First Mining Gold Corp. announces that the Company is not aware of any material undisclosed information and wishes to make the following statements regarding recent sponsored news and marketing activities concerning its common shares.
On June 21, 2021, OTC Markets Group Inc. (“OTC Markets”) informed the Company that it had become aware of certain promotional activities concerning the Company and its common shares, and sent First Mining copies of two newsletters sent by Portfolio Wealth Global (“Portfolio Wealth”) to its subscribers on June 20 and June 21, 2021, and a copy of a newsletter sent by National Inflation Association (“NAI”) to its subscribers on June 21, 2021 (collectively, the “Articles”) and requested comment from the Company. The Articles provide details regarding First Mining, certain of its mineral projects, the Company’s upcoming annual general and special meeting of shareholders that will be held on June 30, 2021 (the “AGM”) and the distribution by First Mining of shares and warrants of Treasury Metals Inc. to the Company’s shareholders that is expected to occur in mid-July 2021 (the “Distribution”).
The Company was aware of the Articles before receiving them from OTC Markets. On June 2, 2021, First Mining engaged Future Money Trends, LLC (“Future Money Trends”) to provide marketing services in connection with a digital marketing campaign aimed at increasing the knowledge and awareness of First Mining’s shareholders of the upcoming Distribution. In connection with this engagement, First Mining has agreed to pay Future Money Trends US$400,000. Portfolio Wealth and NAI are third-party service providers who were engaged by Future Money Trends in connection with the marketing campaign. The Articles contain information that is derived from the Company’s public filings under its SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, its website, investor presentation, and its news releases. The factual information contained in the Articles is accurate; however, any opinions expressed in any of the Articles are the author’s alone as the Company had no right of edit or control over those opinions. Furthermore, First Mining did not have any editorial control over the content of the Articles other than to confirm that factual matters related to the Company were correct.
On June 16, 2021, First Mining disseminated an update news release reminding its shareholders of the upcoming AGM and describing the process for the Distribution, and the Company believes that the increase in share trading volume reflects investor interest in the Distribution. First Mining recognizes that the Articles coincided with higher than average trading volume in the Company’s common shares commencing on or about June 21, 2021, and believes that the increased trading activity can mainly be attributed to several factors, namely: (i) the benefits that First Mining shareholders will receive as a result of the upcoming Distribution; (ii) the initiation of a broader investor awareness campaign undertaken by the Company; and (iii) a focus on the value that First Mining’s assets trade at in the market relative to peer companies. The Company notes that its shareholders were made aware of its intent to complete the Distribution in August 2020, and with the Distribution set to be completed within the next month, a continued increase in trading activity in the Company’s shares may occur as existing shareholders of First Mining may choose to increase their share ownership levels in order to receive a greater pro rata share of the Distribution.
In addition to the Articles, Future Money Trends also organized a number of interviews with digital media content creators and First Mining’s Chairman, Keith Neumeyer, which were conducted on June 20th and June 21st. The Company also hosted a webinar for investors and prospective investors on June 21st in which the Company’s CEO and the Chairman discussed the Company and the upcoming Distribution, and First Mining was featured in The Calandra Report this past weekend commencing June 18th based on the response provided by the Company’s CEO to a question about the gold market. First Mining does not pay for coverage in The Calandra Report, but we are subscribers to the service at a cost of US$179 per year.
First Mining does not believe the statements in the Articles were materially false or materially misleading. However, the Company wishes to caution readers that certain statements in the Articles are speculative in nature. For more complete and specific information regarding First Mining, its prospects and the risks associated with those prospects, readers should consult the Company’s public under its SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com, its website and other reliable sources. First Mining encourages investors to contact their investment advisors prior to making any investment in the Company.
After an inquiry by management, the Company confirms that it is not aware of any of its directors and control persons, its officers, directors, any shareholders owning 10% or more of the Company’s securities, or any third-party service providers that may have, directly or indirectly, been involved in any way (including payment of a third-party) with the creation, distribution, or payment of promotional materials related to the Company and its securities, other than that which has been disclosed in this news release.
After an inquiry by management, none of the Company’s executive officers, directors or, to the knowledge of the Company, any controlling shareholders and third-party service providers, sold or purchased shares of the Company within the past 90 days, except as follows:
In connection with these share purchases, both Mr. Polman and Mr. Engquist have filed their required insider reports on the Company’s “System for Electronic Disclosure By Insiders” profile at www.sedi.ca.
In the last twelve months, the Company has engaged the following parties to provide investor relations, public relations services, marketing or other related services: Future Money Trends, VRIFY Technology Inc., Soar Financial Partners, 6ix Inc., King World News, Kitco Metals Inc., CRUX Investor, The Assay – 121 Group, Proactive Investors, Aspermont Ltd. and The Calandra Report.
The OTC Markets has further requested that First Mining state whether it has, at any point, issued any shares or convertible instruments allowing conversion to equity securities at prices constituting a discount to the current market rate at the time of the issuance. During the past two years, as disclosed in its public filings on SEDAR, First Mining has not issued any common shares or instruments convertible into common shares or other equity securities at a price constituting a discount to the market rate at the time of issuance other than as follows:
Prior to this two-year period, there have been other non-brokered private placements carried out by the Company which involved the issuance of equity securities at prices which constituted a discount to the market rate at the time of the issuance. All such issuances were in compliance with the pricing policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (when the Company’s common shares were listed on the TSX Venture Exchange) and the pricing policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange (following the Company’s graduation to the Toronto Stock Exchange in June 2017), and have been disclosed in previous news releases of the Company and in the Company’s public filings on SEDAR.
First Mining routinely responds to inquiries from shareholders, potential investors and investment analysts and prepares its own investor relations materials. As such, First Mining urges its shareholder base and followers to review the Company’s website (www.firstmininggold.com) and its continuous disclosure filings under its SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Any investor seeking to verify whether a publication was disseminated by First Mining can email info@firstmininggold.com.
About First Mining Gold Corp.
First Mining is a Canadian gold developer focused on athe development and permitting of the Springpole Gold Project in northwestern Ontario. Springpole is one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in Canada. The results of a positive Pre-Feasibility Study for the Springpole Gold Project were announced by First Mining in January 2021, and permitting activities are on-going with submission of an Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”) for the project targeted for 2021. The Company also holds a large equity position in Treasury Metals Inc. who are advancing the Goliath Gold Complex toward construction. First Mining’s portfolio of gold projects in eastern Canada also includes the Pickle Crow (being advanced in partnership with Auteco Minerals Ltd.), Hope Brook (being advanced in partnership with Big Ridge Gold) Cameron, Duparquet, Duquesne, and Pitt gold projects.
First Mining was established in 2015 by Mr. Keith Neumeyer, founding President and CEO of First Majestic Silver Corp.
ON BEHALF OF FIRST MINING GOLD CORP.
Daniel W. Wilton
Chief Executive Officer and Director