EX-4.1 2 ea020195901ex4-1_augusta.htm DESCRIPTION OF THE REGISTRANT'S SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12 OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Exhibit 4.1

 

Description of Securities

 

Holders of the shares of common stock, par value $0.0001, in the capital of the Company (the “Common Stock”) are entitled to one vote for each share on all matters submitted to a stockholder vote. Holders of Common Stock do not have cumulative voting rights. Therefore, subject to the rights of any outstanding Preferred Stock, holders of a majority of the shares of Common Stock voting for the election of directors can elect all of the directors. Holders of the Company’s Common Stock representing one-third of the voting power of the Company’s capital stock issued, outstanding and entitled to vote, represented in person or by proxy, are necessary to constitute a quorum at any meeting of stockholders. Directors are elected by a plurality of the votes. A vote by the holders of a majority of the Company’s outstanding shares is required to effectuate certain fundamental corporate changes such as a merger or an amendment to the Company’s Articles of Incorporation.

 

Holders of the Company’s Common Stock are entitled to share in all dividends that the board of directors, in its discretion, declares from legally available funds. In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up, each outstanding share entitles its holder to participate pro rata in all assets that remain after payment of liabilities and after providing for each class of stock, if any, having preference over the Common Stock. The Company’s Common Stock has no pre-emptive rights, no conversion rights and there are no redemption provisions applicable to the Company’s Common Stock under our constating documents.

 

Pursuant to an investor rights agreement between the Company, Augusta Investments Inc. and Barrick Gold Corporation, provided that Augusta Investments Inc. or Barrick Gold Corporation, as the case may be, own more than 10% of the Company’s Common Stock on the relevant measurement date (calculated on a partially diluted basis), such investor separately has (i) a right to participate in any offering of the Company’s Common Stock (or securities convertible or exercisable for Common Stock), on the same terms as other participants in the offering, to maintain their then current ownership percentage in the Company and (ii) a top-up right to purchase securities to cure the dilutive effect of the issuance of shares of Common Stock on conversion or exercise of certain convertible or derivative securities of the Company where the monetary value of the dilution is greater than $250,000.

 

Anti-Takeover Provisions

 

Our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws contain provisions that may discourage unsolicited takeover proposals that stockholders may consider to be in their best interests. We are also subject to anti-takeover provisions under Nevada law, which could delay or prevent a change of control. Together, these provisions may make it more difficult to affect the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.

 

In our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws these provisions:

 

grant our board of directors the ability to designate the terms of and issue new series of Preferred Stock, which can be created and issued by the board of directors without prior stockholder approval, with rights senior to those of the Common Stock; and

 

impose limitations on our stockholders’ ability to call special stockholder meetings.

 

Certain anti-takeover provisions of Nevada law could have the effect of delaying or preventing a third party from acquiring us, even if the acquisition arguably could benefit our stockholders.

 

 

 

 

Nevada’s “combinations with interested stockholders” statutes, NRS 78.411 through 78.444, inclusive, prohibit specified types of business “combinations” between certain Nevada corporations and any person deemed to be an “interested stockholder” for two years after such person first becomes an “interested stockholder” unless the corporation’s board of directors approves the combination, or the transaction by which such person becomes an “interested stockholder”, in advance, or unless the combination is approved by the board of directors and sixty percent of the corporation’s voting power not beneficially owned by the interested stockholder, its affiliates and associates. Further, in the absence of prior approval certain restrictions may apply even after such two-year period. However, these statutes do not apply to any combination of a corporation and an interested stockholder after the expiration of four years after the person first became an interested stockholder. For purposes of these statutes, an “interested stockholder” is any person who is (1) the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of ten percent or more of the voting power of the outstanding voting shares of the corporation, or (2) an affiliate or associate of the corporation and at any time within the two previous years was the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of ten percent or more of the voting power of the then outstanding shares of the corporation. The definition of the term “combination” is sufficiently broad to cover most significant transactions between a corporation and an “interested stockholder.” These statutes generally apply to Nevada corporations with 200 or more stockholders of record. However, a Nevada corporation may elect in its articles of incorporation not to be governed by these particular laws, but if such election is not made in the corporation’s original articles of incorporation, the amendment (1) must be approved by the affirmative vote of the holders of stock representing a majority of the outstanding voting power of the corporation not beneficially owned by interested stockholders or their affiliates and associates, and (2) is not effective until 18 months after the vote approving the amendment and does not apply to any combination with a person who first became an interested stockholder on or before the effective date of the amendment. We have made such an election in our original articles of incorporation.

 

Nevada’s “acquisition of controlling interest” statutes, NRS 78.378 through 78.379, inclusive, contain provisions governing the acquisition of a controlling interest in certain Nevada corporations. These “control share” laws provide generally that any person that acquires a “controlling interest” in certain Nevada corporations may be denied voting rights, unless a majority of the disinterested stockholders of the corporation elects to restore such voting rights. Absent such provision in our bylaws, these laws would apply to us as of a particular date if we were to have 200 or more stockholders of record (at least 100 of whom have addresses in Nevada appearing on our stock ledger at all times during the 90 days immediately preceding that date) and do business in the State of Nevada directly or through an affiliated corporation, unless our articles of incorporation or bylaws in effect on the tenth day after the acquisition of a controlling interest provide otherwise. These laws provide that a person acquires a “controlling interest” whenever a person acquires shares of a subject corporation that, but for the application of these provisions of the NRS, would enable that person to exercise (1) one fifth or more, but less than one third, (2) one third or more, but less than a majority or (3) a majority or more, of all of the voting power of the corporation in the election of directors. Once an acquirer crosses one of these thresholds, shares which it acquired in the transaction taking it over the threshold and within the 90 days immediately preceding the date when the acquiring person acquired or offered to acquire a controlling interest become “control shares” to which the voting restrictions described above apply.

 

Nevada law also provides that directors may resist a change or potential change in control if the directors determine that the change is opposed to, or not in the best interests of, the corporation. The existence of the foregoing provisions and other potential anti-takeover measures could limit the price that investors might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. They could also deter potential acquirers of our Company, thereby reducing the likelihood that you could receive a premium for your common stock in an acquisition.

 

Further, Mr. Richard Warke, our Executive Chairman, controls 25,385,388 shares of common stock with the right to acquire an additional 17,375,000 shares underlying warrants and a further right to acquire 800,000 shares underlying options representing 41.8% of the issued and outstanding voting shares of the Company on a partially diluted basis as of March 19, 2024 and Barrick Gold Corporation controls 9,100,000 shares of common stock with the right to acquire an additional 9,100,000 shares underlying warrants, representing 19.1% of the issued and outstanding voting shares of the Company on a partially diluted basis as of March 19, 2024, and Barrick Gold Corporation has the right to designate a director nominee for nomination by our Board to election as a director by the stockholders for so long a Barrick owns 10% of the Company’s Common Stock (on a partially diluted basis). The large concentration of our voting shares in two stockholders and Barrick’s nomination right makes it more difficult to effect the removal of management and may discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our securities.

 

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Indemnification of Directors and Officers

 

The Nevada Revised Statutes (“NRS”) empower us to indemnify our directors and officers against expenses relating to certain actions, suits or proceedings as provided for therein. In order for such indemnification to be available, the applicable director or officer must not have acted in a manner that constituted a breach of his or her fiduciary duties or involved intentional misconduct, fraud or a knowing violation of law, or must have acted in good faith and reasonably believed that his or her conduct was in, or not opposed to, our best interests. In the event of a criminal action, the applicable director or officer must not have had reasonable cause to believe his or her conduct was unlawful.

 

The NRS further provides that a corporation may purchase and maintain insurance or make other financial arrangements on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise for any liability asserted against him and liability and expenses incurred by him in his capacity as a director, officer, employee or agent, or arising out of his status as such, whether or not the corporation has the authority to indemnify him against such liability and expenses. We have secured a directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policy. We expect that we will continue to maintain such a policy.

 

Pursuant to our Articles of Incorporation, the Company has agreed to indemnify to the fullest extent permitted or required by NRS Chapter 78 and any other applicable law each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is otherwise subject to or involved in any claim, demand, action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (a “Proceeding”), by reason of the fact that such person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company or is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, or of a partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, including service with respect to an employee benefit plan, or as a manager of a limited liability company (each, an “Indemnitee”), whether the basis of such Proceeding is alleged action in an official capacity or any other capacity while serving as such a director, officer, employee, manager or agent; provided that the Company will indemnify any such Indemnitee in connection with a Proceeding (or part thereof) initiated by such Indemnitee to enforce rights to indemnification against the Company only if such Proceeding (or part thereof) was authorized by the board of directors.

 

The expenses of directors, officers, employees or agents of the Company incurred in defending a civil or criminal action, suit, or proceeding may be paid by the Company as they are incurred and in advance of the final disposition of the action, suit, or proceeding, if and only if the director, officer, employee or agent undertakes to repay said expenses to the Company if it is ultimately determined by a court of competent jurisdiction, after exhaustion of all appeals therefrom, that he is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation.

 

No indemnification shall be applied, and any advancement of expenses to or on behalf of any director, officer, employee or agent must be returned to the Company, if a final adjudication establishes that the person’s acts or omissions involved a breach of any fiduciary duties, where applicable, intentional misconduct, fraud or a knowing violation of the law which was material to the cause of action.

 

Pursuant to our Bylaws, we will indemnify to the fullest extent permitted by the NRS, as now or hereinafter in effect, the Corporation shall indemnify any director, officer, agent or employee who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Corporation, or is or was serving at the request of the Corporation as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses, including attorneys’ fees, judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with the action, suit or proceeding if the person: (a) is not liable pursuant to NRS 78.138; or (b) acted in good faith and in a manner which he or she reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation, and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the conduct was unlawful. However, indemnification may not be made for any claim, issue or matter as to which such a person has been adjudged to be liable to the Corporation or for amounts paid in settlement to the Corporation, unless and only to the extent that the court in which the action or suit was brought determines upon application that in view of all the circumstances, the person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses as the court deems proper.

 

 

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