Exhibit
10.1
JOINT VENTURE
AGREEMENT
THIS
AGREEMENT is dated
effective December 18, 2006.
JOURNEY
RESOURCES CORP. , a
corporation existing under the laws of the Province of British
Columbia and having an office at #1208 - 808 Nelson Street,
Vancouver, British Columbia V6Z 2H2
(hereinafter
referred to as “Journey”)
MINERALES JAZZ S.A. DE C.V.
, a corporation duly organized
pursuant to the laws of Mexico and having an office at Avenida del
Mar No. 1022 Oficina 5, Zona Costera, Mazatlan, Sin MEXICO
82149
(hereinafter referred to as “Jazz”,
together with Journey, the “Operator”)
WITS
BASIN PRECIOUS MINERALS INC. , a corporation existing under the laws of the
State of Minnesota and having an office at 900 IDS Center, 80 South
8 th Street, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402
(hereinafter referred to as
“Wits”)
(A)
The Operators are the recorded and
beneficial owners of an undivided 100% interest in and to certain
mineral concessions situated in Guerrero State, Mexico, as detailed
in the specific description of the mineral concessions in Schedule
“A” hereto (the “Property”);
(B)
Pursuant to an option agreement
(the “Option Agreement”) dated June 28, 2006, among the
Operator and Wits, the Operator granted to Wits an exclusive right
and option to acquire up to an undivided 50% right, title and
interest in and to the Property; and
(C)
The Operator and Wits have agreed
to form a joint venture with respect to their interests in the
Option Agreement and mineral claims thereunder on the terms and
conditions herein set forth.
NOW,
THEREFORE, in
consideration of the promises and the mutual representations and
covenants hereinafter set forth, the parties hereto do hereby agree
as follows:
PART 1
DEFINITIONS
1.1
For the purposes of this
Agreement:
(a)
“ Accounting
Procedure ” means the accounting procedure
prescribed from time to time by the Management Committee, which
will initially be the accounting procedure forming part of this
Agreement and set out in Schedule “C”;
(b)
“ Area of
Interest ” means a part of the lands lying within
two (2) kilometres from the external perimeter of the Property in
existence as of the Effective Date, as described in Schedule
“B”.;
(c)
“ Assets
” means the Property, other tenements, Facilities, Mineral
Products and Supplies and all other assets acquired or held by the
Participants with respect thereto or pursuant to this Agreement as
the same may exist from time to time;
(d)
“ Associated
Company ” in relation to a person and/or entity
means:
(i)
an operation which owns directly or
through any other means more than 50% of the outstanding capital
stock of an entity,
(ii)
a corporation of which that person
or entity owns directly or through any other means more than 50% of
the outstanding capital stock, and
(iii)
a corporation of which either of the
persons or entities referred to in Sections 1.1(d)(i) and
1.1(d)(ii) owns directly or through any other means more than 50%
of the outstanding capital stock.;
(e)
“ Commercial
Production ” means the commercial exploitation of
Mineral Products from the Property or any part of the Property as a
mine, after implementation of a Production Program, but does not
include milling for the purpose of testing or milling by a pilot
plant;
(f)
“ Cost Share
” means the respective shares of Costs and other liabilities
to be borne by each Participant, which will be equal to the
respective Interests of each Participant as determined from time to
time;
(g)
“ Costs
” means Expenditures, Program Overruns, Production Program
Costs, Production Program Overruns and Operating Costs, as
applicable;
(h)
“ Effective
Date ” means the date first written
above;
(i)
“
Expenditures ” means, without duplication,
all costs, expenses, obligations and liabilities of whatever kind
of nature actually and directly incurred by either Participant, up
to the implementation of a Production Program, in connection with
the exploration and development of the Property, including without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, monies expended in
maintaining the Underlying Agreement in good standing, monies
expended in maintaining the Property in good standing by doing and
filing assessment work, in doing geophysical, geochemical, and
geological surveys, drilling, drifting and other underground work,
assaying and metallurgical testing and engineering, in acquiring
Facilities, in paying the fees, wages, salaries, travelling
expenses, and fringe benefits (whether or not required by law) of
all persons engaged in work with respect to and for the benefit of
the Property, in paying for the food, lodging and other reasonable
needs of such persons and including all costs at prevailing charge
out rates for any personnel or officers of the Operator who from
time to time are engaged directly or indirectly in work on the
Property and a charge made by the Operator as described in Section
6.2;
(j)
“ Facilities
” means all mines, plants and facilities including without
limitation, all pits, shafts, haulageways, and other underground
workings, and all buildings, plants, facilities and other
structures, fixtures and improvements and all other property,
whether fixed or moveable, as the same may exist at any time in, or
on the Property and relating to the operation of the Property as a
mine or outside the Property if for the exclusive benefit of the
Property only;
(k)
“ Feasibility
Report ” means a detailed report, showing the
feasibility of placing any part of the Property into Commercial
Production at an acceptable rate of return on capital, in such form
and detail as is customarily required by institutional lenders of
major financing for mining projects, and includes a reasonable
assessment of the mineable ore reserves and their amenability to
metallurgical treatment, a complete description of the work
equipment and supplies required to bring such part of the Property
into Commercial Production and the estimated cost thereof, a
description of the mining methods to be employed and a financial
appraisal of the proposed operations supported by explanations of
the information set out in Section 10.2;
(l)
“ Interest
” means the undivided beneficial percentage interest of a
Participant in the Assets and will be equal to its interest in the
Property as determined pursuant to this Agreement;
(m)
“ Management
Committee ” means a committee formed pursuant to
Part 11;
(n)
“ Mineral
Products ” means minerals derived for the account of
the individual Participants from operating the Property as a mine
to which has been applied the least number of treatments or
processes necessary to render the minerals into a substance or
state for which there is a commercially significant market, either
within or outside North America, of arm’s length sales or
purchases between unrelated parties;
(o)
“ Operating
Costs ” means, for any period after the commencement
of Commercial Production, all costs, expenses, obligations,
liabilities and charges of whatsoever kind or nature actually
incurred or chargeable, directly by the Operator in connection with
the operation of the Property as a mine during such period, which
costs, expenses, obligations, liabilities and charges include,
without duplication and without limiting the generality of the
foregoing,
(i)
all costs of or related to the
mining and concentrating of ores or other products and the
operation of the Facilities and all costs of or related to
marketing of Mineral Products including transportation, commissions
and/or discounts,
(ii)
such amount of cash for working
capital as, in the opinion of Operator, is required for the
operation of the Property as a mine,
(iii)
all costs of or related to operating
employee facilities, including housing,
(iv)
all duties, charges, levies,
royalties, taxes (excluding taxes levied on the income of the
parties) and other payments imposed by a government or municipality
or department or agency thereof upon or in connection with
operating the Property as a mine,
(v)
fees, wages, salaries, traveling
expenses and fringe benefits (whether or not required by law) of
all persons directly engaged in respect of and for the benefit of
the Property and all costs involved in paying for the food, lodging
and other reasonable needs of such persons,
(vi)
a charge made by Operator in
accordance with Section 6.2 for unallocable overhead
costs,
(vii)
all reasonable costs of consulting,
legal, accounting, insurance and other services,
(viii)
all exploration expenditures
incurred after the commencement of Commercial
Production,
(ix)
all capital costs of operating the
Property as a mine including all costs of construction, equipment
and mine development including maintenance, repairs and
replacements and all capital expenditures relating to an
improvement, expansion, modernization or replacement of the
Facilities,
(x)
all costs for pollution control,
reclamation costs and any other related costs incurred or to be
incurred by the Operator including deposits for such costs required
by a governmental body or authority,
(xi)
any costs or expenses incurred or to
be incurred relating to the termination of the operation of the
Property as a mine,
(xii)
uninsured losses on the Facilities,
and
(xiii)
all costs of maintaining in good
standing or renewing from time to time the Property and other
tenements or any interest therein, including payment of all
government royalties and taxes of any nature whatsoever in
connection therewith,
less the amount
of all insurance recoveries and settlements received during such
period to the extent such recoveries and settlements were not
deducted in a previous period and, except where specific provision
is made otherwise, all Operating Costs will be determined in
accordance with generally accepted accounting principals applied
consistently from year to year, but such costs will not include any
amount in respect of amortization of Costs, depletion or
depreciation;
(p)
“ Operating
Plan ” means a plan presented by Operator pursuant
to Part 13 herein;
(q)
“ operating the
Property as a mine ” or “ operation of
the Property as a mine ” means any or all of the
mining, milling, leaching, smelting, and refining of ores,
minerals, metals or concentrates derived from the
Property.
(r)
“ Operator
” means the party acting as operator pursuant to this
Agreement, and will be Journey, so long as Journey’s or one
of its subsidiaries’ Interest is at least 25% , and otherwise
will be such party as is determined by the Management
Committee;
(s)
“ Participant
” means, Wits, Journey or Jazz, as the context requires, and
its successors and permitted assigns and “Participants”
means collectively Wits, Journey and Jazz, and their successors and
permitted assigns;
(t)
“person”
means an individual, proprietorship,
partnership, unincorporated organization or any other association,
trust body corporate , firm, joint venture, government or any
agency or department thereof, and a natural person in his or her
capacity as trustee, executor, administrator or other legal
representative;
(u)
“ Prime Rate
” means, for a month, the annual rate of interest declared by
the Royal Bank of Canada as the reference rate of interest for
determining Canadian dollar loans in Canada at noon on the first
business day in that month;
(v)
“ Production
Program ” means a Program contemplating achievement
of Commercial Production pursuant to a Feasibility
Report;
(w)
“ Production Program
Costs ” means all cash, outlays and expenses,
obligations and liabilities of whatever kind or nature spent or
incurred directly or indirectly by the Participants in connection
with a Production Program in order to equip the Property for
Commercial Production, including working capital required for the
initial six (6) month operation of the Property as a mine or such
longer period as may be reasonably justified in the circumstances,
and including the overhead charge made by the Operator under
Section 6.2;
(x)
“ Production Program
Overruns ” means all Production Program Costs which
exceed those estimated under a Production Program;
(y)
“ Program
” means, as the context requires:
(i)
a program and budget to carry out
work and incur Expenditures on the Property,
(ii)
a document wherein there is
specified in detail an outline of any and all research, prospecting
and exploration and development work proposed to be carried out
during such Program, the estimated Expenditures to be incurred in
carrying out such work and the area of the Property on which such
work is to be undertaken,
(iii)
the preparation of a Feasibility
Report and the preparation of a Production Program,
(z)
“ Program
Overruns ” means Expenditures which exceed those
estimated under a Program;
(aa)
“ Property
” means the located mineral claims more particularly
described in Exhibit “A” and all other claims, leases
and interests in minerals which are hereafter acquired within the
Area of Interest, together with the other tenements surface rights,
mineral rights, personal property and permits associated therewith,
and will include any renewal thereof and any other form of
successor or substitute title thereto or tenure derived from such
mineral claims, leases and other tenements;
(bb)
“SEC” means the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission;
(cc)
“ Supplies
” means tangible personal property of a non-capital nature
(other than Mineral Products or Facilities) acquired or held by the
parties with respect to the Property; and
(dd)
“ Underlying
Agreement ” means the option agreement dated June
28, 2006, by and among Journey, Jazz and Wits.
The following
are Schedules to this Agreement:
Schedule
“A”
Description of Property;
Schedule
“B”
Area of Interest; and
Schedule
“C”
Accounting Procedure.
1.2 For the
purposes of this Agreement, except as otherwise expressly provided
herein:
(a)“this
Agreement” means this Joint Venture Agreement, including the
Schedules hereto, as it may from time to time be supplemented or
amended;
(b)the words
“herein”, “hereof” and
“hereunder” and other words of similar import refer to
this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular Part, clause,
subclause or other subdivision or Schedule;
(c)the singular
of any term includes the plural and vice versa and the use of any
term is equally applicable to any gender and where applicable to a
body corporate;
(d)the word
“including” is not limiting (whether or not
non-limiting language such as “without limitation” or
“but not limited to” or other words of similar import
are used with reference thereto);
(e)all
accounting terms not otherwise defined in this Agreement have the
meanings assigned to them in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles applicable in Canada, applied on a consistent
basis with prior years;
(f)a reference
to a Part is to a Part of this Agreement, and the word Section
followed by a number or some combination of numbers and letters
refers to the section, paragraph, subparagraph, clause or subclause
of this Agreement so designated;
(g)the headings
to the Parts and clauses of this Agreement are inserted for
convenience only and do not form a part of this Agreement and are
not intended to interpret, define or limit the scope, extent or
intent of this Agreement or any provision hereof;
(h)any
reference to a corporate entity includes and is also a reference to
any corporate entity that is a successor to such entity;
and
(i)the
representations, warranties, covenants and agreements contained in
this Agreement will not merge at the Closing and will continue in
full force and effect from and after the Closing Date for the
applicable period set out in this Agreement.
PART 2
REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES
AND COVENANTS
2.1
Wits hereby represents, warrants and
covenants to Journey and Jazz as follows:
(a)
it is a company duly incorporated,
organized and validly existing under the laws of the State of
Minnesota;
(b)
it has full power and authority to
carry on its business and to enter into this Agreement and any
agreement or instrument referred to or contemplated by this
Agreement;
(c)
neither the execution and delivery
of this Agreement nor any of the agreements referred to herein or
contemplated hereby, nor the consummation of the transactions
hereby contemplated conflict with, result in the breach of or
accelerate the performance required by, any agreement to which it
is a party;
(d)
the execution and delivery of this
Agreement and the agreements contemplated hereby have been duly
authorized by all necessary corporate action on its part and will
not violate or result in the breach of the laws of any jurisdiction
applicable or pertaining thereto or of its constating
documents;
2.2
Each of Journey and Jazz, as the
case may be, hereby represents, warrants and covenants to Wits as
follows:
(a)
Journey is a company duly
incorporated, organized and validly existing under the laws of the
Province of British Columbia;
(b)
Jazz is a company duly incorporated,
organized and validly existing under the laws of Mexico;
(c)
each of Journey and Jazz has full
power and authority to carry on its business and to enter into this
Agreement and any agreement or instrument referred to or
contemplated by this Agreement;
(d)
neither the execution and delivery
of this Agreement nor any of the agreements referred to herein or
contemplated hereby, nor the consummation of the transactions
hereby contemplated conflict with, result in the breach of or
accelerate the performance required by, any agreement to which
either Journey or Jazz is a party;
(e)
the execution and delivery of this
Agreement and the agreements contemplated hereby have been duly
authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of Journey
and Jazz and will not violate or result in the breach of the laws
of any jurisdiction applicable or pertaining thereto or of either
of their constating documents;
(f)
Journey is the holder of a valid and
existing free miner certificate issued to it under the Mineral
Tenure Act (British Columbia);
(g)
there is no consent, approval or
condition precedent to the performance of Journey or Jazz under
this Agreement that has not been obtained, as of the Effective
Date, other than acceptance of the Underlying Agreement by the TSX
Venture Exchange;
(h)
Journey is the 100% beneficial
holder of the Property free and clear of all liens, claims and
encumbrances, through its wholly owned subsidiary Jazz;
(i)
the Property has been accurately
described in Schedule “A”, the claims comprising the
Property have been validly staked, located and recorded in the name
of Jazz and are in good standing pursuant to all applicable laws,
and all taxes, rents, charges and assessments with respect thereto
have been paid or satisfied in full as of the Effective
Date;
(j)
other than the Underlying Agreement,
there are no outstanding agreements or options to acquire or
purchase any of the mineral rights comprising the Property, no
person has any royalty or other interest whatsoever in any
production therefrom, and to the knowledge of either Journey or
Jazz, there is no adverse claim or challenge against or to the
ownership of or title to the Property nor any basis
therefor;
(k)
no environmental audit, assessment,
study or test has been conducted in relation to the Property by or
on behalf of Journey or Jazz nor is Journey or Jazz aware of any of
the same having been conducted by or on behalf of any other person
(including any governmental authority) and, to their knowledge
after due inquiry, there is no outstanding directive or order or
similar notice issued by any regulatory agency or authority,
including any agency or authority responsible for environmental
matters, affecting the Property. There is not any reason to believe
that such an order, directive or similar notice is pending and all
work conducted on the Property to the date hereof has been
conducted in full compliance with all laws;
(l)
neither Journey nor Jazz has
received any notice nor do they have any knowledge of any proposal
to terminate or vary the terms of or rights attaching to any of the
mineral rights comprising the Property from any governmental,
regulatory agency or authority;
(m)
there is no adverse claim or
challenge against the right of Wits to earn up to a 50% Interest in
the Property, nor to the knowledge of Journey or Jazz after due
inquiry, is there any basis therefor;
(n)
to the knowledge of Journey and Jazz
after due inquiry, there are no obligations or commitments for
reclamation, closure or other environmental corrective, clean-up or
remediation action directly or indirectly relating to the Property,
to their knowledge neither Journey nor Jazz has directly or
indirectly caused, permitted or allowed any contaminants,
pollutants, wastes or toxic substances (collectively in this
subsection, “Hazardous Substances”) to be released,
discharged, placed, escaped, leached or disposed of on, into, under
or through the Property (including watercourses, improvements
thereon and contents thereof) or nearby land and, to their
knowledge, no Hazardous Substances or underground storage tanks are
contained, harboured or otherwise present in or upon the Property
(including watercourses, improvements thereon and contents thereof)
or nearby land;
(o)
to the knowledge of Journey and
Jazz, there are no actions, suits, investigations or proceedings
before any court, arbitrator, administrative or regulatory agency
or authority or other tribunal or governmental authority, whether
current, pending or threatened, which directly or indirectly relate
to or affect the Property (including the ownership or existing or
past uses thereof) or compliance with laws nor is Journey or Jazz
aware of any facts which would lead it to suspect that the same
might be initiated or threatened;
(p)
Journey and Jazz have fully complied
with all laws, rules, assessment work and filing requirements with
respect to the Property, including without limitation, applicable
environmental laws, and has received no notice of any breach,
violation or default with respect to the Property;
(q)
Journey and Jazz have made available
to Wits all material information in their respective possession or
control relating to the Property and will continue to make
available to Wits all information in their possession or control
relating to the Property;
(r)
Journey and Jazz possess all such
permits, authorizations and approvals and rights that are necessary
to engage in the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. Wits
has no reasonable basis to conclude that Journey and Jazz will not
be able to obtain any license, permit, authorization, approval, and
right that may be required to perform their respective obligations
herein; and
(s)
on a regular basis and as activities
of Operator dictate, Operator will provide detailed drilling
reports to Wits, the form of which will comply with “NI
43-101 requirements” governing international drilling
reports.
PART 3
CONDITIONS
3.1 In addition to making the
payment to Journey as described in Section 5.1
, Wits’ additional 25% Interest, for a total
of a 50% interest, will be subject to the satisfaction of the
following conditions:
(a) pursuant to
the Underlying Agreement, on or before January 15, 2007, Wits will
issue 500,000 fully paid, non-assessable shares of its common stock
to Journey. Such shares will have piggy back rights and will be the
subject of a registration statement with the SEC, within 60 days of
issuance of same, or within such time as is reasonably practical
and mutually agreed by the parties; and
(b) pursuant to
the Underlying Agreement, on or before September 30, 2007, Wits
will contribute an additional aggregate amount of $500,000 to the
joint venture to assist the funding of a Phase II drilling
project.
3.2 If the conditions set forth in Section 3.1(a)
or Section 3.1(b) are not satisfied, upon written demand by Journey
to Wits, Wits will immediately forfeit its right to earn an
additional 25% Interest and will retain only a 25% interest in and
to the Property.
3.3
Subject to the payment described in Section 5.1, if the conditions
set forth in Section 3.1(a) and Section 3.1(b) are satisfied, Wits
will be deemed to have earned an additional 25% Interest in and to
the Property. For purposes of clarity, if Wits satisfies Section
3.1(a) and 3.1(b), it will hold a 50% Interest in and to the
Property.
3.4
The representations and warranties set forth in Sections 2.1 and
2.2 are conditions on which the parties have relied on in entering
this Agreement and each of the parties will indemnify and save the
other harmless from all loss, damage, costs, actions and suits
arising out of or in connection with any material breach of any
representation, warranty, covenant, agreement or condition made by
them and contained in this Agreement, except as otherwise set forth
herein.
PART 4
ASSOCIATION AND
PARTICIPANTS
4.1
Wits, Journey and Jazz hereby agree
to associate as joint venturers under this Agreement for the
following limited functions and purposes:
(a)
to acquire additional interests in
minerals within the Area of Interest and to carry out work on the
Property in accordance with the terms of this Agreement;
(b)
to further explore and if deemed
warranted as herein provided, to develop the Property and equip it
for Commercial Production;
(c)
to operate the Property as a mine;
and
(d)
to engage in such other activity as
may be considered by the Participants to be necessary or desirable
in connection with the foregoing.
4.2
All transactions, contracts,
employments, purchases, operations, negotiations with third parties
and any other matter or act undertaken on behalf of the
Participants in connection with the Assets will be done,
transacted, undertaken or performed in the name of the Operator
only, and no party will do, transact, perform or undertake anything
in the name of the other parties or in the joint names of the
Participants.
4.3
The rights and obligations of the
Operator and Wits will be, in each case, several, and will not be
or be construed to be either joint or joint and several.
4.4
Nothing contained in this Agreement
will, except to the extent specifically authorized hereunder, be
deemed to constitute a Participant as a partner, an agent or legal
representative of any other party.
4.5
It is intended that this Agreement
will not create the relationship of a partnership between Operator
and Wits and that no act done by Operator or Wits pursuant to the
provisions hereof will operate to create such a
relationship.
4.6
Each Participant will be liable for
its Cost Share of Costs and any other debts liabilities or
obligations associated with the exploration, development or
operation of the Property as a mine at such time as the liability
is incurred by the Operator.
4.7
Except as otherwise set forth
herein, each Participant, in proportion to its Interest, will
indemnify and hold harmless the other Participants from any claim
of or liability to any third person asserted upon the ground that
an action taken under this Agreement has resulted in or will result
in loss or damage to such third person, to the extent, but only to
the extent that such claim or liability is paid by such other
Participants in an amount in excess of such other
Participants’ Interests.
4.8
Each Participant will devote such
time as may be required to fulfill any obligation assumed by it
hereunder but, except for the parties’ respective obligations
hereunder in relation to the Property and the Area of
Interest:
(a)
each Participant will be at liberty
to engage in any other business or activity outside the joint
venture constituted hereby, including the ownership and operation
of any other mining permits, licenses, claims and
leases;
(b)
each Participants will not be under
any fiduciary or other obligation to the other Participants which
will prevent or impede such Participant from participating in, or
enjoying the benefits of, competing endeavours of a nature similar
to the business or activity undertaken by the Participants
hereunder; and
(c)
the legal doctrines of
“corporate opportunity” or “business
opportunity” sometimes applied to persons occupying a
relationship similar to that of the Participants will not apply
with respect to participation by either Participant in any business
activity or endeavour outside the joint venture constituted hereby,
and, without implied limitation, a Participant will not be
accountable to the other for participation in any such business
activity or endeavour outside the joint venture constituted hereby
which is in direct competition with the business or activity
undertaken by the joint venture.
PART 5
INTEREST OF
PARTICIPANTS
5.1
Subject to Sections 3.2 and 3.3
herein, as of the Effective Date, Wits will have a 25% undivided
Interest in the Property and Journey and Jazz, collectively, will
have a 75% undivided Interest in the Property. In consideration of
Wit’s Interest and upon execution of this Agreement by all
parties hereto, Wits will deliver the aggregate amount of One
Hundred Twenty Thousand Dollars ($120,000) by wire transfer to an
account designated by Journey.
5.2
Each of the respective Participants
will be deemed to have the following respective Interests and to
have incurred the following Expenditures as of the Effective
Date:
5.3
The project will be run on a 75%/25%
basis, in accordance with the terms hereunder, with the
Participants contributing to all Costs in operating the joint
venture in proportion to its percentage of undivided Interest. The
aggregate amount of Expenditures as at the Effective Date is deemed
to be the current value of the project (the “
PV ”). The PV will be updated each time an
additional expenditure is made.
5.4
Except as set forth in Section3.2
and 3.3, the percentage level of the respective Interests of Wits,
Journey and Jazz will not change, so long as each Participant
contributes its respective Cost Share of Costs.
5.5
If a Participant elects not to
contribute, or fails to contribute its respective Cost Share, then
the other Participants have the right to contribute to the
non-contributing Participant’s Cost Share resulting in a
diluted Interest of the non-contributing Participant, and the
percentage level of the Participants’ Interest will be
adjusted pursuant to the following formula:
(a)
the amount of such
Participant’s contributions or deemed contributions to Costs,
divided by
(b)
the amount of all contributions or
deemed contributions to Costs by all Participants.
5.6
If, as a result of adjustment
pursuant to Section 5.5, a Participant’s Interest is reduced
to 10% or less, the Interest of such Participant will be
automatically converted to a 5% net project interest .
PART 6
OPERATOR
6.1
Journey and Jazz, collectively, will
act as the Operator under this Agreement, so long as their
collective Interest is 25% or more, or as otherwise set forth in
this Part 6.
6.2
An Operator fee (the “Operator
Fee”) will be paid based on a percentage of Expenditures, as
follows:
(a) to Operator during the Option Period:
10%;
(b) to Operator commencing on Effective Date: 5% of
all qualified Expenditures incurred; and
(c)
to Operator after full Feasibility
Report accepted: 5% of all qualified Expenditures during
construction, development and operations of the mine.
6.3
The Operator Fee will include, but
not be limited to all Operator’s office overhead costs
and all general and administrative expenses including telephone,
faxes, and direct management salaries and wages.
6.4
the Operator Fee will be payable
monthly in arrears for the Expenditures incurred in that month,
which charge will be an amount sufficient to reimburse Operator
fully for its services as Operator, but not sufficient to enable
Operator to profit thereby and such fees will be reviewed and if
proven to be excessive or insufficient will be adjusted by the
Management Committee on the basis that Operator should neither
profit nor lose by acting as such; and
6.5
prescribe the administrative and
accounting procedure governing the conduct of Programs or
Production Programs or the operation of the Property as a mine,
including the basis for charges and credit related thereto, except
where any such procedure is in conflict with the provisions of this
Agreement, in which event the provisions of this Agreement will
prevail.
6.6
The initial Accounting Procedure,
subject to change from time to time by the Management Committee, is
attached as Schedule “C”.
6.7
Operator may resign at any time by
giving thirty (30) days’ prior written notice to Wits and
within such 30-day period, the Management Committee will appoint
another party who covenants to act as the Operator upon such terms
as the parties will agree.
6.8
If following its appointment as
Operator, Operator fails to perform in a manner consistent with its
powers and duties under this Agreement, any Participant may give to
Operator written notice setting forth particulars of
Operator’s default.
6.9
Operator will within thirty (30)
days after receipt of such notice described in Section 6.8 either
dispute the occurrence of such default or commence to remedy the
default within the time limit aforesaid (and thereafter, in the
latter case, will proceed continuously and diligently to complete
all required remedial action).
6.10
Operator may take action to remedy
an alleged default under Section 6.8 without prejudice to its right
to dispute the occurrence of the default and to claim recovery of
expenses incurred in remedial work not occasioned by its
default.
6.11
If Operator disputes any alleged
default under Section 6.8 or if the Participant alleging a default
provides to Operator a further written notice that Operator has
failed to proceed continuously and diligently to complete all
required remedial action to remedy a default previously alleged by
such Participant, then the matter will be referred to arbitration
under Section 20.7.
6.12
Operator will be deemed to have
offered its resignation upon the occurrence of any of the following
events:
(a)
if an attachment in respect to any
material liability of Operator is made on the Property which is not
related to the business of the joint venture;
(i)
admits in writing its inability to
pay its debts as they become due other than indebtedness
(“non-recourse financing”) for money borrowed or
guaranteed where the recourse of the holder thereof is restricted
to realization upon specific assets none of which consist of any
Interest, and whether failure to pay the indebtedness does not
result in the creation of an unsecured obligation of
Operator,
(ii)
makes an assignment for the benefit
of creditors,
(iii)
consents to the appointment of a
receiver (other than a receiver appointed under non-recourse
financing) for all or a substantial part of its assets,
(iv)
files a petition in bankruptcy or
for a reorganization or an arrangement under applicable bankruptcy,
insolvency or creditors’ relief laws, or otherwise seeks the
relief therein provided, or
(v)
is adjusted bankrupt or
insolvent;
(c)
if a court order is pronounced in
respect to Operator appointing a receiver or trustee for all or a
substantial part of its property (other than property securing
non-recourse financing), or approving a petition in bankruptcy or
for a reorganization under applicable bankruptcy, insolvency or
creditor’s relief laws or for any judicial modification or
alteration of the rights of creditors; or
(d)
the Interest of the Operator is
reduced to less than 25% for thirty (30) consecutive
days.
6.13
Upon ceasing to be Operator, the
former Operator will forthwith deli