Bunker Hill Mining Announces Enhancements to Private Placements and Major Capital Restructuring
KELLOGG, Idaho and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bunker Hill Mining Corp. (TSXV:BNKR, OTCQB:BHLL) ("Bunker Hill" or the "Company") is pleased to announce significant progress and enhancements to capital restructuring and equity financing initiative, previously announced on March 6, 2025. This is designed to ensure the Bunker Hill Zinc-Silver-Lead Mine in the Silver Valley, Idaho (the "Project") remains on track for commissioning and operations in the second half of 2025, with nameplate 1,800 tons per day production expected in the first half of 2026.
Highlights of the Enhanced Restructuring and Financing:
Teck Resources Limited ("Teck") to provide a lead commitment of US$10 million in funding to Bunker Hill by means of a lead order and promissory note, and additional equity thereafter alongside the brokered private placement offering, matching total funds raised on a two-to-one basis.
Company targeting US$10-15 million of new equity in the brokered private placement offering led by BMO Capital Markets, CIBC Capital Markets and Red Cloud Securities Inc. and including National Bank. The order book is set to close on Thursday, March 27th, 2025.
Warrant offering improved, The term of the warrants issuable in connection with the Private Placements will be increased from a period of 12 months to a period of three years following the date of issuance.
Additional debt restructuring achieved, Sprott Streaming and Royalty Corp. (together with its affiliates, "Sprott Streaming") agrees to convert an additional US$6 million of outstanding debt into equity, for a total of US$21 million. This is in addition to the US$6,105,000 (a principal amount of US$6 million plus all accrued and unpaid interest thereon) to be settled with Sprott Streaming, as announced in the Company's news release of March 6, 2025. This represents a total of approximately US$27 million of debt conversion, significantly improving the Project's debt-to-equity ratio.
In response to the Presidential Executive Order issued on March 20th, 2025 designed to strengthen American mineral production, Bunker Hill has been invited to accelerate the process designed to unlock a US$150 million of US Export-Import Bank ("US EXIM") finance package for its Bunker 2.0 (2,500 tons per day) expansion project, as described in the existing Letter of Intent issued in October 2024.
Sam Ash, President & CEO, commented: "Working with our strategic investors, Teck, Sprott Streaming, and Monetary Metals, and the syndicate of brokers led by BMO Capital Markets, CIBC and Red Cloud, we are pleased to announce these enhancements to the previously announced Private Placements and our intention to close the book on Thursday, March 27th, 2025."
Equity Financings: The brokered private placement offering led by BMO Capital Markets, CIBC Capital Markets and Red Cloud Securities Inc., including National Bank, is set to close the order book on Thursday, March 27th for minimum aggregate gross proceeds of US$10 million (C$14,370,000), and up to maximum aggregate gross proceeds of US$15 million (C$21,555,000) (the "Brokered Offering"). Teck has agreed to contribute, through a non-brokered private placement, $2 for every $1 raised through the Brokered Offering in aggregate, with a minimum lead order of US$6.6 million and total gross proceeds of up to US$30 million (C$43,110,000)1 (collectively, the "Non-Brokered Offering" and together with the Brokered Offering, the "Private Placements"), subject to shareholder approval, closing of the debt restructuring transactions and other customary closing conditions. Proceeds will be used to support the construction, start-up, and ramp-up of the Project. In connection with the Non-Brokered Offering, the Company and Teck have amended the subscription agreement dated March 5, 2025 to, among other things, amend the closing condition thereunder requiring the Company to raise aggregate gross proceeds of at least US$20 million under the Brokered Offering to a minimum of at least US$10 million.
The closing of the Private Placements remain subject to approval from the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSX-V").
Short-Term Bridge Financing and Promissory Note: Teck has provided an unsecured promissory note for an aggregate principal amount of up to US$3,400,000 (the "Note") to ensure sufficient short-term funding to keep the Project on track while the Private Placements close. The Note will bear interest at 12% per annum, with such interest being capitalized and added to the principal amount outstanding under the Note monthly. The Note will be available in multiple advances, at the discretion of Teck, and is payable on demand from Teck.
Debt Restructuring and Strengthened Balance Sheet: With challenging market conditions triggered by the tariff war rhetoric, the Company has reduced the scope of the previously announced transactions with a focus on advancing the Project to production. Concurrent with the closing of the Private Placements, and subject to the Company obtaining the requisite shareholder consent and TSX-V approval, the Company will close on the previously announced debt restructurings, which are expected to significantly strengthen the Company's balance sheet, reduce financing costs, lower all-in costs and increase life-of-mine free cash flow.
Debt Restructuring Developments: In connection with the previously announced debt restructurings, the Company has elected to reduce the aggregate principal amount of the two senior secured Series 3 convertible debentures ("Series 3 CD") issuable to Sprott Streaming from US$10 million to US$4 million. Instead, the Company will issue up to an additional 57,142,857 shares of common stock of the Company ("Common Shares") at a deemed issuance price of US$0.1052 per Common Share (the "Offering Price") to Sprott Streaming, in addition to the proposed issuance of up to 142,857,143 Common Shares at the Offering Price ("Sprott Tranche II Shares"), instead of the up to 142,857,142 Common Shares as previously announced in the Company's news release of March 6, 2025, for a maximum of up to 200,000,000 Common Shares issuable to ...
