LSMG Lode Star Mining Inc (PK)

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our unaudited financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Quarterly Report. In addition to historical financial information, the following discussion includes a number of forward-looking statements that reflect our plans, estimates and our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. Forward-looking statements are often identified by words like: believe, expect, estimate, anticipate, intend, project and similar expressions, or words which, by their nature, refer to future events. You should not place undue certainty on these forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this report. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States, we do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to actual results

Mineral Property Interest

Further to a Mineral Option Agreement (the “Option Agreement”) dated October 4, 2014, on December 5, 2014, we entered into a subscription agreement (the “Subscription Agreement”) with Lode-Star Gold INC., a private Nevada corporation (“LSG”) in which we agreed to issue 35,000,000 shares of our common stock, valued at $230,180, to LSG in exchange for an initial 20% undivided beneficial interest in and to LSG’s Goldfield property (the “Acquisition”), which made LSG our largest and controlling shareholder.

LSG was incorporated in the State of Nevada on March 13, 1998 for the purpose of acquiring exploration stage mineral properties.  It currently has one shareholder, Lonnie Humphries, who is the spouse of Mark Walmesley, our President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Walmesley is also the CFO, Treasurer and a director of LSG.

The execution of the Subscription Agreement was one of the closing conditions of the Option Agreement, pursuant to which we acquired the sole and exclusive option to earn up to an 80% undivided interest in and to the Property. Under the terms of that Option Agreement, to earn the additional 60% interest in the Property, we were required to fund all expenditures on the Property and pay LSG an aggregate of $5 million in cash from the Property’s mineral production proceeds in the form of an NSR. Until we had earned the additional 60% interest, the NSR would be split 79.2% to LSG, 19.8% to us and 1% to the former Property owner.

LSG’s Goldfield Bonanza property is comprised of 31 patented mineral claims owned 100% by LSG, located on approximately 460 acres in the district of Goldfield in the state of Nevada (the “Property”). The Property is clear titled, with a 1% Net Smelter Royalty (“NSR”) existing in the favor of the original property owner. LSG has spent over $8 million to rehab approximately 1/2 mile of drift at the 300ft sub-surface level and to complete 22 surface core drill holes for a total of 10,400ft and 152 underground core drill holes for a total of 23,000ft.

LSG acquired the leases to the Property in 1997 and became the registered and beneficial owner of the Property on September 19, 2009. Since the earlier of those dates, it has conducted contract exploration work on the Property but has not determined whether it contains mineral reserves that are economically recoverable. LSG is an exploration stage company and has not generated any revenues since its inception. The Property represents its only material asset.

The Property is located in west-central Nevada, in the Goldfield Mining District at Latitude 37° 42’, and Longitude 117° 14’.  The claims comprising the Property are located in surveyed sections 35 and 36, Township 2 South, Range 42 East, and in sections 1, 2, 11, and 12, Township 3 South, Range 42 East, in Esmeralda County, Nevada. The Property is accessible by traveling approximately one-half mile northeast of the community of Goldfield, along a county-maintained road that originates at U.S. Highway 95, which runs through “downtown” Goldfield. The town of Goldfield, which is the Esmeralda county seat (population 300), is approximately 200 air miles south of Reno and 180 air miles north of Las Vegas. Surface access on the Property is excellent and the relief is low, at an elevation of approximately 6,000 feet.  Vegetation is sparse, consisting largely of sagebrush, rabbitbrush, Joshua trees and grasses. Water, electricity and other sundry needs such as restaurants, lodging, minor medical needs, fire station, and police are within 1 mile of the property.

All properties, claims, buildings, equipment, and supplies are owned by LSG and we have free access to utilize and manage all those items. Operations are managed from a 6,000 sq. ft. office and warehouse facility complete with showers and laundry amenities. Two residential trailer sites are immediately adjacent to this building for crew needs.

The property has one working shaft, the February Premier, which has access to the 300 ft level, with approximately 1/2 mile of ventilated drift. Underground work has identified 2 high-grade gold-bearing zones which the company plans to further explore. The program that we envision undertaking includes the mining of approximately 10,000 tons of non-NI 43-101 compliant gold mineralization at an approximate grade of 0.9 ounces per ton. The estimated grade is based on historic drilling work done by LSG, for which the 1.5-inch core samples were consumed by assay requirements. In order to provide adequate sample weights to the assaying lab, the entire core was processed for individual samples. While we have encountered several additional high-grade drill anomalies throughout the property, it is important to note that we have no proven and/or probable reserves at the present time and therefore the program is exploratory in nature.

The property has two operating water monitoring wells that were mandatory for us to receive a water pollution control permit. Part of the permitting application is for the allowance of the company to store its waste rock underground. The property has no milling onsite and we must rely on a third party to receive our mineralized material and tombstone our tailings.

Amendment to Option Agreement

On October 31, 2019, Lode-Star Mining Inc. (the “Company”) entered into an amendment (the “Amendment”) to the Company’s mineral option agreement with Lode Star Gold, Inc., a private Nevada corporation and the controlling shareholder of the Company (“LSG”), dated October 4, 2014 (the “Option Agreement”).

Pursuant to the Option Agreement, the Company acquired the sole and exclusive option to earn up to an 80% undivided interest in and to those mineral claims owned by LSG and located in the State of Nevada known as the Goldfield Bonanza Project (the “Property”). On December 11, 2014 (the “Closing Date”), the Company acquired a 20% undivided interest in and to the Property by issuing 35,000,000 shares of its common stock to LSG. In order to earn the additional 60% interest in the Property, the Company is required to fund all expenditures on the Property and pay LSG $5 million in cash from the Property’s mineral production proceeds in the form of a net smelter returns (“NSR”) royalty, each beginning on the Closing Date. Until such time as the Company earns the additional 60% interest, the NSR royalty will be split as to 79.2% to LSG and 19.8% to the Company since the Property is subject to a pre-existing 1% NSR royalty in favor of a third party.

The Option Agreement also provides that if the Company fails to make any cash payments to LSG within one year of the Closing Date, the Company is required to pay LSG an additional $100,000, and in any subsequent years in which the Company fails to complete the payment of the entire $5 million described above, it must make quarterly cash payments to LSG of $25,000 until such time as the Company has earned the additional 60% interest in the Property.

LSG had granted us a series of deferrals of the payments, with the most recent being granted on January 11, 2017. LSG agreed on that date to defer payment of all amounts due in accordance with the Option Agreement until further notice. On January 17, 2017, the Company and LSG agreed that, as of that date, all outstanding balances shall carry a compound interest rate of 5% per annum. It was further agreed that the ongoing payment deferral shall apply to interest and principal.

Under the Amendment, the exercise of the 60% option was restructured into two separate 30% options, such that the Company may now earn a 30% interest in the Property (for a total of 50%) (the “Second Option”) by completing the following actions:

Following the exercise of the Second Option, the Company may earn an additional 30% interest in the Property (for a total of 80%) (the “Third Option”) by completing the following actions:

The primary effect of the Amendment is therefore to increase to the purchase price for the additional 60% interest in the Property from $5 million to $10 million, while at the same time separating it into tranches.

The Amendment also corrects a number of inconsistences in the Option Agreement, updates the defined terms to accommodate the creation of the Second Option and Third Option, and includes acknowledgements of the Company regarding accrued and unpaid penalty payments and amounts owing by the Company to LSG as of September 30, 2019.

The foregoing description of the Amendment includes a summary of all the material provisions but is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of the Amendment included as Exhibit 10.8 to this report and incorporated herein by reference.

On February 17, 2017, we executed an agreement with Scorpio Gold Corporation (Scorpio) for a pilot toll milling test. We completed the first test in May 2017 and both companies have determined that further testing needs to be completed to determine a definitive cost analysis and other operational details. The sample processed was historic material stockpiled on the property surface and therefore of limited metallurgical value, but indicative of material that will be run through the mill. Milling throughput did identify specific equipment configuration details that need to be considered for future runs. Both parties agree that additional milling circuitry is needed for the most optimum gold yield. We expect to provide material from our targeted underground zone for more comprehensive milling results when we are permitted to do so. The Company is still working with Scorpio to facilitate its milling needs.

We agreed with LSG that upon the successful completion of a toll milling agreement, after permitting is achieved, there will be a basis to form a joint management committee to outline work programs and budgets, as contemplated in the Option Agreement and for us to act as the operator of the Property. To the date of this report, no work programs have been approved and LSG has borne all costs in connection with operations on the Property.

Underground work has identified 2 high-grade gold-bearing zones that can support mine development utilizing our current infrastructure. The property is now permitted for production and should be mine ready during 2019. It is our intention to then start mining the property. Much of the property remains under-explored and it is our belief that the district’s high-grade, million-ounce ore zones repeat themselves. Further surface and underground exploration work need to be executed.

It is important to note the following sample preparation and quality controls used by LSG and by ICN, a previous operator of the Property:

Lode-Star Gold drill hole core sampling and analytical protocol

All drill core samples were prepared and delivered to ALS Minerals in Reno by Tom Temkin, our COO. Individual sampled intervals varied from one to five-foot lengths, based on geologic parameters, and included 100% of core intervals. No core splitting was conducted. No duplicate samples or standards were introduced other than those inserted and utilized by ALS for their internal quality control. Lab preparation of individual samples included crushing and grinding to minus 200 mesh, followed by a 1-ton assay for gold. All samples that initially assayed over 1.0 opt Au were systematically re-assayed.

ICN drill hole core and Rotary RC sampling and analytical protocol

All drill core samples were prepared by ICN personnel and either delivered to the assay lab or were picked up on-site by lab personnel. Rotary RC chip drilling samples were collected on-site and transported to Reno by the respective labs. The labs used included ALS Minerals and American Assay Lab. Core was sawn by ALS Minerals and/or ICN personnel. Individual core sampled intervals varied from one to five-foot lengths, based on geologic parameters, and included one-half of the original core material. Rotary RC samples were taken at five-foot intervals entirely. Quality control for all samples included a protocol of inserting duplicate samples, blanks, and known standards, at repeating intervals to maintain .08% check sampling. Lab preparation of Individual samples included crushing and grinding to minus 200 mesh, followed by a 1-ton assay for gold. All samples that initially assayed over 1.0 opt Au were systematically re-assayed.

Third Party Assay Data Audit

Mine Development Associates (MDA Reno), a highly regarded third party NI 43-101 service provider, has audited our drill hole database and performed a comparative QA/QC check assay analysis on selected drilling and determined no inconsistencies to exist and assays were repeatable.

NI 43-101 Update Status

The Company’s original NI 43-101 report was completed on July 12, 2014 by Dana Durgan, QP and AIPG Certified Professional Geologist #10364. A newly revised report for 2019 has been completed and is available for the Company when required.

Metallurgy Reports

To date the Company has had three metallurgy reports prepared. In order they are: Kappes Cassady & Associates located in Reno, NV dated July 10,2006, Newmont Mining located in Carlin, NV dated May 27, 2010, and McClelland Laboratories, Inc. located in Reno, NV dated January 26, 2016. Indications are that the Company can expect at a minimum, an 85% AU recovery from floatation milling. Better recovery is achieved by Agitated Leach processing, which show results closer to +90%. The best recovery results, +95%, due to the high sulphide content of the ore, is achieved through roasting. An additional lab report has been generated by Kappes Cassady & Associates to determine ore compatibility for processing at Scorpio Gold’s milling circuit.

Recent Developments

On November 20, 2018 the Company was issued Water Pollution Control Permit NEV2017109 from the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (NDEP) regarding production at the property. This Permit authorizes the construction, operation, and closure of approved mining facilities in Esmeralda County, Nevada. The Permit is effective for 5 years until November 20, 2023 and authorizes the processing of 10,000 tons of ore per year from Lode-Star’s underground operations. 100% of the permitting cost has been borne by our largest shareholder, Lode-Star Gold INC.

Unique to the Company’s production permit, the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection has endorsed the Company’s intensions to temporarily store waste rock underground. Once stockpiled, waste rock is brought to the surface to backfill and remediate our historic abandoned mine shafts. This will save the Company the significant time and expense of having to permit and build a surface waste containment facility.

The Company has received its ATF blasting permit. Long term road closures on LSM’s property to curtail public access and ensure safety are underway.

We anticipate being shovel-ready by end of 2019.

Mine Design and Utilization of Equipment

The mine will be designed through the interpretation of detailed drilling data in cross sections and the use of conventional software. Currently there are two areas, the Red Hills and the Church, containing high-grade gold mineralization identified that are to be incorporated into the mine plan. Currently the mine is equipped with a 1-yard scoop-tram loader. Mining activity will be conducted with the utilization of this loader, pneumatic equipment and by an existing conveyor system providing for the transfer of ore to the surface.

Production Mining Method

We intend to maximize profitability through a disciplined approach involving the separation of high-grade gold ore from waste rock during the mining stage, thus avoiding the additional cost of pre-shipment concentration. In order to maintain the highest grade of ore production the blast holes will be sampled during drilling, then assayed to determine ore boundaries prior to blasting. The current plan is to ship ore directly from the mine to an offsite mill employing a toll-milling arrangement.

Mine Development - Drilling the Northeast Corridor

The Company is currently structuring a drill program, targeting expansion of its known gold zones. The Company’s immediate drill program is to define its existing and mineable gold mineralization within the property’s northeast corridor, specifically the Church, Red Hills and Newmont Zones. Current drill budgeting is US$800,000 plus US$200,000 in analytical fees, for a combined total cost of US$1,000,000.

Funding

The Property continues to be advanced by work executed by LSG. This interim advancement will continue for the foreseeable future. We do not currently have sufficient funds to carry out our entire plan of operations, so we intend to meet the balance of our cash requirements for the next 12 months through a combination of debt financing and equity financing through private placements. Now that we have received our production permit, financing instruments can include a gold streaming or royalty financing alternative. Currently we are active in contacting broker/dealers regarding possible financing arrangements. However, we do not currently have any arrangements in place to complete any private placement financings and there is no assurance that we will be successful in completing any such financings.

If we are unsuccessful in obtaining sufficient funds through our capital raising efforts, we may review other financing options, although we cannot provide any assurance that any such options will be available to us or on terms reasonably acceptable to us. Further, if we are unable to secure any additional financing then we plan to reduce the amount that we spend on our operations, including our management-related consulting fees and other general expenses, so as not to exceed the capital resources available to us. Regardless, our current cash reserves and working capital will not be sufficient for us to sustain our business for the next 12 months, even if we decide to scale back our operations.

Personnel

We have no employees. Apart from consulting fees totaling $12,000 paid in the current nine-month period, our president and CEO, Mark Walmesley, has received no compensation for his services. We expect to continue to use outside consultants, advisors, attorneys and accountants as necessary.

Our Chief Operating Officer, Thomas Temkin, who is also a director, is a Certified Professional Geologist and a Qualified Person under National Instrument (NI) 43101, with more than 38 years of experience in the mining industry, primarily in exploration in the Western United States. He is currently a consulting geologist working with LSG. Mr. Temkin has been associated with LSG and the Property for over 15 years and has been instrumental through its entire exploration program to date.

Our Corporate Secretary, Pam Walters, has been associated with the mining industry for over 25 years and has managed the corporate finance and business operations of LSG and its owners.

Going Concern

Our auditors have issued a going concern opinion. This means that there is substantial doubt that we can continue as an on-going business for the next twelve months unless we obtain additional capital to pay our expenses. This is because we have not generated any revenues to-date and we cannot currently estimate the timing of any possible future revenues. Our only source for cash at this time is investments by others in our common stock, or loans.

Results of Operations

The following summary of our results of operations for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 should be read in conjunction with our financial statements for the period ended September 30, 2019, included above in Part I, Item 1.

Revenues

We had no operating revenues during the three-month and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2019 and 2018. We recorded a net loss of $72,536 for the current quarter (2018: $70,274) and $229,075 for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 (2018: $269,426) and have an accumulated deficit of $2,933,449. The possibility and timing of revenue being generated from our mineral property interest remains uncertain.

Expenses

There were no significant differences in expenses for the third quarter of 2019 compared to that of 2018, other than increased Interest, bank and finance charges. Those increased primarily due to a higher balance of interest-bearing related party loans and mineral option penalty fees.

Notable changes in expenses for the nine-month period in 2019 compared to 2018 were as follows:

Consulting services were lower in 2019 primarily due to stock-based compensation expense related to options issued in 2015 being fully amortized in 2018, resulting in no expense for those in 2019 but a $56,572 expense in 2018. That decrease was partially offset by a combination of new stock-based compensation expense of $8,450 in 2019 related to stock options issued in Q4 of 2018, along with $12,000 in consulting fees paid in 2019 to the CEO, with no equivalent in 2018.

Office, foreign exchange and sundry expenses were lower in 2019 primarily due to decreased travel expenses.

Professional fees were lower in 2019 primarily due to a $3,000 fee in 2018 from the previous auditor to re-issue their 2016 audit report as part of the transition to the current audit firm.