TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – No further fees are to be paid to the directors of Canadian uranium explorer U3O8 Corp until market conditions have improved, as its board has waived director fees and agreed to a recommendation from management to waive a portion of salaries deferred in 2014 and the first half of 2015.
The company's president and CEO, Dr Richard Spencer, had agreed to a 45% salary reduction, effective retroactively as of January 1, and the company had issued shares for debt settlement with certain creditors and employees.
"U3O8 Corp has continued to take decisive steps to preserve cash for its operations during these challenging times in the commodities sector. The unanimous agreement by both the board and management to forgive deferred salaries and fees underlines their commitment to doing whatever it takes to support the company and its shareholders," Spencer stated.
During the third quarter, U3O8 had waived $132 000 in director fees and $264 451 in salaries owed to management for a total debt reduction of $396 451. To preserve cash further, a portion of the reduced salaries due to management and professional fees payable to certain contractors were paid through issuing 3.82-million common shares under the company's share compensation plan, at $0.04 a share, to settle $153 000.
The company also issued 4.52-million common shares, at $0.04 a share, to former employees and contractors to settle $181 094 payable for employment compensation, severance and professional services. Such shares were subject to a four-month-and-one-day hold period from the date of issuance.
“In the midst of these turbulent markets, it is easy to overlook the fact that the uranium price has risen about 30% from the lows of mid-2014 and so, appears to already be on an upward trajectory of the next resource cycle – which should be positive for uranium equities. At U3O8 Corp [we are] maintain[ing] a firm focus on potential low-cost-of-production assets, and are finding ways of whittling down those projected costs to [increase] the economic strength of our projects,” Spencer added.
South America-focused U3O8 hoped to tap into the continent’s nascent nuclear energy market through its Laguna Salada project, in Argentina’s Chubut province. It was also developing the potentially low-cost Berlin uranium deposit, in Colombia, and the early stage Kurupung deposit, in Guyana.