Mayfair Gold Corp. (“
Mayfair” or the
“
Company”) (
TSX-V:
MFG; OTCQB:
MFGCF) today responded to an announcement by Muddy
Waters Capital LLC (“Muddy Waters”) of their intention to solicit
proxies from securityholders of Mayfair for the purpose of
reconstituting the Company’s board of directors (the “Board”) at
its upcoming 2024 annual general meeting (the
“
AGM”)
.
Until the Company has delivered its management
information circular for the upcoming AGM (the “Management
Circular”), there is no need for shareholders to take any
action.
Mayfair has an experienced and engaged Board
with considerable collective expertise in the mineral exploration
industry. Our Board and management team are open to value creation
opportunities, and have a proven track record of evaluating a broad
range of options with that objective in mind.
The nominating function is an important aspect
of the Board’s duties. The Board is currently conducting a
comprehensive and proactive process (the
“Recruitment Process”) to
identify suitable candidates for board recruitment, which has been
ongoing for several months. The Company has engaged and worked
closely with professional advisors to assist with the Recruitment
Process. The structured nature of the Recruitment Process allows
the Board to nominate the right individuals from a broad pool of
candidates who will bring specific skills and experience to the
Board that are needed at this stage of the Company’s
development.
In addition, shareholders are entitled to submit
nominations for election to the Board at the Company’s annual
meeting. Mayfair’s advance nomination requirements and procedure
are set out in its Articles, which are available on SEDAR+.
On the afternoon of Thursday, March 14, 2024,
without any warning or prior discussion with the Board, Muddy
Waters demanded that the Board immediately halt the Recruitment
Process and instead appoint a nominee of Muddy Waters, Darren
McLean, to the Board and further appoint Mr. McLean as Chair of the
Board. Muddy Waters also demanded the right to have a second, as
yet unidentified, nominee appointed to the Board. Muddy Waters gave
the Company until 3 p.m. Pacific Time on Monday, March 18 to
respond to its demand. However, Muddy Waters provided no nomination
materials to the Company in respect of their proposed nominees as
required under Mayfair’s Articles, and no credentials or
biographical information in support of Mr. McLean’s nomination.
The failure of Muddy Waters to provide
nominating materials or credentials concerning Mr. McLean was of
special concern to the Board as, to the knowledge of the Company,
Mr. McLean has never served as a director or executive officer of a
Canadian public company.
Yesterday, on Monday, March 18, 2024, the
Company advised Muddy Waters that the appointment of Mr. McLean to
the Board and as Chair prior to other shareholders having their say
on his candidacy through a shareholder vote at the AGM—and
especially without the Board having had an opportunity to interview
Mr. McLean or consider his credentials—would not be
compatible with good corporate governance or the Board’s duty to
conduct the nomination process in an informed and deliberate
manner.
Nevertheless, in keeping with the Company’s
respect for shareholder input, the Board indicated its willingness
to consider Mr. McLean’s candidacy as part of its current
Recruitment Process, provided Mr. McLean submit a directors’
questionnaire and participate in an interview with the Board. The
Board also offered to meet with Muddy Waters to address their vague
and unclearly articulated concerns, either with or without the
presence of the CEO.
Muddy Waters’ statement that it has sought to
resolve this matter privately and amicably is factually incorrect.
Instead of taking the Board up on yesterday’s offer to participate
in the Recruitment Process and engage in a constructive dialogue,
Muddy Waters has chosen to launch a costly and value-destructive
proxy contest.
Notwithstanding Muddy Waters’ unwillingness to
engage in constructive dialogue, the Company will evaluate Muddy
Waters’ director candidates at such time as they comply with the
advance nomination requirements and procedure set out in the
Company’s Articles.
The Board looks forward to presenting its
recommendations with respect to the election of directors in the
Company’s Management Circular, which will be mailed to shareholders
and filed on SEDAR+ ahead of the AGM. The AGM date has not yet been
finalized.
With respect to Muddy Waters’ concerns raised
regarding the Company’s grant of options, the Compensation
Committee of the Board conducts detailed research on appropriate
compensation for the Board, executives and staff based on publicly
available data for comparable issuers. The Compensation Committee
also consults with professional advisors and carefully reviews
their reports and recommendations. Based on this research the
Compensation Committee is confident the Company’s compensation
structure is fair and commensurate to its peers.
Mayfair values the perspectives of its
shareholders and looks forward to an ongoing, constructive dialogue
with them about the Company’s governance, performance, and
strategic direction. The Company is proud that its share price
performance in 2023 has been among the best of its junior gold
exploration peer group. The Board and management team will continue
to take actions that they believe are in the best interests of the
Company and remain focused on advancing its flagship asset, the
100% controlled Fenn-Gib gold project in the Timmins region of
Northern Ontario.
About Mayfair
Mayfair Gold is a Canadian mineral exploration
company focused on advancing the 100% controlled Fenn-Gib gold
project in the top-tier mining region of Timmins, Northern Ontario.
The Fenn-Gib gold deposit is Mayfair’s flagship asset and currently
hosts an updated National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of
Disclosure for Mineral Projects (“NI 43-101”)
mineral resource estimate with an effective date of April 6, 2023
with a total indicated mineral resource of 113.69M tonnes
containing 3.38M ounces at a grade of 0.93 g/t Au and an inferred
mineral resource of 5.72M tonnes containing 0.16M ounces at a grade
of 0.85 g/t Au at a 0.40 g/t Au cut-off grade. The Fenn-Gib deposit
has a strike length of over 1.5km with widths ranging over 500m.
The gold mineralized zones remain open at depth and along strike to
the east and west. Recently completed metallurgical tests confirm
that the Fenn-Gib deposit can deliver robust gold recoveries of up
to 94%.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
For further information contact:Patrick Evans,
President and CEOPhone: (480) 747-3032Email:
patrick@mayfairgold.caWeb: www.mayfairgold.ca
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking
statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of
Canadian securities legislation (collectively,
“forward-looking statements”) that relate to
Mayfair’s current expectations and views of future events,
including the results of the Recruitment Process, whether Muddy
Waters will comply with the Company’s advance nomination
requirements and procedure set out in its Articles, the results of
the Corporate Governance Committee’s evaluation of Muddy Waters’
nominees at the time as such advance nomination requirements and
procedure are met, the Board’s recommendation with respect to the
election of directors in the Company’s Management Circular, the
timing of the AGM and the timing of the mailing and filing of the
Company’s Management Circular. Forward-looking statements and may
involve estimates, assumptions and uncertainties which could cause
actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those
expressed in such forward-looking statements. No assurance can be
given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such
forward-looking statements included in this news release should not
be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date
of this news release.
Forward-looking statements are based on a number
of assumptions and are subject to a number of risks and
uncertainties, many of which are beyond Mayfair’s control, which
could cause actual results and events to differ materially from
those that are disclosed in or implied by such forward- looking
statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not
limited to, the results of the Recruitment Process, whether Muddy
Waters will comply with the Company’s advance nomination
requirements and procedure, or whether Muddy Waters will withdraw
its announced nominees. Mayfair undertakes no obligation to update
or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be
required by law. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is
not possible for Mayfair to predict all of them, or assess the
impact of each such factor or the extent to which any factor, or
combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from
those contained in any forward-looking statement. Any
forward-looking statements contained in this news release are
expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary
statement.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
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