e.Legal Update
The Company is a party to ongoing legal proceedings with the Nez Perce Tribe for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act related to historical mining activities. In August 2019, the Nez Perce Tribe filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Idaho. The Company promptly filed a motion to dismiss and, in the alternative, a motion to stay the litigation. Both motions were denied. Later, the court allowed the Company to amend its answer and file a third-party complaint and the Company also filed a separate citizen suit against the USFS alleging the point source discharges, referred to by the Nez Perce Tribe in its complaint, were alleged to be occurring on lands owned and controlled by the United States. Pursuant to the terms of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (the “CERCLA”) ASAOC executed with the U.S. EPA and the United States Department of Agriculture, the Company dismissed its pending actions against USFS. The remaining parties to the ongoing legal proceeding agreed to stay the litigation and explore Alternative Dispute Resolution (“ADR”) options. The stay has been extended on subsequent occasions, and a request to extend the stay through July 31, 2022 was filed jointly by the parties on April 28, 2022 and subsequently ordered by the court on April 29, 2022.
The CERCLA ASAOC entered into by the Company, the U.S. EPA, and the United States Department of Agriculture requires numerous voluntary early cleanup actions to occur over the next several years. Perpetua Resources Idaho, Inc. is presently executing the development of the Phase 1 early cleanup actions (known as “time critical removal actions”) that, upon final work plan approval by the federal agencies, will be designed and constructed to efficiently improve water quality in a number of areas on the Site while other, longer-term proposed actions relating to Project operations are being evaluated through the NEPA process.
Item 2. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.
You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2022 and 2021 with our consolidated financial statements and related notes and other financial information appearing in this Quarterly Report. Some of the information contained in this discussion and analysis or set forth elsewhere in this Quarterly Report, including information with respect to our plans and strategy for our business, operations, and product candidates, includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. You should review the sections of this Quarterly Report captioned “Risk Factors” and “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” for a discussion of important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the results described in or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in the following discussion and analysis.
Overview
Perpetua Resources (formerly Midas Gold Corp.) was incorporated on February 22, 2011 under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) (the “BCBCA”). The Corporation was organized to hold shares in wholly owned subsidiaries that locate, acquire, develop and restore mineral properties located principally in the Stibnite – Yellow Pine mining district in Valley County, Idaho, USA. The Corporation’s principal asset is 100% ownership in subsidiaries that control the Stibnite Gold Project. The Corporation currently operates in one segment, mineral exploration in the United States. The registered office of the Perpetua Resources is 400-725 Granville St, Vancouver, BC, V7Y 1G5, Canada and the corporate head office is located at 201-405 S 8th St, Boise, ID 83702, USA.
COVID-19 Response
The Company has implemented policies at its offices in Boise and Donnelly designed to ensure the safety and well-being of all employees and the people associated with them. In that regard, to reduce risk, our employees have been encouraged to get fully vaccinated against COVID-19, have been asked to work remotely, avoid non-essential business travel, when possible, adhere to good hygiene practices, and engage in social distancing. Continuation of COVID-19 in 2022 and beyond could impact employee health, workforce productivity, insurance premiums, ability to travel, the availability of industry experts, personnel and equipment, restrictions or delays to field work, studies, and assay results, and other factors that will depend on future developments that may be beyond our control.
Recent Key Developments
2022 Outlook and Goals
Perpetua Resources’ vision is to provide the United States with a domestic source of the critical mineral antimony, develop one of the largest and highest-grade open pit gold mines in the country and restore an abandoned brownfield site. In 2022, Perpetua Resources