NOTE 3 - MINERAL PROPERTIES | NOTE 3 MINERAL PROPERTIES September 2011 Lease On September 2, 2011, we entered into a new mining lease with the Texas General Land Office covering Sections 7 and 18 of Township 7, Block 71 and Section 12 of Block 72, covering approximately 860 acres at Round Top Mountain in Hudspeth County, Texas. The mining lease issued by the Texas General Land Office gives us the right to explore, produce, develop, mine, extract, mill, remove, and market beryllium, uranium, rare earth elements, all other base and precious metals, industrial minerals and construction materials and all other minerals excluding oil, gas, coal, lignite, sulfur, salt, and potash. The term of the lease is nineteen years so long as minerals are produced in paying quantities. Under the lease, we will pay the State of Texas a lease bonus of $142,518; $44,718 of which was paid upon the execution of the lease, and $97,800 which will be due when we submit a supplemental plan of operations to conduct mining. Upon the sale of minerals removed from Round Top, we will pay the State of Texas a $500,000 minimum advance royalty. Thereafter, we will pay the State of Texas a production royalty equal to eight percent (8%) of the market value of uranium and other fissionable materials removed and sold from Round Top and six and one quarter percent (6 1/4%) of the market value of all other minerals removed and sold from Round Top. Assuming production of paying quantities has not been obtained, we may pay additional delay rental fees to extend the term of the lease for successive one (1) year periods pursuant to the following schedule: Per Acre Amount Total Amount September 2, 2015 2019 $ 75 $ 67,077 September 2, 2020 2024 150 134,155 September 2, 2025 2029 200 178,873 In August 2019, we paid a delay rental to the State of Texas in the amount of $67,077. November 2011 Lease On November 1, 2011, we entered into a mining lease with the State of Texas covering 90 acres, more or less, of land that is adjacent to the land we purchased in September 2011 near our Round Top site. The deed was recorded with Hudspeth County on September 16, 2011. Under the lease, we paid the State of Texas a lease bonus of $20,700 which was paid upon the execution of the lease. Upon the sale of minerals removed from Round Top, we will pay the State of Texas a $50,000 minimum advance royalty. Thereafter, we will pay the State of Texas a production royalty equal to eight percent (8%) of the market value of uranium and other fissionable materials removed and sold from Round Top and six and one quarter percent (6 1/4%) of the market value of all other minerals sold from Round Top. Assuming production of paying quantities has not been obtained, we may pay additional delay rental fees to extend the term of the lease for successive one (1) year periods pursuant to the following schedule: Per Acre Amount Total Amount November 1, 2015 2019 $ 75 $ 6,750 November 1, 2020 2024 150 13,500 November 1, 2025 2029 200 18,000 In August 2019, we paid a delay rental to the State of Texas of $6,750. March 2013 Lease On March 6, 2013, we purchased the surface lease at the Round Top Project, known as the West Lease, from the Southwest Range & Wildlife Foundation, since renamed the Rio Grande Foundation (the Foundation) for $500,000 cash and 1,063,830 shares of our common stock. We also agreed to support the Foundation through an annual payment of $45,000 for ten years to support conservation efforts within the Rio Grande Basin and in particular engaging in stewardship of Lake Amistad, a large and well-known fishing lake near Del Rio, Texas. This commitment was treated as a note payable because it was in connection with obtaining the lease, see Note 4. The West Lease comprises approximately 54,990 acres. Most importantly, the purchase of the surface lease gave us unrestricted surface access for the potential development and mining of our Round Top Project. We are currently paying $13,235 monthly until the balance owed to the Foundation has been fully paid. October 2014 Surface Option and Water Lease On October 29, 2014, we announced that we had executed agreements with the Texas General Land Office securing the option to purchase the surface rights covering the potential Round Top project mine and plant areas and, separately, a lease to develop the water that we believe will be necessary for the potential Round Top project mine operations. The option to purchase the surface rights covers approximately 5,670 acres over the mining lease and the additional acreage adequate to site all potential heap leaching and processing operations as currently anticipated by the Company. We may exercise the option for all or part of the option acreage at any time during the sixteen year primary term of the mineral lease. The option can be kept current by an annual payment of $10,000. The purchase price will be the appraised value of the surface at the time of exercising the option. All annual payments have been made as of the date of this filing. The ground water lease secures our right to develop the ground water within a 13,120 acre lease area located approximately 4 miles from the Round Top deposit. The lease area contains five existing water wells. It is anticipated that all potential water needs for the Round Top project mine operations would be satisfied by the existing wells covered by this water lease. This lease has an annual minimum production payment of $5,000 prior to production of water for the operation. After initiation of production we will pay $0.95 per thousand gallons or $20,000 annually, whichever is greater. This lease remains effective as long as the mineral lease is in effect. The minimum production payment for all the fiscal years have been made as of the date of this filing. |