Niocan Inc. Enters into a $500,000 Loan Agreement to Renew Great Whale Claims and Support Ongoing Financing

2021-03-22 / @thenewswire

(TheNewswire)

Montreal, Quebec – TheNewswire - March 22, 2021 — Niocan Inc. (“Niocan” or the “Company”) (TSXV:NIO) announces that it has entered into an agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with Nio-Metals Holdings LLC (“Nio-Metals”) for an unsecured bridge loan facility of $500,000 (the “Loan”). The purpose of the Loan is to allow Niocan to renew claims at its Great Whale iron property and to continue to work towards a significantly larger financing.

Niocan is continuing discussions with interested parties regarding potential financings to raise sufficient funds to obtain the required permits and authorization to develop its Oka property. Niocan’s management is also pursuing financing activities to continue exploration activities with respect to the Great Whale iron property.

According to Hubert Marleau, President and CEO of Niocan: “This loan from Nio-Metals provides us with the ongoing support we need regarding the Great Whale iron property while we press ahead towards raising the additional capital required to obtain the certificate of authorization and social acceptance regarding the Oka property. The Company looks forward to becoming a ferroniobium producer as soon as possible, while investing towards its three mineral prospects (historical resources) of magnetite ore, located near the Great Whale River.”

The Loan has a 24-month term to maturity, bears interest of 6% per annum payable quarterly, and is not convertible. The Loan may be repaid at any time prior to maturity without penalty.

The Loan Agreement was approved by all of the independent members of the board of directors of Niocan, with the nominee of Nio-Metals having recused himself from the decision.

Related Party Disclosure

Pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 -- Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (“MI 61-101”), the Loan Agreement constitutes a “related party transaction” as Nio-Metals currently holds 49.4% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company.

The Company is exempt from obtaining minority shareholder approval in connection with the Loan Agreement in reliance on section 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as the fair market value of the Loan does not exceed 25% of the Company’s market capitalization. The Loan (and its related party transaction component) will also be disclosed in the Company's material change report which will be filed on SEDAR less than 21 days prior to the date of execution of the Loan Agreement as a result of the immediate need for Niocan to access the Loan.

For more information on the Company, please refer to the Company's public documents available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

For more information, please contact:

Hubert Marleau

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

niocan.investorinformation@gmail.com

(514) 560-7623

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release includes certain statements that are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the securities laws of Canada. Any statement in this press release that is not a statement of historical fact may be deemed to be a forward-looking statement. When used in this press release, the words “believe”, “could”, “should”, “intend”, “expect”, “estimate”, “assume” and other similar expressions are generally intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by the management of the Company in light of their experience, current conditions and their expectations of future developments as well as other factors which they believe to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary include but are not limited to: the Company's inability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms or at all; changes in equity and debt markets; inflation; uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed to complete exploration, development and production activities; failure to establish estimated mineral resources or mineral reserves; exploration costs varying significantly from estimates; delays in the exploration and development of, and/or commercial production from, the properties in which the Company has an interest; unexpected geological or hydrological conditions; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, including the uncertainty of reserve and resource estimates; operational and technical difficulties, including the failure of major mining and/or milling equipment; the ability of the Company to service its existing debt facilities; fluctuations in niobium and other commodity prices; the existence of undetected or unregistered interests or claims over the property of the Company; success of future exploration and development initiatives; competition; operating performance of facilities; environmental and safety risks, including increased regulatory burdens, seismic activity, weather and other natural phenomena; inability to, or delays in, obtaining necessary permits and approvals from government authorities; risks relating to labour; and other exploration, development and operating risks; changes to and compliance with applicable laws and regulations, including environmental laws; political, economic and other risks arising from the Company's activities; fluctuations in foreign exchange rates; and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, Niocan disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. The foregoing risks and uncertainties include the risks set forth under “Risks and Uncertainties” in Niocan’s latest MD&A which can be found on www.sedar.com as well as other risks detailed from time to time in reports filed by Niocan with securities regulators in Canada.