NOTE 4 – ILLEGAL BLOCKADE OF SIERRA MOJADA PROPERTY AND ICSID ARBITRATION

The Company’s efforts and expenditures have been concentrated on the exploration of properties, principally with respect to the Sierra Mojada Property located in Coahuila, Mexico.

On June 1, 2018, the Company and its subsidiaries Minera Metalin and Contratistas de Sierra Mojada S.A. de C.V. entered into an earn-in option agreement (the “South32 Option Agreement”) with South32 International Investment Holdings Pty Ltd (“South32”), a wholly owned subsidiary of South32 Limited (ASX/JSE/LSE: S32), whereby South32 was able to obtain an option to purchase 70% of the shares of Minera Metalin (the “South32 Option”).

On October 11, 2019, the Company and its subsidiary Minera Metalin issued a notice of force majeure to South32 pursuant to the South32 Option Agreement. Due to an illegal blockade by a cooperative of local miners called Sociedad Cooperativa de Exploración Minera Mineros Norteños, S.C.L. (“Mineros Norteños”), the Company halted all work on the Sierra Mojada Property. The notice of force majeure was issued because the Company and its subsidiary Minera Metalin were unable to perform their obligations under the South32 Option Agreement due to the blockade. Pursuant to the South32 Option Agreement, any time period provided for in the South32 Option Agreement was to be generally extended by a period equal to the period of delay caused by the event of force majeure.

On August 31, 2022, due to the ongoing blockade of the site, the South32 Option Agreement was mutually terminated by South32 and the Company.

No portion of the equity value of the Company was classified as temporary equity as the South32 Option had no intrinsic value. South32 paid $518,000 to the Company as a final payment for the exploration costs incurred by the Company during the blockade, and the Company released South32 from all claims as of the date of termination.

As of June 11, 2026, the blockade by Mineros Norteños at, on and around the Sierra Mojada Property is ongoing, and the Company remains unable to access the Sierra Mojada Property.

On March 2, 2023, the Company filed the NAFTA Notice of Intent. The Company has been unable to access the property since the illegal blockade commenced in September 2019. Despite numerous demands and requests for action by the Company, Mexican governmental agencies have allowed this unlawful conduct to continue and, as such, failed to protect the Company’s investment.

The Company held a meeting with Mexican government officials in Mexico City on May 30, 2023, in an attempt to explore amicable settlement options and avoid arbitration. However, the 90-day period for amicable settlement under NAFTA expired on June 2, 2023, without a resolution.

On June 28, 2023, the Company commenced international arbitration proceedings against Mexico under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (“USMCA”) and NAFTA (the “Arbitration” or the “Claim”). The Arbitration was initiated under the Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes between States and Nationals of Other States process, which falls under the auspices of the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (“ICSID”), to which Mexico is a signatory.

On June 17, 2024, the Company filed its Memorial submission with the ICSID detailing the claim against Mexico, and its Claimant’s Reply was filed on April 25, 2025. The reply responded to Mexico’s Counter Memorial and revised the damages estimate to the sum of $315 million, plus pre-award interest accruing from the valuation date, June 30, 2020. The Arbitration hearing was held in October 2025, and the Company submitted its post-hearing brief on November 21, 2025 and its costs on December 5, 2025.

On May 29, 2026, the ICSID tribunal rendered its final award dismissing the Claim on the basis that it did not have jurisdiction and/or was time-barred and ordered the Company to pay a portion of Mexico’s legal costs totaling approximately US$998,000 (Note 17).