SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY

NOTE 7   SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

During the three months ended March 31, 2016, 3.2 million exchangeable shares were converted into common stock (March 31, 2015 –0.9 million).  At March 31, 2016, total outstanding exchangeable shares not exchanged and not owned by the Company or its subsidiaries totaled 21.0million (March 31, 2015 – 27.6 million).

On June 18, 2015, the Board of Directors declared an annual return of capital distribution of $0.01 per share of common stock, payable semi-annually.  The first semi-annual return of capital distribution payment of $0.005 was paid on August 17, 2015 for an aggregate total of $1.5 million. The second semi-annual return of capital distribution payment of $0.005 was paid on February 12, 2016, for an aggregate total of $1.5 million. Return of capital distribution is paid to shareholders of the Company’s shares of common stock and to holders of exchangeable shares. 

On October 1, 2015, the Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program authorizing the Company to purchase up to 15,000,000 shares of its common stock over a twelve month period, with an authorized maximum of $15.0 million to be spent on the repurchases. Under the program, purchases of common stock may be made from time-to-time in the open market, subject to compliance with applicable U.S. and Canadian laws. The timing and amounts of any purchase are based on market conditions and other factors including share price, regulatory requirements and capital availability.  Further, the repurchase program may be suspended, discontinued or modified at any time, at the discretion of the Board of Directors. During the three months ended March 31, 2016 the Company had repurchased 557,991 shares of common stock (year-ended December 31, 2015 - 1,896,442) at a total cost of $0.6 million (December 31, 2015 - $1.8 million), all of which have been cancelled.

During the three months ended March 31, 2015, the Company issued 430,295 shares of common stock under an agreement with one of its mining contractors to settle parts of its accounts payable for services rendered above a defined tonnage threshold. The fair value of the common stock at the time of issuance was $0.4 million. The agreement with this mining contractor expired and was renegotiated during 2015 and under the revised agreement, the Company can no longer make share payments and instead is required to pay in cash.