed securities change rapidly and are affected by a variety of market factors over which we have no control and which may reduce the pool of profitable investment opportunities;
·our ability to identify undervalued investment opportunities that fit our business strategy involves a high degree of uncertainty, and no assurance can be given that we will be able to identify such opportunities;
·such investments may take a substantial period of time before realizing their anticipated value and returns generated from such investments may not adequately compensate for the business and financial risks assumed; and
·there is no guarantee that we will be able to achieve our investment objectives or provide any return on invested capital.

Any of the foregoing could have an adverse impact on our operations following a business combination. However, our efforts in identifying prospective target businesses are not limited to post-restructured entities. Accordingly, if we acquire a target business that is not a post-restructured entity, it is possible that these specific risks would not affect us in the same manner, but we would be subject to other risks attendant with the specific industry in which we operate or target business which we acquire, none of which can be presently ascertained.


Item 1B.Unresolved Staff Comments

None.

Item 2.Properties

We do not own any real estate or other physical properties materially important to our operation. We currently maintain our principal executive offices at 527 Madison Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10022. The cost for this space is included in the $10,000 per-month aggregate fee our sponsor charges us for general and administrative services. We consider our current office space, combined with the other office space otherwise available to our executive officers, adequate for our current operations.

Item 3.Legal Proceedings

To the knowledge of our management, there is no litigation currently pending against us, any of our officers or directors in their capacity as such or against any of our property.

Item 4.Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

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PARTsee Part II

Item 5.Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters, and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

Market Information

Our units, Class A common stock and warrants are each traded on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbols “MUDSU,” “MUDS” and “MUDSW,” respectively. Our units commenced public trading on February 8, 2018, and our Class A common stock and warrants commenced separate public trading on March 12, 2018.

Holders

On March 22, 2019, there was one holder of record of our units, one holder of record of our Class A common stock and one holder of record of our warrants.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

None.

Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities

None.

Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers

None. 

Item 6.Selected Financial Data

Not required for smaller reporting companies.

54

Item 7. - Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this Form 10-K including, without limitation, statements under “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” regardingOperations - Hycroft Mine.

The following shows where our Hycroft Mine and Advanced Exploration Properties are located as well as areas of the Company’s financial position, business strategyHycroft Mine.
hymc-20201231_g2.jpg
26

Additionally, the map below shows the current property and facilities layout.
hymc-20201231_g3.jpg
The Hycroft Mine and related facilities are located approximately 54 miles west of Winnemucca, Nevada. Winnemucca, a city with a population of approximately 7,800 (2019), is a commercial community on Interstate 80, 164 miles northeast of Reno. The mine property straddles Townships 34, 35, 351∕2 and 36 North and Ranges 28, 29 and 30 East (MDB&M) with an approximate latitude 40°52’ north and longitude 118°41’ west.
The town is served by a transcontinental railroad and has a municipal airport. Access to the Hycroft Mine from Winnemucca is by Jungo Road, formerly designated as State Route 49, a good-quality, unpaved road, and a short access road to the main entrance of the mine. Well-maintained mine and exploration roads provide access throughout the property. Access is also possible from Imlay, Gerlach and Lovelock by unpaved roads intersecting Interstate 80 and Nevada State Route 447. The majority of our employees live in the Winnemucca area. The site receives electrical power provided by NV Energy from the northwestern Nevada power grid. Initial surveys indicate that the town of Winnemucca has the required infrastructure (shopping, emergency services, schools, etc.) to support the maximum workforce and dependents. The Hycroft Mine currently has water rights which are adequate to support our planned future heap leach operations. The mine is situated on the eastern edge of the Black Rock Desert and on the western flank of the Kamma Mountains between Winnemucca and Gerlach, Nevada. There are no streams, rivers or major lakes in the general area. Elevations in the mine area range between 4,500 and 5,500 feet above sea level.
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The climate of the region is arid, with precipitation averaging 2.1 inches per year. Average temperatures during the summer range from 50°F to 90°F and average winter temperatures range from 20°F to 40°F.
We hold 30 private patented claims and 3,247 unpatented mining claims that constitute our Hycroft Mine operating property. The total acreage covered by unpatented claims is approximately 68,759 acres and an additional 1,912 acres is covered by patented claims. Combining the patented and unpatented claims, total claims cover approximately 70,671 acres. Our Hycroft Mine patented claims occupy private lands and our unpatented claims occupy public lands, administered by the BLM. These claims are governed by the laws and regulations of the U.S. federal government and the State of Nevada. To maintain the patented claims in good standing, we must pay the annual property tax payments to the county in which the claims are held. To maintain the unpatented claims in good standing, we must file a notice of intent to maintain the claims within the county and pay the annual mineral claim filing fees to the BLM. Such filing fees amounted to $0.6 million in 2020. As long as we file the annual notice and pay the claim filing fees, there is no expiration date for our unpatented claims.
A portion of the Hycroft Mine is subject to a mining lease requiring us to pay 4% net profit royalty to the owner of certain patented and unpatented mining claims, subject to a maximum of $7.6 million, of which $4.9 million remained payable as of December 31, 2020. There is no expiration date on the net profit royalty.
The Hycroft Mine is also subject to the Sprott Royalty Agreement (as defined herein) that requires us to pay a perpetual royalty equal to 1.5% of the Net Smelter Returns, as such term is defined in such agreement, from our Hycroft Mine. There is no expiration and no limit on the amount that can be paid on the Sprott Royalty Agreement. We have the right to repurchase up to 33.3% (0.5% of the 1.5% royalty) of the royalty on each of the first and second anniversaries from May 29, 2020.
The Hycroft Mine was formerly known as the Crofoot-Lewis open pit mine, which was a small heap leaching operation that commenced in 1983. Vista Gold Corp., a corporation incorporated under the laws of the Yukon Territory (“Vista”), acquired the Crofoot-Lewis claims and mine in 1987 and 1988. During this first operating period the mine produced over 1.0 million ounces of gold and 2.5 million ounces of silver. The mine production continued until it was placed on a care and maintenance program in December 1998 due to low gold prices. Seller acquired the Hycroft Mine in 2007 pursuant to an arrangement agreement where Vista transferred its Nevada mining properties to Seller’s predecessor. Seller restarted the Hycroft Mine in 2008 and suspended mining operations on July 8, 2015. During 2016, Seller was actively processing and producing gold from the ore within the heap leach pads. On January 1, 2017, Seller went into a care and maintenance mode when it stopped adding lime to the leach pads and continued to operate in a care and maintenance mode throughout 2017 and 2018. Prior to restarting operations, production of gold and silver was a byproduct of Seller’s maintenance activities on the Hycroft Mine. In January 2019 Seller began the restart of mining operations. During the first quarter of 2019 Seller began operations again with six haul trucks, two hydraulic shovels and one wheel loader. In addition, Seller began the rehabilitation of its crushing system and the construction of new leach pad space to enable mining operations to begin in the second quarter of 2019. Initial gold and silver production occurred in August 2019.
On site facilities include an administration building, mobile maintenance shop, light vehicle maintenance shop, warehouse, leach pads, crushing system, two Merrill-Crowe process plants and a refinery. The components for a second refinery are on-site and will be constructed as part of the expansion of mining activities. The crushing system was refurbished as part of the restart activities and all other facilities are operational with the exception of the North Merrill-Crowe plant which is currently expected to be needed in 2022. The gross book value of plant and equipment associated with the Hycroft Mine as of December 31, 2020, was $85.3 million.
Geology
The Hycroft Mine is located on the western flank of the Kamma Mountains. The deposit is hosted in a volcanic eruptive breccia and conglomerates associated with the Tertiary Kamma Mountain volcanics. The volcanics are mainly acidic to intermediate tuffs, flows and coarse volcanoclastic rocks. Fragments of these units dominate the clasts in the eruptive breccia. The Central Fault and East Fault control the distribution of mineralization. A post-mineral range-front fault separates the ore-body from the adjacent Pleistocene Lahontan Lake sediments in the Black Rock Desert. The geological events have created a physical setting ideally suited to the open-pit, heap-leach mining operation at the Hycroft Mine. The heap leach method is widely used in the southwestern United States and allows the economical treatment of oxidized low-grade ore deposits in large volumes.
The deposit is typically broken into six major zones based on geology, mineralization, and alteration. These zones include Brimstone, Vortex, Central, Bay, Boneyard, and Camel. Breaks between the zones are major faults.
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Mineralization at Hycroft has been deposited through multiple phases. An early silica sulfide flooding event deposited relatively low-grade gold and silver mineralization generally along bedding. This mineralization is cross cut by later, steeply dipping quartz alunite veins. Late stage silver bearing veins are found in the Vortex zone and at depth in the Central area. Late to present supergene oxidation along faults has liberated precious metals from sulfides and further enriched gold and silver mineralization, along water table levels.
The known gold mineralization extends for a distance of three miles in a north-south direction by 1.5 miles in an east-west direction. Mineralization extends to a depth of less than 330 feet in the outcropping to near-outcropping portion of the deposit on the northwest side to over 2,500 feet in the Vortex deposit in the east.
Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves
Our mineral reserve estimates are calculated in accordance with subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K under the Modernization of Property Disclosures for Mining Registrants. Proven and probable mineral reserves may not be comparable to similar information regarding mineral reserves disclosed in accordance with the guidance of other countries. We conduct ongoing studies of our ore bodies to optimize economic values and to manage risk. We revise our mine plans and objectivesestimates of managementproven and probable mineral reserves as required and in accordance with the latest available studies. Our estimates of proven and probable mineral reserves are prepared by and are the responsibility of our employees.
Our estimated proven and probable mineral reserves were determined in 2019 and have been adjusted to reflect depletion solely from mining activities through December 31, 2020. Our mineral reserves are based on prices of $1,200 per ounce for future operations,gold and $16.50 per ounce for silver. The gold and silver prices used in estimating mineral reserves were lower than the trailing 3-year average price of $1,272.66 per ounce for gold and $16.53 per ounce for silver at the time they were established. The average London Bullion Market spot metal prices for each of the years ended December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017 was $1,393, $1,268 and $1,257 per ounce for gold, respectively, and $16.21, $15.71 and, $17.04 per ounce for silver, respectively. Below is a summary of our estimated proven and probable mineral reserves as of December 31, 2020.
TonsGrades, oz/tContained Oz (000s)
(000s)AuAgAuAg
Proven (Heap Leach)
Oxide ROM21,921 0.0090.233201 5,114 
Transitional ROM3,257 0.0060.1221 391 
Oxide 3∕4” Crushed14,667 0.0120.739180 10,837 
Transitional 3∕4” Crushed4,361 0.0050.31223 1,361 
Transitional 1∕2” Crushed86,406 0.0110.452908 39,014 
Sulfide 1∕2” Crushed249,563 0.0120.4672,910 116,457 
Total Proven Heap Leach380,175 0.0110.4564,243 173,174 
Probable (Heap Leach)
Oxide ROM12,988 0.0050.22970 2,979 
Transitional ROM3,550 0.0050.13119 465 
Oxide 3∕4” Crushed2,847 0.0100.71628 2,038 
Transitional 3∕4” Crushed1,298 0.0040.496643 
Transitional 1∕2” Crushed51,752 0.0100.461496 23,858 
Sulfide 1∕2” Crushed662,787 0.0100.4116,929 272,219 
Total Probable Heap Leach735,222 0.0100.4117,547 302,202 
Total Probable Sulfide Stockpile 1∕2” Crushed7,445 0.010.42275 3,139 
Total Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves1,122,842 0.0110.42611,865 478,515 
Waste1,316,936 
Total Tons2,439,778 
Strip Ratio1.17
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Below is a summary of our estimated proven and probable mineral reserves as of December 31, 2019 that were determined in 2019 and have been adjusted to reflect depletion solely from mining activities through December 31, 2019.
TonsGrades, oz/tContained Oz (000s)
(000s)AuAgAuAg
Proven (Heap Leach)
Oxide ROM22,475 0.0090.232205 5,211 
Transitional ROM4,081 0.0080.18532 755 
Oxide 3∕4” Crushed15,250 0.0120.716184 10,926 
Transitional 3∕4” Crushed4,395 0.0050.31124 1,367 
Transitional 1∕2” Crushed90,095 0.010.448945 40,328 
Sulfide 1∕2” Crushed250,333 0.0120.4662,921 116,698 
Total Proven Heap Leach386,629 0.0110.4534,311 175,285 
Probable (Heap Leach)
Oxide ROM13,145 0.0050.22971 3,005 
Transitional ROM3,658 0.0050.13820 505 
Oxide 3∕4” Crushed3,001 0.010.68729 2,063 
Transitional 3∕4” Crushed1,300 0.0040.495644 
Transitional 1∕2” Crushed52,451 0.010.458504 24,041 
Sulfide 1∕2” Crushed662,931 0.010.4116,932 272,252 
Total Probable Heap Leach736,486 0.010.4117,561 302,510 
Total Probable Sulfide Stockpile 1∕2” Crushed8,289 0.010.39685 3,281 
Total Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves1,131,404 0.0110.42511,957 481,076 
Waste1,320,164 
Total Tons2,451,568 
Strip Ratio1.17
Mineral reserves estimated at $1,200/oz Au and $16.50/oz Ag.
Cut-off grades used a Net Smelter Return (NSR) calculation.
Numbers in the table have been rounded to reflect the accuracy of the estimate and may not sum due to rounding.
We did not use metal or equivalent metal cut-off grades in estimating proven and probable mineral reserves set forth in the table above and the complexity of the ore body resulted in the use of multiple metallurgical recovery factors by domain and process method, as reflected in the NSR calculations contained in Section 12 of the Hycroft Technical Report. NSR calculations were used as the basis of proven and probable mineral reserve estimations and for decisions influencing operating strategy, mine planning and design, because of differing mining and processing costs, recoveries, and the influence of both gold and silver. Factors including the variable ore types and mineralogy, different process streams and metallurgical recoveries, and related haulage distance can all cause variability in mining and processing costs and block value. Consequently, calculation of the breakeven NSR contained no profit assumptions. Metallurgical recovery factors used to estimate proven and probable mineral reserves set forth in the table above are forward-looking statements. Whenvariable based upon the domain and processing method applied. Detailed domain specific metallurgical recoveries used to estimate proven and probable mineral reserves are set forth in Table 12-3 in Section 12 of the Hycroft Technical Report, including Au and Ag recoveries by domain for ROM Heap Leach Recovery, 3/4” Crushed Heap Leach Recovery, and 1∕2” Crushed Heap Leach Recovery.
The reference point for mineral reserves is ore delivered to the leach pad and does not include reductions attributed to anticipated leach recoveries. In the case of the Hycroft Mine’s open pit, all costs are accounted for during the optimization phase of pit limit planning. Once the optimum pit extents have been determined, the decision to mine the material has been made and the cost incurred; the only task remaining then is to determine the optimal routing of the material. General and administrative expenses, as applied at Hycroft, are a fixed cost and do not vary by the tons mined or processed. As such, general and administrative costs are applied as an annual cost in the mine planning and not applied as a dollar to ton of ore processed. All material routing is based on optimal destination determination accounting for all applicable costs, recoveries, and limits (i.e., crushing capacity).

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Below is a summary of gold and silver ounces contained in our estimated proven and probable mineral reserves as of December 31, 2020 to reflect the reduction in mineral reserves resulting from mining in 2020, as compared to December 31, 2019:
Au Oz (000s)Ag Oz (000s)
As of December 31,Change in OzAs of December 31,Change in Oz
ClassificationMaterial20202019Au Oz%20202019Ag Oz%
ProvenOxide ROM201 205 (4)(2.0)%5,114 5,211 (97)(1.9)%
Oxide 3/4" Crush21 32 (11)(34.4)%391 755 (364)(48.2)%
Transition ROM180 184 (4)(2.2)%10,837 10,926 (89)(0.8)%
Transition 3/4" Crush23 24 (1)(4.2)%1,361 1,367 (6)(0.4)%
Transition 1/2" Crush908 945 (37)(3.9)%39,014 40,328 (1,314)(3.3)%
Sulfide 1/2" Crush2,910 2,921 (11)(0.4)%116,457 116,698 (241)(0.2)%
Total4,243 4,311 (68)(1.6)%173,174 175,285 (2,111)(1.2)%
ProbableOxide ROM70 71 (1)(1.4)%2,979 3,005 (26)(0.9)%
Oxide 3/4" Crush19 20 (1)(5.0)%465 505 (40)(7.9)%
Transition ROM28 29 (1)(3.4)%2,038 2,063 (25)(1.2)%
Transition 3/4" Crush— — %643 644 (1)(0.2)%
Transition 1/2" Crush496 504 (8)(1.6)%23,858 24,041 (183)(0.8)%
Sulfide 1/2" Crush6,929 6,932 (3)— %272,219 272,252 (33)0.0 %
Total7,547 7,561 (14)(0.2)%302,202 302,510 (308)(0.1)%
Probable StockpileSulfide 1/2" Crush75 85 (10)(11.8)%3,139 3,281 (142)(4.3)%
Proven and ProbableOxide ROM271 276 (5)(1.8)%8,093 8,216 (123)(1.5)%
Oxide 3/4" Crush40 52 (12)(23.1)%856 1,260 (404)(32.1)%
Transition ROM208 213 (5)(2.3)%12,875 12,989 (114)(0.9)%
Transition 3/4" Crush28 29 (1)(3.4)%2,004 2,011 (7)(0.3)%
Transition 1/2" Crush1,404 1,449 (45)(3.1)%62,872 64,369 (1,497)(2.3)%
Sulfide 1/2" Crush9,914 9,938 (24)(0.2)%391,815 392,231 (416)(0.1)%
Total11,865 11,957 (92)(0.8)%478,515 481,076 (2,561)(0.5)%
Typical break-even individual single metal cut-off grade listed for informational reference in the Hycroft Technical Report (Table 12-7) is as follows:
Process MethodAu (opt)Ag (opt)
ROM Oxide Leach Recovery0.0060.938
ROM Transitional Leach Recovery0.0081.115
3/4” Crushed Oxide Leach Recovery0.0050.793
3/4” Crushed Transitional Leach Recovery0.0070.835
1/2” Crushed Transitional Leach Recovery0.0060.420
1/2” Crushed Sulfide Leach Recovery0.0070.519
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The NSR calculation incorporates more than the typical single metal cutoff grades shown above, and the cutoff grades above, while typical, are not utilized in the estimation or reporting of mineral reserves. The NSR calculation covers all fixed and variable costs including mining, processing, sustaining capital deemed to be directly proportional to ore tonnage, general and administration, gross royalties, transport and shipping costs, smelting and refining costs, limits to payable metals, and refining penalties for deleterious metals. The following is an example of the method used to calculate the NSR expressed in US dollars per ton (US$/t):
NSR (US$/t) is calculated from the following equation:
NSR = (((Au Price - Au Selling) * Au Grade * Recovery Au * Au Refine) + ((Ag Price - Ag Selling) * Ag Grade * Recovery Ag * Ag Refine)) * (1 - Royalty) - Mine Cost - Process Cost - Soda Ash Cost - Sustaining Cost - G&A Cost
Where:
NSR=Net Smelter Return
Au Price=Au selling price in $ per troy ounce
Au Selling=bullion treatment and refining cost in $ per troy ounce
Au Grade=Au fire grade in troy ounces per ton
Recovery Au=% metallurgical recovery of Au by process route & domain
Au Refine=% payable for Au refining losses and deductions
Ag Price=Ag selling price in $ per troy ounce
Ag Selling=bullion treatment and refining cost in $ per troy ounce
Ag Grade=Ag fire grade in troy ounces per ton
Recovery Ag=% metallurgical recovery of Ag by process route & domain
Ag Refine=% payable for Ag refining losses and deductions
Royalty=% royalty (Note due to very limited royalty remaining, no royalty has been included)
Mine Cost=mining cost per ton by material type
Process Cost=process cost per ton by process type & domain
Soda Ash Cost=soda ash cost per ton
Sustaining Cost=sustaining cost per ton
G&A Costs=general and administrative cost per ton

In addition to the factors listed above, methods, material assumptions and criteria used for estimating mineral reserves, as set forth in Section 12 of the Hycroft Technical Report, are as follows:
Costs were generated by Hycroft personnel, metallurgical recoveries were developed by M3 Engineering, and slope inputs supplied by Call and Nicholas and Golder Associates.
An NSR was generated for each 40 ft x 40 ft x 40 ft block for each of the processing methods available at Hycroft, which are the following:
Run-of-Mine (ROM) Heap Leaching of oxide and transitional material;
3∕4” Crushed Heap Leaching of oxide and transitional material;
1∕2” Crushed Heap Leaching of transitional and sulfide material; and
Assumed gold and silver prices of $1,200 and $16.50 per ounce, respectively.
Economic pit limits were determined with Geovia Whittle® Strategic Planning software.
Open pit designs were completed utilizing Maptek Vulcan 3D mine design software.
Mine planning was completed using Minemax strategic and operational mine planning software and the processing method that returned the highest net value was selected. If all processing methods returned a negative value, the block was classified as waste.
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Soda ash assumptions set forth in Table 12-4 in Section 12 of the Hycroft Technical Report were as follows:
Soda Ash Cost=Cost of Soda Ash x Soda Ash Required
Cost of Soda Ash=$0.11 per pound
Soda Ash Required=% Oxidation x 2000 x % Sulfide Sulfur x 1.57
% Oxidation=(Target Oxidation — ratio_au) / Liberation Rate
Target Oxidation:Bay = 55%; All Others = 70%
ratio_au=aucn block grade / aufa block grade
Liberation Rateif (ratio_au le 0.05) then = 1.77
if (ratio_au le 0.10) then = 1.89
if (ratio_au le 0.15) then = 1.99
if (ratio_au le 0.20) then = 2.09
if (ratio_au le 0.25) then = 2.18
if (ratio_au le 0.30) then = 2.27
if (ratio_au le 0.35) then = 2.36
if (ratio_au le 0.40) then = 2.44
if (ratio_au le 0.45) then = 2.53
if (ratio_au le 0.50) then = 2.60
if (ratio_au le 0.55) then = 2.68
if (ratio_au le 0.60) then = 2.70
if (ratio_au le 0.70) then = 2.78
Additional parameters used to calculate NSR included: (i) Whittle input parameters of the heap leach for oxide, transitional and sulfide ores and multiple cost and recovery factors by domain, as set forth in Table 12-2 of the Hycroft Technical Report; and (ii) heap leach metallurgical recoveries utilized in the Whittle optimization in mineral reserve determinations varying by redox, domain and process method, as set forth in Table 12-3 of the Hycroft Technical Report.
Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources
Our mineral resource estimates are calculated in accordance with subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K and are exclusive of mineral reserves. Measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources may not be comparable to similar information regarding mineral resources disclosed in accordance with the guidance of other countries. The estimates of Mineral Resources may be materially affected if mining, metallurgical, or infrastructure factors change from those currently anticipated at the Hycroft Mine. Estimates of inferred mineral resources have significant geological uncertainty and it should not be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will be converted to the measured or indicated categories. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not meet the threshold for reserve modifying factors, such as estimated economic viability, that would allow for conversion to mineral reserves.
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The Hycroft Mine contains a large precious metals deposit, based on measured and indicated mineral resource size. The resource information provided below was calculated by SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc. ("SRK") during 2019 and also reflects the resource information as of December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020 as Hycroft did not deplete any resources from mining activities through December 31, 2020.
ClassificationMaterialTons (kt)Contained GradeContained Metal
AuFa OPTAuCn OPTAgFa OPTS%Au (koz)Ag (koz)
MeasuredOxide5,650 0.0110.0080.2241.7960 1,267 
Transitional21,746 0.0110.0050.1861.80232 4,038 
Sulfide37,512 0.0100.0020.2731.85356 10,248 
64,908 0.0100.0040.2401.83649 15,554 
IndicatedOxide2,619 0.0060.0050.2291.8917 599 
Transitional16,293 0.0070.0030.3291.79117 5,369 
Sulfide310,102 0.0090.0020.2821.812,916 87,470 
329,014 0.0090.0020.2841.813,050 93,438 
Measured and IndicatedOxide8,268 0.0090.0070.2261.8277 1,867 
Transitional38,039 0.0090.0040.2471.80349 9,407 
Sulfide347,614 0.0090.0020.2811.813,272 97,718 
393,922 0.0090.0020.2771.813,699 108,992 
InferredOxide6,191 0.0070.0050.2671.7244 1,651 
Transitional20,148 0.0080.0040.2761.74156 5,570 
Sulfide568,704 0.0100.0020.2141.765,516 121,930 
Fill4,018 0.0130.0080.1500.6353 603 
599,062 0.0100.0020.2171.765,769 129,754 

Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not meet the threshold for reserve modifying factors, such as estimated economic viability, that would allow for conversion to mineral reserves. There is no certainty that any part of the mineral resources estimated will be converted into mineral reserves and no mineral resources are assumed to be converted into mineral reserves in the Hycroft Technical Report.
Open pit resources stated as contained within a potentially economically minable open pit; pit optimization was based on assumed prices for gold of $1,400 per ounce and for silver of $18 per ounce, variable Au and Ag Recoveries based on geometallurgical domains, a mining cost of $1.45 per ton, variable ore processing costs based on geometallurgical domains, and G&A cost of $0.65 per ton, and a pit slope of 45 degrees;
Open pit resources are reported based on calculated NSR block values and the cutoff therefore varies from block to block. The NSR incorporates Au and Ag sales costs of $0.75 per ounce beyond the costs used for pit optimization;
Numbers in the table have been rounded to reflect the accuracy of the estimate and may not sum due to rounding;
Mineral resources are reported exclusive of mineral reserves.
We did not use metal or equivalent metal cut-off grades in estimating measured, indicated or inferred mineral resources set forth in the table above, as no mining of mineral resources has been incorporated into the contemplated 34-year mine plan set forth in the Hycroft Technical Report, and the complexity of the ore body resulted in the use of multiple metallurgical recovery factors by ore body, as reflected in the NSR calculations contained in Section 11 of the Hycroft Technical Report. NSR block calculations were used as the basis for measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources estimations and open pit mineral resources are reported based on calculated NSR block values and the cutoff therefore varies from block to block. SRK worked with our predecessor to construct updated three-dimensional wireframes for alteration and oxidation zones uses geo software. Estimation of gold, silver, sulfur and rock hardness in a three-dimensional block model was completed by SRK and is reflected in Section 11 of the Hycroft Technical Report.
Metallurgical recovery factors used to estimate measured, indicated or inferred mineral resources set forth in the table above, are variable based upon the domain and processing method applied. Detailed domain specific metallurgical recoveries used to estimate measured, indicated or inferred mineral resources are set forth in Table 11-21 in Section 11 of the Hycroft Technical Report, including Au and Ag recoveries by domain for ROM Heap Leach Recovery, 3∕4” Crushed Heap Leach Recovery, and 1∕2” Crushed Heap Leach Recovery.
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Measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources were estimated based upon an open pit optimization utilizing the following assumptions:
assumed prices for gold of $1,400 per ounce and for silver of $18 per ounce;
variable Au and Ag Recoveries based on geometallurgical domains;
mining cost of $1.45 per ton;
variable ore processing costs based on geometallurgical domains;
G&A cost of $0.65 per ton;
pit slope of 45 degrees; and
NSR incorporates Au and Ag sales costs of  $0.75 per ounce beyond the costs used for pit optimization.
Please see Table 11-21 in Section 11 of the Hycroft Technical Report for a more detailed tabular presentation of the resource pit optimization parameters for oxide, transitional and sulfide ores and multiple cost and metallurgical recovery factors by domain that were also used in the calculation of block NSR values for reporting purposes.
Below is a summary of gold and silver ounces contained in our estimated measured, indicated, and inferred resources as of December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020, as there were no reductions to mineral resources from mining in 2020:
Au Oz (000s)Ag Oz (000s)
As of December 31,Change in OzAs of December 31,Change in Oz
ClassificationMaterial20202019Au Oz%20202019Ag Oz%
MeasuredOxide60 60 — — %1,267 1,267 — — %
Transitional232 232 — — %4,038 4,038 — — %
Sulfide356 356 — — %10,248 10,248 — — %
649 649 — — %15,554 15,554 — — %
IndicatedOxide17 17 — — %599 599 — — %
Transitional117 117 — — %5,369 5,369 — — %
Sulfide2,916 2,916 — — %87,470 87,470 — — %
3,050 3,050 — — %93,438 93,438 — — %
Measured and IndicatedOxide77 77 — — %1,867 1,867 — — %
Transitional349 349 — — %9,407 9,407 — — %
Sulfide3,272 3,272 — — %97,718 97,718 — — %
3,699 3,699 — — %108,992 108,992 — — %
InferredOxide44 44 — — %1,651 1,651 — — %
Transitional156 156 — — %5,570 5,570 — — %
Sulfide5,516 5,516 — — %121,930 121,930 — — %
Fill53 53 — — %603 603 — — %
5,769 5,769 — — %129,754 129,754 — — %

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Cautionary Note to Investors
Information concerning our mineral properties in the Hycroft Technical Report and in this 2020 Form 10-K includes information that has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Modernization of Property Disclosures for Mining Registrants set forth in subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K which we elected to adopt early and became widely applicable on January 1, 2021. These standards differ significantly from the previously applicable disclosure requirements of Industry Guide 7 in that mineral resource information was not permitted and mineral reserves have been calculated in accordance with the provision of subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K.
Under SEC standards, mineralization, such as mineral resources, may not be classified as a “mineral reserve” unless the determination has been made that the mineralization could be economically and legally produced or extracted at the time of the mineral reserve determination by a qualified person as defined by subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K. The term “economically,” has been interpreted to mean that profitable extraction or production has been established or analytically demonstrated in a pre-feasibility or feasibility study to be viable and justifiable under reasonable investment and market assumptions. The term “legally” as it relates to the definition of mineral reserves, has been interpreted not to imply that all permits needed for mining and processing have been obtained or that other legal issues have been completely resolved. However, for a mineral reserve to exist, we must have a justifiable expectation, based on applicable laws and regulations, that issuance of permits or resolution of legal issues necessary for mining and processing at a particular deposit will be accomplished in the ordinary course and in a timeframe consistent with our current proposed mine plans. As used in this 2020 Form 10-K, words suchthe terms “mineral resource”, “measured mineral resource”, “indicated mineral resource” and “inferred mineral resource” are defined and used in accordance with the Modernization of Property Disclosures for Mining Registrants set forth in subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K. You are specifically cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits (including any mineral resources) in these categories will ever be converted into mineral reserves, as “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend”defined by the SEC.
You are cautioned that, except for that portion of mineral resources classified as mineral reserves, mineral resources do not have demonstrated economic value. Inferred mineral resources have a high degree of uncertainty as to their existence as to whether they can be economically or legally mined. Estimates of inferred mineral resources may not form the basis of an economic analysis. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. A significant amount of exploration must be completed in order to determine whether an inferred mineral resource may be upgraded to a higher category. Therefore, you are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, that it can be economically or legally mined, or that it will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Likewise, you are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be upgraded to mineral reserves.
Internal Controls and Material Assumptions
Seller’s drill hole database has been validated by Seller’s exploration group. A review and validation of the collar coordinate, down-hole survey, and geology data was completed in the third quarter of 2014 by Seller’s predecessor’s geologists.
SRK completed data verification and validation in advance of geological modeling and resource estimation, first between May and July 2017, for gold, silver, sulfide sulfur, and total sulfur analytical results, and for logged geological data. During this review, the analytical databases were found to be incomplete. SRK worked with Seller’s predecessor to extract all available analytical data from the acQuire database. This resulted in a 58% increase in the sulfide sulfur dataset. The compilation of gold and silver assay values in parts per million (PPM) units resulted in more intervals with valid Au CN:FA values for oxide modeling, and greater precision for grade estimation. SRK completed data verification for the new analytical database in September 2017.
Model validation was approached through visual and statistical methods. Visual comparison was done on sections and in plan for each area of the deposit. Statistical comparison was achieved using comparative population statistics and swath plots. Reconciliation of the model, excluding fill, to available production data was completed. Material mined by Seller’s predecessor between 2008 and 2015 was compared to blocks in the mined volume. Model and production data are summarized in the Hycroft Technical Report. The model compared well to historical production records for total gold ounces. The model has about 5% more tonnage, and about 4% lower gold grade, than the reported production. Reported silver grade was about 7% lower than what was predicted by the model and resulted in silver ounces produced about 12% less than what was predicted from the block model.
A visual inspection of the model in plan and section confirmed that grades were well correlated between the blocks and the composite data in each area.
Statistics by interpolation domain (grade shell) were used to compare the Au and Ag NN (polygonal) and OK and IDW, where applicable, grades against each other. The NN interpolation method provides a declustered representation of the sample grades and therefore, the resulting mean grades of any other method should be similar expressions, as they relate to usthe mean grade of the NN estimate at a zero-cutoff grade. For Au, the OK estimates were within acceptable tolerances of the NN; approximately ±3% for each domain.
36

The global mean estimated OK grade at zero cut-off was within ~1% of the NN estimate. For Ag, the OK and IDW estimates were within acceptable tolerances of the NN; approximately ±5% for each domain, with the higher variances corresponding to the poorly sampled Bay and Lewis domains. The global mean estimated grade at zero cut-off was within ~1.2% of the NN estimate.
A swath plot is a graphical display of the grade distribution derived from a series of bands, or swaths, generated in several directions through the Company’s management, identify forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statementsdeposit. Using the swath plot, grade variations from the OK and IDW (where applicable) model are compared to the distribution derived from the NN grade model.
On a local scale, the NN model does not provide reliable estimations of grade, but on a much larger scale it represents an unbiased estimation of the grade distribution based on the beliefsunderlying data. Therefore, if the OK/IDW model is unbiased, the grade trends may show local fluctuations on a swath plot, but the overall trend of the OK/IDW data should be similar to the NN distribution of grade.
Swath plots were generated along east-west, north-south directions, and for elevation. Swath widths were 200 feet wide for both east-west and north-south orientations, and 80 feet wide in the vertical. Au grades were plotted by OK/IDW (red traces) and NN (blue traces) for all estimated blocks.
Based on the swath plots, it was concluded that there is a reasonable correlation between the modeling methods. The degree of smoothing in the OK/IDW model is evident in the peaks and valleys shown in some swath plots; however, this comparison shows close agreement between the OK/IDW and NN models in terms of overall grade distribution as a function of easting, northing, and elevation; especially where there are high tonnages (as shown by the vertical bars on the plots).
Given that process recoveries and costs in the resource model are grade and/or domain dependent, the application of standard cut-off grades for resource reporting purposes is not feasible. The resources are, therefore, reported with respect to a block NSR value which is calculated on a block-by-block basis. The resource is also constrained by an optimized (Whittle) resource pit, in order to demonstrate that the defined resources have reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction, a part of the New Mining Rules criteria. All classification categories were considered in the resource pit optimization. The estimation of the NSR values and development of the Whittle resource pit requires assumptions around technical and economic parameters such as process recoveries, mining methods and operating costs.
Drilling
Our exploration model includes data from 1981 to December 2018 and includes 5,501 holes, representing 2.5 million feet of drilling. Exploration drilling was started in 1974 by Duval Corporation, and continued through various owners. Seller’s predecessor commenced systematic exploration and resource development drilling starting in late 2006. Drilling has been focused on oxide mineral reserve delineation, sulfide resource definition, sulfide exploration, condemnation drilling for facilities, silver data and both geotechnical and metallurgical core samples. A combination of rotary, reverse circulation and core drilling techniques has been utilized to verify the nature and extent of mineralization. From late-2006 to August 31, 2016, Seller and its predecessor completed 1,970 exploration holes, totaling approximately 1.45 million feet.
Seller drilled an additional 54 holes, totaling 4,706 feet starting in December 2018 through April 2019 confirming the grades of the previously mined sulfide ore stockpiles, which we have been using as the initial ore feed for Seller’s restart operations.
37

Drill hole collar locations are shown in the figure below.
hymc-20201231_g4.jpg
38

Consistent with Seller’s suspension of mining operations and conducting only care and maintenance activities on the Hycroft Mine, during 2017 and through December 2018, they did not conduct additional drilling activities, other than to obtain ore for testing purposes. In December 2018, Seller began confirmation drilling of certain sulfide ore stockpiles that we planned to mine.
Any expansion of the Hycroft Mine necessary to exploit any additional mineral reserves that may be established through our exploration drilling program that are not located within the 34-year mine plan contemplated in the Hycroft Technical Report, will require us to obtain all permits, approvals and consents of regulatory agencies responsible for the use and development of mines in Nevada.
ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
From time to time we are involved in various legal actions related to our business, some of which are class action lawsuits. We do not believe, based on currently available information, that contingencies related to any pending or threatened legal matter will have a material adverse effect on our financial statements, although a contingency could be material to our results of operations or cash flows for a particular period depending on our results of operations and cash flows for such period. Regardless of the outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on us because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources, and other factors.
ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES
We believe that "the miner is the most important thing to come out of a mine" and we support that belief through our philosophy of "continuous improvement." The Company mandated mine safety and health programs include employee and contractor training, risk management, workplace inspection, emergency response, accident investigation, and program auditing. These programs are a focus for our leadership and top management and are essential at all levels to ensure that our employees, contractors, and visitors operate safely. Our goal for these programs is to have zero workplace injuries and occupational illness and we will focus on continuous improvement of our programs and practices to achieve this goal and we are implementing programs and practices to align our safety culture with that goal.
One of the metrics we use to measure our safety performance is the Hycroft Mine’s Total Reportable Incident Frequency Rate ("TRIFR"). The Hycroft Mine’s incident rate per 200,000 man-hours worked (including contractors) was 2.30 at the end of 2020, as compared to 5.05 in January of 2020 and the mining industry average of approximately 1.9 for 2020. While Hycroft Mine has improved in 2020, we are determined to continue to significantly improve safety performance. Our priority and focus is to advance the safety culture by focusing on three pillars: 1) engagement; 2) innovation; and 3) ownership. We have also recruited new leadership from strong safety cultures in the mining industry that will help us rebuild the Hycroft Mine safety culture utilizing elements in advanced safety practices and management and make them the cornerstone for our safety success. Consequently, we are infusing policies, practices, and people to improve safety performance in all site activities.
The operation of the Hycroft Mine is subject to regulation by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (the “Mine Act”). MSHA inspects our mine on a regular basis and issues various citations and orders when it believes a violation has occurred under the Mine Act. Following passage of The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006, MSHA significantly increased the numbers of citations and orders charged against mining operations. The dollar penalties assessed for citations issued has also increased in recent years.
The information concerning mine safety violations or other regulatory matters required by Section 1503(a) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and Item 104 of Regulation S-K is included in Exhibit 95.1 to this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
39

PART II
ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

Market Information

Our common stock began publicly trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “HYMC” on May 30, 2020. Prior to that time, shares of Class A common stock traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "MUDS".

On March 22, 2021, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market was $7.11. As of March 22, 2021, there were 59,901,306 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding, and we had 58 registered shareholders of record.
Dividend Policy

We have never paid dividends or repurchased shares of our common stock and currently have no plans to do so. The Sprott Credit Agreement contain provisions that restrict our ability to pay dividends and repurchase or redeem capital stock. For additional information on these restrictions, please see Part II – Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Debt covenants and Note 9 - Debt, Net to our Consolidated Financial Statements.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
During year ended December 31, 2020, we did not purchase any of our equity securities that are registered under Section 12(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”).
Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds

Unregistered sales of equity securities and the use of such proceeds was previously provided on Form 8-K12B as filed with the SEC on June 4, 2020.
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA
We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act and are not required to provide the information required under this item.
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion, which has been prepared based on information available to us as of March 22, 2021, provides information that we believe is relevant to an assessment and understanding of our consolidated operating results and financial condition. As a result of the completion of the Recapitalization Transaction, the financial statements of Seller are now the financial statements of the Company. Prior to the Recapitalization Transaction, the Company had no operating assets but, upon consummation of the Recapitalization Transaction, the business and operating assets of Seller sold to the Company became the sole business and operating assets of the Company. Accordingly, the financial statements of Seller and its subsidiaries as they existed prior to the Recapitalization Transaction and reflecting the sole business and operating assets of the Company going forward, are now the financial statements of the Company. The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our other reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) as well as assumptions made by,our consolidated financial statements (the "Financial Statements") and information currently available to, the Company’s management. Actual results could differ materially from those contemplated bynotes thereto (the "Notes") included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K for the forward-looking statements as a result of certain factors detailedyear ended December 31, 2020. Terms not defined herein have the same meaning defined in our filings with the SEC.

Financial Statements and the Notes.

The following discussion and analysis ofMD&A generally discusses our consolidated financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction withfor 2020 and 2019 and year-to-year comparisons between 2020 and 2019.
40

Introduction to the financial statements and the notes thereto contained elsewhere in this Report. Certain information contained in the discussion and analysis set forth below includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties.

Overview

Company

We are a blank check company incorporatedU.S.-based gold producer that is focused on August 28, 2017operating and developing our wholly owned Hycroft Mine in Delawarea safe, environmentally responsible, and formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. We intend to effectuate our Business Combination using cash from the proceedscost-effective manner. Gold and silver sales represent 100% of our Initial Public Offeringoperating revenues and the Private Placement, the proceeds from the salemarket prices of gold and silver significantly impact our shares in connection with a Business Combination (pursuant to the forward purchase agreement we entered into with our sponsor or backstop agreements we may enter into in connection with our initial Business Combination), our securities, debt or a combination offinancial position, operating results, and cash securities and debt.

flows. The issuance of additional shares of common stock or preferred stock:

·may significantly dilute the equity interest of investors, which dilution would increase if the anti-dilution provisions in the Class B common stock resulted in the issuance of Class A shares on a greater than one-to-one basis upon conversion of the Class B common stock;
·may subordinate the rights of holders of our common stock if preferred stock is issued with rights senior to those afforded our common stock;
·could cause a change in control if a substantial number of shares of our common stock is issued, which may affect, among other things, our ability to use our net operating loss carry forwards, if any, and could result in the resignation or removal of our present officers and directors;
·may have the effect of delaying or preventing a change of control of us by diluting the stock ownership or voting rights of a person seeking to obtain control of us; and
·may adversely affect prevailing market prices for our Class A common stock and/or warrants.

Similarly, if we issue debt securities or otherwise incur significant debt to bank or other lenders or the owners of a target, it could result in:

·default and foreclosure on our assets if our operating revenues after an initial business combination are insufficient to repay our debt obligations;
·acceleration of our obligations to repay the indebtedness even if we make all principal and interest payments when due if we breach certain covenants that require the maintenance of certain financial ratios or reserves without a waiver or renegotiation of that covenant;
·our immediate payment of all principal and accrued interest, if any, if the debt security is payable on demand;

·our inability to obtain necessary additional financing if the debt security contains covenants restricting our ability to obtain such financing while the debt security is outstanding;
·our inability to pay dividends on our common stock;
·using a substantial portion of our cash flow to pay principal and interest on our debt, which will reduce the funds available for dividends on our common stock if declared, our ability to pay expenses, make capital expenditures and acquisitions, and fund other general corporate purposes;
·limitations on our flexibility in planning for and reacting to changes in our business and in the industry in which we operate;
·increased vulnerability to adverse changes in general economic, industry and competitive conditions and adverse changes in government regulation;
·limitations on our ability to borrow additional amounts for expenses, capital expenditures, acquisitions, debt service requirements, and execution of our strategy; and
·other purposes and other disadvantages compared to our competitors who have less debt.

We expect to continue to incur significant costsHycroft Mine is located in the pursuitState of our acquisition plans. We cannot assure you that our plans to raise capital or to complete a Business Combination will be successful.

ResultsNevada and the corporate office is located in Denver, Colorado. The Hycroft Mine had proven and probable mineral reserves of Operations

We have neither engaged in any operations nor generated any revenues to date. Our only activities from August 28, 2017 (date11.9 million ounces of inception)gold and 478.5 million ounces of silver at December 31, 2020, as determined by deducting mineral reserves mined through December 31, 2018 were organizational activities, those necessary to prepare for2020 from the Initial Public Offering, which was consummated on February 12, 2018, and identifying a target company for a Business Combination. We do not expect to generate any operating revenues until after the completion of our Business Combination. We expect to generate non-operating incomemineral reserves estimated in the formHycroft Technical Report at July 31, 2019.

Operations restart
During the second quarter of interest income2019, we restarted open pit mining operations at the Hycroft Mine, and, during the third quarter of 2019, produced and sold gold and silver, which we have continued to do on cashan approximate weekly basis since restarting. As part of the 2019 restart of mining operations, existing equipment was re-commissioned, including haul trucks, shovels and marketable securities helda loader, upgrades were made to the crushing system and leach pad space was added to the existing leach pads. During 2020, we added mobile equipment through rentals, began construction of additional leach pad space, and increased our total headcount in order to increase our mining rate and also initiated construction of a new leach pad for future production.
As discussed throughout this MD&A, including within the Trust Account. We expect to incur increased expenses as a result of being a public company (for legal, financial reporting, accounting and auditing compliance), as well as for due diligence expenses.

ForHycroft Mine section, during the year ended December 31, 2018,2020 we hadhave been unable to fully achieve our internal operating, processing, sales, and production cost targets, which has resulted in net income of $1,679,963, which consists of interest income on securities held in the Trust Account of $2,836,691operating losses and other interest income of $8,302, offset by operating costs of $609,581 and a provision for income taxes of $555,449.

For the period from August 28, 2017 (inception) through December 31, 2017, we had a net loss of $2,784, which consists of operating costs of $2,784.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

The completion of the Initial Public Offering and simultaneous Private Placement Warrants, inclusive of the underwriters’ partial exercise of their over-allotment option, generated gross proceeds to the Company of $215,740,000. Related transaction costs amounted to $11,974,088, consisting of $4,160,000 of underwriting fees, $7,280,000 of deferred underwriting commissions payable (which are held in the Trust Account) and $534,088 of other costs.

As of December 31, 2018, we had securities held in the Trust Account of $212,916,691, substantially all of which is invested in U.S. treasury securities money market fund. Interest income earned on the balance in the Trust Account is available to us to pay taxes.

As of December 31, 2018, we hadnegative cash of $535,946 held outside the Trust Account, which is available for use by us to cover the costs associated with identifying a target business, negotiating a Business Combination, due diligence procedures and other general corporate uses. In addition, as of December 31, 2018, we had accounts payable and accrued expenses of $201,392.

For the year ended December 31, 2018, cash used in operatingflows before financing activities amounted to $452,715. Net income of $1,679,963 was offset by interest earned on securities held in the Trust Account of $2,836,691. Changes in our operating assets and liabilities provided $704,013 of cash.


For the period from August 28, 2017 (inception) through December 31, 2017, cash used in operating activities amounted to $55. Net loss of $2,784 was offset by expenses paid through a related party promissory note of $2,196. Changes in our operating assets and liabilities provided $533 of cash.

We intend to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account (which interest shall be net of taxes payable and excluding deferred underwriting commissions) to complete our Business Combination. We may withdraw interest to pay taxes and up to $100,000 for dissolution expenses, if any. To the extent that our capital stock or debt is used, in whole or in part, as consideration to complete our Business Combination, the remaining proceeds held in the Trust Account will be used as working capital to finance the operations of the target business or businesses, make other acquisitions and pursue our growth strategies.

Our Sponsor has committed, pursuant to the Forward Purchase Contract with us, to purchase, in a private placement for gross proceeds of $25,000,000 to occur concurrently with the consummation of a Business Combination, 2,500,000 Units on substantially the same terms as the sale of Units in Initial Public Offering at $10.00 per Unit, and 625,000 shares of Class A common stock. The funds from the sale will be used as part of the consideration to the sellers in a Business Combination; any excess funds from this private placement will be used for working capital purposes in the post-transaction company. This commitment is independent of the percentage of stockholders electing to redeem their Public Shares and provides us with a minimum funding level for a Business Combination.

We intend to use the funds held outside the Trust Account primarily to identify and evaluate target businesses, perform business due diligence on prospective target businesses, travel to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses or their representatives or owners, review corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses (as well as pay personnel and advisors to do the forgoing), structure, negotiate and complete a Business Combination.  

Going Concern

In order to fund working capital deficiencies or finance transaction costs in connection with an intended Business Combination, our Sponsor or an affiliate of our Sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete our Business Combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that our Business Combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the Trust Account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our Trust Account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans will be convertible into warrants of the post-business combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants. No written agreements currently exist with respect to such loans. As of December 31, 2018, we had no outstanding loans from the Sponsor.

In connection with our assessment of going concern considerations in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “Disclosures of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern,” management has determined that the mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raisescreating substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been madeRefer to the carrying amounts of assets or liabilities should the Company be required to liquidate after February 12, 2020.

Off-balance sheet financing arrangements

We have no obligations, assets or liabilities which would be considered off-balance sheet arrangements. We do not participate in transactions that create relationships with unconsolidated entities or financial partnerships, often referred to as variable interest entities, which would have been established for the purpose of facilitating off-balance sheet arrangements. We have not entered into any off-balance sheet financing arrangements, established any special purpose entities, guaranteed any debt or commitments of other entities, or purchased any non-financial assets.

Contractual obligations

We do not have any long-term debt, capital lease obligations, operating lease obligations or long-term liabilities, other than an agreement to pay the sponsor a monthly fee of $10,000 for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support provided to the Company. We began incurring these fees on February 8, 2018 and will continue to incur these fees monthly until the earlierGoing concern subsection of the completionRecent Developments section of this MD&A for additional details.

2020 Summary
We continued to ramp-up production at the Hycroft Mine in 2020 and to progress and develop our understanding of the Business Combination orrequirements for implementing the Company’s liquidation.

57

Critical Accounting Policies

The preparationproprietary two-stage sulfide heap oxidization and leach process on a commercial production scale. Following the May 29, 2020 Recapitalization Transaction, we also implemented a number of financial statementschanges including hiring a new senior executive team and related disclosures in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilitiesestablishing a new leadership team at the date of the financial statements, and income and expenses during the periods reported. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates. We have not identified any critical accounting policies.

Recent accounting pronouncements

In August 2018, the SEC adopted the final rule under SEC Release No. 33-10532, “Disclosure Update and Simplification,” amending certain disclosure requirements that were redundant, duplicative, overlapping, outdated or superseded. In addition, the amendments expanded the disclosure requirements on the analysis of stockholders' equity for interim financial statements. Under the amendments, an analysis of changes in each caption of stockholders' equity presented in the balance sheet must be provided in a note or separate statement. The analysis should present a reconciliation of the beginning balance to the ending balance of each period for which a statement of comprehensive income is required to be filed. This final rule is effective on November 5, 2018. We anticipate our first presentation of the expanded disclosure requirements on changes in stockholders’ equity will be included in our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019.

Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on our financial statements.

Item 7A.Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk

The net proceeds of our initial public offering and the sale of the private units held in the trust account are invested in U.S. government treasury bills with a maturity of 180 days or less or in money market funds meeting certain conditions under Rule 2a-7 under the Investment Company Act which invest only in direct U.S. government treasury obligations. Due to the short-term nature of these investments, we believe there will be no associated material exposure to interest rate risk.

Item 8.Financial Statements and Supplementary Data

Our financial statements and notes thereto begin on Page F-1


Item 9.Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure.

None.

Item 9A.Controls and Procedures.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

Disclosure controls are procedures that are designedmine with the objective of ensuring that information requiredtechnical talent and experience for implementing complex processing technologies. Additionally, as we operated pre-commercial test pads in 2020 we identified several important items as we worked to be disclosed inimplement this novel processing technology.

Senior management - We strengthened our reports filed under the Exchange Act, such as this report, is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported within the time period specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls are also designedexecutive management team with the objectiveaddition of ensuring that such information is accumulated and communicated toDiane R. Garrett, Ph.D., who was appointed as our management, including the chief executive officer and chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure. Our management evaluated, with the participation of our current chief executive officer and chief financial officer (our “Certifying Officer”), the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures as of December 31, 2018, pursuant to Rule 13a-15(b) under the Exchange Act. Based upon that evaluation, our Certifying Officer concluded that, as of December 31, 2018, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective.

We do not expect that our disclosure controls and procedures will prevent all errors and all instances of fraud. Disclosure controls and procedures, no matter how well conceived and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the objectives of the disclosure controls and procedures are met. Further, the design of disclosure controls and procedures must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits must be considered relative to their costs. Because of the inherent limitations in all disclosure controls and procedures, no evaluation of disclosure controls and procedures can provide absolute assurance that we have detected all our control deficiencies and instances of fraud, if any. The design of disclosure controls and procedures also is based partly on certain assumptions about the likelihood of future events, and there can be no assurance that any design will succeed in achieving its stated goals under all potential future conditions.

Management’s Report on Internal Controls over Financial Reporting

This report does not include a report of management’s assessment regarding internal control over financial reporting or an attestation report of our registered public accounting firm due to a transition period established by the rules of the Commission for newly public companies.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act) during the most recent fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

Item 9B.Other Information

None.


PART III

Item 10.Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance

Directors and Executive Officers

As of the date of this report, our directors and officers are as follows:

NameAgePosition
Jason Mudrick44Chief Executive Officer and Director
Victor Danh41Vice President
David Kirsch39Vice President and Director
Glenn Springer46Chief Financial Officer
Dennis Stogsdill48Director
Timothy Daileader48Director
Dr. Brian Kushner60Director

Jason Mudrick has been our Chief Executive Officer and as a memberdirector, effective as of September 8, 2020; Stanton Rideout, who was appointed as our board of directors since September 2017. Mr. Mudrick is the founderExecutive Vice President and Chief InvestmentFinancial Officer, effective as of Mudrick Capital, an investment firm that specializes in long and short investments in distressed credit. Mudrick CapitalOctober 20, 2020; Mike Eiselein, who was founded in 2009 with $5 million under management. As of February 28th, 2018, the firm had grown to approximately $2.4 billion under management, primarily for institutional clients. Mr. Mudrick began his Wall Street career in 2000 advising on mergers and acquisition transactionsappointed as an Associate in Merrill Lynch’s Mergers & Acquisitions Investment Banking Group. In 2001, he joined Contrarian Capital Management, where he began his focus on distressed investing. Beginning in October 2002, Mr. Mudrick served as Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of the Contrarian Equity Fund, a fund specializing in post-restructured equities, which he managed until his departure at the end of 2008. As Managing Director and Portfolio Manager of the Contrarian Equity Fund, Mr. Mudrick specialized in investing in post-restructured equities, among other things. In 2009, Mr. Mudrick founded Mudrick Capital to continue his specialty of investing in distressed debt and post-restructured equities. Mr. Mudrick has served on numerous ad hoc creditors’ committees and seven post-restructured companies’ boards of directors, including Safety-Kleen Holdings, Integrated Alarm Services Group, Salton, Rotech Healthcare, NJOY Holdings, Corporate Risk Holdings, Proenza Schouler and Dex Media Holdings, Inc., where he is currently the Chairman of the Board. Jason also spent two years in graduate school teaching economics classes to Harvard University undergraduates. Mr. Mudrick has a B.A. in Political Science from the College of the University of Chicago and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. Mr. Mudrick was previously admitted to the New York State Bar. Mr. Mudrick’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his extensive leadership and board experience, his track record as a founder and Chief Investment Officer of Mudrick Capital, his current board experience, including as Chairman of the Board of Dex Media Holdings, Inc., and his network of contacts in the distressed investing field.


Victor Danh has been our Vice President, since September 2017. Mr. Danh is a Managing Director, Head of Research, and Senior Analyst at Mudrick Capital, where he is responsible for analyzing distressed credit and equity opportunities across a diverse range of industries and overseeing and coordinating the research team. Prior to joining Mudrick Capital, Mr. Danh was a Vice President and Assistant PortfolioGeneral Manager, at Contrarian Capital Management, LLC from 2003 to 2009 where he focused on deep value and distressed investments in a wide range of industries across the entire capital structure. Previously, Mr. Danh worked at Merrill Lynch in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group and at UBS in the Technology Investment Banking Group. Mr. Danh is currently serving on the board of directors of Expanse Energy Solutions, Inc. Mr. Danh received a B.A. in Economics from Harvard College.

David Kirsch has been our Vice President since September 2017 and is one of our directorseffective as of the date hereof. Mr. Kirsch is a Managing DirectorOctober 27, 2020; and Senior Analyst at Mudrick Capital, where he is responsible for analyzing distressed credit and equity opportunities across a diverse range of industries. Prior to joining Mudrick Capital, from 2008 to 2010 Mr. KirschJack Henris, who was a Senior Analyst and Managing Director at Miura Global Management, a large global long-short equity hedge fund, where he was responsible for coverage of the financial and consumer industries across the Americas, Europe and Asia. Mr. Kirsch gained extensive restructuring experienceappointed as a Director at Alvarez & Marsal from 2003 – 2008. At Alvarez & Marsal, he held primary or lead management roles on an interim basis for distressed companies and advised creditors on balance sheet solutions to maximize the value of their investments. Selected assignments include representing Senior Secured Creditors in the Delphi and Oneida restructurings and overseeing the Tarragon (a public real estate development company) Finance Department during its restructuring. Mr. Kirsch began his Wall Street career as an Analyst in the Healthcare Industry Group in the Investment Banking Division of Banc of America Securities. He is currently serving on the board of directors of Hycroft Mining, NJOY Holdings, Proenza Schouler, Targus Holdings, NYDJ Holdco Corporation and Nelson Education, where he is the Chairman of the Board. David received his B.S. Magna Cum Laude in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Kirsch’s qualifications to serve on our board of directors include his extensive leadership and board experience, his track record as Managing Director and Senior Analyst of Mudrick Capital, his current board experience, including as Chairman of the Board of Nelson Education, and his network of contacts in the distressed investing field.

Glenn Springer has been our Chief Financial Officer since September 2017. Mr. Springer is the Chief Financial Officer of Mudrick Capital, where he oversees the finance, accounting and operations functions. Prior to joining Mudrick Capital, Mr. Springer was Chief Financial OfficerExecutive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, at Turtle Creek Investment Advisors, LLC from 2007effective as of January 11, 2021. Refer to 2008 where he developed from inception, itsExecutive management changes of the Recent Developments section for additional details.

Senior operations management – We realigned our organizational structure and recruited several key individuals mostly in the last three months of 2020 to bolster the on-site technical, financial, and operational teams, including:
James Berry, VP Exploration and financial infrastructure. PriorGeology (former Romarco, Barrick);
Kenji Umeno, Process Manager (former Kinross Gold Corp., Fluor, Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (“Freeport”));
Jeff Griffin, Sr. Metallurgist (former Phelps Dodge, Freeport);
Santiago Garcia, Chief Metallurgist (former Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd., Newmont); and
New Mine Manager, Safety Manager, HR Manager, Controller and Project Manager.
Technical team – We established an independent technical team comprised of Hycroft personnel and industry-leading consultants including John O. Marsden (Metallurgium), Hazen Research Inc. and Forte Dynamics, Inc. (“Forte”) with expertise in metallurgy, mine plan optimization, and heap stacking designs to joining Turtle Creek, Mr. Springer served as Chief Financial Officer & Chief Compliance Officer of SBZ Select Investments, LLC from 2005 to 2007 where he was responsible for the finance, accounting and compliance functions, including the registration of two investment advisorsassist with the SEC. Previously, Mr. Springer served as Controller (A.A.I.UK), Director of Fund Accounting and a Risk Management Affiliated Fund Analyst at Asset Alliance Corporation from 2000 to 2004. Prior to Asset Alliance, Mr. Springer was a Senior Accountant in PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP’s Financial Services and Business Advisory Services Group from 1998 to 2000 where his focus was on audits of a variety of investment companies including hedge funds and private equity funds. Mr. Springer began his career at Richard A. Eisner & Co. LLP from 1996 to 1998 where he was a Senior Accountant in the Audit Department. Mr. Springer received a B.A. from the State University of Albany and an M.B.A. from Baruch College, CUNY. Mr. Springer is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York.


Dennis Stogsdill, one of our directors since February 2018, has in excess of 20 years of experience in management consulting, advising troubled companies, lenders and equity sponsors in distressed and non-distressed situations. Mr. Stogsdill began his career in 1994 working as a management consultant at GB Consulting and later in 1996 joined the global restructuring group of Arthur Andersen. In 2001 he helped form the restructuring groupdevelopment of the investment bank Berenson Minella. In 2002, he joined Alvarez & Marsal, a global consulting firm specializing in corporate turnaroundsmining and financial restructurings. Mr. Stogsdill is currently Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsalprocess plans and has been involved in all aspectsalternatives.

Recapitalization Transaction – On May 29, 2020, we completed the Recapitalization Transaction, which as of the reorganization process, including acting in executive-level roles such as Chief Restructuring Officer. Mr. Stogsdill periodically served as Chief Restructuring Officer (or in an analogous position) of companies which elected to utilize bankruptcy proceedings as a part of their financial restructuring process and, as such, he served as an executive officer of various companies which filed bankruptcy petitions under federal law, including, without limitation, Fairway Group Holdings in 2015, Revel Casino in 2013, Fresh & Easy Markets in 2013 and M&G Chemicals SA in 2017. He is currently serving as Chief Restructuring Officer of M&G Chemicals SA, a global petrochemicals business. Mr. Stogsdill has a B.S. from Rutgers University. Mr. Stogsdill is well-qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in finance, business, operations and in restructuring and turnaround situations.

Tim Daileader, one of our directors since February 2018, is a partner at Drivetrain, LLC, an independent fiduciary and advisory firm, and the chief operating officer of Drivetrain Trust Company, LLC, a specialty New Hampshire trust company formed to serve as a successor trustee on defaulted bond indentures. In these capacities, Mr. Daileader leads several post-bankruptcy liquidation and litigation trusteeships, including those of Abengoa’s North American businesses, SunEdison’s, Paragon Offshore’s and Relativity Media’s post-bankruptcy estates. From 2011 to 2015, Mr. Daileader served as a senior investment analyst at Litespeed Partners, the N.Y. based hedge fund. From 2007 to 2011, Mr. Daileader also served as the Director of Research for debt and equity research at Knight Capital Group and Libertas Partners (acquired by Knight Capital Group) where he also was part of the Senior Operating, New Business and Credit Policy committees. From 1997 to 2007, Mr. Daileader was a senior investment professional at Stanfield Capital Partners and Strategic Value Partners. Between 1994 and 1997, Mr. Daileader worked at GiroCredit AG and Banque Francais du Commerce Exterieur in their Corporate Finance/ Commercial Lending departments. From 1992 and 1994, Mr. Daileader completed formal credit training at National Westminster Bank USA and worked in its Credit Department. Mr. Daileader received a B.A. in Economics from Georgetown University where he was a George F. Baker Scholar, and is a CFA charter holder. Mr. Daileader is well-qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his experience in financial restructurings, corporate finance, leveraged finance, compliance and asset management.

Dr. Brian Kushner, one of our directors since February 2018, has since 2009 served as a Senior Managing Director at FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN), a global business advisory firm, where he serves as the leader of the Private Capital Advisory Services practice and as the co-leader of the Technology practice, the Aerospace, Defense and Government Contracting practice and the Activism and M&A Solutions practice. Prior to joining FTI, Dr. Kushner was the co-founder of CXO, L.L.C., a boutique interim and turnaround management consulting firm that was acquired by FTI at the end of 2008. Over the past two decades, he has served as Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Restructuring Officer or a Director of more than two dozen public and private technology, manufacturing, telecom and defense companies, and has led, or participated in the sale or acquisition of over 25 companies. Dr. Kushner periodically served as Chief Restructuring Officer (or in an analogous position) of companies which elected to utilize bankruptcy proceedings as a part of their financial restructuring process and, as such, he served as an executive officer of various companies which filed bankruptcy petitions under federal law, including, without limitation, Relativity Media LLC in 2015. Dr. Kushner began his career in 1982 at BDM International, a defense firm, and remained with them following their acquisition by Ford Motor Company, and stayed on to become Chief Scientist and General Manager as part of the management team that completed a leveraged buyout of BDM in 1990 with the Carlyle Group. Dr. Kushner serves as an independent director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Cumulus Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: CMLS), a leader in the radio broadcasting industry, since 2018; an independent director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Dex Media Holdings Inc, a digital and print marketing company since 2016; an independent director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Gibson Brands, Inc., a manufacturer of guitars andclosing date, among other musical instruments, since 2018; an independent director of DevelopOnBox Holding, LLC d/b/a Zodiac Interactive, a software development company for the cable and video processing industry, where he has served on the Audit and Governance Committees since 2016. Dr. Kushner is also a member of the Advisory Council of the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, Chairman Emeritus of the Physics Advisory Council at the University of Texas at Austin, and is an Emeritus member of the Engineering College Council at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Previously, from 2016 – 2018, he served as a non-executive independent director, Chair of the Remuneration Committee and a member of the Audit Committee of the Luxfer Group, PLC (NYSE: LXFR), a specialty materials manufacturing company; from 2015 to 2016 he served as an independent director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Everyware Global, Inc, the manufacturing company that is the parent of the Oneida and Anchor Hocking brands (since renamed the Oneida Group); from 2013 to 2015 the Lead Independent Director of Damovo, LLC, the ultrahigh reliability and data systems integration company; from 2010 to 2013 as Chair of Caribbean Asset Holdings, the voice, video and telephony company serving many Caribbean islands; from 2009 to 2013 as managing member and director of DLN Holdings, LLC, a mid-tier defense contractor; from 2007 to 2012 as director and acting Chair of Sage Telecom, Inc., a competitive local exchange carrier and a Silver Point Capital portfolio company; from 2006 to 2009 a director of Pacific Crossing Limited, a telecom carrier; and from 2003 to 2008 an independent director of Headway Resources, a staffing company. Dr. Kushner has a Ph.D. in Applied and Engineering Physics with a minor in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, as well as an M.S. and B.S. in Applied and Engineering Physics from Cornell. Dr. Kushner is well-qualified to serve on our board of directors due to his substantial executive-level operational experiencethings, resulted in a broad spectrumcash balance of industries, his knowledge$68.9 million and expertise in M&A and in IT, his extensive experience over the last 20 years as an independent director, and his extensive network of contacts in both private equity, hedge funds and distressed investing.


Number and Terms of Office of Officers and Directors

We have 5 directors. Our board of directors is divided into three classes with only one class of directors being elected in each year and each class (except for those directors appointed prior to our first annual meeting of stockholders) serving a three-year term. In accordance with NASDAQ corporate governance requirements, we are not required to hold an annual meeting until one year after our first fiscal year end following our listing on NASDAQ. The term of office of the first class of directors, consisting of Mr. Stogsdill, will expire at our first annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the second class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Daileader and Kushner, will expire at the second annual meeting of stockholders. The term of office of the third class of directors, consisting of Messrs. Mudrick and Kirsch, will expire at the third annual meeting of stockholders.

Our officers are appointed by the board of directors and serve at the discretion of the board of directors, rather than for specific terms of office. Our board of directors is authorized to appoint persons to the offices set forth in our bylaws as it deems appropriate. Our bylaws provide that our officers may consist of a Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Senior Managing Directors, Managing Directors, President, Vice Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer, Assistant Secretaries and such other offices as may be determined by the board of directors.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Our board of directors has two standing committees: an audit committee and a compensation committee. Subject to phase-in rules and a limited exception, NASDAQ rules and Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act require that the audit committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors, and NASDAQ rules require that the compensation committee of a listed company be comprised solely of independent directors.

Audit Committee

We have established an audit committee of the board of directors. Messrs. Stogsdill, Daileader and Kushner serve as members of our audit committee, and Mr. Kushner chairs the audit committee. Under the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least three members of the audit committee, all of whom must be independent. Each of Messrs. Stogsdill, Daileader and Kushner meet the independent director standard under NASDAQ listing standards and under Rule 10-A-3(b)(1) of the Exchange Act.

Each member of the audit committee is financially literate and our board of directors has determined that Mr. Stogsdill qualifies as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in applicable SEC rules.

We have adopted an audit committee charter, which details the principal functions of the audit committee, including:

·the appointment, compensation, retention, replacement, and oversight of the work of the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us;

·pre-approving all audit and permitted non-audit services to be provided by the independent registered public accounting firm engaged by us, and establishing pre-approval policies and procedures;

·setting clear hiring policies for employees or former employees of the independent registered public accounting firm, including but not limited to, as required by applicable laws and regulations;

·setting clear policies for audit partner rotation in compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

·obtaining and reviewing a report, at least annually, from the independent registered public accounting firm describing (i) the independent registered public accounting firm’s internal quality-control procedures, (ii) any material issues raised by the most recent internal quality-control review, or peer review, of the audit firm, or by any inquiry or investigation by governmental or professional authorities within the preceding five years respecting one or more independent audits carried out by the firm and any steps taken to deal with such issues and (iii) all relationships between the independent registered public accounting firm and us to assess the independent registered public accounting firm’s independence;

·reviewing and approving any related party transaction required to be disclosed pursuant to Item 404 of Regulation S-K promulgated by the SEC prior to us entering into such transaction; and

·reviewing with management, the independent registered public accounting firm, and our legal advisors, as appropriate, any legal, regulatory or compliance matters, including any correspondence with regulators or government agencies and any employee complaints or published reports that raise material issues regarding our financial statements or accounting policies and any significant changes in accounting standards or rules promulgated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board, the SEC or other regulatory authorities.

Compensation Committee

We have established a compensation committee of the board of directors. Messrs. Stogsdill and Daileader serve as members of our compensation committee. Under the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules, we are required to have at least two members of the compensation committee, all of whom must be independent. Messrs. Stogsdill and Daileader are independent and Mr. Daileader chairs the compensation committee.

We have adopted a compensation committee charter, which details the principal functions of the compensation committee, including:

·reviewing and approving on an annual basis the corporate goals and objectives relevant to our Chief Executive Officer’s compensation, if any is paid by us, evaluating our Chief Executive Officer’s performance in light of such goals and objectives and determining and approving the remuneration (if any) of our Chief Executive Officer based on such evaluation;

·reviewing and approving on an annual basis the compensation, if any is paid by us, of all of our other officers;

·reviewing on an annual basis our executive compensation policies and plans;

·implementing and administering our incentive compensation equity-based remuneration plans;

·assisting management in complying with our proxy statement and annual report disclosure requirements;

·approving all special perquisites, special cash payments and other special compensation and benefit arrangements for our officers and employees;

·if required, producing a report on executive compensation to be included in our annual proxy statement; and

·reviewing, evaluating and recommending changes, if appropriate, to the remuneration for directors.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, other than the payment to our sponsor of  $10,000 per month, for up to 24 months, for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support and reimbursement of expenses, no compensation of any kind, including finders, consulting or other similar fees, will be paid to any of our existing stockholders, officers, directors or any of their respective affiliates, prior to, or for any services they render in order to effectuate the consummation of an initial business combination. Accordingly, it is likely that prior to the consummation of an initial business combination, the compensation committee will only be responsible for the review and recommendation of any compensation arrangements to be entered into in connection with such initial business combination.

The charter also provides that the compensation committee may, in its sole discretion, retain or obtain the advice of a compensation consultant, legal counsel or other adviser and will be directly responsible for the appointment, compensation and oversight of the work of any such adviser. However, before engaging or receiving advice from a compensation consultant, external legal counsel or any other adviser, the compensation committee will consider the independence of each such adviser, including the factors required by NASDAQ and the SEC.

Director Nominations

We do not have a standing nominating committee though we intend to form a corporate governance and nominating committee as and when required to do so by law or NASDAQ rules. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the NASDAQ rules, a majority of the independent directors may recommend a director nominee for selection by the board of directors. The board of directors believes that the independent directors can satisfactorily carry out the responsibility of properly selecting or approving director nominees without the formation of a standing nominating committee. The directors who will participate in the consideration and recommendation of director nominees are Messrs. Stogsdill, Daileader and Kushner. In accordance with Rule 5605 of the NASDAQ rules, all such directors are independent. As there is no standing nominating committee, we do not have a nominating committee charter in place.

The board of directors will also consider director candidates recommended for nomination by our stockholders during such times as they are seeking proposed nominees to stand for election at the next annual meeting of stockholders (or, if applicable, a special meeting of stockholders). Our stockholders that wish to nominate a director for election to our board of directors should follow the procedures set forth in our bylaws.

We have not formally established any specific, minimum qualifications that must be met or skills that are necessary for directors to possess. In general, in identifying and evaluating nominees for director, the board of directors considers educational background, diversity of professional experience, knowledge of our business, integrity, professional reputation, independence, wisdom, and the ability to represent the best interests of our stockholders.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

None of our officers currently serves, or in the past year has served, as a member of the board of directors or compensation committee of any entity that has one or more officers serving on our board of directors.

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a Code of Ethics applicable to our directors, officers and employees. We filed a copy of our Code of Ethics and our audit and compensation committee charters as exhibits to the registration statement relating to our initial public offering. You will be able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.


Availability of Documents

We have filed a copy of our form of Code of Ethics, our audit committee charter, our nominating committee charter and compensation committee charter as exhibits to the registration statement filed in connection with our initial public offering. You will be able to review these documents by accessing our public filings at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov. In addition, a copy of the Code of Ethics will be provided without charge upon request from us. We intend to disclose any amendments to or waivers of certain provisions of our Code of Ethics in a Current Report on Form 8-K.

Item 11.Executive Compensation

Executive Officer and Director Compensation

None of our officers has received any cash compensation for services rendered to us. We pay our sponsor a total of  $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees. No compensation of any kind, including any finder’s fee, reimbursement, consulting fee or monies in respect of any payment of a loan, will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers and directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers, prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is). However, these individuals are reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with activities on our behalf such as identifying potential target businesses and performing due diligence on suitable business combinations. Any such payments prior to an initial business combination will be made using funds held outside the trust account. Other than audit committee review of such payments, we do not expect to have any additional controls in place governing our reimbursement payments to our directors and executive officers for their out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with identifying and consummating an initial business combination.

After the completion of our initial business combination, directors or members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting or management fees from the combined company. All of these fees will be fully disclosed to stockholders, to the extent then known, in the tender offer materials or proxy solicitation materials furnished to our stockholders in connection with a proposed initial business combination. We have not established any limit on the amount of such fees that may be paid by the combined company to our directors or members of management. It is unlikely the amount of such compensation will be known at the time of the proposed initial business combination, because the directors of the post-combination business will be responsible for determining officer and director compensation. Any compensation to be paid to our officers will be determined, or recommended to the board of directors for determination, either by a compensation committee constituted solely by independent directors or by a majority of the independent directors on our board of directors.

We do not intend to take any action to ensure that members of our management team maintain their positions with us after the consummation of our initial business combination, although it is possible that some or all of our officers and directors may negotiate employment or consulting arrangements to remain with us after our initial business combination. The existence or terms of any such employment or consulting arrangements to retain their positions with us may influence our management’s motivation in identifying or selecting a target business but we do not believe that the ability of our management to remain with us after the consummation of our initial business combination will be a determining factor in our decision to proceed with any potential business combination. We are not party to any agreements with our officers and directors that provide for benefits upon termination of employment.         

Item 12.Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters

The following table sets forth information regarding the beneficial ownership50,160,042 shares of our common stock as of March 25, 2019 based on information obtained from the persons named below, with respectissued and outstanding. In addition, upon closing, we had 34,289,999 outstanding warrants to the beneficial ownershippurchase an equal number of shares of our common stock by:

● each person known by us to be the beneficial owner of more than 5% of our outstanding shares of common stock;

each of our executive officers and directors that beneficially owns shares of our common stock; and
all our executive officers and directors as a group.

Unless otherwise indicated, we believe that all persons named in the table have sole voting and investment power with respect12,721,623 Seller warrants to allpurchase 3,210,213 shares of common stock beneficially owned by them.

  Class A Common
Stock
  Class B Common
Stock
 
Name and Address of
Beneficial Owner (1)
 Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
  % of
Class
  Number of
Shares
Beneficially
Owned
  % of
Class
 
Mudrick Capital Acquisition Holdings LLC(2)        5,200,000   100%
Jason Mudrick(2)        5,200,000   100%
Victor Danh(3)            
David Kirsch(3)            
Glenn Springer(3)            
Dennis Stogsdill(3)            
Timothy Daileader(3)            
Dr. Brian Kushner(3)           ��
All directors and executive officers as a group (7 individuals)        5,200,000   100%
Polar Asset Management Partners Inc.(4)  2,079,800   9.99%      
AQR Capital Management, LLC(5)  1,150,000   5.53%      
Basso Capital Management, L.P.(6)  1,427,243   6.9%      
Glazer Capital, LLC(7)  1,648,282   7.9%      
Weiss Asset Management LP  (8)  1,454,766   6.69%      

*Less than 1 percent.
(1)Unless otherwise noted, the business address of each of the following entities or individuals is 527 Madison Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10022.

(2)Interests shown consist solely of founder shares, classified as shares of Class B common stock. Such shares are convertible into shares of Class A common stock on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. Our sponsor is the record holder of such shares. Mudrick Capital Management, L.P. is the managing member of our sponsor and has voting and investment discretion with respect to the securities held by our sponsor. Jason Mudrick is the sole member of Mudrick Capital Management, LLC, the general partner of Mudrick Capital Management, L.P. As such, Mudrick Capital Management, L.P., Mudrick Capital Management, LLC and Jason Mudrick may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of the common stock held directly by our sponsor. Each such entity or person disclaims any beneficial ownership of the reported shares other than to the extent of any pecuniary interest they may have therein, directly or indirectly. Our sponsor is 100% owned by investment funds and separate accounts managed by Mudrick Capital Management, L.P.
(3)Such individual has a pecuniary interest in shares of Class B common stock of the issuer through his ownership of membership interests of our sponsor but does not beneficially own such shares.
(4)

Based on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 11, 2019, by Polar Asset Management Partners Inc. The business address of Polar Asset Management Partners Inc., is 401 Bay Street, Suite 1900, PO Box 19, Toronto, Ontario M5H 2Y4, Canada. Polar Asset Management Partners Inc., a company incorporated under the laws of Ontario, Canada, (the “PAMP”) serves as investment advisor to Polar Multi-Strategy Master Fund, a Cayman Islands exempted company (“PMSMF”) and has sole voting and investment discretion with respect such securities which are held by PMSMF.

stock.

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(5)Based on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2019. AQR Capital Management, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of AQR Capital Management Holdings, LLC. CNH Partners, LLC is deemed to be controlled by AQR Capital Management, LLC. AQR Capital Management, LLC, and CNH Partners, LLC act as investment manager to AQR Absolute Return Master Account, L.P. AQR Principal Global Asset Allocation, LLC is the general partner of AQR Absolute Return Master Account, L.P. The business address of such holders is Two Greenwich Plaza, Greenwich, CT 06830.
(6)Based on a Schedule 13G/A filed on January 25, 2019. Such shares are directly beneficially owned by Basso SPAC Fund LLC (“Basso SPAC”), a Delaware limited liability company.  Basso Management, LLC (“Basso Management”), a Delaware limited liability company, is the manager of Basso SPAC.  Basso Capital Management, L.P. (“BCM”), a Delaware limited partnership, serves as the investment manager of Basso SPAC.  Basso GP, LLC (“Basso GP”), a Delaware limited liability company, is the general partner of BCM.  Howard I. Fischer is the sole portfolio manager for Basso SPAC, the Chief Executive Officer and a founding managing partner of BCM, and a member of each of Basso Management and Basso GP.  Accordingly, each of Basso Management, BCM, Basso GP and Mr. Fischer may be deemed to indirectly beneficially own such shares. The business address of each such persons is 650 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10019.
(7)Based on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2019. Such shares are held by certain funds and managed accounts to which Glazer Capital, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Glazer Capital”), served as investment manager. Paul J. Glazer serves as the managing member of Glazer Capital and share with Glazer Capital the power to vote and the power to direct the disposition of all Shares held by the Fund. Ari Glass is the Managing Member of the Adviser. The business address of such holders is 527 Madison Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022.
(8)Based on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 14, 2019.  Such shares are held by Weiss Asset Management LP and BIP GP LLC. Shares reported for BIP GP LLC include shares beneficially owned by a private investment partnership (the “Partnership”) of which BIP GP LLC is the sole general partner. Weiss Asset Management LP is the sole investment manager to the Partnership. WAM GP LLC is the sole general partner of Weiss Asset Management LP. Andrew Weiss is the managing member of WAM GP LLC and BIP GP LLC. Shares reported for WAM GP LLC, Andrew Weiss and Weiss Asset Management LP include shares beneficially owned by the Partnership. The business address of such holders is 527 Madison Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

The table above does not include


Public offering - During the sharesfourth quarter of 2020, we improved our financial position through an upsized public offering for 9,583,334 units, with each unit consisting of one share of common stock underlying the private placement warrants or forwardand one warrant to purchase securities held or to be held by our sponsor because these securities are not exercisable within 60 daysone share of this report.

Changes in Control

Not applicable.

Item 13.Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence

Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

On September 25, 2017, we issued an aggregate of 5,750,000 founder shares to our sponsor for an aggregate purchase price of $25,000 in cash, or approximately $0.004 per share. On February 28, 2018, our sponsor forfeited 550,000 founder shares because the over-allotment option was not exercised in full in connection with our initial public offering. The founder shares (including the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.


Our sponsor and Cantor purchase an aggregate of 7,740,000 warrants at a price of $1.00$10.50 per warrant (6,700,000share. The public offering closed on October 6, 2020, providing us with net proceeds of approximately $83.1 million.

Ounces and realized prices - During 2020, the Hycroft Mine produced 27,392 ounces of gold and 178,836 ounces of silver and sold 24,892 ounces of gold (average realized price of $1,779) and 136,238 ounces of silver (average realized price of $20.30). Our 2020 production levels have been negatively impacted by mining inefficiencies and an inability to achieve consistent oxidation of sulfide ores consistent with the Hycroft Technical Report's commercial scale.
Proprietary process – During 2020, we made operational, technical staffing, and reporting improvements for the two-stage, heap oxidation and subsequent leaching of transitional ores, which is discussed further in the Processing section of the Hycroft Mine section. We also continued to enhance our understanding of the results yielded from oxidizing transitional ores, which was the primary type of ore stacked on the pre-commercial leach pads during 2020.
Leach pad construction – During 2020, we spent $29.3 million on the leach pad expansion project. As discussed in the 2021 Outlook section, due to strategic shifts in our focus for 2021, we have temporarily deferred completing the construction and commissioning of the leach pad expansion. We expect to complete construction to the appropriate point in which we believe there would be minimal risk of adverse impacts to the leach pad. We also plan to complete the purchase of certain long-lead time items and continue to evaluate and apply value engineering for the project in 2021 with completion of construction and commissioning of the project in 2022.
Cash flows and liquidity – Our available cash balance on December 31, 2020 was $56.4 million, following year-to-date 2020 net operating cash outflows of $110.5 million, cash outflows from investing activities of $31.1 million, and cash inflows from net financing activities of $188.7 million.
Going concern – As of December 31, 2020, substantial doubt existed about our ability to continue as a going concern as we may need additional capital, which is contemplated based on, among other things, our current estimates of production, costs, metal prices, capital expenditures, and debt service obligations over the next twelve months from the filing date of this 2020 Form 10-K.
Recent Developments
Recapitalization Transaction
As discussed in Note 1 - Company Overview and Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction to the Notes to the Financial Statements, on May 29, 2020, we consummated the Recapitalization Transaction as contemplated by a purchase agreement dated January 13, 2020, as amended on February 26, 2020 (the “Purchase Agreement”), by and among us, Acquisition Sub and Seller. Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, Acquisition Sub acquired all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of the direct subsidiaries of Seller and substantially all of the other assets of Seller and assumed substantially all of the liabilities of Seller. In conjunction with the Recapitalization Transaction, Seller’s indebtedness existing prior to the Recapitalization Transaction was either repaid, exchanged for indebtedness of the Company, exchanged for shares of our common stock or converted into shares of Seller common stock, and our post-Recapitalization Transaction indebtedness included amounts drawn under the Sprott Credit Agreement and the assumption of the newly issued Subordinated Notes (as such are defined herein). Upon closing of the Recapitalization Transaction, our unrestricted cash available for use totaled $68.9 million and the number of shares of our common stock issued and outstanding totaled 50,160,042. In addition, upon closing, we had 34,289,999 outstanding warrants to purchase an equal number of shares of our common stock at $11.50 per share and 12,721,623 warrants to purchase 3,210,213 shares of our common stock at a price of $44.82 per share (see Note 12 - Stockholders' Equity to the Notes to the Financial Statements for additional information). Upon closing of the Recapitalization Transaction and after giving effect to the terms of the business combination, the former holders of Seller’s indebtedness and common stock, including affiliated entities of such former holders, owned approximately 96.5% of our issued and outstanding common stock.
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Goingconcern
As discussed in Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the Notes to the Financial Statements, events and conditions exist that, when considered individually or in the aggregate, raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern because without additional funding we may be unable to meet our obligations as they become due within one year after the date that the year-end 2020 financial statements were issued. Although we completed the Recapitalization Transaction during the 2020 second quarter and completed the underwritten public offering on October 6, 2020, for estimated proceeds net of discount and equity issuance costs of $83.1 million, using our internal forecasts and cash flow projection models, we currently project we will likely require additional cash from financing activities in less than 12 months from the date of this report to meet our operating and investing requirements and future obligations as they become due.
Our ability to continue as a going concern is contingent upon securing additional funding for working capital, capital expenditures and other corporate expenses so that we can increase sales by achieving higher cost-effective operating tonnages and recovery rates and generate positive cash flows.
COVID-19
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) as a pandemic, which continues to spread throughout the United States. Efforts implemented by local and national governments, as well as businesses, including temporary closures, have had adverse impacts on local, national and global economies. We have implemented health and safety policies for employees, contractors, and visitors that follow guidelines published by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). During 2020, especially the fourth quarter, our operations were limited by COVID-19 related absences, however the impact did not significantly adversely affect our operations. The extent of the impact of COVID-19 on our operational and financial performance going forward will depend on certain developments, including but not limited to the duration and continued spread of the outbreak and strand mutations, the availability and use of vaccines, the development of therapeutic drugs and treatments, and the direct and indirect impacts on our employees, vendors, and customers, all of which are uncertain and cannot be fully anticipated or predicted. Since the Hycroft Mine represents the entirety of our operations, any further COVID-19 outbreaks at the mine site or any governmental restrictions implemented to combat the pandemic could result in a partial or an entire shutdown of the Hycroft Mine itself, which would negatively impact our financial position, operating results, and cash flows.
As a result of COVID-19, we have implemented numerous policies and initiatives, including, but not limited to:
General travel and site access restricted to business-critical needs; discretionary travel strongly discouraged;
Health and temperature checks required prior to boarding mine site transportation buses and prior to entering the mine site for all other employees and visitors;
Increased cleaning and disinfecting of common areas, including mobile mining equipment cabs;
Use of face coverings and social distancing, including limiting meetings to essential people with increased use of conference calls and webinars;
Communications informing employees of their ability to take paid-leave for COVID-19-related matters;
Employees who can have been permitted to work remotely; and
Regularly monitoring local, state, and national publications and guidance for routine discussion among executives and management.
To date, COVID-19 related absences have limited our operations, but this did not materially disrupt our operations. Additionally, we have not experienced any material disruptions to our supply chain because of COVID-19. However, we can provide no assurance that as COVID-19 case spikes continue across the country, including in the vicinity of the Hycroft Mine, that our operations will not be materially adversely affected.
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Executive management changes
Diane R. Garrett, Ph.D., was appointed as the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer and as a director, effective as of September 8, 2020, succeeding Stephen Jones, the former interim CEO. Dr. Garrett has over 25 years of senior executive management experience in the mining industry and an exceptional track record for developing projects and building companies and received her Ph.D. in Engineering and her Masters in Mineral Economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
Stanton Rideout was appointed as the Company's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective as of October 20, 2020, succeeding Jeffrey Stieber, as former interim CFO. Mr. Rideout is a seasoned financial executive and has more than 30 years of senior executive experience in the mining and manufacturing industries and earned his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Evansville and his Bachelor of Science, Business/Finance, from Western Kentucky University. Mr. Rideout is a Certified Public Accountant.
Jack Henris was appointed as the Company's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, effective as of January 11, 2021. Mr. Henris is a highly experienced mining operations executive with more than 35 years of experience in senior operations positions with major mining firms and holds a Bachelor of Science in Geological Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Technical review summary
The new leadership team established at the mine launched into an extensive and detailed review of the Hycroft Mine and took immediate steps to rectify operational shortcomings, significantly reduce costs, and put in place an operating team aligned with the Company’s long-term strategy to establish the Hycroft Mine as a long-life, low-cost gold and silver producer. To date, the team has made significant strides at the Hycroft Mine through elevating the safety performance, improving the culture at Hycroft, establishing operational improvements, reducing spend, and identifying several areas for continued enhancement. The 2020 actions were quickly implemented and, in the fourth quarter alone, we saw significant improvement in costs as we reassigned our workforce to reduce our reliance on contractors as well as improved safety performance with a more than 50% year-over-year reduction in the TRIFR alone. Incident and near miss reporting increased as expected as the team initiated numerous campaigns to recognize, report, and eliminate safety hazards. In 2021, we expect to continue to see additional benefits from these 2020 actions.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, we formed a technical team to support the new leadership team in ongoing data analysis, developing processing models for future larger-scale sulfide leach operations and incorporating data and results from the pre-commercial leach pads. The team is comprised of industry leading consultants with expertise in metallurgy, open pit mining and heap leach processing, heap leach stacking and modeling and other process technologies, and the team also has access to a leading research and development laboratory. The mine site’s process team and leadership in conjunction with the technical team focused its efforts on identifying and investigating opportunities for improvements in operating parameters in the sulfide heap oxidation and leach process resulting in additional work plans as described in the following 2021 Outlook section.
44

2021 Outlook
During 2021, we intend to focus our efforts on placing the Hycroft Mine in a position for a future ramp up of production at the appropriate time. Our focus for 2021 will entail mining and processing run-of-mine oxide and transitional ores aimed at maximizing ounce production and cash flows and preserving our cash. Compared to sulfide ore, run-of-mine oxide and transitional ore can be processed at a lower cost because this material does not require crushing, rehandling, or soda ash reagent application, and the shorter recovery cycle reduces working capital. The run-of-mine operating plan for 2021 will provide us the opportunity to complete and evaluate the results of the ongoing technical and optimization work for the proprietary two-stage heap oxidation and leach process. Based upon the findings and results of this evaluation process, we may update or file a new technical report. We currently have established goals and budgeted estimated costs for this work in 2021 or 2022.

Production outlook
Although the 2021 run-of-mine operating plan reduces annual mining activity from 2020, we expect to increase total annual production to 45,000 - 55,000 ounces of gold and 400,000 - 450,000 ounces of silver by drawing down inventory that has been previously stacked on the leach pads and stacking run-of-mine oxide and transitional material with a shorter recovery cycle. We anticipate that mining in the first four months of 2021 will be performed using the existing Hycroft fleet and a rental fleet, moving approximately 1.5 million tons per month of ore and waste. For the remainder of the year, we intend to mine approximately 500,000 tons of oxide and transitional ore and waste per month with a more cost-effective mining fleet. The run-of-mine operating plan will allow us to maintain our existing workforce while allowing time to optimize the mining plan, take additional steps to define the ore body, and resolve technical issues related to developing processes and procedures for the efficient and effective recovery of gold and silver from the two-stage heap oxidation and leaching of sulfide ore, thereby positioning the mine site for the first phase ramp up and future growth. At current metal prices, our full-year 2021 production costs are expected to exceed gold and silver revenues due to fixed costs and lower planned run-of-mine volumes. The run-of-mine volumes reflect the current processing capacity which is limited until we can complete expenditures necessary to refurbish the North Merrill-Crowe plant and construct the second refinery.

Technical activities
During the last few months of 2020 and into 2021, we have worked alongside our industry leading consultants to identify and investigate opportunities for improvements in operating parameters for the two-stage sulfide heap oxidization and leach process. The result of the work to date has identified a number of items that were not considered or included in the original plan and design but are critical to the success of this process. These findings included:
(1)adding a forced air injection system for the leach pad which is a key component of the oxidation process;
(2)developing a system for segregating solution flows to and from the heap leach pad to avoid co-mingling of solutions among heap lifts and ore processing stages that negatively impact recoveries and conditions on the leach pads;
(3)identifying that the finer crushed material requires agglomeration in order to achieve optimal permeability and gold and silver recoveries;
(4)understanding that higher soda ash, caustic soda, and cyanide consumption will be required which we experienced throughout the 2020 pre-commercial test pad programs and recently confirmed through the review of the test work;
(5)determining that some transitional ores are more economically attractive when processed as direct leach, run-of-mine material; and
(6)concluding that additional variability metallurgical and mineralogy studies will be required to better understand each of the geometallurgical domains in the ore body. While there was some variability work completed in the past, the recent test work has revealed that additional variability test work and compositing is necessary to fully understand the geometallurgy of each domain, and that additional sampling, including sampling below the water table where the predominance of the sulfide resources exist, is required given the complexity and variability of the large ore body.
The additional variability test work will also include detailed mineralogy studies as it is important to understand the role other minerals may play in the overall oxidation process and to enhance our ability to measure oxidation rates accurately and consistently. We have developed an approximate $10.0 million program for drilling and additional metallurgical and mineralogical studies in 2021. This program of work has been approved by our sponsorBoard of Directors and 1,040,000 warrantsis expected to be funded from existing cash and our current operating plans.
45

Based on our recent understanding of the two-stage heap oxidation and leach process, and consistent with our strategy to position the Hycroft Mine for a ramp up at the appropriate time, much of our technical efforts for 2021 will include focusing on achieving the below items:
Pre-commercial leach pads – We expect to mine and stockpile at least 300,000 tons of sulfide ore in 2021 that, once sufficient additional work on the proprietary two-stage heap oxidation and leach process has been completed, will be available for testing to further refine operating parameters and measure its performance for large scale application of the oxidation heap leach.
Leach pad expansion – We developed a stacking plan for the 2021 run-of-mine plan that utilizes existing leach pads, preserving the new leach pad for sulfide ores, and facilitates deferring the capital expenditures to complete and commission the new leach pad into 2022. During the upcoming year, in conjunction with the technical team, we plan to engage with engineering firms to assess value engineering opportunities and evaluate potential design changes to the current leach pad plans to better support the sulfide oxidation process.
Technical analyses – The technical work programs taking place in 2021 may provide information for evaluating enhancements, updates, and opportunities for the novel process, while also considering processing technologies for certain ores that may generate enhanced value.
Mine planning and exploration – The mining team was expanded to include a professional with expertise in geologic modeling and a track record for establishing successful exploration and geology programs. The mining team, together with Forte and the exploration team, are working to identify additional opportunities to explore areas with higher grade potential and identify mine plan enhancements for improved cash flows.
Constraints to growth – The Hycroft Mine’s future ramp up is dependent on eliminating current mining and processing constraints. As it relates to mining, when we are ready to ramp up production, we will need to acquire a mining fleet capable of achieving targeted production, and recruit and train operators and maintenance staff. For processing, we will need to: (i) complete planned repairs to the Brimstone Merrill-Crowe plant and refinery; (ii) restore and recommission the North Merrill-Crowe plant, and complete detailed engineering, permitting, and installation for the adjacent refinery; (iii) ensure we have sufficient reagent availability and storage, handling, and application systems; and (iv) evaluate other supporting process plant and equipment required for future growth, namely material handling systems and crusher capacity.
Although the above items set forth our current expectations of focus during 2021, as information, test results, and data becomes available to us during the upcoming year, such findings may modify the scope, nature, and timing of technical, testing, engineering, and growth planning work actually performed.
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Hycroft Mine
Operations
The following table provides a summary of operating results for the Hycroft Mine, which was restarted in April 2019:
Year ended December 31,
20202019
Ore mined - crusher feed(ktons)4,9413,147
Ore mined - run of mine(ktons)1,873939
Total ore mined(ktons)6,8144,086
Waste mined(ktons)4,815321
Total mined and rehandled(ktons)11,6294,407
Waste tons to ore tons strip ratio(#)0.710.08
Ore grade mined - gold(oz/ton)0.0140.019
Ore grade mined - silver(oz/ton)0.2610.122
Production - gold(oz)27,3929,561
Production - silver(oz)178,83670,332
Ounces sold - gold(oz)24,8928,593
Ounces sold - silver(oz)136,23852,036
Average realized sales price - gold($/oz)$1,779 $1,490 
Average realized sales price - silver($/oz)$20.30 $17.41 
As shown above, tons mined, ounces produced, and ounces sold significantly increased during the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to the prior year due to restarting mining and operations in 2019. During the second quarter of 2019, we restarted open pit mining operations at the Hycroft Mine, and, during the third quarter of 2019, we produced and sold gold and silver, which we have continued to produce with sales occurring on an approximate weekly basis since restarting. 
Mining
As shown in the table above, tons mined, ounces produced, and ounces sold significantly increased during the year ended December 31, 2020 compared with the prior year as we benefited from a full year of operations in 2020 and only eight months of mining in 2019. Operations were restarted in the second quarter of 2019 and, each quarter since restarting, generally there has been an increase in tonnage mined and placed on the leach pads, most notably in the second quarter of 2020 following the arrival and commissioning of mobile mining equipment rentals (nine haul trucks and one loader).
The gold grades of ore mined during 2020 were as planned and decreased from the comparable period of 2019 in which existing higher grade stockpile ore was mined prior to starting any drilling and blasting. During the first quarter of 2020, we commenced in-pit contractor drilling and blasting activities that continued through the fourth quarter of 2020, to provide fresh ore feed for the crusher, run-of-mine hauling, and waste removal in support of the full year plan.
Crushing
The crusher performed well during the second half of 2020, generally meeting internal targets for product fraction size, tonnage rates, and availability, as we continued to improve equipment and operating systems to ensure ongoing reliability. In the fourth quarter of 2020, tons crushed decreased as we moved to processing transitional ore as run-of-mine material and direct leaching.
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Processing
During the second half of 2020, we made the following progress on the existing pre-commercial leach pad operations: (1) improved the reagent island including upgrading the agitator system to allow for more soda ash concentration in solution thereby increasing the application rate; (2) technical staffing additions; and (3) improved leach pad data gathering and reporting protocols. These improvements combined with the new technical leadership resulted in improved control and management of the leach pads during the second half of 2020. Accordingly, we did not experience any metallurgical balancing write-downs of recoverable gold ounces on the leach pads, which was an improvement from the first half of 2020 in which we wrote-off 10,492 ounces of gold.
During 2020, a majority of the ore placed on the pre-commercial leach pads was transitional ore, which based on studies and processing results in the second half of 2020, indicate this ore is more amenable to direct leach, as the costs and time associated with oxidizing transitional ore do not yield significantly better recoveries than routing transitional ore as direct leach. We expect a substantial portion of the ore mined over the next twelve months to be run-of-mine oxide ore and transitional ore before entering larger sulfide ore mining phases. Our recent understanding resulted in the decision to route transitional ore as run-of-mine direct leach.
Production and sales
Our 2020 production and sales levels increased over 2019 due to higher operating levels after renting nine haul trucks and a shovel in April 2020. Production and sales in 2020 were negatively impacted by Cantor)the write-off of 10,492 ounces of gold during the first half of 2020. Average realized gold prices per ounce increased during 2020 and combined with the higher volumes resulted in revenue of $47.0 million as compared to $13.7 million in 2019.
Leach pad expansion project
During the second quarter of 2020, we commenced a leach pad expansion project on the north side of the Hycroft Mine property to provide us with leach pad space required for future operations. The initial stage of the leach pad project is being constructed in two phases by a contractor, with the first phase consisting of approximately 4.0 million square feet of pad space and infrastructure for ponds, pipes, and electrical controls, and the second phase consisting of approximately 4.6 million square feet. With respect to the first phase, we initially expected construction and commissioning to be completed by the end of 2020, but due to shifts in our focus for 2021, we have pushed back completing construction and commissioning of the leach pad expansion project.
During 2020 we spent $29.3 million on the leach pad expansion project, and now expect total phase one leach pad project spending to approximate $41.0 million, which is $5.0 million higher than our previous estimate. The leach pad expansion project represented approximately 87.7% of our total capital spending during the year ended 2020 and is expected to represent the largest percentage of capital spending for the first half of 2021. We expect to complete construction of the leach pad to the appropriate point in which we believe there would be minimal risk of adverse impacts to the leach pad.
2019 Hycroft Technical Report
M3 Engineering and Technology Corporation (“M3 Engineering”), in conjunction with SRK and the Company, completed the Hycroft Technical Report for a two-stage, heap oxidation and subsequent leaching of sulfide ores. The Hycroft Technical Report projects the economic viability and potential future cash flows for the Hycroft Mine when mining operations expand to levels presented in the Hycroft Technical Report.
The Hycroft Technical Report provides the results of the Hycroft Mine heap leach feasibility study that evaluated the possibility of oxidizing and leaching transitional and sulfide ores in a heap leach application. The feasibility analyzes a full-scale operation including construction of new leach pads and expanded mining activities. Key components of the process that currently exist onsite include heap leach pads, a crushing facility consisting of primary, secondary, and tertiary crushing, two Merrill-Crowe plants having a total capacity of 26,000 gallons per minute, and associated support facilities.
The Hycroft Technical Report presents a mineral reserve estimate as of June 30, 2019 of 12.0 million ounces of gold and 481.4 million ounces of silver contained in oxide, transitional and sulfide ores, which is projected to be mined over 34 years using typical truck and shovel open pit mining methods. The mine plan presented in the Hycroft Technical Report requires a range of approximately 85 to 100 million tons per year to be mined (both ore and waste) through the mine life. Over the course of the contemplated mine plan, 1.1 billion tons of ore are mined with a strip ratio of 1.17.
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The Hycroft Technical Report outlines the test work done to demonstrate the viability of the two-stage, heap oxidation and subsequent leaching of sulfide ores. As outlined in the Hycroft Technical Report, a significant portion of the ore is crushed to a P80 of ½” and then mixed with soda ash to induce an alkaline oxidation process. After the ore has been oxidized to the desired extent, we will rinse the ore with fresh water and saturated lime solution and then cyanide leach the ore to extract the gold and silver. This process is the subject of a pending patent application.
The crushing system is initially designed to run at nominal capacity of 2.0 million tons per month ramping up to 3.0 million tons per month with the addition of two additional tertiary crushers. Soda ash is added during the crushing circuit to begin the oxidation process. The ore proceeds through three stages of crushing and exits into the fine ore stockpile, which is then hauled to leach pads.
The pH and alkalinity of the ore is managed on the leach pad using a soda ash solution that is applied to the material to achieve alkalinity levels for optimal oxidation characteristics. The process solutions are regularly sampled for reagent addition control and the soda ash solution in the heap is replenished on a regular basis to offset evaporation and carbonate consumption. The duration of the pre-oxidation is expected to take between 30 and 120 days, which is determined by the characteristics of the ore and the measured extent of oxidation based upon sulfate production.
When the pre-oxidation cycle has been completed, we rinse the ore first with fresh water and then with a saturated lime solution prior to the commencement of cyanidation leach. This is necessary to remove sulfate and bicarbonate from the heap and reduce cyanide loss during leaching. The alkalinity of the solution in the heap is monitored to ensure rinse completion prior to the start of cyanidation. The pH is controlled during cyanidation using lime. As the ore has already been oxidized and rinsed, it undergoes a nominal 60-day primary leach cycle.
Due to the high silver content of the pregnant solution, gold and silver are recovered by zinc cementation. We have two existing Merrill-Crowe plants that are used to process pregnant solution from the heap leach operation. The older plant has a capacity of 4,500 gallons per minute. The newer plant is considerably larger, with a nameplate capacity of 21,500 gallons per minute.
Overall, the Hycroft Technical Report shows 7.8 million ounces of payable gold and 344.1 million ounces of payable silver produced and sold.
Results of Operations
Revenues
Gold revenue
The table below summarizes gold sales, ounces sold and average realized prices for the following periods (dollars in thousands, except ounce amounts):
Year Ended December 31,
20202019
Gold revenue$44,279 $12,803 
Gold ounces sold24,892 8,593 
Average realized price (per ounce)$1,779 $1,512 
During the year ended December 31, 2020, our gold revenue was $44.3 million, compared to $12.8 million for the comparable period of 2019. The significant increase in revenue during the 2020 period was attributable to the mine operating for the entire period, whereas in 2019 revenue was first recorded in the third quarter following the operations restart. We also benefited from favorable gold prices, which increased $267 per ounce, or 18% for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to the prior year period. While production increased and we benefited from favorable gold prices, gold revenues were adversely affected during the year ended December 31, 2020 by write-downs of recoverable gold ounces on the leach pads during the first half of 2020.
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Silver revenue
The table below summarizes silver sales, ounces sold and average realized prices for the following periods (dollars in thousands, except ounce amounts):
Year Ended December 31,
20202019
Silver revenue$2,765 $906 
Silver ounces sold136,238 52,036 
Average realized price (per ounce)$20.30 $17.41 
During the year ended December 31, 2020, our silver revenue was $2.8 million compared to $0.9 million for the comparable period of 2019. Similar to gold revenue, the increase in silver revenue during 2020 compared to the 2019 period was primarily attributable to mining operations ongoing for the full year of 2020. We also benefited from favorable silver prices, which increased $2.89 per ounce for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to the prior year. During 2020, silver revenue was negatively impacted from write-downs of recoverable silver ounces on the leach pads during the first half of 2020.
Total cost of sales
Total cost of sales consists of Production costs, Depreciation and amortization, Mine site period costs, and Write-down of production inventories. The table below summarizes total cost of sales for the following periods (dollars in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
20202019
Production costs$41,688 $11,041 
Depreciation and amortization2,894 1,011 
Mine site period costs47,115 2,174 
Write-down of production inventories17,924 16,443 
Total cost of sales$109,621 $30,669 
Production costs
For the year ended December 31, 2020, we recognized $41.7 million in Production costs, or $1,675 per ounce of gold sold, compared to $11.0 million in Production costs or $1,285 per ounce of gold sold during 2019. The increase in total production costs was due to an increase in gold ounces sold of 16,299 during the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period of 2019 in conjunction with higher cost per ounce produced, which was primarily driven by an increase in contracted labor and equipment costs to meet the operational needs of the mine. Throughout 2020, and as discussed below, our high operating cost structure and low levels of production have resulted in write-downs to the inventory value per ounce of gold that approximate the net realizable value per ounce of gold after considering costs to complete and sell as determined in accordance with our accounting policies. Accordingly, our inventory value per ounce has been partially limited for the impact of recognizing Mine site period costs, which lowers the carrying value of leach pad inventories.
Depreciation and amortization
Depreciation and amortization was $2.9 million, or $116 per ounce of gold sold for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to $1.0 million, or $118 per ounce of gold sold for year ended December 31, 2019. The increase in total depreciation and amortization costs was due to an increase in gold ounces sold of 16,299 during the year ended December 31, 2020 compared to the same period of 2019, in which incremental equipment was placed into service during the year, and existing equipment incurred a full year of depreciation, as compared to depreciation in 2019 that was only incurred after the restart of the mine in April of 2019.
Mine site period costs
During the year ended December 31, 2020, inclusive of depreciation and amortization, we recorded $47.1 million of Mine site period costs for costs that were in excess of net realizable value per ounce of gold less costs to complete. During the year ended December 31, 2019, inclusive of depreciation and amortization, we recorded $2.2 million of Mine site period costs. Such period costs are generally the result of recurring or significant downtime or delays, unusually high levels of repairs, inefficient operations, overuse of processing reagents, or other unusual costs and activities.
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Write-down of production inventories
As discussed in Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Note 4 - Inventories to the Notes to the Financial Statements, based on metallurgical balancing results, during the year ended December 31, 2020, we determined that 10,492 ounces of gold that had been placed on the leach pads were no longer recoverable and wrote-off these ounces. As a result, during 2020, the Company recognized a Write-down of production inventories on the consolidated statements of operations, which included Production costs of $16.7 million, and capitalized depreciation and amortization costs of $1.3 million. During the first half of 2020, we (1) were unable to consistently maintain leach pad conditions required to produce all of the estimated recoverable ounces placed on the leach pads, and (2) experienced instances of solution mismanagement in which pregnant metal-bearing solutions were circulated to areas of leach pads not currently in operation, thus making such ounces unrecoverable. During the second half of 2020, we did not experience any metallurgical balancing write-downs of recoverable gold ounces on the leach pads.
During the 2019 fourth quarter, based on metallurgical balancing results, the Company determined that 11,680 ounces of gold that had been placed on the leach pads were no longer recoverable and wrote-off these ounces. As a result of the write-off the Company recognized a Write-down of production inventories on the consolidated statements of operations of $16.4 million. Cash production costs written-off were $15.1 million and capitalized depreciation and amortization costs written-off were $1.3 million. The write-off of these ounces was primarily a result of mismanagement of solution flows. The lost gold and silver ounces were leached and captured in solution. However, prior to the solution being processed through the Merrill-Crowe plant, it was inadvertently commingled with barren solution and pumped to leach pads no longer in use, which will prevent it from being recovered in the future.
General and administrative
General and administrative totaled $21.1 million and $6.1 million during year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The increase of $15.0 million during 2020 was primarily due to: (1) an increase of $5.4 million in bonus compensation, largely related to the completion of the Recapitalization Transaction; (2) a $3.1 million increase in additional compensation related to salary continuation costs for severance and separation agreements to our former executives; (3) $3.4 million of insurance costs primarily related to a directors and officers run-off policy for Seller as a result of the Recapitalization Transaction; and (4) $3.0 million of additional legal and professional service fees associated with general corporate matters and obligations as a public company.
Accretion
We recorded $0.4 million of Accretion during the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, which related to our asset retirement obligation and future reclamation costs. Refer to Note 11 - Asset Retirement Obligation within the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for further detail.
Project and development
For the year ended December 31, 2019, Project and development was $7.7 million, while no such costs were incurred for the year ended December 31, 2020. In late 2018, the Company began the process of restarting mining operations and restarted active mining at the Hycroft Mine in April 2019. During 2019, project and development costs were incurred related to the restart of the Hycroft Mine, such as maintenance and repair of mobile mining equipment and processing equipment (crusher, and Merrill-Crowe facility), to prepare for use after sitting idle for several years. During 2019, project and development costs also related to the preparation of the feasibility study and metallurgical test work, including costs incurred to prepare the Hycroft Technical Report.
Pre-production depreciation and amortization
Pre-production depreciation and amortization represents expense recognized prior to the restart of mining operations at the Hycroft Mine and for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $1.1 million. Upon the April 2019 restart of the Hycroft Mine, we began capitalizing to inventory depreciation and amortization for ore on the leach pads. Due to the restart of the Hycroft Mine, no pre-production depreciation and amortization costs were incurred during the second half of 2019 or in 2020.
Care and maintenance
Care and maintenance totaled $3.5 million for the year ended 2019 was incurred from January to March of 2019 prior to the Hycroft Mine’s April 2019 restart, after which we no longer recorded such costs.
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Interest expense, net
As discussed and detailed in Note 9 - Debt, Net to the Notes to the Financial Statements, Interest expense, net of capitalized interest totaled $43.5 million and $64.8 million during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Interest expense decreased by $21.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2020 from the prior year. The year-over-year decrease was a result of completing the Recapitalization Transaction on May 29, 2020, which caused the exchange or conversion of the majority of Seller's $627.8 million debt outstanding to equity, thus resulting in post-Recapitalization Transaction indebtedness totaling $159.8 million for the Sprott Credit Agreement and Subordinated Notes. For the year ended December 31, 2020, our average debt balance was $350.9 million compared to $492.3 million for the prior year period.
Interest income
Interest income totaled approximately $0.2 million and $0.8 million during 2020 and 2019, respectively. Interest income was lower in 2020 primarily due to decreases in interest rate yields from the comparable periods of 2019.
Reorganization items
On March 10, 2015, the predecessor to Seller filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Bankruptcy Court”) and incurred legal and professional fees of $0.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2019 related to such matters. No such costs were incurred during the year ended December 31, 2020.
Income taxes
There was no income tax benefit or expense, net, recognized during the year ended December 31, 2020 or 2019. Seller’s gain from the Recapitalization Transaction was fully offset by the use of Seller’s deferred tax assets. We have not recorded any future income tax benefits for net losses generated after the completion of the Recapitalization Transaction, due to a full valuation allowance recorded against our net operating loss carryforward earned after the Recapitalization Transaction. For additional details, refer to Note 15 - Income Taxes to the Notes to the Financial Statements.
Net loss
For the reasons discussed above, we recorded a net loss of $132.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2020, compared to a net loss of $98.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2019.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
General
Prior to the closing of the Recapitalization Transaction, our primary source of liquidity was proceeds received from the issuance of related-party debt instruments, which were used to finance the 2019 restart of mining operations at the Hycroft Mine and all working capital and capital expenditures thereafter. During the second half of 2019, we began to produce and sell gold and silver at the Hycroft Mine that provided a source of revenue and related cash flow. On May 29, 2020, we completed the Recapitalization Transaction that provided cash available for use of $68.9 million. As part of the Recapitalization Transaction, Seller’s indebtedness existing prior to the Recapitalization Transaction was either repaid, exchanged for indebtedness of the Company, exchanged for shares of our common stock or converted into shares of Seller common stock, and our post-Recapitalization Transaction indebtedness included amounts drawn under the Sprott Credit Agreement and the assumption of the newly issued Subordinated Notes. Additionally, on October 6, 2020, the Company issued 9,583,334 units in an underwritten public offering at an offering price to of $9.00 per unit (the "Public Offering"), with each exercisableunit consisting of one share of our common stock and one warrant to purchase one share of our Class A common stock at aan exercise price of $11.50$10.50 per share, for total proceeds net of discount and equity issuance costs of $83.1 million.
Our future liquidity and capital resources management strategy entails a disciplined approach to monitor the timing and amount of any operational tonnage ramp-up of the Hycroft Mine while attempting to remain in a private placementposition that closed simultaneouslyallows us to respond to changes in our business environment, such as a decrease in metal prices or lower than forecasted future cash flows, and changes in other factors beyond our control.
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Our primary cash requirements during 2020 related to the leach pad expansion project, of which $29.3 million of the revised estimated total cost of $41.0 million has been spent, and $110.5 million of cash was used in the operations of the Hycroft Mine, which was higher than planned due to leach pad inventory write downs and higher production costs, the mechanical limitations for mixing soda ash, and corporate and transactional expenses associated with becoming a public entity and completing the closingRecapitalization Transaction. We have yet to generate positive cash flow from operations and we do not expect to do so for the full year 2021.
As discussed in the Going concern subsection of the Recent Developments section of this MD&A, using estimates of future production costs, and operational metrics, at current metal spot prices, we do not expect the Hycroft Mine to generate positive net operating monthly cash flows during 2021. However, we have undertaken efforts aimed at managing our liquidity and preserving our capital resources by, among other things: (1) monitoring metal prices and the impacts (near-term and future) they have on our business; (2) developing plans and forecasts that we expect to be reliable and achievable considering historical operational and processing challenges encountered to date; (3) controlling our working capital and managing discretionary spending; and (4) planning the timing and amounts of capital expenditures at the Hycroft Mine and deferring such items that are not expected to benefit our near term operating plans.
Cash and liquidity
We have placed substantially all of our initial public offering. The private placement warrants (includingcash in operating accounts with a well-capitalized financial institution, thereby ensuring balances remain readily available. Due to the Class A common stock issuable upon exercise thereof) may not, subject to certain limited exceptions, be transferred, assigned or sold by the holder.

Our sponsor has committed, pursuant to a forward purchase contract with us, to purchase, in a private placement for gross proceeds of $25,000,000 to occur concurrently with the consummationnature of our initial business combination, 2,500,000operations and the composition of our unitscurrent assets, our Cash, Accounts receivable, and Metal inventories represent substantially all of our liquid assets on substantiallyhand. Additionally, we are provided with additional liquidity as ounces are recovered from the same termsOre on leach pads, current, processed into finished goods, and sold at prevailing spot prices to our customers.

The following table summarizes our projected sources of future liquidity, as recorded within our financial statements (dollars in thousands):
December 31, 2020December 31, 2019
Cash$56,363 $6,220 
Accounts receivable426 97 
Metal inventories(1)
6,418 1,894 
Ore on leach pads, current(2)
38,041 22,062 
Total projected sources of future liquidity$101,248 $30,273 
(1)Metal inventories contained approximately 3,463 recoverable ounces of gold that are expected to be sold within the next 12 months. Assuming a gold selling price of $1,888 per ounce (the December 31, 2020 P.M. fix) and excluding any proceeds from silver sales, the sale of units inall gold ounces estimated to be recovered from our initial public offering at $10.00metal inventories would provide us with $6.5 million of revenue. See Note 4 - Inventories to the Notes to the Financial Statements for additional information.
(2)Ore on leach pads, current contained approximately 21,869 ounces of gold that are expected to be processed into finished goods and then sold within the next 12 months. Assuming a gold selling price of $1,888 per unit,ounce (the December 31, 2020 P.M. fix) and 625,000 shares of Class A common stock. The fundsexcluding any proceeds from silver sales, the sale of units willall gold ounces estimated to be used as partrecovered from our ore on leach pads would provide us with $41.3 million of revenue. We also have ore on leach pads that is not expected to be processed into finished goods within the considerationnext 12 months of $7.9 million; accordingly, we exclude this inventory from our projected sources of future liquidity. See Note 4 - Inventories to the sellersNotes to the Financial Statements for additional information.
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Twelve months ended December 31, 2020 compared to the twelve months ended December 31, 2019
The following table summarizes our sources and uses of cash for the following periods (dollars in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
20202019
Net loss$(132,670)$(98,895)
Net non-cash adjustments73,087 76,099 
Net change in operating assets and liabilities(50,925)(36,975)
Net cash used in operating activities(110,508)(59,771)
Net cash used in investing activities(31,124)(12,296)
Net cash provided by financing activities188,705 68,173 
Net increase (decrease) in cash47,073 (3,894)
Cash and restricted cash, beginning of period48,967 52,861 
Cash and restricted cash, end of period$96,040 $48,967 
Cash used in operating activities
For the initial business combination; any excess funds from this private placement will beyear ended December 31, 2020, we used $110.5 million of cash in operating activities primarily attributable to a net loss of $132.7 million, the cash impact of which was equal to $59.6 million, and $50.9 million used for working capital, largely due to the $43.8 million used to increase production related inventories. The largest non-cash items during the year ended December 31, 2020 included the non-cash portion of interest expense of $38.8 million, and write-downs of production inventories of $17.9 million, which is discussed in Note 4 - Inventories to the Notes to the Financial Statements.
For the year ended December 31, 2019, we used $59.8 million of cash for operating activities primarily attributable to a net loss of $98.9 million, a reduction in the post-transaction company. This commitment is independentasset retirement obligations of $1.9 million, the cash impact of which was equal to $22.8 million, and $37.0 million used for working capital largely due to increases in the following operating assets; production-related inventories ($38.6 million), materials and supplies inventories ($1.0 million) and prepaids and other, current and non-current ($0.5 million). The cash outflows caused by the items described above were partially offset by certain non-cash expenses such as $54.8 million non-cash portion of interest expense, $18.6 million write-down of production inventories, $2.1 million depreciation and amortization, $1.1 million stock-based compensation and $0.4 million of accretion. There were also increases in accounts payable ($3.4 million) that partially offset the cash outflows.
Cash used in investing activities
For the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, we used $31.1 million and $12.3 million, respectively, in investing activities. For 2020, expenditures primarily related to construction of a large leach pad expansion project and totaled $29.3 million. For 2019, the vast majority of the percentagecosts related to (1) construction of stockholders electing to redeem their public shares and provides us with a minimum funding levelnew leach pad space for the initial business combination.

If anyrestart of our officers or directors becomes aware$6.2 million, (2) the purchase and installation of an initial business combination opportunity that falls withinfour new cone crushers for $4.0 million and (3) replacement and significant repairs of existing processing equipment for $0.8 million.

Cash provided by financing activities
For the lineyear ended December 31, 2020, Seller issued $44.8 million in aggregate principal amount of business1.25 Lien Notes (net of any entity to which he or she has then-current fiduciary or contractual obligations, he or she will honor his or her fiduciary or contractual obligations to present such business combination opportunity to such other entity. Our officers and directors currently have certain relevant fiduciary duties or contractual obligations that may take priority over their duties to us. We may, at our option, pursue an Affiliated Joint Acquisition opportunity with an entity to which Mudrick Capital or an officer or director has a fiduciary or contractual obligation. Any such entity may co-invest with us in the target business at the time of our initial business combination, or we could raise additional proceeds to complete the initial business combination by making a specified future issuance to any such entity. Any such Affiliated Joint Acquisition or specified future issuance would be in addition to, and would not include, the forward purchase securities issued pursuant to the forward purchase contract.

We pay our sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. Upon completion of our initial business combination or our liquidation, we will cease paying these monthly fees.

Prior to the closing of our initial public offering, our sponsor loaned us $293,953,costs) which were used for a portionto fund the operations and capital needs through May 29, 2020. The remainder of the expensesfinancing activities primarily related to the Public Offering of such offering. These loans were non-interest bearing, unsecuredunits, which was comprised of one share of our common stock and were due atone warrant to purchase one share of our common stock. The Public Offering was completed on October 6, 2020, and resulted in proceeds net of discount and equity issuance costs of approximately $83.1 million. Additional financing activities primarily related to the earlier of March 31, 2018 or the closing of such offering. The loanRecapitalization Transaction, which provided $210.0 million in net cash flows and was repaid upon the closing of such offering.

In addition, in orderused to financerepay Seller’s $125.5 million First Lien Agreement, a $6.9 million promissory note, and transaction costs in connection with an intended initial business combination, our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor or certain of our officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan us funds as may be required. If we complete an initial business combination, we would repay such loaned amounts. In the event that the initial business combination does not close, we may use a portion of the working capital held outside the trust account to repay such loaned amounts but no proceeds from our trust account would be used for such repayment. Up to $1,500,000 of such loans may be convertible into warrants at a price of $1.00 per warrant at the option of the lender. The warrants would be identicalother issuance costs. See Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction to the private placement warrants, including as to exercise price, exercisability and exercise period. The terms of such loans by our officers and directors, if any, have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. We do not expect to seek loans from parties other than our sponsor or an affiliate of our sponsor as we do not believe third parties will be willing to loan such funds and provide a waiver against any and all rights to seek access to funds in our trust account.

After our initial business combination, members of our management team who remain with us may be paid consulting, management or other fees from the combined company with any and all amounts being fully disclosed to our stockholders,Notes to the extent then known, in the tender offer or proxy solicitation materials, as applicable, furnished to our stockholders. It is unlikely theFinancial Statements for further discussion.

The amount of such compensation will be known at the time of distribution of such tender offer materials or at the time of a stockholder meeting held to consider our initial business combination, as applicable, as it will be up to the directors of the post-combination business to determine executive and director compensation.

We entered into a registration rights agreement with respect to the private placement warrants, the forward purchase securities, the warrants issuable upon conversion of working capital loans (if any) and the shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the foregoing, and upon conversion of the founder shares.

Related Party Policy

We have adopted a code of ethics requiring us to avoid, wherever possible, all conflicts of interests, except under guidelines or resolutions approved by our board of directors (or the appropriate committee of our board) or as disclosed in our public filings with the SEC. Under our code of ethics, conflict of interest situations will include any financial transaction, arrangement or relationship (including any indebtedness or guarantee of indebtedness) involving the company. A copy of the code of ethics that we adopted is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement relating to our initial public offering.


In addition, our audit committee, pursuant to a written charter that we adopted, is responsible for reviewing and approving related party transactions to the extent that we enter into such transactions. An affirmative vote of a majority of the members of the audit committee present at a meeting at which a quorum is present will be required in order to approve a related party transaction. A majority of the members of the entire audit committee will constitute a quorum. Without a meeting, the unanimous written consent of all of the members of the audit committee will be required to approve a related party transaction. A copy of the audit committee charter that we adopted is filed as an exhibit to the registration statement relating to our initial public offering. We also require each of our directors and executive officers to complete a directors’ and officers’ questionnaire that elicits information about related party transactions.

These procedures are intended to determine whether any such related party transaction impairs the independence of a director or presents a conflict of interest on the part of a director, employee or officer.

To further minimize conflicts of interest, we have agreed not to consummate an initial business combination with an entity that is affiliated with any of our sponsor, officers or directors unless we, or a committee of independent directors, have obtained an opinion from an independent investment banking firm which is a member of FINRA or an independent accounting firm that our initial business combination is fair to our company from a financial point of view. Furthermore, no finder’s fees, reimbursements, consulting fee, monies in respect of any payment of a loan or other compensation will be paid by us to our sponsor, officers or directors, or any affiliate of our sponsor or officers, for services rendered to us prior to, or in connection with any services rendered in order to effectuate, the consummation of our initial business combination (regardless of the type of transaction that it is).

Director Independence

NASDAQ listing standards require that a majority of our board of directors be independent. An “independent director” is defined generally as a person other than an officer or employee of the company or its subsidiaries or any other individual having a relationship which in the opinion of the company’s board of directors, would interfere with the director’s exercise of independent judgment in carrying out the responsibilities of a director. Our board of directors has determined that Messrs. Stogsdill, Daileader and Kushner are “independent directors” as defined in the NASDAQ listing standards and applicable SEC rules. Our independent directors have regularly scheduled meetings at which only independent directors are present.

Item 14.Principal Accountant Fees and Services.

The following is a summary of fees paid or to be paid to WithumSmith+Brown, PC, or Withum, for services rendered.

Audit Fees. Audit fees consist of fees billed for professional services rendered for the audit of our year-end financial statements and services that are normallycash provided by Withum in connection with regulatory filings. The aggregate fees billed by Withum for professional services rendered for the audit of our annual financial statements, review of the financial information included in our Forms 10-Q for the respective periods and other required filings with the SECfinancing activities was $68.2 million for the year ended December 31, 20182019, which was due to $71.8 million in aggregate principal amount of 1.25 Lien Notes (net of issuance costs) issued to fund the restart of mining operations. Seller spent $2.9 million for legal and consulting fees related to the Recapitalization Transaction and $0.8 million to extend the maturity of the First Lien Credit Agreement.

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Future capital and cash requirements
The following table provides our gross contractual cash obligations as of December 31, 2020, which are grouped in the same manner as they were classified in the cash flows in order to provide a better understanding of the nature of the obligations and to provide a basis for comparison to historical information. We believe the following provides the most meaningful presentation of near-term obligations expected to be satisfied using current and available sources of liquidity (dollars in thousands):
Payments Due by Period
TotalLess than
1 Year
1 - 3
Years
3 - 5
Years
More than
5 Years
Operating activities:
Net smelter royalty(1)
$345,558 $1,316 $5,270 $16,042 $322,930 
Remediation and reclamation expenditures(2)
62,032 — — — 62,032 
Interest payments(3)
15,707 3,728 9,676 2,303 — 
Operating lease requirements(4)
4,957 4,947 10 — — 
Crofoot royalty(5)
4,870 240 480 480 3,670 
Consignment inventory(6)
2,188 1,355 833 — — 
Financing activities:
Repayments of debt principal(7)
212,974 3,756 37,558 171,660 — 
Additional interest payments(8)
9,348 1,650 4,399 3,299 — 
Total$657,634 $16,992 $58,226 $193,784 $388,632 
(1)Under the Sprott Royalty Agreement, we are required to pay a perpetual royalty equal to 1.5% of the Net Smelter Returns from our Hycroft Mine, payable monthly. Amounts presented above incorporate estimates of our current life-of-mine plan, and are based on consensus pricing for gold and silver. See Note 10 - Royalty Obligation to the Notes to the Financial Statements for additional information.
(2)Mining operations are subject to extensive environmental regulations in the jurisdictions in which they are conducted and we are required, upon cessation of operations, to reclaim and remediate the lands that our operations have disturbed. The estimated undiscounted cash outflows of these remediation and reclamation obligations are reflected here. In the above presentation, no offset has been applied for the period$59.9 million of our collateralized reclamation bonds.
(3)Under the Sprott Credit Agreement, we must pay interest beginning in the 13th month after the initial advance on May 29, 2020 to Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector), LP. See Note 9 - Debt, Net to the Notes to the Financial Statements for additional information.
(4)As noted below in the Off-balance sheet arrangements section of this MD&A, we have operating leases for mine equipment and office space.
(5)We are required to pay a 4% net profits royalty, including advance royalty payments of $120,000 in any year where mining occurs on the Crofoot claims and an additional $120,000 if tons mined from Augustthe Crofoot claim blocks exceed 5.0 million tons. See Note 21 - Commitments and Contingencies. Amounts shown represent our current estimates of cash payment timing using consensus pricing for gold and silver.
(6)As noted below in the Off-balance sheet arrangements section of this MD&A, and as discussed in Note 5 - Prepaids and Other to the Notes to the Financial Statements, we have future purchase obligation for consignment inventory.
(7)Repayments of principal on debt consists of amounts due under the Sprott Credit Agreement and the Subordinated Notes. Included in the repayment of the Subordinated Notes principal is interest that has been capitalized as payable in-kind on a quarterly basis, and on a monthly basis for the Sprott Credit Agreement for the first 12 months after the initial advance. See Note 9 - Debt, Net to the Notes to the Financial Statements for additional information.
(8)Additional interest payments consist of repayments of additional interest under the Sprott Credit Agreement, commencing February 28, 2017 (inception) through2021 and ending on the maturity date. See Note 9 - Debt, Net to the Notes to the Financial Statements for additional information.
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Debt covenants
Our debt agreements contain representations and warranties, events of default, restrictions and limitations, reporting requirements, and covenants that are customary for agreements of these types.
The Sprott Credit Agreement (as defined herein) contains covenants that, among other things, restrict or limit the ability of the Company to enter into encumbrances (other than Permitted Encumbrances), incur indebtedness (other than Permitted Indebtedness), dispose of its assets (other than Permitted Disposals), pay dividends, and purchase or redeem shares, as such terms are defined in the Sprott Credit Agreement. The Sprott Credit Agreement requires the Company to ensure that, at all times, both its Working Capital and Unrestricted Cash are at least $10.0 million, as such terms are defined in the Sprott Credit Agreement, and that at least every six months we demonstrate our ability to repay and meet all present and future obligations as they become due with a financial Model that uses consensus gold prices discounted by 5.0%, as such terms are defined in the Sprott Credit Agreement. The Subordinated Notes (as defined herein) include customary events of default, including those relating to a failure to pay principal or interest, a breach of a covenant, representation or warranty, a cross-default to other indebtedness, and non-compliance with security documents.
As of December 31, 2017 totaled $43,5002020, the Company was in compliance with all covenants.
Off-balance sheet arrangements
As of December 31, 2020, our off-balance sheet arrangements consisted of operating lease agreements (see Note 21 - Commitments and $18,000, respectively.Contingencies to our Notes to the Financial Statements), a net profit royalty arrangement (see Note 21 - Commitments and Contingencies to the Notes to the Financial Statements), and a future purchase obligation for consignment inventory (see Note 5 - Prepaids and Other to the Notes to the Financial Statements).
Accounting developments
For a discussion of any recently issued and/or recently adopted accounting pronouncements, see Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the Notes to the Financial Statements.
Critical Accounting Estimates
MD&A is based on our Financial Statements, that have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The abovepreparation of these statements requires us to make assumptions and estimates that affect the reported amounts. We base our assumptions and estimates on historical experience and various other sources that we believe to be reasonable at the time our estimates are made. Actual results may differ from amounts include interim proceduresestimated in these statements, and audit fees, as well as attendance at audit committee meetings.

Audit-Related Fees. Audit-related services consist of fees billed for assurancesuch difference could be material. As such, future events and related services thattheir effects cannot be determined with certainty.

Although other estimates are reasonably related to performance of the audit or review ofused in preparing our financial statements, we believe that the following accounting estimates are the most critical to understanding and evaluating our reported financial results. For information on all of our significant accounting policies, see Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies to the Notes to the Financial Statements.
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Ore on leach pads
Estimate Required:
The recovery of gold and silver at the Hycroft Mine is accomplished through a proprietary two-stage heap oxidation and leach process, the nature of which limits our ability to precisely determine the recoverable gold ounces in ore on leach pads. We estimate the quantity of recoverable gold ounces in ore on leach pads using surveyed volumes of material, ore grades determined through sampling and assaying of blastholes, and estimated recovery rates based on ore type and domain and level of oxidation actually achieved or expected to be achieved prior to leaching. The quantity of recoverable gold ounces and recovery rates varies based on ore mineralogy, steps in the leach process, ore grade, ore particle sizes and the percentage of cyanide soluble gold. The estimated recoverable gold ounces placed on the leach pads are periodically reconciled by comparing the related ore to the actual gold ounces recovered (metallurgical balancing). The ultimate recoverable gold ounces or life-of-mine recovery rate is unknown until mining operations cease. A change in the recovery rate or the quantity of recoverable gold ounces in our stockpiles or ore on leach pads could materially impact our financial statements.
Impact of Change in Estimate:
Changes in recovery rate estimates or estimated recoverable gold ounces that do not reported under “Audit Fees.” These services include attest services thatresult in write-downs are notaccounted for on a prospective basis. If a write-down is required, by statute or regulationore on leach pads would be adjusted to market values before prospectively accounting for the remaining costs and consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards. We did not pay Withum for consultations concerning financial accounting and reporting standards duringrevised estimated recoverable gold ounces. During the year ended December 31, 20182020, based on our metallurgical balancing results, we determined that 10,492 ounces of gold that had been placed on the leach pads were no longer recoverable and forwrote-off these ounces, which resulted in write-downs of production costs of $16.7 million and capitalized depreciation and amortization of $1.3 million. During the period from August 28, 2017 (inception) through December 31, 2018. 


Tax Fees. Wesecond half of 2020, we determined that no metallurgical balancing adjustment was needed and as such did not pay Withumrecognize write-downs of production inventories. The write-off of these ounces in the first and second quarters of 2020 was primarily due to the mismanagement of the oxidation process including inadequately adjusting variables in the oxidation process for tax planning and tax advice forchanges in the year ended December 31, 2018 and for the period from August 28, 2017 (inception) through December 31, 2017.

All Other Fees. We did not pay Withum for other services for the year ended December 31, 2018 and for the period from August 28, 2017 (inception) through December 31, 2017.

Pre-Approval Policy

Our audit committee was formed upon the consummation of our initial public offering.ore type based on domain. As a result, we determined that we would recover fewer ounces than planned from those affected sections of the audit committee didleach pads.

At December 31, 2020, if our estimate of recoverable gold ounces on the leach pad decreased by 2.5% or 5.0%, recoverable gold ounces in ore on leach pads would decrease by approximately 651 ounces or 1,302 ounces, respectively, which would require a write-down of $1.1 million or $2.3 million, respectively, of our ore on leach pad costs before prospectively accounting for the remaining costs. A 2.5% or 5.0% increase to our estimate of recoverable gold ounces in ore on leach pads would increase the estimated recoverable ounces by the aforementioned amounts and reduce our weighted average cost per ounce by approximately $42 per ounce or $83 per ounce, respectively, which would be accounted for on a prospective basis.
Proven and probable mineral reserves
Estimate Required:
Proven and probable mineral reserves are the part of a mineral deposit that can be economically and legally extracted or produced at the time of the reserve determination. Our mineral reserve estimates are calculated in accordance with subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K under the Modernization of Property Disclosures for Mining Registrants of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). Estimated recoverable gold ounces in our proven and probable mineral reserves at the Hycroft Mine are used in units-of-production amortization calculations and are the basis for future cash flow estimates utilized in impairment calculations. When determining proven and probable mineral reserves, we must make assumptions and estimates of future commodity prices and demand, the mining methods we use and intend to use in the future, and the related costs incurred to develop, mine, and process our mineral reserves. Our estimates of recoverable gold ounces in proven and probable mineral reserves are prepared by and are the responsibility of our employees. Any change in estimate or assumption used to determine our proven and probable mineral reserves could change our estimated recoverable gold ounces in such mineral reserves, which may have a material impact on our financial statements.
57

Impact of Change in Estimate:
Our proven and probable mineral reserves are periodically updated, usually on an annual basis. Estimated recoverable gold ounces used in our units-of-production amortization and impairment calculations are based on proven and probable mineral reserves that were determined as of December 31, 2020 using gold and silver selling prices of $1,200 per ounce and $16.50 per ounce, respectively. Resulting changes in estimates of recoverable gold ounces are used in our units-of-production calculations and impairment calculations on a prospective basis.
Impairment of long-lived assets
Estimate Required:
Our long-lived assets consist of plant, equipment, and mine development. We review and evaluate our long-lived assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the related carrying amounts may not pre-approvebe recoverable. Events that may trigger a test for recoverability include, but are not limited to, significant adverse changes to projected revenues, costs, or future expansion plans or changes to federal and state regulations (with which we must comply) that may adversely impact our current or future operations. An impairment is determined to exist if the total projected future cash flows on an undiscounted basis are less than the carrying amount of a long-lived asset group. An impairment loss is measured and recorded based on the excess carrying value of the impaired long-lived asset group over fair value.
To determine fair value, we use a discounted cash flow model based on quantities of estimated recoverable minerals and incorporate projections and probabilities involving metal prices (considering current and historical prices, price trends, and related factors), production levels, operating and production costs, and the timing and capital costs of expansion and sustaining projects, all of the foregoing services, although any services rendered priorwhich are based on life-of-mine plans. The term “recoverable minerals” refers to the formationestimated amount of gold and silver that will be sold after taking into account losses during ore processing and treatment. In estimating future cash flows, assets are grouped at the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows that are largely independent of future cash flows from other asset groups. Our estimates of future cash flows are based on numerous assumptions that are consistent or reasonable in relation to internal budgets and projections, and actual future cash flows may be significantly different than the estimates, as actual future quantities of recoverable gold and silver, metal prices, operating and production costs, and the timing and capital costs of expansion and sustaining projects are each subject to significant risks and uncertainties.
Impact of Change in Estimate:
The estimates and assumptions used in our impairment test as of December 31, 2020 were based on the Hycroft Technical Report. The Hycroft Technical Report was prepared using prices of $1,200 per ounce for gold and $16.50 per ounce for silver, which when using sales prices of $1,300 per ounce for gold and $17.33 per ounce for silver, resulted in an after tax net present value of $2.1 billion. We compared the estimated after tax net present value of $2.1 billion to the carrying value of our audit committee were approved by our boardplant, equipment, and mine development of directors. Since$60.2 million, and given the formationlarge surplus between the estimated after tax net present value of the Hycroft Mine and the carrying value of our audit committee,plant, equipment, and onmine development a going-forward basis, the audit committee has and will pre-approve all auditing services and permitted non-audit services to be performed for us by our auditors, including the fees and terms thereof (subject to the de minimis exceptions for non-audit services describedchange in the Exchange Act which are approved byestimates used in the audit committee priorHycroft Technical Report would be unlikely to result in an impairment as of December 31, 2020.
Asset retirement obligation ("ARO")
Estimate Required:
We will be required to perform reclamation activity at the completionHycroft Mine in the future. As a result of this requirement, an ARO has been recorded on our consolidated balance sheets that is based on our expectation of the audit).

71

costs that will be incurred years in the future. Any underestimate or unanticipated reclamation costs or any changes in governmental reclamation requirements could require us to record or incur additional reclamation costs. ARO liabilities are accrued when they become known, are probable and can be reasonably estimated. Whenever a previously unrecognized ARO liability becomes known, or a previously estimated reclamation cost is increased, the amount of that liability and additional cost will be recorded at that time and could materially reduce our consolidated net income attributable to stockholders.

Impact of Change in Estimate:

Based on our current proposed 34-year mine plan set forth in the Hycroft Technical Report, no significant reclamation activity will be made until 2047. However, if the significant reclamation activity were to begin in 2042 or 2045 our reclamation liability would increase by approximately $1.8 million and approximately $0.7 million, respectively.
58

Table of ContentsPART IV

Item 15.Exhibits, Financial Statement Schedules

(a)The following documents are filed as part of this report:

(1)Financial Statements
(2)Financial Statements Schedule

All financial statement schedules

ITEM 7A.QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK
As the Company qualifies as smaller reporting company under Item 10(f) of Regulation S-K, quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk are not required, and such are omitted because they are not applicable or the amounts are immaterial and not required, or the required information is presented in the financial statements and notes thereto in is Item 15from this filing.

59

Table of Part IV below.

(3)Exhibits

We hereby file as part of this report the exhibits listed in the attached Exhibit Index. Copies of such material can be obtained on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.

Item 16.Form 10-K Summary

Not applicable.

ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit No.Description
1.1Underwriting Agreement, dated February 7, 2018, between the Company and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (1)
3.1Certificate of Incorporation. (2)
3.2Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. (1)
3.3Bylaws. (2)
4.1Warrant Agreement, dated February 7, 2018, between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Company. (1)
10.1Investment Management Trust Account Agreement, dated February 7, 2018, between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company and the Company. (1)
10.2Registration Rights Agreement, dated February 7, 2018, between the Company and Mudrick Capital Acquisition Holdings LLC. (1)
10.3Letter Agreement, dated February 7, 2018, by and among the Company, its officers, certain of its directors and Mudrick Capital Acquisition Holdings LLC. (1)
10.4Letter Agreement, dated February 7, 2018, by and between the Company and its outside directors. (1)
10.5Administrative Services Agreement, dated February 7, 2018, between the Company and Mudrick Capital Acquisition Holdings LLC. (1)
10.6Securities Subscription Agreement, dated September 25, 2017, between the Company and Mudrick Capital Acquisition Holdings LLC. (2)
10.7Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement, dated January 15, 2018, between the Company and Mudrick Capital Acquisition Holdings LLC. (3)
10.8Private Placement Warrants Purchase Agreement, dated January 16, 2018, between the Company and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (3)
10.9Forward Purchase Contract, dated January 24, 2018, by and between the Registrant and Mudrick Capital Acquisition Holdings LLC (3)
31.1Certification of the Chief Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a).*
31.2Certification of the Chief Financial Officer required by Rule 13a-14(a) or Rule 15d-14(a).*
32.1Certification of the Chief Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350.**
32.2Certification of the Chief Executive Officer required by Rule 13a-14(b) or Rule 15d-14(b) and 18 U.S.C. 1350.**
101.INSXBRL Instance Document*
101.SCHXBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema*
101.CALXBRL Taxonomy Calculation Linkbase*
101.LABXBRL Taxonomy Label Linkbase*
101.PREXBRL Definition Linkbase Document*
101.DEFXBRL Definition Linkbase Document*

* Filed herewith

** Furnished herewith

(1)Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form 8-K, filed with the Commission on February 13, 2018.
(2)Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form S-1, filed with the Commission on January 16, 2018.
(3)Incorporated by reference to the Company’s Form S-1/A, filed with the Commission on January 26, 2018.


MUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISTION CORPORATION


INDEX TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS


Page
Consolidated Financial Statements
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Financial Statements:Consolidated Balance Sheets at December 31, 2020 and 2019
Balance SheetsF-3
Consolidated Statements of Operations for the Years Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ EquityF-5
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for the Years Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) for the Years Ended December 31, 2020 and 2019
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

F-1

60



Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of

Mudrick Capital Acquisition Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation

Opinion on the Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying balance sheets of Mudrick Capital AcquisitionHycroft Mining Holding Corporation (the “Company”) as of December 31, 20182020 and 2017, and2019, the related statements of operations, changes in stockholders’stockholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the yearyears in the two-year period ended December 31, 2018 and for the period from August 28, 2017 (inception) to December 31, 2017,2020, and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 20182020 and 2017,2019, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the yearyears in the two-year period ended December 31, 2018 and for the period from August 28, 2017 (inception) to December 31, 2017,2020, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Going Concern

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 1 to the financial statements, if the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination by February 12, 2020, then the Company will cease all operations except for the purpose of liquidating. This date for mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.

Basis for Opinion

These

The Company's management is responsible for these financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management.statements. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company'sCompany’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the auditsaudit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the entity'sCompany's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

Going Concern
The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company’s significant recurring operating losses, lack of liquidity and capital, and significant capital needed to expand operations raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. The consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
Emphasis of Matter
As discussed in Note 3 Recapitalization Transaction and Note 22 Related Party Transactions to the financial statements, the Company completed a significant recapitalization transaction involving related parties. Our opinion is not modified with respect to this matter.
/s/ WithumSmith+Brown, PC

Plante & Moran PLLC

We have served as the Company'sCompany’s auditor since 2017.

New York, New York

Denver, Colorado
March 25, 2019

F-2
24, 2020


61

Table of ContentsMUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISTION
HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

  December 31,
2018
  December 31,
2017
 
       
ASSETS        
Current Assets        
Cash $535,946  $24,945 
Prepaid expenses  52,295    
Total Current Assets  588,241   24,945 
         
Deferred offering costs     166,500 
Marketable securities held in Trust Account  212,916,691    
Total Assets $213,504,932  $191,445 
         
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY        
Current Liabilities        
Accounts payable and accrued expenses $201,392  $533 
Income taxes payable  555,449    
Accrued offering costs     25,000 
Promissory note – related party     143,696 
Total Current Liabilities  756,841   169,229 
         
Deferred underwriting fees  7,280,000    
Total Liabilities  8,036,841   169,229 
         
Commitments and Contingencies        
         
Common stock subject to possible redemption, $0.0001 par value; 19,848,325 and -0- shares as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively (at redemption value of $10.10 per share)  200,468,083    
         
Stockholders’ Equity:        
Preferred stock, $0.0001 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued and outstanding as of December 31, 2018 and 2017      
Class A Common stock, $0.0001 par value; 100,000,000 shares authorized; 951,675 and -0- shares issued and outstanding (excluding 19,848,325 and -0- shares subject to possible redemption) as of December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively  95    
Class B Common stock, $0.0001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; 5,200,000 and 5,750,000 shares issued and outstanding as of December 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively  520   575 
Additional paid-in capital  3,322,214   24,425 
Retained earnings (Accumulated deficit)  1,677,179   (2,784)
Total Stockholders’ Equity  5,000,008   22,216 
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY $213,504,932  $191,445 

(U.S. dollars in thousands, except share amounts)
December 31,
2020
December 31,
2019
Assets:
Cash$56,363 $6,220 
Accounts receivable426 97 
Inventories - Note 412,867 4,453 
Ore on leach pads, current - Note 438,041 22,062 
Prepaids and other - Note 54,303 2,648 
Restricted cash - Note 63,270 
Current assets112,000 38,750 
Ore on leach pads, non-current - Note 47,243 
Other assets, non-current - Note 513,483 24,886 
Plant, equipment, and mine development, net - Note 760,223 31,524 
Restricted cash - Note 639,677 39,477 
Total assets$232,626 $134,637 
Liabilities:
Accounts payable$12,280 $10,746 
Other liabilities, current - Note 84,157 3,939 
Debt, net, current - Note 95,120 553,965 
Royalty obligation, current - Note 10124 
Interest payable846 
Current liabilities21,681 569,496 
Other liabilities, non-current - Note 81,712 18 
Debt, net, non-current - Note 9142,665 
Royalty obligation, non-current - Note 1029,839 
Asset retirement obligation, non-current - Note 114,785 4,374 
Total liabilities200,682 573,888 
Commitments and contingencies - Note 2000
Stockholders' (deficit) equity:(1) - Note 12
Common stock, $0.0001 par value; 400,000,000 shares authorized; 59,901,306 issued and outstanding at December 31, 2020; and 345,431 issued and 323,328 outstanding at December 31, 2019
Additional paid-in capital548,975 5,187 
Accumulated deficit(517,037)(444,438)
Total stockholders' equity (deficit)31,944 (439,251)
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity (deficit)$232,626 $134,637 
(1)Retroactively restated for the reverse recapitalization as described in Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of thethese consolidated financial statements.

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Table of ContentsMUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION
HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

  Year Ended
December 31,
2018
  For the 
Period from
August 28, 
2017
(inception)
Through
December 31,
2017
 
       
General and administrative expenses $609,581  $2,784 
Loss from operations  (609,581)  (2,784)
         
Other income:        
Interest income  8,302    
Interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account  2,836,691    
Other income  2,844,993    
         
Income (loss) before provision for income taxes  2,235,412   (2,784)
Provision for income taxes  (555,449)   
Net income (loss) $1,679,963  $(2,784)
         
Weighted average shares outstanding of Class A common stock  20,800,000    
         
Basic and diluted income per common share, Class A $0.10  $ 
         
Weighted average shares outstanding of Class B common stock(1)  5,200,000   5,200,000 
         
Basic and diluted loss per common share, Class B $(0.08) $(0.00)

(1)As a result of the underwriters' election to partially exercise their over-allotment option on February 28, 2018, 550,000 shares were forfeited.

(U.S. dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
Years Ended December 31,
20202019
Revenues - Note 13$47,044 $13,709 
Cost of sales:
Production costs41,688 11,041 
Depreciation and amortization2,894 1,011 
Mine site period costs - Note 447,115 2,174 
Write-down of production inventories - Note 417,924 16,443 
Total cost of sales109,621 30,669 
Operating expenses:
General and administrative21,084 6,072 
Impairment on equipment not in use - Note 55,331 63 
Accretion - Note 11374 422 
Project and development7,708 
Pre-production depreciation and amortization1,067 
Care and maintenance3,529 
Reduction in asset retirement obligation(1,880)
Loss from operations(89,366)(33,941)
Other income (expense):
Interest expense, net of capitalized interest - Note 10(43,458)(64,846)
Fair value adjustment to Seller Warrants - Note 18(45)
Interest income199 797 
Loss before reorganization items and income taxes(132,670)(97,990)
Reorganization items(905)
Loss before income taxes(132,670)(98,895)
Income taxes - Note 15
Net loss$(132,670)$(98,895)
Loss per share:
Basic - Note 16$(3.81)$(327.95)
Diluted - Note 16$(3.81)$(327.95)
Weighted average shares outstanding(1):
Basic - Note 1634,833,211 301,559 
Diluted - Note 1634,833,211 301,559 
(1)Retroactively restated for the reverse recapitalization. Refer to Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Note 16 - Loss Per Share for further information.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of thethese consolidated financial statements.

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Table of ContentsMUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION
HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

  Common Stock  Additional     Total 
  Class A  Class B  Paid-in  Accumulated  Stockholders’ 
  Shares  Amount  Shares  Amount  Capital  Deficit  Equity 
Balance – August 28, 2017 (inception)   $    $  $  $  $ 
                      
Issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor        5,750,000   575   24,425      25,000 
                             
Net loss                 (2,784)  (2,784)
                             
Balance – December 31, 2017        5,750,000   575   24,425   (2,784)  22,216 
                             
Sale of 20,800,000 Units, net of underwriting discounts and offering expenses  20,800,000   2,080         196,023,832      196,025,912 
                             
Sale of 7,740,000 Private Placement Warrants              7,740,000      7,740,000 
                             
Forfeiture of founder shares        (550,000)  (55)  55       
                             
Common stock subject to redemption  (19,848,325)  (1,985)        (200,466,098)     (200,468,083)
                             
Net income                 1,679,963   1,679,963 
                             
Balance – December 31, 2018  951,675  $95   5,200,000  $520  $3,322,214  $1,677,179  $5,000,008 

CASH FLOWS

(U.S. dollars in thousands)
Years Ended December 31,
20202019
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss$(132,670)$(98,895)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss for the period to net cash used in operating activities:
Non-cash portion of interest expense - Note 1038,843 54,810 
Write-down of production inventories - Note 417,924 18,617 
Impairment on equipment not in use - Note 55,331 63 
Depreciation and amortization5,886 2,078 
Stock-based compensation - Note 142,380 1,102 
Salary continuation and compensation costs2,116 
Fair value adjustment to Seller Warrants - Note 1845 
Accretion - Note 11374 422 
Phantom share compensation225 706 
Amortization reduction of Sprott Royalty Obligation - Note 10(37)
Reduction in asset retirement obligation(1,880)
Change in value of phantom shares181 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable(329)(97)
Production-related inventories(43,756)(38,627)
Materials and supplies inventories(3,891)(977)
Prepaids and other assets, current and non-current(2,946)(507)
Accounts payable372 3,384 
Other liabilities, current and non-current443 52 
Interest payable(818)(203)
Net cash used in operating activities(110,508)(59,771)
Cash flows used in investing activities:
Additions to plant, equipment, and mine development(33,439)(12,296)
Proceeds from sales of equipment2,315 
Net cash used in investing activities(31,124)(12,296)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from Public Offering83,515 
Proceeds from private placement - Note 375,963 
Proceeds from Sprott Credit Agreement - Note 3 and 968,600 
Proceeds from Sprott Royalty Obligation - Note 3 and 1030,000 
Proceeds from forward purchase contract - Note 325,000 
Proceeds from Recapitalization Transaction - Note 310,419 
Proceeds from 1.25 Lien Note Issuances44,841 71,831 
Proceeds from warrant exercise
Repayment of First Lien Agreement - Note 9(125,468)
Repayment of First Lien Agreement from permissible disposal proceeds(1,158)
Transaction and issuance costs(16,094)(3,658)
Repayment of Promissory Note - Note 3(6,914)
Net cash provided by financing activities188,705 68,173 
Net increase (decrease) in cash and restricted cash47,073 (3,894)
Cash and restricted cash, beginning of period48,967 52,861 
Cash and restricted cash, end of period$96,040 $48,967 
Reconciliation of cash and restricted cash:
Cash$56,363 $6,220 
Restricted cash - current3,270 
Restricted cash - non-current39,677 39,477 
Total cash and restricted cash$96,040 $48,967 
See Note 19 - Supplemental Cash Flow Information for additional details. The accompanying notes are an integral part of thethese consolidated financial statements.

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Table of ContentsMUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION
HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

  Year
Ended
December 31,
2018
  For the Period
from August
28, 2017
(inception)
Through
December 31,
2017
 
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:        
Net income (loss) $1,679,963  $(2,784)
Adjustments to reconcile net income (loss) to net cash used in operating activities:        
Interest earned on marketable securities held in Trust Account  (2,836,691)   
Increase in promissory note – related party     2,196 
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:        
Prepaid expenses  (52,295)   
Accounts payable and accrued expenses  200,859   533 
Income taxes payable  555,449    
Net cash used in operating activities  (452,715)  (55)
         
Cash Flows from Investing Activities:        
Investment of cash in Trust Account  (210,080,000)   
Net cash used in investing activities  (210,080,000)   
         
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:        
Proceeds from issuance of Class B common stock to Sponsor     25,000 
Proceeds from sale of Units, net of underwriting fees paid  203,840,000    
Proceeds from sale of Private Placement Warrants  7,740,000    
Repayment of promissory note – related party  (242,331)   
Payment of offering costs  (293,953)   
Net cash provided by financing activities  211,043,716   25,000 
         
Net Change in Cash  511,001   24,945 
Cash – Beginning of period  24,945    
Cash – End of period $535,946  $24,945 
         
Non-Cash investing and financing activities:        
Deferred underwriting fees charged to additional paid in capital $7,280,000  $ 
Initial classification of common stock subject to possible redemption $198,787,536  $ 
Deferred offering costs included in accrued offering costs $  $25,000 
Payment of deferred offering costs and expenses by Sponsor $240,135  $141,500 
Change in value of common stock subject to possible redemption $1,680,547  $ 

STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (DEFICIT)

(U.S. dollars in thousands, except share amounts)
Common Stock(1)
Treasury Stock(1)
Additional
Paid-in
Capital(1)
Accumulated
Deficit
Total
Stockholders'
Equity (Deficit)
SharesAmountSharesAmount
Balance at January 1, 2019307,831 $17,927 $$5,187 $(345,543)$(340,356)
Shares issued37,600 — — — — — — 
Share repurchased4,176— — 
Net loss(98,895)(98,895)
Balance at December 31, 2019345,431 22,103 5,187 (444,438)(439,251)
Conversion of Seller's 2.0 Lien Notes to common shares of Seller and distribution of HYMC common stock(2)
14,795,153 (22,103)— 146,217 74,640 220,859 
Exchange of Seller's 1.5 Lien Notes for HYMC common stock16,025,316 — — 160,252 (14,569)145,685 
Common shares issued in private placement7,596,309 — — 75,962 — 75,963 
Exchange of Seller's 1.25 Lien Notes for HYMC common stock4,845,920 — — — 48,459 — 48,459 
Shares issued pursuant to forward purchase agreement with SPAC sponsor, including conversion of Class B shares4,813,180 — — — 25,000 — 25,000 
Unredeemed SPAC shares of MUDS public stockholders1,197,704 — — — 3,723 — 3,723 
Common shares issued pursuant to Sprott Credit Agreement496,634 — — — 6,282 — 6,282 
Common shares issued to underwriter44,395 — — — 444 — 444 
Vesting of restricted stock(3)
— — — — 1,802 — 1,802 
Equity issuance costs— — — — (8,255)— (8,255)
Shares issued101 — — 1
Stock-based compensation costs— — — 388 388 
Shares issued pursuant to Public Offering9,583,334 — — 83,513 — 83,514 
Shares issued under stock-based compensation program157,829 — — — — — — 
Net loss— — — — (132,670)(132,670)
Balance at December 31, 202059,901,306 $$$548,975 $(517,037)$31,944 
(1)Retroactively restated for the reverse recapitalization as described in Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies.
(2)Includes 3,511,820 shares of HYMC common stock received by Seller that were surrendered by the Company.
(3)As of December 31, 2020 there were 21,256 unissued shares underlying restricted stock units that had vested.
The accompanying notes are an integral part of thethese consolidated financial statements.

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65

MUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION


HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2018

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements

1. DESCRIPTION OF ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Company Overview

Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation (formerly known as Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation ("MUDS")) and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Hycroft”, the “Company”, “we”, “us”, “our”, "it", "HYMC") is a U.S.-based gold producer that is focused on operating and developing its wholly owned Hycroft Mine in a safe, environmentally responsible, and cost-effective manner. Gold and silver sales represent 100% of the Company’s operating revenues and the market prices of gold and silver significantly impact the Company’s financial position, operating results, and cash flows. The Hycroft Mine is located in the State of Nevada and the corporate office is located in Denver, Colorado.
Restart of the Hycroft Mine
During the second quarter of 2019, the Company restarted open pit mining operations at the Hycroft Mine, and, during the third quarter of 2019, produced and sold gold and silver, which it has continued to do on an approximate weekly basis since restarting. As part of the 2019 restart of mining operations, existing equipment was re-commissioned, including haul trucks, shovels and a loader, upgrades were made to the crushing system and new leach pad space was added to the existing leach pads. During 2020, the Company continued to increase its operations by mining more tons, procuring additional mobile equipment rentals, and increasing its total headcount. Through May 29, 2020, the Company obtained all of its financing from related party debt issuances (see Note 21 - Related Party Transactions), which were extinguished in connection with the Recapitalization Transaction with MUDS (discussed below).
M3 Engineering and Technology Corporation (“M3 Engineering”), in conjunction with SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc. (“SRK”) and the Seller, completed the Hycroft Technical Report, Heap Leaching Feasibility Study, prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Modernization of Property Disclosures for Mining Registrants, with an effective date of July 31, 2019 (the “Company”“Hycroft Technical Report”) was incorporated in Delaware on August 28, 2017., for a two-stage, heap oxidation and subsequent leaching of sulfide ores. The Company was formedHycroft Technical Report projects the economic viability and potential future cash flows for the purpose of effectingHycroft Mine when mining operations expand to levels presented in the Hycroft Technical Report.
Recapitalization Transaction with MUDS
As discussed in Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction, on May 29, 2020, pursuant to the Purchase Agreement (defined herein), Seller completed a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination Recapitalization Transaction with oneMUDS, a publicly traded blank check special purpose acquisition corporation or more businesses (the “Business Combination”)“SPAC,” and Acquisition Sub (as each of such terms are defined herein).

Although The Recapitalization Transaction was completed upon receiving regulatory approvals and stockholder approvals from each of MUDS and Seller. Following the Company is not limited to a particular industry or sector for purposes of consummating a Business Combination, the Company intends to focus its search on companies that have recently emerged from bankruptcy court protection. The Company is an early stage and emerging growth company and, as such, the Company is subject to allclose of the risks associated with early stageRecapitalization Transaction, MUDS and emerging growth companies.

Asthe entities purchased from Seller were consolidated under Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation, by amending and restating the Company's certificate of December 31, 2018,incorporation to reflect the Company’s change in name. Pursuant to the consummation of the Recapitalization Transaction, the shares of common stock of Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation were listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol “HYMC”.  Upon closing of the Recapitalization Transaction, the Company’s unrestricted cash available for use totaled $68.9 million, and the number of shares of common stock issued and outstanding totaled 50,160,042. In addition, upon closing, the Company had not commenced any operations. All activity through December 31, 2018 relates34,289,999 outstanding warrants to the Company’s formation and its Initial Public Offering, which is described below, and identifying a target company for a Business Combination. The Company will not generate any operating revenues until after the completionpurchase an equal number of its initial Business Combination, at the earliest. The Company will generate non-operating income in the formshares of interest income on cash and marketable securities from the proceeds derived from the Initial Public Offering, as defined below.

The registration statement for the Company’s initial public offering (“Initial Public Offering”) was declared effective on February 7, 2018. On February 12, 2018, the Company consummated the Initial Public Offering of 20,000,000 units (“Units” and, with respect to the Class A common stock included in the Units being offered, the “Public Shares”) at $10.00$11.50 per Unit, generating gross proceedsshare and 12,721,623 warrants to purchase 3,210,213 shares of $200,000,000, which is described in Note 3. 

Simultaneously with the closing of the Initial Public Offering, the Company consummated the sale of 7,500,000 warrants (the “Private Placement Warrants”)common stock at a price of $1.00$44.82 per Private Placement Warrant in a private placement to the Company’s sponsor, Mudrick Capital Acquisition Holdings LLC ($6,500,000) (the “Sponsor”) and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. ($1,000,000) (“Cantor”), generating gross proceeds of $7,500,000, which is described in Note 4. 

Following the closing of the Initial Public Offeringshare.

For more information on February 12, 2018, an amount of $202,000,000 ($10.10 per Unit) from the net proceeds of the sale of the Units in the Initial Public Offering and the Private Placement Warrants was placed in a trust account (“Trust Account”) and invested in U.S. government securities, within the meaning set forth in Section 2(a)(16) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), with a maturity of 180 days or less or in any open-ended investment company that holds itself out as a money market fund selected by the Company meeting the conditions of paragraphs (d)(2), (d)(3) and (d)(4) of Rule 2a-7 of the Investment Company Act, as determined by the Company, until the earlier of: (i) the completion of a Business Combination and (ii) the distribution of the Trust Account, as described below.

On February 28, 2018, in connection with the underwriters’ election to partially exercise their over-allotment option, the Company consummated the sale of an additional 800,000 Units at $10.00 per Unit and the sale of an additional 240,000 Private Placement Warrants at $1.00 per warrant, generating total gross proceeds of $8,240,000. Following the closing, an additional $8,080,000 of net proceeds ($10.10 per Unit) was placed in the Trust Account, resulting in $210,080,000 ($10.10 per Unit) initially held in the Trust Account.

Transaction costs amounted to $11,974,088, consisting of $4,160,000 of underwriting fees, $7,280,000 of deferred underwriting fees payable (which are held in the Trust Account) and $534,088 of other costs. In addition, as of December 31, 2018, $535,946 of cash was held outside of the Trust Account and is available for working capital purposes. As described in Note 5, the $7,280,000 deferred underwriting fees payable is contingent upon the consummation of the Recapitalization Transaction with MUDS, see Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction.

66

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
COVID-19 Pandemic
In March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of a Business Combinationnovel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic, which continues to spread throughout the United States. Efforts implemented by February 12, 2020.

local and national governments, as well as businesses, including temporary closures, have had adverse impacts on local, national and global economies. The Company’s managementCompany has broad discretion with respect toimplemented health and safety policies for employees that follow guidelines published by the specific applicationCenter for Disease Control (CDC) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). While our operations during 2020 were impacted by COVID-19, the impact did not significantly adversely affect our operations. The extent of the net proceedsimpact of COVID-19 on our operational and financial performance going forward will depend on certain developments, including the duration and continued spread of the Initial Public Offeringoutbreak, and the saledirect and indirect impacts on our employees, vendors, and customers, all of which are uncertain and cannot be fully anticipated or predicted. Since the Company's Hycroft Mine represents the entirety of its operations, any COVID-19 outbreak at the mine site or any governmental restrictions implemented to combat the pandemic could result in a partial or entire shutdown of the Private Placement Warrants, although substantially allHycroft Mine itself, which would negatively impact the Company's financial position, operating results, and cash flows. As of the net proceeds are intendeddate of these financial statements, the extent to which COVID-19 may impact our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows is uncertain, but could be applied generally toward consummating a Business Combination. There is no assurance thatmaterial and adverse.

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of presentation
These consolidated financial statements of the Company will be able to complete a Business Combination successfully. The Company must complete one or more initial Business Combinations having an aggregate fair market value of at least 80% of the assets heldhave been prepared in the Trust Account (excluding the deferred underwriting commissionsaccordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and taxes payable on income earned on the Trust Account) at the time of the agreement to enter into the initial Business Combination. However, the Company will only complete a Business Combination if the post-transaction company owns or acquires 50% or more of the outstanding voting securities of the target or otherwise acquires a controlling interest in the target sufficient for it not to be required to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

F-7

MUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2018

The Company will provide its holders of the outstanding shares of its Class A common stock, par value $0.0001, (“Class A common stock”), sold in the Initial Public Offering (the “public stockholders”) with the opportunity to redeem all or a portion of their Public Shares (as defined below in Note 3) upon the completion of a Business Combination either (i) in connection with a stockholder meeting called to approve the Business Combination or (ii) by means of a tender offer. The decision as to whether the Company will seek stockholder approval of a Business Combination or conduct a tender offer will be made by the Company, solely in its discretion. The public stockholders will be entitled to redeem their Public Shares for a pro rata portion of the amount then in the Trust Account (initially $10.10 per Public Share). The per-share amount to be distributed to public stockholders who redeem their Public Shares will not be reduced by the deferred underwriting commissions the Company will pay to the underwriters (as discussed in Note 5). In such case, the Company will proceed with a Business Combination if the Company has net tangible assets of at least $5,000,001 upon such consummation of a Business Combination and, if the Company seeks stockholder approval, a majority of the shares voted are voted in favor of the Business Combination.

If a stockholder vote is not required by law and the Company does not decide to hold a stockholder vote for business or other legal reasons, the Company will, pursuant to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation”), conduct the redemptions pursuant to the tender offer rules and regulations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and file tender offer documents with the SEC prior to completing a Business Combination. If, however, stockholder approval of the transaction is required by law, or the Company decides to obtain stockholder approval for business or legal reasons, the Company will offer to redeem shares in conjunction with a proxy solicitation pursuant.

Certain reclassifications have been made to the proxy rules and not pursuantprior periods presented in these financial statements to conform to the tender offer rules. Additionally, public stockholders may electcurrent period presentation, which had no effect on previously reported total assets, liabilities, cash flows, or net loss.
References to redeem their Public Shares irrespective of whether they vote“$” refers to United States currency.
Recapitalization Transaction
The Recapitalization Transaction (see Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction) was accounted for or against the proposed transaction. If the Company seeks stockholder approval in connection with a Business Combination, the initial stockholders (as defined below) have agreed to vote their Founder Shares (as defined in Note 4) and any Public Shares held by them in favor of approving a Business Combination. In addition, the initial stockholders have agreed to waive their redemption rights with respect to their Founder Shares and Public Shares in connection with the completion of a Business Combination.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation provides that a public stockholder, together with any affiliate of such stockholder or any other person with whom such stockholder is acting in concert or as a “group” (as defined under Section 13 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)), will be restricted from redeeming its shares with respect to more than an aggregate of 15% or more of the Class A common stock sold in the Initial Public Offering, without the prior consent of the Company.

 The Sponsor and the Company’s officers and directors (the “initial stockholders”) have agreed not to propose an amendment to the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (i) that would affect the substance or timing of the Company’s obligation to redeem 100% of its Public Shares if the Company does not complete a Business Combination or (ii) with respect to any other provision relating to stockholders’ rights or pre-business combination activity, unless the Company provides the public stockholders with the opportunity to redeem their shares of Class A common stock in conjunction with any such amendment.

If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination by February 12, 2020 (the “Combination Period”), the Company will (i) cease all operations except for the purpose of winding up, (ii) as promptly as reasonably possible but not more than ten business days thereafter, redeem the Public Shares, at a per-share price, payable in cash, equal to the aggregate amount then on deposit in the Trust Account including interest earned on the funds held in the Trust Account and not previously released to the Company to pay franchise and income taxes (less up to $100,000 of interest to pay dissolution expenses), divided by the number of then outstanding Public Shares, which redemption will completely extinguish public stockholders’ rights as stockholders (including the right to receive further liquidating distributions, if any), subject to applicable law, and (iii) as promptly as reasonably possible following such redemption, subject to the approval of the Company’s remaining stockholders and the Company’s board of directors, dissolve and liquidate, subject in each case to the Company’s obligations under Delaware law to provide for claims of creditors and the requirements of other applicable law.

The initial stockholders have agreed to waive their liquidation rights with respect to the Founder Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. However, if the initial stockholders acquire Public Shares in or after the Initial Public Offering, they will be entitled to liquidating distributions from the Trust Account with respect to such Public Shares if the Company fails to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period. The underwriters have agreed to waive their rights to their deferred underwriting commission (see Note 5) held in the Trust Account in the event the Company does not complete a Business Combination within in the Combination Period and, in such event, such amounts will be included with the other funds held in the Trust Account that will be available to fund the redemption of the Public Shares. In the event of such distribution, it is possible that the per share value of the residual assets remaining available for distribution (including Trust Account assets) will be only $10.10 per share held in the Trust Account. In order to protect the amounts held in the Trust Account, the Sponsor has agreed to be liable to the Company if and to the extent any claims by a vendor for services rendered or products sold to the Company, or a prospective target business with which the Company has discussed entering into a transaction agreement, reduce the amount of funds in the Trust Account. This liability will not apply with respect to any claims by a third party who executed a waiver of any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to any monies held in the Trust Account or to any claims under the Company’s indemnity of the underwriters of the Initial Public Offering against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Moreover, in the event that an executed waiver is deemed to be unenforceable against a third party, the Sponsor will not be responsible to the extent of any liability for such third party claims. The Company will seek to reduce the possibility that the Sponsor will have to indemnify the Trust Account due to claims of creditors by endeavoring to have all vendors, service providers (except for the Company's independent registered accounting firm), prospective target businesses or other entities with which the Company does business, execute agreements with the Company waiving any right, title, interest or claim of any kind in or to monies held in the Trust Account.

F-8

MUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2018

Liquidity

As of December 31, 2018, the Company had a cash balance of approximately $536,000, which excludes interest income of approximately $2,837,000 from the Company’s investments in the Trust Account which is available to the Company for tax obligations. Through December 31, 2018, the Company has not withdrawn any interest income from the Trust Account to pay its taxes.

The Company intends to use substantially all of the funds held in the Trust Account, including any amounts representing interest earned on the Trust Account (less taxes payable and deferred underwriting commissions) to complete its initial Business Combination. To the extent necessary, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required, up to $1,500,000. Such loans may be convertible into warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants (see Note 4).

Based on the foregoing, management believes that the Company will have sufficient working capital to meet the Company’s needs through February 12, 2020, the scheduled liquidation date. Over this time period, the Company will be using these funds for paying existing accounts payable, identifying and evaluating prospective acquisition candidates, performing business due diligence on prospective target businesses, traveling to and from the offices, plants or similar locations of prospective target businesses, reviewing corporate documents and material agreements of prospective target businesses, selecting the target business to acquire and structuring, negotiating and consummating the business combination.

Going Concern

In connection with the Company’s assessment of going concern considerationsreverse recapitalization in accordance with GAAP. Under this method of accounting, for financial reporting purposes, MUDS has been treated as the “acquired” company and Hycroft Mining Corporation (“Seller”) has been treated as the “acquirer”. This determination was primarily based on (1) stockholders of Seller immediately prior to the Recapitalization Transaction  having a relative majority of the voting power of the combined entity; (2) the operations of Seller prior to the Recapitalization Transaction comprising the only ongoing operations of the combined entity; (3) four of the seven members of the Board of Directors immediately following the Recapitalization Transaction were directors of Seller immediately prior to the Recapitalization Transaction; and (4) executive and senior management of Seller comprises the same for the Company.

Based on Seller being the accounting acquirer, the financial statements of the combined entity represent a continuation of the financial statements of Seller, with the acquisition treated as the equivalent of Seller issuing stock for the net assets of MUDS, accompanied by a recapitalization. The net assets of MUDS were recognized at historical cost as of the date of the Recapitalization Transaction, with no goodwill or other intangible assets recorded. Comparative information prior to the Recapitalization Transaction in these financial statements are those of Seller and the accumulated deficit of Seller has been carried forward after the Recapitalization Transaction. The shares and net loss per common share prior to the Recapitalization Transaction have been retroactively restated as shares reflecting the exchange ratio established in the Recapitalization Transaction to effect the reverse recapitalization (1 Seller share for 0.112 HYMC share). See Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction for additional information.
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HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Accounting Standard Board’s Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-15, “DisclosuresStatements
Going concern
The financial statements of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue asthe Company have been prepared on a Going Concern,” management has determined“going concern” basis, which contemplates the presumed continuation of the Company even though events and conditions exist that, when considered individually or in the mandatory liquidation and subsequent dissolution raisesaggregate, raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. No adjustments have been madeconcern because it is probable that, without additional capital injections, the Company may be unable to meet its obligations as they become due within one year after the date that these financial statements were issued.
For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company incurred a net loss of $132.7 million and net cash used in operating activities was $110.5 million. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had available cash on hand of $56.4 million, working capital of $90.3 million, total liabilities of $200.7 million, and an accumulated deficit of $517.0 million. Although the Company completed the Recapitalization Transaction during the second quarter of 2020 and the Public Offering (as defined herein) on October 6, 2020, for proceeds net of discount and equity issuance costs of approximately $83.1 million, based on its internal cash flow projection models, the Company currently forecasts it will likely require additional cash from financing activities in less than 12 months from the issuance of this report to meet its operating and investing requirements and future obligations as they become due, including the estimated $9.1 million in cash payments required pursuant to the carrying amountsCredit Agreement among MUDS, MUDS Holdco Inc., Allied VGH LLC, Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation, Hycroft Resources and Development, LLC Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector) Inc., and Sprott Resources Lending Corp. (“Sprott Credit Agreement”).
The Company’s ability to continue as a going concern is contingent upon securing additional funding for working capital, capital expenditures and other corporate expenses so that it can increase sales by achieving higher cost-effective operating tonnages and recovery rates and generate positive free cash flows.
These financial statements do not include any adjustments related to the recoverability and classification of recorded assets or the amounts and classification of any liabilities or any other adjustments that might be necessary should the Company be requiredunable to liquidate after February 12, 2020.

2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of presentation

The accompanyingcontinue as a going concern. As such, recorded amounts in these financial statements are presented(including without limitation, stockholders’ equity) have been prepared in conformityaccordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) and pursuant to the rules and regulations of the SEC.

Emerging growth company

The Company is an “emerging growth company”GAAP on a historical-cost basis, as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”), and it may take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies including, but not limited to, not being required, to comply with the independent registered public accounting firm attestation requirements of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, reduced disclosure obligations regarding executive compensation in its periodic reports and proxy statements, and exemptions from the requirements of holding a nonbinding advisory vote on executive compensation and stockholder approval of any golden parachute payments not previously approved.

Further, Section 102(b)(1) of the JOBS Act exempts emerging growth companies from being required to comply with new or revised financial accounting standards until private companies (that is, those that have not had a Securities Act registration statement declared effective orwhich do not have a class of securities registered underreflect or approximate the Exchange Act) are required to comply with the new or revised financial accounting standards. The JOBS Act provides that a company can elect to opt out of the extended transition period and comply with the requirements that apply to non-emerging growth companies but any such election to opt out is irrevocable. The Company has elected not to opt out of such extended transition period which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company, as an emerging growth company, can adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard. This may make comparisoncurrent fair value of the Company’s financial statements with another public company which is neither an emerging growth company nor an emerging growth company which has opted out of using the extended transition period difficultassets or impossible becausemanagement’s assessment of the potential differences in accounting standards used.

F-9
Company’s overall enterprise or equity value.

MUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2018

Use of estimates

The preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect amounts reported in these financial statements and accompanying notes. The more significant areas requiring the reporteduse of management estimates and assumptions relate to: recoverable gold and silver on the leach pads and in-process inventories; timing of near-term ounce production and related sales; the useful lives of long-lived assets; probabilities of future expansion projects; estimates of mineral reserves; estimates of life-of-mine production timing, volumes, costs and prices; current and future mining and processing plans; environmental reclamation and closure costs and timing; deferred taxes and related valuation allowances; and estimates of fair value for asset impairments and financial instruments. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable at the time the estimate is made. Actual results may differ from amounts estimated in these financial statements, and such differences could be material. Accordingly, amounts presented in these financial statements are not indicative of results that may be expected for future periods.
Cash
Cash consisted of cash balances as of December 31, 2020. The Company has not experienced any losses on cash balances and believes that no significant risk of loss exists with respect to its cash. As of December 31, 2020, and December 31, 2019, the Company held 0 cash equivalents.
Restricted cash is held as collateral to provide financial assurance that the Company will use to fulfill obligations and commitments related to reclamation activity (see Note 10 - Asset Retirement Obligation for further detail) that is excluded from cash and is listed separately on the consolidated balance sheets. As of December 31, 2020, and December 31, 2019, the Company held $39.7 million and $42.7 million in restricted cash, respectively. See Note 6 - Restricted Cash for additional information.
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HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Accounts receivable
Accounts receivable consists of amounts due from customers for gold and silver sales. The Company has evaluated the customers’ credit risk, payment history and financial condition and determined that no allowance for doubtful accounts is necessary. The entire accounts receivable balance is expected to be collected during the next twelve months.
Ore on leach pads and inventories
The Company’s production-related inventories include: ore on leach pads; in-process inventories; and doré finished goods. Production-related inventories are carried at the lower of average cost or net realizable value. Cost includes mining (ore and waste); processing; refining costs incurred during production stages; and mine site overhead and depreciation and amortization relating to mining and processing operations. Corporate general and administrative costs are not included in inventory costs. Net realizable value represents the estimated future sales price of production-related inventories computed using the London Bullion Market Association’s (“LBMA”) quoted period-end metal prices, less any further estimated processing, refining, and selling costs.
In-process inventories
In-process inventories represent gold-bearing concentrated materials that are in the process of being converted to a saleable product using a Merrill-Crowe plant or carbon-in-column processing method. As gold ounces are recovered from in-process inventories, costs, including conversion costs, are transferred to precious metals inventory at an average cost per ounce of gold.
Precious metals inventory
Precious metals inventory consists of doré and loaded carbon containing both gold and silver, which is ready for offsite shipment or at a third party refiner before being sold to a third party. As gold ounces are sold, costs are recognized in Production costs and Depreciation and amortization in the consolidated statements of operations at an average cost per gold ounce sold.
Materials and supplies
Materials and supplies are valued at the lower of average cost or net realizable value. Cost includes applicable taxes and freight.
Ore on leach pads, current and non-current
Ore on leach pads represents ore that is being treated with a chemical solution to dissolve the contained gold and silver. Costs are added to ore on leach pads based on current mining costs, including reagents, leaching supplies, and applicable depreciation and amortization relating to mining operations. As gold-bearing materials are further processed, costs are transferred from ore on leach pads to in-process inventories at an average cost per estimated recoverable ounce of gold. 
Prepaids and other assets, non-current
Equipment not in use
From time to time, the Company may determine that certain of its property and liabilitiesequipment no longer fit into its strategic operating plans and disclosuremay either contemplate or commence activities to sell such identified assets. The Company evaluates equipment not in use for held-for-sale classification in accordance with ASC Topic 360 Property, Plant, and Equipment ("ASC 360"). If property and equipment do not meet the held-for-sale criteria in ASC 360, but have been taken out of contingentservice for sale or were never placed into service, the carrying value of such assets is included in Other assets, non-current. In accordance with its impairment policy, the Company reviews and liabilitiesevaluates its equipment and facilities not in use for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the related carrying amounts may not be recoverable. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company determined that the fair value of equipment not in use was less the carrying amount and recorded an impairment loss of $5.3 million.
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HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Plant, equipment, and mine development, net
Expenditures for new facilities and equipment, and expenditures that extend the useful lives or increase the capacity of existing facilities or equipment are capitalized and recorded at cost. Such costs are depreciated using either the straight-line method over the estimated productive lives of such assets or the units-of-production method (when actively operating) at rates sufficient to depreciate such costs over the estimated proven and probable mineral reserves as gold ounces are recovered. For equipment and facilities that are constructed by the Company, interest is capitalized to the cost of the underlying asset while being constructed until such asset is ready for its intended use. See Note 7 - Plant, Equipment, and Mine Development, Net for additional information.
Mine development
Mine development costs include the cost of engineering and metallurgical studies, drilling and assaying costs to delineate an ore body, environmental costs, and the building of infrastructure. Additionally, interest is capitalized to mine development until such assets are ready for their intended use. Any of the above costs incurred before mineralization is classified as proven and probable mineral reserves are expensed. The Company established proven and probable mineral reserves during the second half of 2019.
Drilling, engineering, metallurgical, and other related costs are capitalized for an ore body where proven and probable reserves exist and the activities are directed at obtaining additional information on the ore body, converting non-reserve mineralization to proven and probable mineral reserves, infrastructure planning, or supporting the environmental impact statement. All other exploration drilling costs are expensed as incurred. Drilling costs incurred during the production phase for operational ore control are allocated to production-related inventories and upon the sale of gold ounces are included in Cost of sales on the consolidated statements of operations.
Mine development costs are amortized using the units-of-production method based upon estimated recoverable ounces in proven and probable mineral reserves. To the extent such capitalized costs benefit an entire ore body, they are amortized over the estimated life of that ore body. Capitalized costs that benefit specific ore blocks or areas are amortized over the estimated life of that specific ore block or area. Recoverable ounces are determined by the Company based upon its proven and probable mineral reserves and estimated metal recoveries associated with those mineral reserves.
Impairment of long-lived assets
The Company’s long-lived assets consist of plant, equipment, and mine development. The Company reviews and evaluates its long-lived assets for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the related carrying amounts may not be recoverable. Events that may trigger a test for recoverability include, but are not limited to, significant adverse changes to projected revenues, costs, or future expansion plans or changes to federal and state regulations (with which the Company must comply) that may adversely impact the Company’s current or future operations. An impairment is determined to exist if the total projected future cash flows on an undiscounted basis are less than the carrying amount of a long-lived asset group. An impairment loss is measured and recorded based on the excess carrying value of the impaired long-lived asset group over fair value.
To determine fair value, the Company uses a discounted cash flow model based on quantities of estimated recoverable minerals and incorporates projections and probabilities involving metal prices (considering current and historical prices, price trends, and related factors), production levels, operating and production costs, and the timing and capital costs of expansion and sustaining projects, all of which are based on life-of-mine plans. The term “recoverable minerals” refers to the estimated amount of gold and silver that will be sold after taking into account losses during ore processing and treatment. In estimating future cash flows, assets are grouped at the lowest level for which there are identifiable cash flows that are largely independent of future cash flows from other asset groups. The Company’s estimates of future cash flows are based on numerous assumptions, which are consistent or reasonable in relation to internal budgets and projections, and actual future cash flows may be significantly different than the estimates, as actual future quantities of recoverable gold and silver, metal prices, operating and production costs, and the timing and capital costs of expansion and sustaining projects are each subject to significant risks and uncertainties. See Note 7 - Plant, Equipment, and Mine Development, Net for additional information.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, as part of the Company's recurring quarterly analysis, the Company determined a triggering event had occurred, as the Company's operations have continued to generate operating cash flow losses. As a result, the Company performed a recoverability test for the carrying value of its plant, equipment, and mine development at December 31, 2020, and determined that 0 impairments were necessary.
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HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Mineral properties
Mineral properties are tangible assets recorded at cost and include royalty interests, asset retirement costs, and land and mineral rights to explore and extract minerals from properties. Once a property is in the production phase, mineral property costs are amortized using the units-of-production method based upon the estimated recoverable gold ounces in proven and probable reserves at such properties. Costs to maintain mineral properties are expensed in the period they are incurred. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, there was $0.04 million and $0 recorded for mineral properties, respectively, which was included in Plant, equipment, and mine development, net in the consolidated balance sheets.
Royalty obligation
The Company's royalty obligation is carried at amortized cost with reductions calculated by dividing actual gold and silver production by the estimated total life-of-mine production from proven and probable mineral reserves. Any updates to proven and probable mineral reserves or the estimated life-of-mine production profile would result in prospective adjustments to the amortization calculation used to reduce the carrying value of the royalty obligation. Amortization reductions to the royalty obligation are recorded to Production costs which is included in Cost of sales. A portion of the Company’s royalty obligation is classified as current based upon the estimated gold and silver expected to be produced over the next 12 months, using the current proposed 34-year mine plan, and current proven and probable mineral reserves. The royalty obligation and its embedded features do not meet the requirements for derivative accounting.
Asset retirement obligation
The Company’s mining and exploration activities are subject to various federal and state laws and regulations governing the protection of the environment. The Company’s asset retirement obligation (“ARO”), associated with long-lived assets are those for which there is a legal obligation to settle under existing law, statute, written or oral contract or by legal construction. The Company’s ARO relates to its operating property, the Hycroft Mine, and was recognized as a liability at fair value in the period incurred. An ARO, which is initially estimated based on discounted cash flow estimates, is accreted to full value over time using the expected timing of future payments through charges to Accretion in the consolidated statements of operations. In addition, asset retirement costs (“ARC”) are capitalized as part of the related asset’s carrying value and are depreciated on a straight-line method or units of production basis over the related long-lived asset’s useful life. The Company’s ARO is adjusted annually, or more frequently if necessary, to reflect changes in the estimated present value resulting from revisions to the timing or amount of reclamation and closure costs. Estimated mine reclamation and closure costs, may increase or decrease significantly in the future as a result of changes in regulations, mine plans, cost estimates, or other factors.
Revenue recognition
The Company recognizes revenue for gold and silver sales when it satisfies the performance obligation of transferring finished inventory to the customer, which generally occurs when the refiner notifies the customer that gold has been credited or irrevocably pledged to their account, at which point the customer obtains the ability to direct the use and obtain substantially all of the remaining benefits of ownership of the asset. The transaction amount is determined based on the agreed upon sales prices and the number of ounces delivered. Concurrently, the payment date is agreed upon, which is usually within one week of the sale date. The majority of sales are in the form of doré bars, but the Company also sells loaded carbon and slag, a by-product. All sales are final.
Mine site period costs
The Company evaluates its mine site costs incurred, which are normally recorded to the carrying value of production-related inventories, to determine if costs incurred during the period qualify as Mine site period costs, the Company performs an analysis to determine the net realizable value of its inventory and determines whether costs incurred that are in excess of future estimated revenues are a result of recurring or significant downtime or delays, unusually high levels of repairs, inefficient operations, overuse of processing reagents, or other costs or activities that significantly increase the cost per ounce of production-related inventories and are considered unusual. If costs are determined to meet the criteria and, therefore, cannot be recorded to the carrying value of production-related inventories, then the Company recognizes such costs in the period incurred as Mine site period costs, which is included in Cost of sales on the consolidated statements of operations.
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HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Write-down of production inventories
The recovery of gold and silver at the Hycroft Mine is currently accomplished through a heap leaching process, the nature of which limits the Company’s ability to precisely determine the recoverable gold ounces in ore on leach pads. The Company estimates the quantity of recoverable gold ounces in ore on leach pads using surveyed volumes of material, ore grades determined through sampling and assaying of blastholes, crushed ore sampling, solution sampling, and estimated recovery percentages based on ore type and domain. The estimated recoverable gold ounces placed on the leach pads are periodically reconciled by comparing the related ore gold contents to the actual gold ounces recovered (metallurgical balancing). Changes in recovery rate estimates from metallurgical balancing that do not result in write-downs are accounted for on a prospective basis. When a write-down is required, production-related inventories are adjusted to net realizable value with adjustments recorded as Write-down of production inventories, which is included in Cost of sales in the consolidated statements of operations. See Note 4 - Inventories for additional information on the Company's write-downs.
Stock-based compensation
Stock-based compensation costs for non-employee Directors and eligible employees are measured at fair value on the date of grant. Stock-based compensation costs are charged to General and administrative on the consolidated statements of operations over the requisite service period. The fair value of awards is determined using the stock price on either the date of grant (if subject only to service conditions) or the date that the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors establishes applicable performance targets (if subject to performance conditions). The Company estimates forfeitures at the time of grant and revises those estimates in subsequent periods through the final vesting date. See Note 14 - Stock-Based Compensation for additional information.
Phantom shares
Non-employee members of Seller’s Board of Directors received phantom shares of stock pursuant to a Non-Employee Director Phantom Stock Plan. For grants issued during the years ended 2015 and 2016, the cash payment was equal to the fair market value of 1 share of common stock of Seller at the date of payment. Under the financial statementsgrant agreements, each phantom share vested on the date of grant and entitled the reported amounts of revenuesparticipant to a cash payment. For grants issued during 2020, 2019 and expenses during2018, the reporting periods.

Making estimates requires managementcash payment was equal to exercise significant judgment. It is at least reasonably possible that the estimategreater of the effect(1) grant date value, or (2) the fair market value of a condition, situation or set1 share of circumstances that existedcommon stock of Seller at the date of payment. All phantom shares issued by Seller were terminated and paid in connection with the financial statements, which management considered in formulating its estimate, could changeRecapitalization Transaction. See  Note 14 - Stock-Based Compensation and Note 18 - Fair Value Measurements for additional information.

Reorganization items
On March 10, 2015, a predecessor of the Company filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of Title 11 of the United States Code with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Bankruptcy Court”). Expenses directly associated with finalizing the Chapter 11 cases before the Bankruptcy Court are reported as Reorganization items in the near term dueconsolidated statements of operations.
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HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to one or more future confirming events. Accordingly, the actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.

Cash and cash equivalents

The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. The Company did not have any cash equivalents as of December 31, 2018 and 2017.

Marketable securities held in Trust Account  

At December 31, 2018, substantially all of the assets held in the Trust Account were held in money market funds. 

Common stock subject to possible redemption

Consolidated Financial Statements

Income taxes
The Company accounts for its common stock subject to possible redemption in accordance withincome taxes using the guidance in the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity.” Common stock subject to mandatory redemption (if any) is classified as a liability instrument and is measured at fair value. Conditionally redeemable common stock (including common stock that features redemption rights that are either within the control of the holder or subject to redemption upon the occurrence of uncertain events not solely within the Company’s control) is classified as temporary equity. At all other times, common stock is classified as stockholders’ equity. The Company’s common stock features certain redemption rights that are considered to be outside of the Company’s control and subject to occurrence of uncertain future events. Accordingly, at December 31, 2018, common stock subject to possible redemption is presented as temporary equity, outside of the stockholders’ equity section of the Company’s balance sheets.

Offering Costs

Offering costs consist principally of legal, accounting, underwriting fees and other costs incurred through the balance sheet date that are directly related to the Initial Public Offering. Offering costs amounting to $11,974,088 were charged to stockholders’ equity upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering.

Income taxes

The Company follows the asset and liability method, of accounting for income taxes under FASB ASC 740, “Income Taxes.” Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable torecognizing certain temporary differences between the financial statements carrying amountsreporting basis of existingthe Company’s liabilities and assets and the related income tax basis for such liabilities and their respectiveassets. This method generates either a net deferred income tax bases. Deferredliability or asset for the Company, as measured by the statutory tax rates in effect at the anticipated time of reversal. The Company derives its deferred income tax provision or benefit by recording the change in either the net deferred income tax liability or asset balance for the year. See Note 15 - Income Taxes for additional information.

The Company’s deferred income tax assets and liabilities are measured using enactedinclude certain future tax rates expected to apply tobenefits. The Company records a valuation allowance against any portion of those deferred income tax assets when it believes, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred income tax asset will not be realized. Evidence evaluated includes past operating results, forecasted earnings, estimated future taxable income, and prudent and feasible tax planning strategies. The assumptions utilized in determining future taxable income require significant judgment and are consistent with the years in which those temporary differences are expectedplans and estimates used to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilitiesmanage the underlying business.
As necessary, the Company also provides reserves against the benefits of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that included the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established, when necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to the amount expected to be realized.

FASB ASC 740 prescribes a recognition threshold and a measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement ofuncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken inon its tax filings. The necessity for and amount of a tax return. For those benefits to be recognized, a tax position must bereserve is established by determining, based on the weight of available evidence, the amount of benefit that is more likely than not to be sustained upon examinationaudit for each uncertain tax position. The difference, if any, between the full benefit recorded on the tax return and the amount more likely than not to be sustained is recorded as a liability on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets unless the additional tax expense that would result from the disallowance of the tax position can be offset by taxing authorities. a net operating loss, a similar tax loss, or a tax credit carryforward. In that case, the reserve is recorded as a reduction to the deferred tax asset associated with the applicable net operating loss, similar tax loss, or tax credit carryforward.

Derivative instruments
The Company recognizes accrued interestall derivatives as either assets or liabilities and penalties relatedmeasures those instruments at fair value. Changes in the fair value of derivative instruments, together with any gains or losses on derivative settlements and transactions, are recorded in earnings in the period in which they occur. In estimating the fair value of derivative instruments, the Company is required to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense. There were no unrecognized tax benefitsapply judgments and no amounts accruedmake assumptions that impact the amount recorded for interest and penalties assuch derivative instruments. The Company does not hold derivative instruments for trading purposes.
As of and December 31, 2020, the Company’s only recorded derivative was for the Seller Warrants (as defined herein) (see Note 18 - Fair Value Measurements for additional detail).
Fair value measurements
Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements, defines fair value and establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:
Level 1 – Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical unrestricted assets or liabilities. Active markets are those in which transactions for the asset or liability occur in sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis;
Level 2 – Quoted prices in markets that are not active, or inputs that are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liability; and
Level 3 – Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable (supported by little or no market activity).
Assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Certain financial instruments, including Cash, Restricted cash, Accounts receivable, Prepaids and other, Accounts payable, and Interest payable are carried at cost, which approximates their fair value due to the short-term nature of these instruments.  See Note 18 - Fair Value Measurements for additional information.
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HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Recently adopted accounting pronouncements
In August 2018, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurements (“ASU 2018-13”), which amends the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements in Topic 820 based on the considerations of costs and 2017.benefits. Under ASU 2018-13, certain disclosures were modified or eliminated, while other disclosures were added. The Company's adoption of ASU 2018-13 on January 1, 2020 did not materially affect its financial statement disclosures.
Accounting pronouncements not yet adopted
In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases ("ASU 2016-02"). The new standard establishes a right-of-use (“ROU”) model that requires a lessee to record a ROU asset and a lease liability on the balance sheet for all leases with terms longer than 12 months. Leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the consolidated statements of operations and classification within the consolidated statement of cash flows. In October 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-10, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326), Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815), and Leases (Topic 842) ("ASU 2019-10") that amends the effective date of ASU 2016-02 for emerging growth companies, such that the new standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022. As the Company qualifies as an emerging growth company, the Company has elected to take advantage of the deferred effective date afforded to emerging growth companies. A modified retrospective transition approach is required to either the beginning of the earliest period presented or the beginning of the year of adoption. The Company has compiled its leases and is in the process of estimating the impact of adopting this ASU.
In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (“ASU 2020-06”). ASU 2020-06 simplifies guidance on accounting for convertible instruments and contracts in an entity’s own equity including calculating diluted earnings per share. For emerging growth companies, the new guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2022. As the Company qualifies as an emerging growth company, the Company plans to take advantage of the deferred effective date afforded to emerging growth companies. The Company is currently not awareevaluating the impact that adopting this update will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.
74

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
3. Recapitalization Transaction
On May 29, 2020, the Company, formerly known as Mudrick Capital Acquisition Corporation, consummated a business combination transaction (the “Recapitalization Transaction”) as contemplated by a purchase agreement dated January 13, 2020, as amended on February 26, 2020 (the “Purchase Agreement”), by and among the Company, MUDS Acquisition Sub, Inc. (“Acquisition Sub”) and Hycroft Mining Corporation (“Seller”). Pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, Acquisition Sub acquired all of the issued and outstanding equity interests of the direct subsidiaries of Seller and substantially all of the other assets of Seller and assumed substantially all of the liabilities of Seller.  In conjunction with the Recapitalization Transaction, Seller’s indebtedness existing prior to the Recapitalization Transaction was either repaid, exchanged for indebtedness of the Company, exchanged for shares of common stock or converted into shares of Seller common stock, and the Company’s post-Recapitalization Transaction indebtedness included amounts drawn under review that could result in significant payments, accruals or material deviation from its position. Thethe Sprott Credit Agreement and the assumption of the newly issued Subordinated Notes (as such are defined herein). Upon closing of the Recapitalization Transaction, the Company’s unrestricted cash available for use totaled $68.9 million, and the number of shares of common stock issued and outstanding totaled 50,160,042. In addition, upon closing, the Company is subjecthad 34,289,999 outstanding warrants to income tax examinations by major taxing authorities since inception.

On December 22, 2017,purchase an equal number of shares of common stock at $11.50 per share and 12,721,623 warrants to purchase 3,210,213 shares of common stock at a price of $44.82 per share.

Prior to the U.S.  Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“Tax Reform”) was signed into law. As a result of Tax Reform, the U.S. statutory tax rate was lowered from 35% to 21% effective January 1, 2018, among other changes. FASB ASC 740 requires companies to recognize the effect of tax law changes in the period of enactment; therefore,Recapitalization Transaction, the Company was required to revalue its deferred taxa blank check special purpose acquisition corporation (“SPAC”) with no business operations and on May 29, 2020 had assets and liabilities at December 31, 2017 atconsisting primarily of $10.4 million of cash and $6.9 million of liabilities for accounts payable, accrued expenses, and deferred underwriting fees. As described in Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, the new rate. The SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 (“SAB 118”) to address the application of GAAP in situations when a registrant does not have the necessary information available, prepared, or analyzed (including computations) in reasonable detail to complete the accounting for certain tax effects of Tax Reform.

F-10

MUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2018

Net income (loss) per common share

Net income (loss) per common share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of common shares outstandingCompany accounted for the period. The Company has not considered the effect of warrants soldRecapitalization Transaction as a reverse recapitalization in the Initial Public Offering and Private Placement to purchase 28,540,000 shares of Class A common stock in the calculation of diluted income (loss) per share, since the exercise of the warrants is contingent upon the occurrence of future events and the inclusion of such warrants would be anti-dilutive.

The Company’s statement of operations includes a presentation of income (loss) per share for common shares subject to redemption in a manner similar to the two-class method of income per share. Net income per common share, basic and diluted for Class A common stock is calculated by dividing the interest income earned on the Trust Account, net of applicable franchise and income taxes, by the weighted average number of Class A common stock outstanding for the period. Net loss per common share, basic and diluted for Class B common stock is calculated by dividing the net income (loss), less income attributable to Class A common stock, by the weighted average number of Class B common stock outstanding for the period.

Concentration of credit risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist of a cash account in a financial institution which at times may exceed the Federal Depository Insurance Coverage of $250,000. At December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company had not experienced losses on this account and management believes the Company is not exposed to significant risks on such account.

Fair value of financial instruments

The fair value of the Company’s assets and liabilities, which qualify as financial instruments under ASC Topic 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures,” approximates the carrying amounts represented in the accompanying balance sheets, primarily due to their short-term nature.

Recent accounting pronouncements

In August 2018, the SEC adopted the final rule under SEC Release No. 33-10532, “Disclosure Update and Simplification,” amending certain disclosure requirements that were redundant, duplicative, overlapping, outdated or superseded. In addition, the amendments expanded the disclosure requirements on the analysis of stockholders' equity for interim financial statements. Under the amendments, an analysis of changes in each caption of stockholders' equity presented in the balance sheet must be provided in a note or separate statement. The analysis should present a reconciliation of the beginning balance to the ending balance of each period for which a statement of comprehensive income is required to be filed. This final rule is effective on November 5, 2018. The Company anticipates its first presentation of the expanded disclosure requirements on the changes in stockholders’ equity will be included in its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019.

Management does not believe that any other recently issued, but not yet effective, accounting pronouncements, if currently adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements.

3. INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING

Pursuantstatements reflect a continuation of Seller.

The material financial effects and actions arising from the Recapitalization Transaction, which are described in detail elsewhere in these financial statements, were as follows (the defined terms that follow are included elsewhere in these financial statements):
Common stock and warrant transactions
a.The Company issued, in a private placement transaction, an aggregate of 7.6 million shares of common stock and 3.25 million warrants to the Initial Public Offering, the Company sold 20,800,000 unitspurchase shares of common stock at a price of $10.00 per Unit, inclusiveshare for aggregate gross cash proceeds of 800,000 Units sold on February 28, 2018 upon$76.0 million.
b.Pursuant to a forward purchase contract, the underwriters’ election to partially exercise their over-allotment option. Each Unit consistsCompany issued 3.125 million shares of one share of Class A common stock (suchand 2.5 million warrants to purchase shares of Class A common stock included inhaving substantially the Units being offered,same terms as the “Public Shares”), and one redeemable warrant (each, a “Public Warrant”). Each Public Warrant entitlesprivate placement warrants for gross cash proceeds of $25.0 million. The Company also converted 5.2 million shares of MUDS Class B common stock into the holdersame number of shares of common stock, of which 3.5 million shares were surrendered to Seller as transaction consideration.
c.The Company received $10.4 million of cash proceeds from the SPAC trust associated with the 1.2 million shares of common stock that were not redeemed by the Company's public stockholders. Additionally, the Company has outstanding 27.9 million warrants to purchase one shareshares of Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share subjectthat were issued to adjustment (see Note 6).

F-11

MUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2018

4. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Founder Shares

On September 25, 2017, the Sponsor purchased 5,750,000 shares (the “Founder Shares”) of the Company’s Class B common stock, par value $0.001 (“Class B common stock”) for an aggregate price of $25,000. The Founder Shares will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stockCompany's public stockholders at the time of the Company’sSPAC’s initial Business Combinationpublic offering (see Note 12 - Stockholders' Equity).

d.The Company assumed the obligations with respect to 12.7 million Seller Warrants (as defined herein), which Seller Warrants became exercisable to purchase shares of common stock at an exercise price as of July 1, 2020 and areDecember 31, 2020, of $44.82 per share (see Note 12 - Stockholders' Equity). Since July 1, 2020, each Seller Warrant was exercisable into approximately 0.2523 shares of common stock for a total of 3,210,213 shares of common stock. The exercise price and the conversion factor were further adjusted during the year ended December 31, 2020 to an exercise price of $41.26 per share and each Seller Warrant was exercisable for 0.27411 shares of common stock for a total of 3,487,168 shares of common stock. Subsequently, as of January 19, 2020, the Seller Warrants were subject to certain transfer restrictions, as described in Note 6. Holdersa further adjustment to an exercise price of Founder Shares may also elect to convert their$40.31 per share and each Seller Warrant was exercisable for 0.28055 shares of Class B common stock into an equal numberfor a total of 3,569,051 shares of Class Acommon stock. Refer to Note 12 - Stockholders' Equity for further detail.
75

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Seller’s pre-Recapitalization Transaction indebtedness
a.Seller’s $125.5 million First Lien Agreement with the Bank of Nova Scotia, as agent, and $6.9 million promissory note plus accrued and unpaid interest were repaid with cash (see Note 9 - Debt, Net).
b.$48.5 million of Seller’s 1.25 Lien Notes were exchanged, and subsequently cancelled, for 4.85 million shares of common stock and the remaining $80.0 million of Seller’s 1.25 Lien Notes were exchanged for $80.0 million in aggregate principal of new Subordinated Notes of the Company (see Note 9 - Debt, Net).
c.After giving effect to the 1.5 Lien Notes’ 110% repurchase feature, $145.7 million of Seller’s 1.5 Lien Notes plus accrued and unpaid interest were exchanged, and subsequently cancelled, for 16.0 million shares of common stock (see Note 9 - Debt, Net).
d.Prior to close, a total of $221.3 million of Seller’s 2.0 Lien Notes were converted into 132.8 million shares of Seller common stock and, together with the existing 2.9 million shares of Seller’s common stock issued and outstanding, received transaction consideration of 15.1 million shares of common stock distributed by Seller, including 3.5 million surrendered shares received by Seller from the Company (see Note 9 - Debt, Net). The consideration initially received by Seller was promptly distributed to the its stockholders on a pro rata basis pursuant to Seller’s plan of dissolution.
Sprott entity transactions
a.The Company assumed the amended Sprott Credit Agreement and was advanced $70.0 million of cash, subject to adjustment,an original issue discount of 2.0% (see Note 9 - Debt, Net). Pursuant to the Sprott Credit Agreement, the Company issued approximately 0.5 million shares of common stock to the Lender, which was equal to 1.0% of the Company’s post-closing shares of common stock issued and outstanding.
b.The Company entered into the Royalty Agreement among Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation, its wholly subsidiary Hycroft Resources and Development, LLC and Sprott Private Resource Lending II (CO) Inc. ("Sprott Royalty Agreement"), pursuant to which the Company received $30.0 million of cash proceeds and incurred a 1.5% net smelter royalty payment obligation, payable monthly, relating to the Hycroft Mine’s monthly production (see Note 10 - Royalty Obligation).
Other items
a.Seller retained a reserve of $2.3 million in cash for use in the dissolution of Seller.
b.A $2.5 million cash payment was made and approximately 0.04 million shares of common stock were issued to the Company’s underwriter, Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (“Cantor”), pursuant to an underwriting agreement. Additionally, a $2.0 million payment was made to Cantor at any time.closing in connection with shares of common stock held by Cantor, which were not redeemed from the SPAC trust balance prior to closing.
c.The Company remitted $1.8 million of cash to holders of Seller’s deferred phantom units (see Note 18 - Fair Value Measurements) and paid $7.4 million of cash for additional transaction costs.
Upon closing of the Recapitalization Transaction and after giving effect to the terms of the business combination, the former holders of Seller’s indebtedness and common stock, including affiliated entities of such former holders, owned approximately 96.5% of the issued and outstanding common stock. The following table summarizes the ownership of the Company’s common stock issued and outstanding upon closing of the Recapitalization Transaction:
SharesOwnership %
Former Seller stockholders and affiliated entities48,421,309 96.5 %
Former MUDS public stockholders(1)
1,197,704 2.4 %
Lender to Sprott Credit Agreement496,634 1.0 %
Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.44,395 0.1 %
Total shares issued and outstanding50,160,042 100.0 %
(1)Includes 200,000 shares held by Cantor.
76

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
4. Inventories
The following table provides the components of inventories and the estimated recoverable gold ounces therein (in thousands, except ounces):
December 31, 2020December 31, 2019
AmountGold OuncesAmountGold Ounces
Materials and supplies$6,449 $2,559 
Merrill-Crowe process plant4,810 2,587 1,004 691 
Carbon-in-column299 166 478 474 
Finished good (doré)1,309 710 412 278 
Total$12,867 3,463 $4,453 1,443 
As of both December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, in-process Inventories included $0.3 million of capitalized depreciation and amortization costs.
The following table summarizes Ore on leach pads and the estimated recoverable gold ounces therein (in thousands, except ounces):
December 31, 2020December 31, 2019
AmountGold OuncesAmountGold Ounces
Ore on leach pads, current$38,041 21,869 $22,062 17,019 
Ore on leach pads, non-current7,243 4,164 
Total$45,284 26,033 $22,062 17,019 
As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 (net of write-downs discussed below), Ore on leach pads, current included $1.8 million and $1.8 million, respectively, of capitalized depreciation and amortization costs. Additionally, as of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019 Ore on leach pads, non-current included $0.4 million and $0 respectively, of capitalized depreciation and amortization costs.
Write-down of production inventories
The estimated recoverable gold ounces placed on the leach pads are periodically reconciled by comparing the related ore contents to the actual gold ounces recovered (metallurgical balancing). During the year ended December 31, 2020, based on metallurgical balancing results, the Company determined that 10,492 ounces of gold that had been placed on the leach pads were no longer recoverable and wrote-off these ounces. As a result, during the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company recognized a Write-down of production inventories on the consolidated statements of operations, which included production costs of $16.7 million, and capitalized depreciation and amortization costs of $1.3 million. The write-off of ounces during the year ended December 31, 2020 was primarily due to mismanagement of the oxidation process, improper adjustments to variables in the oxidation process for changes in the ore type based on domain, and improper solution management. As a result, the Company determined it would recover less gold ounces than planned for those sections of the leach pads.
During the 2019 fourth quarter, based on metallurgical balancing results, the Company determined that 11,680 ounces of gold that had been placed on the leach pads were no longer recoverable and wrote-off these ounces. As a result of the underwriters’ electionwrite-off the Company recognized a Write-down of production inventories on the consolidated statements of operations of $16.4 million. Cash production costs written-off were $15.1 million and capitalized depreciation and amortization costs written-off were $1.3 million. The write-off of these ounces was primarily a result of mismanagement of solution flows. The lost gold and silver ounces were leached and captured in solution. However, prior to the solution being processed through the Merrill-Crowe plant, it was inadvertently commingled with barren solution and pumped to leach pads no longer in use, which will prevent it from being recovered in the future.
77

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Mine site period costs
During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company incurred $46.7 million (which included $3.0 million of capitalized depreciation and amortization incurred in 2020) of Mine site period costs (inclusive of depreciation and amortization expenses) that did not qualify for allocation to the Company's production-related inventories and, therefore, were expensed as incurred. Such period costs are generally the result of significant downtime or delays, abnormally high levels of repairs, inefficient operations, overuse of processing reagents, or other unusual costs and activities.
In addition to the write-down related to metallurgical balancing during 2019, the Company incurred $2.2 million (which included $0.2 million of capitalized amortization incurred in 2019) of Mine site period costs (inclusive of depreciation and amortization expenses) that did not qualify for allocation to the Company's production-related inventories and, therefore, were expensed as incurred.
5. Prepaids and Other
The following table provides the components of Prepaids and other and Other assets, non-current (in thousands):
December 31,
2020
December 31,
2019
Prepaids and other
Prepaids$3,198 $2,109 
Deposits1,105 539 
Total$4,303 $2,648 
Other assets, non-current
Equipment not in use$12,238 $19,683 
Prepaid supplies consignment inventory885 
Royalty - advance payment360 120 
Deferred future financing costs5,083 
Total$13,483 $24,886 
Prepaids
As of December 31, 2020, prepaids primarily consisted of prepaid insurance ($1.8 million), mining claims and permitting fees ($0.4 million), prepaid equipment ($0.4 million), and subscription and license fees ($0.3 million). As of December 31, 2019, prepaids primarily consisted of prepaid insurance ($1.5 million), mining claims and permitting fees ($0.4 million), and subscription and license fees ($0.1 million).
Equipment not in use
As of December 31, 2020, equipment not in use classified as Other assets, non-current included ball mills, SAG mills, regrind mills, and related motors and components that were previously purchased by a predecessor of the Company. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company engaged an international equipment broker to advertise equipment not in use for potential sale. There is a limited market for the Company's equipment not in use and any potential purchase would likely be subject to technical and commercial due diligence by the purchaser, as well as approval by the Company's Board of Directors. As such, equipment not in use is not classified as held-for-sale, as it is uncertain if the Company will sell any of the equipment within one year, or if the Company will elect to sell such equipment at all. As a result, equipment not in use is included in Other assets, non-current. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company determined that the carrying amount of certain equipment not in use was higher than its fair value and such assets were written down to estimated fair value less costs to sell, resulting in an impairment loss of $5.3 million, which is reported as Impairment on equipment not in use on the consolidated statements of operations. In the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company began reevaluating the best use of its equipment previously marketed for sale, while it continues to develop the sulfide oxidation technology process for its large-scale operation. Additionally, in the fourth quarter of 2020, the Company has paused the marketing of this equipment while it continues to develop the technology and process for a large-scale operation.
78

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Prepaid supplies consignment inventory
The Company has an inventory consignment agreement with a supplier of crusher parts that requires the supplier to maintain a specified inventory of replacement parts and components that are exclusively for purchase and use at the Hycroft Mine. As part of the agreement, the Company is required to make certain payments in advance of receiving such consignment inventory at the mine site. The Company records advance payments as prepaid supplies inventory within Other assets, non-current until such inventory is received, at which point, the amounts are reclassified to Inventories.
Royalty - advance payment
As of December 31, 2020, royalty-advance payments include annual advance payments for a portion of the Hycroft Mine that is subject to a mining lease requiring a 4% net profit royalty be paid to the owner of certain patented and unpatented mining claims. Refer to Note 21 - Commitments and Contingencies for further detail.
6. Restricted Cash
The following table provides the components of restricted cash (in thousands):
December 31,
2020
December 31,
2019
Reclamation surety bond cash collateral$39,677 $39,477 
First Lien Agreement restricted cash - Note 103,270 
Total$39,677 $42,747 
As of December 31, 2020, the Company's BLM reclamation obligation was secured with surety bonds totaling $59.9 million, which were partially exercise their over-allotment optioncollateralized by the restricted cash shown above. Restricted cash from Seller's First Lien Agreement was released on May 29, 2020 when such indebtedness was repaid in conjunction with the Recapitalization Transaction (see Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction).
7. Plant, Equipment, and Mine Development, Net
The following table provides the components of plant, equipment, and mine development, net (in thousands):
Depreciation Life
or Method
December 31,
2020
December 31,
2019
Leach padsUnits-of-production$17,432 $17,419 
Process equipment5 - 15 years16,065 14,770 
Buildings and leasehold improvements10 years10,507 10,507 
Mine equipment5 - 7 years5,961 4,716 
Vehicles3 - 5 years991 136 
Furniture and office equipment7 years322 129 
Mine developmentUnits-of-production756 119 
Mineral propertiesUnits-of-production37 
Construction in progress and other33,185 936 
$85,256 $48,732 
Less, accumulated depreciation and amortization(25,033)(17,208)
Total$60,223 $31,524 

During the year ended December 31, 2020, new process equipment was placed into service ($1.2 million), new mobile equipment was placed into service ($1.2 million), and construction of a new larger leach pad began ($30.9 million), which was the primary project included in construction in progress as of December 31, 2020. During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, certain leach pads ($11.2 million) were not actively used in the leaching process, and accordingly, the Company did not record any depletion for these leach pads. Additionally, during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company did not acquire any plant, equipment, or mine development through non-cash capital leases.
79

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Mineral properties
As of December 31, 2020, Mineral properties included an ARC asset of $0.04 million that is being depreciated on a straight-line basis over the life of the Company’s only operating property, the Hycroft Mine.
8. Other Liabilities
The following table summarizes the components of Other liabilities, current and Other liabilities, non-current (in thousands):
December 31,
2020
December 31,
2019
Other liabilities, current
Accrued compensation, benefits, continuation obligation, and bonus4,157 2,349 
Accrued compensation for phantom shares - Note 141,590 
Total$4,157 $3,939 
Other liabilities, non-current
Compensation and benefits continuation obligation$1,145 $
Payroll tax liability505 
Warrant liability - Notes 12 and 1862 18 
Total$1,712 $18 
Compensation and benefits continuation obligation
The Company has entered into separation agreements with former executives that provide for, among other things, continuation of such former executives' salaries and certain benefits for periods of 12-24 months from the date of separation.
9. Debt, Net
Debt covenants
The Company’s debt agreements contain representations and warranties, events of default, restrictions and limitations, reporting requirements, and covenants that are customary for agreements of these types.
The Sprott Credit Agreement (as defined herein) contains covenants that, among other things, restrict or limit the ability of the Company to enter into encumbrances (other than Permitted Encumbrances), incur indebtedness (other than Permitted Indebtedness), dispose of its assets (other than Permitted Disposals), pay dividends, and purchase or redeem shares, as such terms are defined in the Sprott Credit Agreement. The Sprott Credit Agreement requires the Company to ensure that, at all times, both its Working Capital and Unrestricted Cash are at least $10.0 million, as such terms are defined in the Sprott Credit Agreement, and that at least every six months the Company demonstrate its ability to repay and meet all present and future obligations as they become due with a financial Model that uses consensus gold prices discounted by 5.0%, as such terms are defined in the Sprott Credit Agreement. The Subordinated Notes (as defined herein) include customary events of default, including those relating to a failure to pay principal or interest, a breach of a covenant, representation or warranty, a cross-default to other indebtedness, and non-compliance with security documents.
As of December 31, 2020, the Company was in compliance with all covenants. 
80

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Debt balances
The following table summarizes the components of debt (in thousands):
December 31,
2020
December 31,
2019
Debt, net, current:
Sprott Credit Agreement(1)
$5,274 $
2.0 Lien Notes208,411 
1.5 Lien Notes137,050 
First Lien Agreement125,468 
1.25 Lien Notes77,212 
Promissory Note6,773 
Less, debt issuance costs(154)(949)
Total$5,120 $553,965 
Debt, net, non-current:
Subordinated Notes$84,797 $
Sprott Credit Agreement61,894 
Less, debt issuance costs(4,026)
Total$142,665 $
(1)Amount represents $1.6 million of Additional Interest (as defined in the Sprott Credit Agreement) plus 5.0% of the Company's outstanding debt balance as of December 31, 2020 under the Sprott Credit Agreement.
The following table summarizes the Company's contractual payments of long-term debt, including current maturities, for the five years subsequent to December 31, 2020 (in thousands):
2021$5,274 
202216,698
202323,948
202423,948
202596,771
Total166,639
Less, original issue discount(14,674)
Less, debt issuance costs(4,180)
Total debt, net, current and non-current$147,785 
81

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Sprott Credit Agreement
On October 4, 2019, the Company, as borrower, certain subsidiaries of the Company, as guarantors, and Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Collector), LP. (“Lender”), as arranger, executed a secured multi-advance term credit facility pursuant to which Lender committed to make, subject to certain conditions set forth therein, term loans in an aggregate principal amount up to $110.0 million. On May 29, 2020, the Company entered into the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (the “Sprott Credit Agreement”) to update the conditions precedent and effect certain other changes to conform to the details of the business combination. On May 29, 2020, at the consummation of the Recapitalization Transaction, the Company borrowed $70.0 million under the Sprott Credit Agreement, which was equal to the amount available under the first and second tranches, and issued to Lender 496,634 shares of common stock, which was equal to 1.0% of the Company’s post-closing shares of common stock outstanding. The Company paid an original issuance discount equal to 2.0% ($1.4 million) of the amount borrowed. The Company does not believe it is currently able to borrow under the third and final $40.0 million tranche of the Sprott Credit Agreement due to its inability to satisfy applicable conditions and production milestones required by certain conditions precedent to borrowing.
As it relates to the $62.3 million initially recorded for the Sprott Credit Agreement on the May 29, 2020 closing of the Recapitalization Transaction, the Company recorded $70.0 million for the stated amount of the borrowing itself, $9.3 million for the additional interest payment obligation, and a $17.0 million discount (inclusive of the $1.4 million original issuance discount), which will be amortized to Interest expense, net of capitalized interest using the effective interest method over the term of the Sprott Credit Agreement. As of December 31, 2020, the interest rate charged on the outstanding principal balance of the Sprott Credit Agreement was 8.5%. Using the closing price of $12.65 per share of common stock on the Recapitalization Transaction date, the Company also recorded $6.3 million to Additional paid-in capital for the 496,634 shares of common stock issued to the Lender.
Advances under the Sprott Credit Agreement bear interest monthly at a floating rate equal to 7.0% plus the greater of (i) U.S. Dollar three-month LIBOR and (ii) 1.5%, per annum, accruing daily and compounded monthly. For a period of twelve months following the May 29, 2020 initial advance date, 0 cash payments of interest or principal will be due, with 100% of interest accruing and being capitalized on a monthly basis to the outstanding principal balance of the Sprott Credit Agreement. Additionally, for each three-month period commencing on February 28, 2018, 550,000 Founder Shares were forfeited.

2021 and ending on the maturity date, the Company shall pay Lender additional interest on the last business day of such three-month period, calculated according to a formula set forth in the Sprott Credit Agreement and currently equal to $0.5 million per quarter ($9.3 million in total over the life of the Sprott Credit Agreement). Upon a prepayment of the entire Sprott Credit Agreement, all remaining additional interest payments and all remaining and yet unpaid additional interest must be prepaid as well.

The initial stockholders have agreed, subjectCompany is required to limited exceptions, notmake principal repayments beginning on August 31, 2021 and on the last business day every three months thereafter. The first four principal repayments are equal to transfer, assign or selltwo and one-half percent (2.5%) of the outstanding principal amount of the Sprott Credit Agreement on May 31, 2021 (including all capitalized interest thereon, if any, but excluding the principal repayment then due). All subsequent principal repayments are equal to seven and one-half (7.5%) of their Founder Shares until the earlier to occur of: (A) one year afteroutstanding principal amount of the completionSprott Credit Agreement on May 31, 2021 (including all capitalized interest thereon, if any, but excluding the principal repayment then due). The entire outstanding balance of the Sprott Credit Agreement, together with all unpaid interest and fees (including all capitalized interest, if any), is due on the day that is five years from the last day of the month of the initial Business Combinationclosing date, which shall be no later than May 31, 2025, the maturity date. The Company reviewed the features of the Sprott Credit Agreement for embedded derivatives, and determined no such instruments exist.
The Sprott Credit Agreement may be repaid in whole or (B) subsequentin part, at any time prior to the maturity date. Each prepayment or cancellation of the Sprott Credit Agreement (including capitalized interest, if any), whether in whole or in part, voluntarily or mandatory, subject to certain exceptions, that occurs on or prior to the fourth anniversary of the date of the initial Business Combination, (x)advance is subject to a prepayment premium between 3.0% and 5.0%. The obligations of the Company under the Sprott Credit Agreement are guaranteed by Credit Parties and secured by a lien on all properties and assets now owned, leased or hereafter acquired or leased by any Credit Party, as such terms are defined and further detailed in the Sprott Credit Agreement.
The Company is required to make prepayments of its outstanding principal balance equal to 50% or 100% of the proceeds received as outlined in the Sprott Credit Agreement. On October 31, 2020, the Company completed the sale of a SAG mill that was not in use for net proceeds of $2.3 million, of which $1.2 million was repaid in accordance with the Sprott Credit Agreement.
82

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Subordinated Notes
In connection with the business combination and pursuant to a 1.25 Lien Exchange Agreement, on May 29, 2020, the Company assumed $80.0 million in aggregate principal amount of Seller’s 1.25 Lien Notes that were exchanged as part of the Recapitalization Transaction (the "Subordinated Notes”). The Subordinated Notes are secured and subordinate in priority to the obligations under the Sprott Credit Agreement. The Subordinated Notes bear interest at a rate of 10.0% per annum, payable in-kind on a quarterly basis. The principal on the new Subordinated Notes is due December 1, 2025.
2.0 Lien Notes
As discussed in Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction, on May 29, 2020, $221.3 million of Seller's 2.0 Lien Notes were converted into shares of Seller common stock which, along with all of Seller's other stockholders, as part of Sellers's plan of dissolution, received a pro rata distribution of common stock from Seller that was received by Seller as consideration from the Company. The Company recorded $74.6 million directly to retained earnings upon Seller's distribution of 14,795,153 shares of common stock to Seller's former 2.0 Lien Note holders, which represented the difference between the carrying value of the 2.0 Lien Notes and the value of the common stock received as consideration by Seller's former 2.0 Lien Note holders. The 2.0 Lien Notes bore interest at a rate of 15.0% per annum, payable in-kind on a quarterly basis, through the issuance of additional 2.0 Lien Notes. The 2.0 Lien Notes were converted into Seller common stock at a conversion price of $1.67 per share in accordance with the 2.0 Lien Agreement. While outstanding, the obligations under the 2.0 Lien Notes and the guarantees by the guarantors in respect thereof were secured by liens on substantially all assets of the Company and the guarantors, subject to the priority of the liens that secured the obligations under the First Lien Agreement, the 1.25 Lien Notes and the 1.5 Lien Notes.
1.5 Lien Notes
As discussed in Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction, on May 29, 2020, after giving effect to the 1.5 Lien Notes’ 110.0% repurchase feature, $145.7 million of Seller’s 1.5 Lien Notes plus accrued and unpaid interest were exchanged, and subsequently cancelled, for 16,025,316 shares of common stock. The Company recorded a $14.6 million loss directly to retained earnings upon such exchange, which represented 10.0% of the $145.7 million aggregate principal amount of 1.5 Lien Notes balance at the time of exchange. While outstanding, the 1.5 Lien Notes bore interest at a rate of 15.0% per annum, which was payable in-kind on a quarterly basis, through the issuance of additional 1.5 Lien Notes. While outstanding, the obligations under the 1.5 Lien Notes and the guarantees by the guarantors in respect thereof were secured by liens on substantially all assets of Seller and the guarantors, subject to the priority of the liens that secured the obligations of the First Lien Agreement and the 1.25 Lien Notes, but superior in priority to the liens that secured the obligations of the 2.0 Lien Notes and the unsecured obligations of Seller.
1.25 Lien Notes
As discussed in Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction, on May 29, 2020, $48.5 million in aggregate principal amount of Seller’s 1.25 Lien Notes, which bore interest at 15.0% per annum, payable in-kind, were exchanged, and subsequently cancelled, for 4,845,920 shares of common stock and the remaining $80.0 million aggregate principal amount of Seller’s 1.25 Lien Notes were exchanged for $80.0 million in aggregate principal amount of new Subordinated Notes that were assumed in the Recapitalization Transaction by the Company, bearing interest at a rate of 10.0% per annum, payable-in-kind. The 1.25 Lien Notes bore interest at a rate of 15.0% per annum, which was payable in-kind on a quarterly basis, through the issuance of additional 1.25 Lien Notes. While outstanding, the obligations under the 1.25 Lien Notes and the guarantees by the guarantors in respect thereof were secured by liens on substantially all assets of Seller and the guarantors, subject to the priority of the liens that secured the obligations of the First Lien Agreement, but superior in priority to the liens that secured the obligations of the 1.5 Lien Notes, the 2.0 Lien Notes and the unsecured obligations of Seller.
First Lien Agreement
As discussed in Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction, on May 29, 2020, $125.5 million of outstanding principal under the First Lien Agreement with the Bank of Nova Scotia as agent, plus accrued interest, was repaid. Most recently, from January 31, 2020 through the repayment date, the First Lien Agreement bore interest at either LIBOR plus 7.5% or an Alternate Base Rate Canada plus 7.5%, as such terms were defined in the First Lien Agreement. The repayment of the First Lien Agreement and other obligations under the First Lien Agreement were guaranteed by all of the direct and indirect domestic subsidiaries of Seller. While outstanding, the obligations under the First Lien Agreement, the guarantees by the guarantors in respect thereof were secured by liens on substantially all of the assets of the Company and its subsidiaries. Upon repayment of the First Lien Agreement, $3.3 million of restricted cash was released to the Company (see Note 6 - Restricted Cash).
83

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Promissory Note
As discussed in Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction, on May 29, 2020, a $6.9 million promissory note was repaid, the obligation of which related to a 2014 settlement with a vendor of a predecessor of Seller.
Interest expense, net
The following table summarizes the components of recorded interest expense (in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
20202019
2.0 Lien Notes$12,902 $28,537 
1.5 Lien Notes8,635 18,763 
1.25 Lien Notes6,218 5,241 
First Lien Agreement4,575 10,022 
Sprott Credit Agreement6,009 
Subordinated Notes4,797 
Amortization of debt issuance costs1,972 2,048 
Promissory Note141 786 
Other interest expense40 
Capitalized interest(1,831)(551)
Total$43,458 $64,846 
The Company capitalizes interest to Plant, equipment, and mine development, net on the consolidated balance sheets for construction projects in accordance with ASC Topic 835, Interest. Except for the First Lien Agreement and other interest expense, amounts shown in the table above represent non-cash interest expense charges.
10. Royalty Obligation
On May 29, 2020, the closing date of the Recapitalization Transaction, the Company and Sprott Private Resource Lending II (Co) Inc. (the “Payee”) entered into a royalty agreement with respect to the Hycroft Mine (the “Sprott Royalty Agreement”) in which Payee paid to the Company cash consideration in the amount of $30.0 million, for which the Company granted to Payee a perpetual royalty equal to 1.5% of the Net Smelter Returns from its Hycroft Mine, payable monthly. Net Smelter Returns for any given month are calculated as Monthly Production multiplied by the Monthly Average Gold Price and the Monthly Average Silver Price, minus Allowable Deductions, as such terms are defined in the Sprott Royalty Agreement.
The Company has the right to repurchase up to 33.3% (0.5% of the 1.5% royalty) of the royalty on each of the first and second anniversaries from May 29, 2020. The Sprott Royalty Agreement is secured by a first priority lien on certain property of the Hycroft Mine, including: (1) all land and mineral claims, leases, interests, and rights; (2) water rights, wells, and related infrastructure; and (3) stockpiles, buildings, structures, and facilities affixed to, or situated on, the Hycroft Mine, which ranks senior to security interests and liens granted pursuant to the Sprott Credit Agreement. In addition to the terms generally described above, the Sprott Royalty Agreement contains other terms and conditions commonly contained in royalty agreements of this nature.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company recorded amortization of the royalty obligation of approximately $0.04 million and made payments of $0.5 million. As of December 31, 2020, $0.1 million of the royalty obligation was recorded as a current liability based upon the estimated gold and silver expected to be produced over the next 12 months, using the current mine plan, and current proven and probable mineral reserves.
84

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
11. Asset Retirement Obligation
The following table summarizes changes in the Company’s ARO (in thousands):
20202019
Balance at January 1,$4,374 $5,832 
Accretion expense374 422 
Changes in estimates37 (1,880)
Balance at December 31,$4,785 $4,374 
The Company did not incur any reclamation expenditures during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019. For the year ended December 31, 2020, the changes in estimates were due to construction of the new leach pad along with increases in equipment and labor costs. Changes in estimates during the year ended December 31, 2019 were driven by increased equipment and diesel costs but were more than offset by an increase in our credit adjusted risk-free rate, which is used to discount the future reclamation costs. As of December 31, 2020, the Company estimates that no significant reclamation expenditures associated with the ARO will be made until 2047 and that reclamation work will be completed by the end of 2065.
12. Stockholders' Equity
Following the May 29, 2020 Recapitalization Transaction, as of December 31, 2020, the total number of shares of all classes of capital stock that the Company has authority to issue is 410,000,000, of which 400,000,000 are common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, and 10,000,000 are preferred stock par value $0.0001 per share. The designations, powers, privileges and rights, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof in respect to each of our class of capital stock are discussed below.
Common stock
As of December 31, 2020, there were 59,901,306 shares of common stock issued and outstanding. Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share of common stock held by such holder. The holders of common stock are entitled to the payment of dividends and other distributions as may be declared from time to time by the Board of Directors in accordance with applicable law and to receive other distributions from the Company. Subject to the terms of the Recapitalization Transaction and as of May 29, 2020, certain new and existing holders of common stock of the Company are subject to lock-up periods, which ranged from six to twelve months or were dependent on the Company's filing of a registration statement, deemed effective by the SEC.
Preferred stock
As of December 31, 2020, there were 0 shares of preferred stock issued and outstanding.
Dividend policy
The Company’s credit facility under the Sprott Credit Agreement contains provisions that restrict its ability to pay dividends. For additional information see Note 9 - Debt, Net.
85

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Warrants
As described below, the Company had a total of 56,594,855 warrants outstanding as of December 31, 2020.
Public Offering warrants
On October 6, 2020, the Company issued 9,583,334 units in an underwritten public offering at an offering price to of $9.00 per unit (the "Public Offering"), with each unit consisting of 1 share of common stock and 1 warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $10.50 per share. Of the 9.6 million units issued, 5.0 million units were issued to Restricted Persons, as defined under the Seller Warrant Agreement. After deducting underwriting discounts and commission and offering expenses, the proceeds net of discount and equity issuance costs to the Company were $83.1 million. The warrants are immediately exercisable and entitle the holder thereof to purchase 1 share of common stock at an exercise price of $10.50 for a period of five years from the closing date of the Public Offering. The shares of common stock and warrants were separated upon issuance in the Public Offering. The warrants issued in the Public Offering are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "HYCML".

Five-Year Public Warrants
The Company has 34,289,898 publicly traded warrants outstanding that entitle holders to purchase 1 share of common stock at an exercise price of $11.50 per share for a period of five years from the May 29, 2020 Recapitalization Transaction ("Five-Year Public Warrants"). The Company has certain abilities to call such warrants if the last reported sale price of the Class A common stock equals or exceeds $12.00$18.00 per share (as adjusted for stockshare splits, stock dividends,share capitalizations, reorganizations, recapitalizations and the like) for any 20 trading days within anya 30-trading day period commencing at least 150 days afterperiod. See Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction for additional details on transactions to which these warrants were issued.
Seller Warrants

As part of the initial Business Combination, or (y) the date on whichRecapitalization Transaction, the Company completesassumed the obligations and liabilities under that certain warrant agreement, dated as of October 22, 2015, by and between Seller and Computershare Inc., a liquidation, merger, capital stock exchange or other similar transaction that results in allDelaware corporation, and its wholly owned subsidiary Computershare Trust Company, N.A., a federally chartered trust company, collectively as initial warrant agent; and Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC was named as the successor warrant agent (the “Seller Warrant Agreement”). Pursuant to the assumption of the Company’s stockholders havingSeller Warrant Agreement, the right to exchange theirwarrants issued thereunder (the “Seller Warrants”) became exercisable into shares of common stock. Upon assumption by the Company, the Seller Warrants were exercisable into 3,210,213 shares of common stock for cash, securities or other property.

Private Placement Warrants

Concurrently withat an exercise price determined as of October 1, 2020 pursuant to the closingSeller Warrant Agreement of $44.82 per share upon exercise of the Initial Public Offering, the Sponsor and Cantor purchased an aggregate12,721,623 outstanding Seller Warrants, with each warrant exercisable into 0.2523 shares of 7,500,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant (6,500,000 Private Placement Warrants by the Sponsor and 1,000,000 Private Placement Warrants by Cantor) for an aggregate purchase price of $7,500,000. On February 28, 2018, the Company consummated the sale of an additional 240,000 Private Placement Warrants at a price of $1.00 per Private Placement Warrant, of which 200,000 Private Placement Warrants were purchased by the Sponsor and 40,000 Private Placement Warrants were purchased by Cantor, generating gross proceeds of $240,000. Each Private Placement Warrant is exercisable for one whole share of Class A common stock, at awhich exercise price and number of $11.50 per share. The proceeds from the Private Placement Warrantsshares were added to the proceeds from the Initial Public Offering held in the Trust Account. If the Company does not complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period, the Private Placement Warrants will expire worthless. The Private Placement Warrants will be non-redeemable and exercisable on a cashless basis so long as they are held by the Sponsor, Cantor or their permitted transferees. The warrants will expire five years after the completion of the Company’s Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation. In addition, for as long as the Private Placement Warrants are held by Cantor or its designees or affiliates, they may not be exercised after five years from the effective date of the registration statement for the Initial Public Offering. 

The Private Placement Warrants have been deemed compensation by Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, or FINRA and are therefore subject to a 180-day lock-up pursuantadjustment from time to Rule 5110(g)(1) of the FINRA Manual commencing on the effective date of the registration statement for the Initial Public Offering. Pursuant to FINRA Rule 5110(g)(1), these securities will not be the subject of any hedging, short sale, derivative, put or call transaction that would result in the economic disposition of the securities by any person for a period of 180 days immediately following the effective date of the registration statement for the Initial Public Offering. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants purchased by Cantor may not be sold, transferred, assigned, pledged or hypothecated for 180 days following the effective date of the Initial Public Offering except to any selected dealer participating in the Initial Public Offering and the bona fide officers or partners of the underwriter and any such participating selected dealer.

The Sponsor, Cantor and the Company’s officers and directors have agreed, subject to limited exceptions, not to transfer, assign or sell any of their Private Placement Warrants until 30 days after the completion of the initial Business Combination.

Related Party Loans

On September 25, 2017, the Sponsor agreed to loan the Company an aggregate of up to $300,000 to cover expenses related to the Proposed Public Offering pursuant to a promissory note (the “Note”). The Note was non-interest bearing and payable on the earlier of March 31, 2018 or the completion of the Initial Public Offering. The Note was repaid upon the consummation of the Initial Public Offering.

In addition, in order to finance transaction costs in connection with a Business Combination, the Sponsor or an affiliate of the Sponsor, or certain of the Company’s officers and directors may, but are not obligated to, loan the Company funds as may be required (“Working Capital Loans”). If the Company completes a Business Combination, the Company would repay the Working Capital Loans out of the proceeds of the Trust Account released to the Company. Otherwise, the Working Capital Loans would be repaid only out of funds held outside the Trust Account. In the event that a Business Combination does not close, the Company may use a portion of proceeds held outside the Trust Account to repay the Working Capital Loans but no proceeds held in the Trust Account would be used to repay the Working Capital Loans. Except for the foregoing,time under the terms of such Working Capital Loans, if any,the Seller Warrant Agreement. Seller Warrants have not been determined and no written agreements exist with respect to such loans. The Working Capital Loans would either be repaid upon consummation of a Business Combination, without interest, or, atseven-year term that expires in October 2022.

As discussed above in the lender’s discretion, up to $1,500,000 of such Working Capital Loans may be convertible intoPublic Offering warrants of the post Business Combination entity at a price of $1.00 per warrant. The warrants would be identical to the Private Placement Warrants.

F-12

MUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2018

Administrative Support Agreement

The Company entered into an agreement whereby, commencing on February 8, 2018 through the earlier of the Company’s consummation of a Business Combination and its liquidation, to pay the Sponsor a total of $10,000 per month for office space, utilities and secretarial and administrative support. For the year ended December 31, 2018, the Company incurred $110,000 of administrative service fees.

5. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Registration Rights

Pursuant to a registration rights agreement entered into on February 7, 2018, the holders of Founder Shares, Private Placement Warrants, securities issuable pursuant to the Forward Purchase Contract (see below), and warrants that may be issued upon conversion of Working Capital Loans are entitled to registration rights (in the case of the Founder Shares, only after conversion of such shares to shares of Class A common stock). These holders have certain demand and “piggyback” registration rights. The Company will bear the expenses incurredsection, in connection with the filing of any such registration statements.

Underwriting Agreement

The underwriters were paid a cash underwriting discount of $0.20 per Unit, or $4,160,000 in the aggregate. In addition, the underwriters are entitled to a deferred fee of $0.35 per Unit, or $7,280,000 in the aggregate. The deferred fee will become payable to the underwriters from the amounts held in the Trust Account solely in the event thatPublic Offering, the Company completes a Business Combination, subjectdetermined that certain adjustments were required to be made to the terms of the underwriting agreement.

Forward Purchase Contract

On January 24, 2018,Seller Warrants as a result of the issuance by the Company entered into a forward purchase contract (the “Forward Purchase Contract”) within the Sponsor, pursuant to which the Sponsor committed to purchase, in a private placement for gross proceeds of $25,000,000 to occur concurrently with the consummation of a Business Combination, 2,500,000 Units (the “Forward Units”) on substantially the same terms as the sale of Units in Initial Public Offering at $10.00 per Unit, and 625,000 shares of Class A common stock. The funds from4,951,388 units to “Restricted Persons” under the sale of Forward Units will be used as partSeller Warrant Agreement. As a result of the consideration toadjustments required under the sellers in a Business Combination; any excess fundsSeller Warrant Agreement, (1) the exercise price of each Seller Warrant decreased from this private placement will be used for working capital purposes in the post-transaction company. This commitment is independent of the percentage of stockholders electing to redeem their Public Shares and provides the Company with a minimum funding level for a Business Combination.

6. STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Common Stock

Class A Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 100,000,000 shares of Class A common stock with a par value of $0.0001$44.82 per share. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, there were 951,675 and -0- shares of Class A common stock issued and outstanding (excluding 19,848,325 and -0- sharesshare of common stock subject to possible redemption), respectively.

Class B Common Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 10,000,000 shares$41.26 per share of Class B common stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share. Holders of Class B common stock are entitled to one vote for each share. As of December 31, 2018stock; and 2017, there were 5,200,000 and 5,750,000 shares, respectively, of Class B common stock outstanding.

Holders of Class A common stock and Class B common stock will vote together as a single class on all other matters submitted to a vote of stockholders except as required by law.

The shares of Class B common stock will automatically convert into shares of Class A common stock at the time of the initial Business Combination on a one-for-one basis, subject to adjustment. In the case that additional shares of Class A common stock, or equity-linked securities, are issued or deemed issued in excess of the amounts offered in the Initial Public Offering and related to the closing of the initial Business Combination, the ratio at which shares of Class B common stock shall convert into shares of Class A common stock will be adjusted (unless the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of Class B common stock agree to waive such adjustment with respect to any such issuance or deemed issuance) so that(2) the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon conversion of all shares of Class B common stock will equal, in the aggregate, on an as-converted basis, 20% of the sum of the total number of all shares of common stock outstanding upon the completion of the Initial Public Offering plus all shares of Class A common stock and equity-linked securities issued or deemed issued in connection with the initial Business Combination (excluding any shares or equity-linked securities issued, or to be issued, to any seller in the initial Business Combination, any private placement-equivalent warrants issued to the Sponsor or its affiliates upon conversion of loans made to the Company or any securities issued pursuant to the Forward Purchase Contract (see Note 5)). Holders of Founder Shares may also elect to convert their shares of Class B common stock into an equal number of shares of Class A common stock, subject to adjustment as provided above, at any time.

F-13

MUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2018

Preferred Stock — The Company is authorized to issue 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $0.0001 per share with such designations, voting and other rights and preferences as may be determined from time to time by the Company’s board of directors. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, there were no shares of preferred stock issued or outstanding.

Warrants — Public Warrants may only be exercised for a whole number of shares. The Public Warrants will become exercisable on the later of (a) 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination or (b) 12 months from the closing of the Initial Public Offering; provided in each case that the Company has an effective registration statement under the Securities Act covering the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of each Seller Warrant increased from 0.25234 to 0.27411. Accordingly, as adjusted, the Publicaggregate number of shares of common stock issuable upon full exercise of the 12,721,623 outstanding Seller Warrants andincreased from 3,210,213 shares to 3,487,168 shares of common stock. As a current prospectus relating to them is available. The Company has agreed that as soon as practicable, but in no event later than 15 business days after the closingresult of a Business Combination, the Company will use its best effortsauthorizing the issuance of up to file with the SEC a registration statement for the registration,2,508,002 shares under the Securities Act,Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation Incentive and Performance Plan (“Incentive Plan”), as of January 19, 2020, the Company elected to treat all shares issuable under the Incentive Plan as deemed issued to Restricted Persons and elected to prospectively reduce the exercise price of each Seller Warrant to $40.31 per share of common stock and increase the number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants. The Company will use its best effortseach Seller Warrant to cause the same to become effective and to maintain the effectiveness0.28055. As a result, an aggregate of such registration statement, and a current prospectus relating thereto, until the expiration of the Public Warrants in accordance with the provisions of the warrant agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a registration statement covering the3,569,051 shares of Class A common stock are issuable upon exercise of the Public Warrants12,721,623 outstanding Seller Warrants. See Note 18 - Fair Value Measurements for further detail on the Seller Warrants.

86

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
13. Revenues
The table below is a summary of the Company’s gold and silver sales (in thousands, except ounces sold):
Year Ended December 31,
20202019
AmountOunces
Sold
AmountOunces
Sold
Gold sales$44,279 24,892 $12,803 8,593 
Silver sales2,765 136,238 906 52,036 
Total$47,044 0$13,709 0
Following the 2019 restart of the Hycroft Mine, the Company began recording revenue from gold and silver sales during the third quarter of 2019. While the Company is not effective within a specified period followingobligated to sell any of its gold and silver to one customer, the consummationmajority of Business Combination, warrant holders may, until such time as there is an effective registration statementgold and silver sales during any period when the Company shall have failed to maintain an effective registration statement, exercise warrants on a cashless basis pursuantboth 2019 and 2020 were to the exemption providedsame customer. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, approximately 79.1% and 100.0%, respectively, of revenue was attributable to sales to one customer. 
14. Stock-Based Compensation
Performance and Incentive Pay Plan
The Company's Performance and Incentive Pay Plan (the “PIPP”), which was approved on February 20, 2019 and amended on May 29, 2020 in connection with the Recapitalization Transaction, is a stock-based compensation plan to attract, retain and motivate employees and directors while directly linking incentives to increases in stockholder value. Terms and conditions (including performance-based vesting criteria) of awards granted under the PIPP are established by Section 3(a)(9)the Board of Directors or the Compensation Committee of the Securities Act, provided that such exemption is available. If that exemption, or another exemption, is not available, holders will notBoard of Directors, who administer the PIPP. Awards may be able to exercise their warrants ongranted in a cashless basis.variety of forms, including restricted stock, restricted stock units, stock options, stock appreciation rights, performance awards, and other stock-based awards. The Public Warrants will expire five years after the completion of a Business Combination or earlier upon redemption or liquidation.

The Private Placement Warrants are identical to the Public Warrants underlying the Units being sold in the Initial Public Offering, except that the Private Placement Warrants and the Class A common stock issuable upon the exercise of the Private Placement Warrants will not be transferable, assignable or salable until 30 days after the completion of a Business Combination, subject to certain limited exceptions. Additionally, the Private Placement Warrants will be exercisable on a cashless basis and be non-redeemable so long as they are held by the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees. If the Private Placement Warrants are held by someone other than the initial purchasers or their permitted transferees, the Private Placement Warrants will be redeemable by the Company and exercisable by such holders on the same basis as the Public Warrants.

The Company may redeem the Public Warrants (except with respect to the Private Placement Warrants):

in whole and not in part;
at a price of $0.01 per warrant;
at any time during the exercise period;
upon a minimum of 30 days’ prior written notice of redemption; and
if, and only if, the last sale price of the Company’s Class A common stock equals or exceeds $18.00 per share for any 20 trading days within a 30-trading day period ending on the third trading day prior to the date on which the Company sends the notice of redemption to the warrant holders.
If, and only if, there is a current registration statement in effect with respect to the shares of Class A common stock underlying such warrants.

If the Company calls the Public Warrants for redemption, management will have the option to require all holders that wish to exercise the Public Warrants to do so on a “cashless basis,” as described in the warrant agreement.

The exercise price and number of shares of Class A common stock issuable upon exercisemade available for award under the PIPP is equal to 5.0% of the warrants may be adjusted in certain circumstances including inissued and outstanding shares of the event of a stock dividend, or recapitalization, reorganization, merger or consolidation. However, the warrants will not be adjusted for issuance of Class ACompany's common stock at a price below its exercise price. Additionally, in no event willimmediately after the Company be required to net cash settle the warrants. If the Company is unable to complete a Business Combination within the Combination Period and the Company liquidates the funds held in the Trust Account, holders of warrants will not receive any of such funds with respect to their warrants, nor will they receive any distribution from the Company’s assets held outsideclose of the Trust Account withRecapitalization Transaction, or 2,508,002 shares. There are currently 1,819,814 shares registered and available to grant under the respect to such warrants. Accordingly, the warrants may expire worthless.

F-14
PIPP. There are no equity compensation plans not approved by stockholders.

MUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2018

7. INCOME TAX

Information for the period from August 28, 2017 (inception) through December 31, 2017 is not presented as it is not material.

The Company’s net deferred tax assets are as follows:

  December 31,
2018
 
Deferred tax asset    
Organizational costs/Startup expenses $86,012 
Total deferred tax assets  86,012 
Valuation allowance  (86,012)
Deferred tax asset, net of allowance $ 

The income tax provision (benefit) consists of the following:

  Year Ended
December 31,
2018
 
Federal    
Current $555,449 
Deferred  (86,012)
     
State    
Current   
Deferred   
Change in valuation allowance  86,012 
Income tax provision $555,449 

As of December 31, 2018,2020, all awards granted under the PIPP were in the form of restricted stock units to employees or consultants of the Company. Restricted stock units granted to employees under the PIPP without performance-based vesting criteria typically vest in either equal annual installments over two to three years, or in entirety on the fourth anniversary after the grant date. Awards granted to employees with performance-based vesting criteria typically vest in annual installments over two or three years subject to the achievement of certain financial and operating results of the Company. Restricted stock units granted to non-employee directors vested immediately while others vest in equal installments over a two to three year period.

For restricted stock units granted in the first quarter of 2019 that had not vested as of December 31, 2020, a price per share was not determined as of the grant date. The number of shares of common stock of the Company had no U.S. federalto be issued upon vesting is to be calculated on the vesting date, which is either the second or third anniversary of the date of the grant, or the annual date the compensation committee determines the achievement of the corporate performance targets. Such unvested restricted stock unit awards are included in Other liabilities, non-current. Refer to Note 8 - Other Liabilities for further detail.
87

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
The following table summarizes the Company’s stock-based compensation cost and stateunrecognized stock-based compensation cost by plan (in thousands):
Restricted Stock Units
Performance and Incentive PayNumber of UnitsWeighted Average Grant Date Fair Value
Non-vested at beginning of year(1)
339,271$10.96 
Granted517,2348.11 
Canceled/forfeited(131,724)11.32 
Vested(179,085)11.05 
Non-vested at end of year545,696$8.12 
(1)The weighted average grant date fair value for non-vested restricted stock units at the beginning of the year was not determined because a price per share was not determined as of the grant date. The number of shares of common stock of the Company to be issued upon vesting is to be calculated on the vesting date.
In connection with the closing of the Recapitalization Transaction on May 29, 2020, approximately 0.1 million restricted stock units, which were granted in 2019, vested at an average price of $12.65 per share, the closing price of common stock on the date of the Recapitalization Transaction. On June 1, 2020, approximately 0.1 million restricted stock units vested at an average price of $11.50 per share, the closing price of common stock on such vesting date. Additionally, in connection with the 2020 annual grant to the Company’s directors, approximately 0.03 million restricted stock units were granted on December 4, 2020, which immediately vested at $7.43 per share, the closing price on the Nasdaq Capital Market of the Company's common stock on December 4, 2020.
During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company reclassified $1.8 million from Other liabilities, current to Additional paid-in capital for the restricted stock units that vested. Shares of the Company’s common stock were issued for the vested restricted stock units held by former employees as of December 31, 2020; however, shares of common stock for such awards will not be issued to current employees until the Conversion Date, as defined in the equity award agreements.
The total intrinsic value of restricted stock units (calculated as the product of price per share on the vesting date times the number of restricted stock units vested) vested during the year ended December 31, 2020 was $2.0 million. NaN restricted stock units vested during the year ended December 31, 2019.
Total compensation expense relating to restricted stock awards was $2.4 million and $1.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Our recognized tax benefit from this expense for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $0.4 million and $0.3 million, respectively.
As of December 31, 2020, $2.9 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to restricted stock units was expected to be recognized as an expense by the Company in the future over a weighted-average period of approximately 2.2 years.
88

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Non-Employee Director Phantom Stock Plan
Non-executive members of Seller's Board of Directors received phantom shares pursuant to the Hycroft Mining Corporation Non-Employee Director Phantom Stock Plan (the “Phantom Plan”) as part of their annual compensation pursuant to phantom stock award agreements. For grants issued during the years ended 2015 and 2016, the cash payment was equal to the fair market value of 1 share of common stock of Seller at the date of payment. Under the grant agreements, each phantom share vested on the date of grant and entitled the participant to a cash payment. For grants issued during 2018, 2019, and 2020, the cash payment was equal to the greater of the (1) grant date value, or (2) the fair market value of 1 share of common stock of Seller at the date of payment. The cash payments were to be made to participants upon certain Payment Events, as such term is defined in the Phantom Plan, which was triggered by the closing of the Recapitalization Transaction. In connection with the closing of the Recapitalization Transaction, a $1.8 million cash payment was made to the participants to satisfy the 1,237,500 phantom shares that were vested and outstanding. 
During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, non-employee members of Seller’s Board of Directors were granted a total of 157,500 and 315,000 phantom shares of stock, respectively, that vested upon grant. During the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company recorded $0.2 million and $0.7 million, respectively, in compensation expense related to the vesting and valuation adjustments of the Seller's phantom shares, which is included in General and administrative on the consolidated statements of operations. Historically, the Company included amounts for Seller's outstanding phantom awards at fair value within Other liabilities, current (see Note 18 - Fair Value Measurements for additional information).
15. Income Taxes
For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company recorded 0 income tax benefit or expense based upon the annual effective tax rate of 0.0% for each period. The annual effective tax rate for each period was driven by losses for each period. The gain related to the Recapitalization Transaction was excluded from the estimated annual effective tax rate calculation for the 2020 period as it is considered a discrete item. The Company reversed a portion of the valuation allowance based on the net operating loss carryovers (“NOLs”) availableexpected to be used, in order to offset futureSeller's taxable income. In accordance with Section 382gain related to the Recapitalization Transaction.
The Company is subject to state income tax in Colorado, which is the location of the Internal Revenue Code, deductibilityits corporate office, but did not incur any income tax expense related to Colorado due to continued net operating losses. The Company is subject to mining taxes in Nevada, which are classified as income taxes as such taxes are based on a percentage of mining profits, but did not incur any mining tax expense due to continued mining losses. The Company is not subject to foreign income taxes as all of the Company’s NOLs may be subjectoperations and properties are located within the United States.
The Company’s loss before income taxes was attributable solely to an annual limitationdomestic operations in the event of a change in control as defined under the regulations.

In assessing the realizationUnited States. The components of the deferredCompany’s income tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some portionexpense (benefit) were as follows (in thousands):

Year Ended
20202019
Current
Federal$$
Deferred
Federal146,785 (24,609)
Change in Valuation Allowance(146,785)24,609 
Income Tax Benefit$$
89

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
The following table provides a reconciliation of income taxes computed at the deferredUnited States federal statutory tax assets will not be realized. The ultimate realizationrate of deferred21% in 2020 and 2019 to the income tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which temporary differences representing net future deductible amounts become deductible. Management considers the scheduled reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and tax planning strategies in making this assessment. After consideration of all of the information available, management believes that significant uncertainty exists with respect to future realization of the deferred tax assets and has therefore established a full valuation allowance. provision (in thousands):
Year Ended
20202019
Loss before income taxes$(132,670)$(98,895)
United States statutory income tax rate21%21%
Income tax (benefit) at United States statutory income tax rate$(27,861)$(20,768)
Change in valuation allowance(146,785)24,609
Recapitalization transaction157,8550
Cancellation of debt income15,3600
State tax provision, net of federal benefit1,263(3,847)
Other1686
Income Tax Benefit$$
For the year ended December 31, 2018,2020, the changeeffective tax rate was a result of a decrease in the valuation allowance was $86,012.

A reconciliationof $146.8 million which offset a $157.9 million net write-off and usage of certain deferred tax assets as a result of the Recapitalization Transaction and $15.4 million of cancellation of debt income related to the Recapitalization Transaction.

For the year ended December 31, 2019, the effective tax rate was driven by an increase in the valuation allowance of $24.6 million that was partially offset by adjustments related to the apportionment of taxable loss to the state of Colorado. The apportionment of taxable loss caused state return to provision adjustments of $3.8 million.
The components of the Company’s deferred tax assets are as follows (in thousands):
December 31,
20202019
Net operating loss$7,684 $146,382 
Mineral properties39,555 
Plant, equipment, and mine development30,767 60,840 
Intangible assets21,710 
Royalty6,292 
Interest expense carryforward1,935 24,369 
Asset retirement obligation997 927 
Stock-based compensation405 257 
Accrued compensation197 
Inventories191 15,438 
Reorganization costs7,701 
Other liabilities609 
Credits and other(6)
Valuation allowance(109,733)(256,517)
Total net deferred tax assets$$
Based on the weight of evidence available as of both December 31, 2020, and 2019, which included recent operating results, future projections, and historical inability to generate operating cash flow, the Company concluded that it was more likely than not that the benefit of its net deferred tax assets would not be realized and, as such, recorded full valuation allowances of $109.7 million and $256.5 million, respectively, against its net deferred tax assets.
90

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
The Company had net operating loss carryovers as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 of $36.6 million and $683.8 million, respectively, for federal income tax ratepurposes. The accumulated net operating loss carryovers as of December 31, 2019 were not transferred from the Seller to the Company’s effective tax rate atCompany upon consummation of the Recapitalization Transaction, which caused the decrease in the balance. The carryforward amount as of December 31, 2018 sand 2017 is as follows:

Year Ended
December 31,
2018
Statutory federal income tax rate21.0%
State taxes, net of federal tax benefit0.0%
Change in valuation allowance3.8%
Income tax provision24.8%

The Company files2020 can be carried forward indefinitely and can be used to offset taxable income tax returnsand reduce income taxes payable in future periods, pending any potential limitation pursuant to Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) section 382. Additional analysis of the IRC section 382 limitations will be performed in the U.S. federal jurisdictionfuture and could result in various statean annual limitation applied to the $36.6 million of net operating losses.

Immediately prior to the Recapitalization Transaction, Seller had estimated net deferred tax assets of approximately $193.0 million, which were primarily comprised of net operating losses and local jurisdictions and is subject to examinationoffset by the various taxing authorities. The Company considers New York to be a significant state tax jurisdiction.

F-15

MUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORPORATION
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
DECEMBER 31, 2018

8. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS 

The Company follows the guidance in ASC 820 for its financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at each reporting period, and non-financial assets and liabilities that are re-measured and reported at fair value at least annually. 

The fair valuefull valuation allowance. As a result of the Company’s financialRecapitalization Transaction, Seller, which sold all of its issued and outstanding equity interests of its direct subsidiaries and substantially all of its other assets, to Acquisition Sub, which also assumed substantially all of the liabilities of Seller, had a taxable gain and liabilities reflects management’s estimatecancellation of amounts that the Company would have received inindebtedness of approximately $128.5 million before considering Seller's net operating loss carryforwards. In connection with the Recapitalization Transaction, Seller used approximately $27.2 million of its deferred tax assets to offset the taxable gain in full, resulting in remaining net deferred tax assets of approximately $94.1 million immediately after the Recapitalization Transaction. The remaining net deferred tax assets balance of Seller did not transfer to the Company as a result of the Recapitalization Transaction. For U.S. tax purposes, the sale of Seller's disregarded subsidiaries interests and other assets was considered a sale of assets. The acquired assets have a carryover basis for U.S. GAAP purposes and the Company has stepped up the fair market value basis in the assets acquired for tax purposes.

As necessary, the Company provides a reserve against the benefits of uncertain tax positions taken in its tax filings that are more likely than not to not be sustained upon examination. Based on the weight of available evidence, the Company does not believe it has taken any uncertain tax positions that require the establishment of a reserve. The Company has not recorded any income tax reserves or paidrelated interest or penalties related to income tax liabilities as of December 31, 2020. The Company's policy, if it were to have uncertain tax positions, is to recognize interest and/or penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as part of its income tax expense. With limited exception, the Company is no longer subject to U.S. federal income tax audits by taxing authorities for tax years 2017 and prior; however, net operating loss and credit carryforwards from all years are subject to examinations and adjustments for at least three years following the year in connectionwhich the attributes are used.
16. Loss Per Share
The table below summarizes the Company's basic and diluted loss per share calculations (in thousands, except share and per share amounts):
Year Ended December 31,
20202019
Net loss$(132,670)$(98,895)
Weighted average shares outstanding
Basic34,833,211 301,559 
Diluted34,833,211 301,559 
Basic loss per common share$(3.81)$(327.95)
Diluted loss per common share$(3.81)$(327.95)
The weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding for the year ended December 31, 2019 have been retroactively restated as shares reflecting the exchange ratio established in the Recapitalization Transaction to effect the reverse recapitalization (1 Seller share for 0.112 HYMC share). Basic and diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss for the period by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Loss per share amounts in the 2019 period exclude the common share effects from certain of Seller's debt instruments, which are reflected in the 2020 period. 
91

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Due to the Company's net loss during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, there was no dilutive effect of common stock equivalents because the effects of such would have been anti-dilutive. Using the treasury stock method, the weighted-average common stock equivalents excluded from diluted loss per share calculations were 47.7 million shares (47.4 million shares related to warrants, and 0.3 million shares related to restricted stock units), for the year ended December 31, 2020. For the year ended December 31, 2019, the weighted-average common stock equivalents excluded from diluted loss per share calculations using the treasury stock method were 3.2 million shares related to warrants. Unvested restricted stock units granted in 2019 were excluded from common stock equivalent calculations because the number of shares required to settle such stock-based compensation awards is not known until the future vesting date.
17. Segment Information
The Company's reportable segments are comprised of operating units that have revenues, earnings or losses, or assets exceeding 10% of the respective consolidated totals, and are consistent with the transferCompany’s management reporting structure. Each segment is reviewed by the executive decision-making group to make decisions about allocating the Company's resources and to assess their performance. The tables below summarize the Company's segment information:
Year Ended December 31,
Hycroft MineCorporate and OtherTotal
2020
Revenue - Note 13$47,044 $$47,044 
Cost of sales109,621 109,621 
Other operating costs5,705 21,084 26,789 
Loss from operations(68,282)(21,084)(89,366)
Interest expense - Note 10(141)(43,317)(43,458)
Fair value adjustment to Seller Warrants - Note 18(45)(45)
Interest income199 199 
Loss before reorganization items and income taxes(68,224)(64,446)(132,670)
Reorganization items
Loss before income taxes$(68,224)$(64,446)$(132,670)
Total Assets$177,298 $55,328 $232,626 
2019
Revenue - Note 13$13,709 $$13,709 
Cost of sales30,669 30,669 
Other operating costs10,909 6,072 16,981 
Loss from operations(27,869)(6,072)(33,941)
Interest expense - Note 10(786)(64,060)(64,846)
Fair value adjustment to Seller Warrants - Note 18
Interest income797 797 
Loss before reorganization items and income taxes(27,858)(70,132)(97,990)
Reorganization items(905)(905)
Loss before income taxes$(27,858)$(71,037)$(98,895)
Total Assets$119,789 $14,848 $134,637 

92

18. Fair Value Measurements
Recurring fair value measurements
The following table sets forth by level within the fair value of its assets and liabilities, the Company seeks to maximize the use of observable inputs (market data obtained from independent sources) and to minimize the use of unobservable inputs (internal assumptions about how market participants would price assets and liabilities). The following fair value hierarchy, is used to classify assets and liabilities based on the observable inputs and unobservable inputs used in order to value the assets and liabilities:

Level 1:Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. An active market for an asset or liability is a market in which transactions for the asset or liability occur with sufficient frequency and volume to provide pricing information on an ongoing basis.
Level 2:Observable inputs other than Level 1 inputs. Examples of Level 2 inputs include quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities and quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active.
Level 3:Unobservable inputs based on our assessment of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability.

The following table presents information about the Company’s assets that areliabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis (in thousands).

Hierarchy
Level
December 31,
2020
December 31,
2019
Liabilities:
Other liabilities, current
Accrued compensation for phantom shares3$$1,590 
Other liabilities, non-current
Warrant liability - Note 12262 18 
Total$62 $1,608 
Accrued compensation for phantom shares
Certain of Seller's phantom shares, which were satisfied in full upon closing of the Recapitalization Transaction, were carried at December 31, 2018fair value due to holders of such awards being entitled to variable cash payments based upon valuations of Seller's common stock. The historical fair value of such obligation was computed using inputs and 2017,assumptions that were significant and indicatesunobservable as Seller was a privately held entity and, as such, were classified within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchyhierarchy. The inputs and assumptions included estimates of consideration to be received by holders of phantom shares based on the estimated fair value of the valuation inputsconsideration that may be allocated to such holders from the various financing transactions Seller was considering at such time based on the implied equity value.
Warrant liability
As part of the Recapitalization Transaction, the Company utilizedassumed Seller's obligations under the Seller Warrant Agreement and the 12.7 million Seller Warrants outstanding became exercisable into shares of the Company's common stock. The Seller Warrant Agreement also contains certain terms and features to determine suchreduce the exercise price and increase the number of shares of common stock each warrant is exercisable into. As a result, Seller Warrants are considered derivative financial instruments and carried at fair value:

Description Level  December 31,
2018
  December 31,
2017
 
Assets:            
Marketable securities held in Trust Account – U.S. Treasury Securities Money Market Fund  1  $212,916,691  $ 

9. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS 

value. The fair value of Seller Warrants was computed by an independent third-party consultant (and validated by the Company) using a Monte Carlo simulation-based model that requires a variety of inputs, including contractual terms, market prices, exercise prices, equity volatility and discount rates. The Company evaluated subsequent eventsupdates the fair value calculation on at least an annual basis, or more frequently if changes in circumstances and assumptions indicate a change from the existing carrying value. See Note 12 - Stockholders' Equity for additional information on the Seller Warrants.

93

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Items disclosed at fair value
Debt
The Sprott Credit Agreement and the Subordinated Notes are privately held and, as such, there is no public market or trading information available for such debt instruments. As of December 31, 2020, the fair value of the Company’s debt instruments was $154.9 million. The fair value of the principal of the Company’s debt instruments, including capitalized interest, was estimated using a market approach in which pricing information for publicly traded, non-convertible debt instruments with speculative ratings were analyzed to derive a mean trading multiple to apply to the December 31, 2020 balances. As of December 31, 2019, Seller determined that certain of its debt instruments' carrying value exceeded the estimated fair value, which was based on the estimated fair value of the consideration that may be allocated to such debt instruments from the various financing transactions Seller was considering at such time. Accordingly, as of December 31, 2019, Seller estimated that the fair value of the 2.0 Lien Notes and 1.5 Lien Notes was approximately $262.4 million, compared to the carrying value of $345.5 million.
Royalty obligation
As of December 31, 2020, the estimated net present value of the Company’s royalty obligation was $148.4 million, compared to the carrying value of $30.0 million. The net present value of the Company's royalty obligation was modeled using the following level 3 inputs: (1) market consensus inputs for future gold and silver prices; (2) a precious metals industry consensus discount rate of 5.0%; and (3) estimates of the Hycroft Mine’s life-of-mine gold and silver production volumes and timing.
19. Supplemental Cash Flow Information
The following table provides supplemental cash flow information (in thousands):
Year Ended December 31,
20202019
Cash paid for interest$5,366 $10,239 
Significant non-cash financing and investing activities:
Exchange of Seller's 1.5 Lien Notes for HYMC common stock160,254 
Exchange of Seller's 1.25 Lien Notes for Subordinated Notes80,000 
Exchange of Seller's 1.25 Lien Notes for HYMC common stock48,459 
Write-off of Seller's debt issuance costs8,202 
Plant, equipment, and mine development additions included in accounts payable1,229 2,458 
Accrual of deferred financing and equity issuance costs94 1,025 
In addition to the supplemental cash flow information shown above, Note 3 - Recapitalization Transaction and Note 9 - Debt, Net provide additional details on non-cash transactions that occurred afterwere part of the Recapitalization Transaction, as well as information on non-cash interest charges.
94

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
20. Employee Benefit Plans
401(k) Plan
The Hycroft Mining Corporation 401(k) Plan (the “401(k) Plan”) is a defined contribution plan that is available to all employees of the Company upon their date of hire. The 401(k) Plan is subject to the provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code. Administrative fees of the 401(k) Plan are paid by the Company. The assets of the 401(k) Plan are held and the related investments are executed by the 401(k) Plan’s trustee.
Participants in the 401(k) Plan exercise control and direct the investment of their contributions and account balances among various investment alternatives. The Company matches a percentage of employee deferrals to the 401(k) Plan up to certain limits. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company’s matching contributions totaled $0.9 million, and $0.5 million, respectively.
21. Commitments and Contingencies
From time to time, the Company is involved in various legal actions related to its business, some of which are class action lawsuits. Management does not believe, based on currently available information, that contingencies related to any pending or threatened legal matter will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial statements, although a contingency could be material to the Company’s results of operations or cash flows for a particular period depending on the results of operations and cash flows for such period. Regardless of the outcome, litigation can have an adverse impact on the Company because of defense and settlement costs, diversion of management resources, and other factors.
On February 7, 2020, a purported class action complaint was filed by a purported holder of the Seller Warrants, in the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware against Seller and the Company. The complaint sought a declaratory judgment that the Recapitalization Transaction constitutes a “Fundamental Change” under the terms of the Seller Warrant Agreement and thereby requiring that Seller Warrants be assumed by the Company as part of the Recapitalization Transaction, in addition to asserting claims for: (1) breach or anticipatory breach of contract against Seller; (2) breach or anticipatory breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing against Seller; and (3) tortious interference with contractual relations against the Company. The complaint sought unspecified money damages and also sought an injunction enjoining Seller and the Company from consummating the Recapitalization Transaction. On February 26, 2020, the Company and Seller entered into an amendment to the Purchase Agreement whereby Seller’s liabilities and obligations under the Seller Warrant Agreement were included as an assumed liability under the Purchase Agreement. On March 27, 2020, the Company and Seller filed motions to dismiss the complaint. On May 15, 2020, a hearing was held and the complaint was dismissed. On May 21, 2020, Plaintiff filed a motion to alter or amend the Court’s order in order to retain jurisdiction in order to file application for a mootness fee, to which the Company and Seller, while disputing factual assertions and characterizations, did not oppose. On June 30, 2020, the motion was granted and the Court retained jurisdiction over the action to hear any mootness fee application. The matter was settled and a $0.1 million mootness fee was paid on September 8, 2020.
Financial commitments not recorded in the financial statements
As of December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2019, the Company's off-balance sheet arrangements consisted of operating lease agreements, a net profit royalty arrangement, and a future purchase obligation for consignment inventory.
Operating leases
During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company signed 2 leases for the rental of mining equipment. The operating leases for mobile mining equipment were used to supplement the Company’s own fleet. Each lease had less than a year remaining as of December 31, 2020. The total remaining minimum lease payments for the 2 leases was approximately $4.8 million as of December 31, 2020.
The Company also holds operating leases. Rent expense is $0.2 million annually and the leases expire between March 2021 and January 2022.
As the Company has elected to take advantage of the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards, the Company will not adopt ASU 2016-02 until January 2022, or it no longer qualifies as an emerging growth company, and no right of use asset or liability will be recorded on the balance sheet date upfor existing operating leases.
95

HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements
Net profit royalty
A portion of the Hycroft Mine is subject to a mining lease that requires a 4% net profit royalty be paid to the owner of certain patented and unpatented mining claims. The mining lease also requires an annual advance payment of $120,000 every year mining occurs on the leased claims. All advance annual payments are credited against the future payments due under the 4% net profit royalty. An additional payment of $120,000 is required for each year total tons mined on the leased claims exceeds 5.0 million tons. As of December 31, 2020, total tons mined from the leased claims exceeded 5.0 million tons, requiring an incremental amount of $120,000 due to the owner of the mining claims. The total payments due under the mining lease are capped at $7.6 million, of which the Company has paid or accrued $2.7 million and included $0.4 million in Other assets, non-current in the consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2020.
Consignment inventory
During the first quarter of 2020, Hycroft entered into an agreement with a spare parts supplier that requires the supplier to maintain a specified inventory of replacement parts and components that are exclusively for purchase by Hycroft. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company is required to purchase all of the un-replenished consignment stock inventory, totaling $2.5 million, over the two-year life of the Inventory Consignment agreement. As of December 31, 2020, the Company had prepaid $0.8 million towards the un-replenished consignment stock inventory, which is included in Prepaids and other in the consolidated balance sheets. See Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies and Note 5 - Prepaids and Other for additional detail.
22. Related Party Transactions
Certain amounts of the Company's indebtedness disclosed in Note 9 - Debt, Net have historically, and with regard to the $80.0 million of Subordinated Notes, are currently, held by 5 financial institutions. As of December 31, 2020, 3 of the financial institutions, Highbridge Capital Management, LLC (“Highbridge”), Mudrick Capital Management, L.P (“Mudrick”) and, Whitebox Advisors, LLC (“Whitebox”), held more than 10% of the common stock of the Company and, as a result, each are considered a related party (the "Related Parties") in accordance with ASC 850, Related Party Disclosures.  For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, Interest expense, net of capitalized interest included $31.3 million and $57.6 million, respectively, for the debt held by Related Parties. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Related Parties held a total $71.2 million and $497.2 million, respectively, of debt. Additionally, the Company's Compensation Committee and Board of Directors approved annual Director compensation arrangements for non-employee directors, of which $0.2 million is payable to Mudrick. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company paid $0.1 million to Mudrick and Mudrick vested in 5,047 restricted stock units that will convert into the same number of shares of the Company's common stock upon the Mudrick representative no longer serving on the Company's Board of Directors.
In connection with the closing of the Public Offering on October 6, 2020, Highbridge and Mudrick acquired 833,333, and 3,222,222 of the units, consisting of shares of common stock and warrants to purchase common stock, issued in the Public Offering, respectively. Refer to Note 12 - Stockholders' Equity for further information.
23. Subsequent Events
Appointment of Chief Operating Officer
John William Henris was appointed as the Company's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, effective as of January 11, 2021. The Company entered into an employment agreement dated as of January 11, 2021 with Mr. Henris, and issued him 33,423 restricted stock units vesting on the fourth anniversary of the grant date, subject to his continued employment.

96


ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE
Changes in the Registrant’s certifying accountant was previously provided on Form 8-K as filed with the SEC on July 3, 2020.

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES
Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
As of the end of the period covered by this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the Company conducted an evaluation, under the supervision and with the participation of management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, of the disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act). Based on the evaluation of these disclosure controls and procedures, the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that, as of December 31, 2020, the disclosure controls and procedures were effective to ensure that the information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms.

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting, as such term is defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f). Our internal control over financial reporting was designed to provide reasonable assurance to our management and Board of Directors regarding the preparation and fair presentation of published consolidated financial statements. Internal control over financial reporting is promulgated under the Exchange Act as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our principal executive and principal financial officers and effected by our Board of Directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements were issued. Based upon this review,for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Internal control over financial reporting, no matter how well designed, has inherent limitations and may not prevent or detect misstatements. Therefore, even effective internal control over financial reporting can only provide reasonable assurance with respect to the Company did not identify any subsequent events that would have required adjustment or disclosurefinancial statement preparation and presentation.
Our management has evaluated the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020. Management’s assessment of internal control over financial reporting was based on assessment criteria established in the 2013 Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (“COSO”). Based on such evaluation, management concluded that our internal control over financial statements.

reporting was effective as of December 31, 2020.

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There were no significant changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION
None.

PART III

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
Information regarding our directors will be included in our Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC no later than 120 days after December 31, 2020) for our 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the “Proxy Statement”) under the heading Election of Directors and the information to be included therein is incorporated herein by reference.
Information regarding our directors’ and executive officers’ compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act will be included in the Proxy Statement under the heading Delinquent Section 16(a) Reports and the information to be included therein is incorporated herein by reference.
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Information regarding the Nominating and Governance Committee of our Board of Directors and the procedures by which our stockholders may recommend nominees to our Board of Directors, and information regarding the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors and its “audit committee financial experts,” will be included in the Proxy Statement under the headings Board and Corporate Governance Matters and Other Matters – Submission of Stockholder Proposals for the 2022 Annual Meeting and the information to be included therein is incorporated herein by reference.
We have adopted a Code of Ethics as required by the Nasdaq Capital Market listing standards and the rules of the SEC. The Code of Ethics applies to all of our directors, officers, including our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Controller and employees. The Code of Ethics is publicly available on our website at http://hycroftmining.com/company/board-and-committees/. If we make substantive amendments to the Code of Ethics or grant any waiver, including any implicit waiver, that applies to any of our directors or executive officers, we will disclose the date and nature of such amendment or waiver on our website or in a report on Form 8-K in accordance with applicable Nasdaq Capital Market and SEC rules.

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION
Information regarding compensation of our executive officers and directors will be included in the Proxy Statement under the headings Executive Compensation and Board and Corporate Governance Matters - Director Compensation. The information to be included therein is incorporated herein by reference.

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT AND RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS
Information regarding security ownership of certain beneficial owners and management will be included in the Proxy Statement under the heading Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and the information to be included therein is incorporated herein by reference.

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
The following table sets forth information, as of December 31, 2020, relating to our equity compensation plans pursuant to which equity awards are authorized for issuance. Refer to Note 14 - Stock-Based Compensation to the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Form 10-K for additional information regarding our equity compensation plans.

 Number of securities to be issued upon exercise of outstanding options, warrants, and rights (a)
 Weighted-average exercise price of outstanding options, warrants, and rights (b) (1)
Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (excluding securities reflected in column (a)) (c)
Approved by security holders (2)
545,696$8.12 1,819,814
Not approved by security holders (2)
Total545,696$8.12 1,819,814
(1)Weighted-average exercise price is based solely on securities with an exercise price.
(2)All shares were approved by security holders.

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE
Information regarding certain relationships and related party transactions and policies and procedures for the review and approval or ratification of such transactions will be included in our Proxy Statement under the heading Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions and the information to be included therein is incorporated herein by reference. Information regarding our directors and their independence will be included in the Proxy Statement under the heading Board and Corporate Governance Matters and the information to be included therein is incorporated herein by reference.

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ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES
Information regarding the fees we paid our independent accountants, Plante & Moran PLLC during 2020 and the Audit Committee’s policies and procedures regarding the pre-approval of audit and permissible non-audit services will be included in the Proxy Statement under the headings Proposal No. 2 – Ratification of Appointment of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm - Principal Accounting Fees and Services of Plante & Moran, and Pre-Approval Policy and the information to be included therein is incorporated herein by reference.
PART IV
ITEM 15.EXHIBITS
(a)Exhibits
F-16
Exhibit
Number
Description
2.1

2.2

3.1

3.2

4.1

4.2

4.3

4.4

4.5

4.6

99



10.1

10.2

10.3

10.4

10.5

10.6

10.7

10.8

10.9

10.10
10.11

10.12

100


10.13

10.14

10.15

10.16

10.17

10.18

10.19

10.20

10.21

10.22

10.23

10.24

101


10.25

10.26

10.27

10.28

10.29

10.30

10.31

10.32

10.33

10.34

10.35

10.36

10.37

10.38

102


10.39

10.40

10.41

10.42

21.1

23.1

23.2

23.3

23.4

23.5

96.1

Rule 13a-14(a)/15d-14(a) Certifications.
31.1
31.2
Section 1350 Certifications.
32.1
32.2
Mine Safety Disclosure Exhibits.
95.1
Interactive Data File.
101.INSInline XBRL Instance Document (the Instance Document does not appear in the Interactive Data File because its XBRL tags are embedded within the Inline XBRL document)*
101.SCHInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document*
101.CALInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document*
103


101.DEFInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document*
101.LABInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document*
101.PREInline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document*
104Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted as Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101)
*Filed herewith.
104

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrantregistrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.

March 25, 2019MUDRICK CAPITAL ACQUISITION CORPORATION
HYCROFT MINING HOLDING CORPORATION
(Registrant)
By: /s/ Jason Mudrick
Date: March 24, 2021By:

Name: Jason Mudrick

Title:/s/ Diane R. Garrett

Diane R. Garrett
President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director

(Principal Executive Officer)

Officer)


Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

NamePositionDate
NameTitle
/s/ Jason MudrickDiane R. Garrett
President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director
March 25, 2019
Jason Mudrick
(Principal Executive Officer)
Officer)
Diane R. Garrett
/s/ Glenn SpringerStanton Rideout
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
March 25, 2019
Glenn Springer
(Principal FinancialFinance and Accounting Officer)
Stanton Rideout
/s/ Dennis StogsdillDirectorMarch 25, 2019
Dennis Stogsdill
/s/David Kirsch
Chairman of the Board of Directors
David Kirsch
/s/ Timothy DaileaderDirectorMarch 25, 2019
Timothy Daileader
/s/Eugene Davis
Director
Eugene I. Davis
/s/ Dr. Brian KushnerDirectorMarch 25, 2019
Dr. Brian Kushner
/s/John Ellis
Director
John J. Ellis
/s/Michael J. Harrison
Director
Michael James Harrison
/s/Thomas S. Weng
Director
Thomas S. Weng
/s/Marni Wieshofer
Director
Marni Wieshofer