PureBase Corp - Quarter Report: 2023 August (Form 10-Q)

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-Q

(Mark One)

☒ QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the Quarterly Period Ended August 31, 2023

or

☐ TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the transition period from __________________________ to __________________________

Commission file number 000-55517

PUREBASE CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

(209) 274-9143

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

Common Stock, par value $0.001

(Title of class)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a small reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” or an “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act: ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

As of October 11, 2023, there were 230,863,005 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding.

PUREBASE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED AUGUST 31, 2023

PUREBASE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

PUREBASE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(Unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

PUREBASE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

FOR THE THREE AND NINE MONTHS ENDED AUGUST 31, 2023 AND 2022

(Unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

PUREBASE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS

(Unaudited)

The accompanying notes are an integral part of these unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements.

PUREBASE CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES

NOTES TO CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

(Unaudited)

NOTE 1 – ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Corporate Overview

PureBase Corporation (“PureBase” or the “Company”) was incorporated in the State of Nevada on March 2, 2010. The Company is an industrial mineral and natural resource company that provides solutions to the agriculture and construction materials markets in the United States through its two subsidiaries, PureBase Agricultural, Inc., a Nevada corporation (“PureBase AG”), and U.S. Agricultural Minerals, LLC, a Nevada limited liability company (“PureBase AM”), respectively.

The Company’s headquarters is in Ione, California.

Agricultural Sector

The Company develops specialized fertilizers, sun protectants, soil amendments, and bio-stimulants for organic and non-organic sustainable agriculture. The Company has developed and will seek to develop additional products derived from mineralized materials of leonardite, kaolin clay, laterite, and other natural minerals. These mineral and soil amendments are used to protect crops, plants, and fruits from the sun and winter damage, to provide nutrients to plants, and to improve dormancy and soil ecology to help farmers increase the yields of their harvests. The Company is building a brand family under the parent trade name “PureBase,” consisting of its PureBase Shade Advantage (WP) product, a kaolin-clay based sun protectant for crops and Humic Advantage, a humic acid product derived from leonardite.

Construction Sector

The Company has been developing and testing a kaolin-based product that it believes will help create a lower CO2-emitting concrete through the use of high-quality supplementary cementitious materials (“SCMs”). The Company is developing an SCM that it believes can potentially replace up to 40% of cement, the most polluting part of concrete. As government agencies continue to enact stricter requirements for less-polluting forms of concrete, the Company believes there are significant opportunities for high-quality SCM products in the construction materials sector.

The Company utilizes the services of US Mine Corporation (“USMC”), a Nevada corporation and a significant shareholder of the Company, for the development and contract mining of industrial mineral and metal projects, exploration drilling, preparation of feasibility studies, mine modeling, on-site construction, production, site reclamation, and product fulfillment. Exploration services include securing necessary permits, environmental compliance, and reclamation plans. In addition, a substantial portion of the minerals used by the Company are obtained from properties owned or controlled by USMC. A. Scott Dockter, the Company’s Principal Executive Officer and a director, and John Bremer, a director, are also officers, directors, and owners of USMC.

NOTE 2 – GOING CONCERN AND LIQUIDITY

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the basis that the Company will continue as a going concern, which contemplates realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business. As of August 31, 2023, the Company had a significant accumulated deficit of $61,645,690 and a working capital deficit of $470,294. For the nine months ended August 31, 2023, the Company had a loss from operations of $8,266,216 and negative cash flows from operations of $900,536. The Company’s operating activities consume the majority of its cash resources. The Company anticipates that it will continue to incur operating losses as it executes its development plans for 2023. In addition, the Company has had and expects to have negative cash flows from operations, at least into the near future. The Company has previously funded and plans to continue funding these losses primarily with additional infusions of cash from advances from USMC and the sale of equity and convertible notes. The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.

The Company’s plan, through the continued promotion of its products to existing and potential customers, is to generate sufficient revenues to cover its anticipated expenses. The Company is currently exploring several options to meet its short-term cash requirements, including an additional line of credit and issuances of equity securities or equity-linked securities to USMC and other third parties.

Although no assurances can be given as to the Company’s ability to deliver on its revenue plans or that unforeseen expenses may arise, management currently believes that the revenue to be generated from operations together with equity and debt financing, including funding from USMC in connection with the March 23, 2022 securities purchase agreement, the March 7, 2023 securities purchase agreement, and a July 10, 2023 line of credit agreement will provide the necessary funding for the Company to continue as a going concern for the next twelve months. The March 23, 2022 securities purchase agreement provides for the issuance by the Company of up to an aggregate of $1,000,000 of two-year convertible promissory notes to USMC (See Note 6). The notes bear interest at 5% per annum and any outstanding principal or interest under the notes is convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock, at any time at the option of the noteholder, at a conversion price of $0.39 per share. Currently, the Company has issued $919,209 of convertible notes under the March 23, 2022 securities purchase agreement and may issue an additional $80,791 of convertible notes. The March 7, 2023 securities purchase agreement provides for the issuance by the Company of up to an aggregate of $1,000,000 of two-year convertible promissory notes to USMC (See Note 6). The notes bear interest at 8% per annum and any outstanding principal or interest under the notes are convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock, at any time at the option of the noteholder, at a conversion price of $0.10 per share. Currently, the Company has issued $412,533 of convertible notes under the March 7, 2023 securities purchase agreement and may issue an additional $587,467 of convertible notes under such agreement. The July 10, 2023 line of credit agreement provides for the issuance of up to an aggregate of $1,000,000 of advances from USMC under an unsecured convertible grid promissory note until July 10, 2024 (See Note 12). The note bears interest at 8% per annum and any outstanding principal or accrued interest under the note is convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock at a conversion price of $0.10 per share on the maturity date. As of the date hereof, there have been $231,048 in advances from USMC under the July 10, 2023 line of credit agreement. Currently, there are no other arrangements or agreements for financing and management cannot guarantee any other potential debt or equity financing will be available, or if available, on favorable terms. As such, these matters raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of twelve months from the date of this report. If adequate funds are not available on acceptable terms, or at all, the Company will need to curtail operations, or cease its operations completely.

NOTE 3 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Presentation

The Company has prepared the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) including Form 10-Q and Regulation S-X. The information furnished herein reflects all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals and adjustments, unless otherwise indicated) which are, in the opinion of management, necessary to fairly state the operating results for the respective periods. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally present in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) have been omitted pursuant to such rules and regulations. These financial statements and the information included under the heading “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended November 30, 2022, in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 28, 2023, with the SEC. The results of the nine months ended August 31, 2023, (unaudited) are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the full year ending November 30, 2023.

Principles of Consolidation

These condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries PureBase AG and PureBase AM. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated upon consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and equity-based transactions at the date of the financial statements and the revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The Company bases its estimates and assumptions on current facts, historical experience, and various other factors that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities and the accrual of costs and expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. The actual results experienced by the Company may differ materially and adversely from the Company’s estimates. To the extent there are material differences between the estimates and the actual results, future results of operations may be affected.

The Company believes the following critical accounting policies affect its more significant judgments and estimates used in the preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements. Significant estimates include the useful lives of property and equipment, deferred tax asset and valuation allowance, and assumptions used in the Black-Scholes valuation methods, such as expected volatility, risk-free interest rate, and expected dividend rate.

Revenue

The Company accounts for revenue in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The Company derives revenues from the sale of products from its agricultural sector and construction sector. The Company’s contracted transaction price is allocated to each distinct performance obligation and recognized as revenue when, or as, the performance obligation is satisfied. The Company’s contracts have a single performance obligation which are not separately identifiable from other promises in the contracts and is, therefore, not distinct. The Company’s performance obligation is satisfied upon the transfer of risk of loss to the customer.

Practical Expedients

As part of ASC Topic 606, the Company has adopted practical expedients including:

Disaggregated Revenue

Revenue consists of the following by product offering for the nine months ended August 31, 2023:

SCHEDULE OF DISAGGREGATED REVENUE 

Revenue consists of the following by product offering for the nine months ended August 31, 2022:

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less at the time of purchase to be cash equivalents. There were no cash equivalents as of August 31, 2023 and November 30, 2022.

Accounts Receivable

The Company periodically assesses its accounts and other receivables for collectability on a specific identification basis. If collectability of an account becomes unlikely, an allowance is recorded for that doubtful account. As of August 31, 2023 and November 30, 2022, the Company has determined that no allowance for doubtful accounts was necessary.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are recorded at cost. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets, generally three to five years. Expenditures that enhance the useful lives of the assets are capitalized and depreciated.

 SCHEDULE OF ESTIMATED USEFUL LIFE OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. At the time of retirement or other disposition of property and equipment, the cost and accumulated depreciation will be removed from the accounts and the resulting gain or loss, if any, will be reflected in operations. The Company currently has $746,536 in property and equipment, primarily two ball mills, acquired on May 1, 2020. As of August 31, 2023, the Company has not put the acquired property and equipment to use. As such, the Company has not recorded depreciation related to these assets.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company reviews long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. The recoverability of these assets is determined by comparing the forecasted undiscounted net cash flows of the operation to which the assets relate to the carrying amount. If the operation is determined to be unable to recover the carrying amount of its assets, then these assets are written down first, followed by other long-lived assets of the operation to fair value. Fair value is determined based on discounted cash flows or appraised values, depending on the nature of the assets. No impairment losses were recorded during the three and nine months ended August 31, 2023 and 2022.

Shipping and Handling

The Company incurs shipping and handling costs which are charged back to the customer. The Company incurred shipping and handling costs of $0 during the three months ended August 31, 2023, and 2022.

The Company incurred shipping and handling costs of $2,400 and $0 during the nine months ended August 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Advertising and Marketing Costs

The Company expenses advertising and marketing costs as incurred and such costs are recorded in selling, general and administrative expenses in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations. Advertising and marketing expenses were $0 for the three months ended August 31, 2023, and 2022. Advertising and marketing expenses were $0 and $15,040 for the nine months ended August 31, 2023, and 2022, respectively.

Fair Value Measurements

As defined in ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit price). The Company utilizes market data or assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk and the risks inherent in the inputs to the valuation technique. These inputs can be readily observable, market corroborated, or generally unobservable. ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (level 1 measurement) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (level 3 measurement). This fair value measurement framework applies at both initial and subsequent measurement.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The carrying value of cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued expenses approximate their fair values based on the short-term maturity of these instruments. The carrying amount of the notes approximates the estimated fair value for these financial instruments as management believes that such notes constitute all of the Company’s debt and interest payable on the notes based on the Company’s incremental borrowing rate.

Loss Per Common Share

Net loss per share of common stock is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the three and nine months ended August 31, 2023 and 2022. All outstanding options are considered potential common stock. The dilutive effect, if any, of stock options are calculated using the treasury stock method. All outstanding convertible notes are considered common stock at the beginning of the period or at the time of issuance, if later, pursuant to the if-converted method. Since the effect of common stock equivalents is anti-dilutive with respect to losses, outstanding options have been excluded from the Company’s computation of net loss per share of common stock for the three and nine months ended August 31, 2023 and 2022.

The following table summarizes the stocks that were excluded from the diluted per share calculation because the effect of including these potential shares was antidilutive due to the Company’s net loss position even though the exercise price could be less than the average market price of the common stock:

SCHEDULE OF OUTSTANDING SHARES EXCLUDED FROM DILUTED LOSS PER SHARE 

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company applies the provisions of ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation (“ASC 718”), which requires the measurement and recognition of compensation expense for all stock-based awards made to employees, including employee stock options, in the accompanying condensed consolidated statements of operations.

For stock options issued to employees and members of the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) for their services, the Company estimates the grant date fair value of each option using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The use of the Black-Scholes option pricing model requires management to make assumptions with respect to the expected term of the option, the expected volatility of the common stock consistent with the expected life of the option, risk-free interest rates and expected dividend yields of the common stock. For awards subject to service-based vesting conditions, including those with a graded vesting schedule, the Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense equal to the grant date fair value of stock options on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, which is the vesting term. Forfeitures are recorded as they are incurred as opposed to being estimated at the time of grant and revised.

Pursuant to ASU 2018-07 Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting, the Company accounts for stock options issued to non-employees for their services in accordance with ASC 718. The Company uses valuation methods and assumptions to value the stock options that are in line with the process for valuing employee stock options as noted above.

Leases

With the adoption of ASC 842, Leases, operating lease agreements are required to be recognized on the balance sheet as Right-of-Use (“ROU”) assets and corresponding lease liabilities. ROU assets include any prepaid lease payments and exclude any lease incentives and initial direct costs incurred. Lease expense for minimum lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease if it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option.

The Company leases its corporate offices. The lease is classified as an operating lease. The Company is a party to a two-year lease with USMC for 1,000 square feet of office space located in Ione, California (the “Ione Lease”) with respect to its corporate operations (See Note 7). Effective November 1, 2022, the Ione Lease was amended to extend the lease through October 2024 and to add an additional 700 square feet of office space for a total monthly rental price of $3,500 per month, with automatic one-month renewals. The remaining weighted average term is 1.2 years. The Company discounted lease payments using its estimated incremental borrowing rate at December 1, 2020. The weighted average incremental borrowing rate applied was 5%.

In accordance with ASC 842, the Company recognized a ROU asset and corresponding lease liability on the condensed consolidated balance sheet for long-term office leases. See Note 7 – Leases for further discussion, including the impact on the accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

Income Taxes

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the condensed consolidated financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets, including tax loss and credit carry forwards, and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in operations in the period that includes the enactment date.

The Company utilizes ASC 740, Income Taxes, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the condensed consolidated financial statements or tax returns. The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method to compute the differences between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and the related financial amounts, using currently enacted tax rates. A valuation allowance is recorded when it is “more likely-than-not” that a deferred tax asset will not be realized.

For uncertain tax positions that meet a “more likely than not” threshold, the Company recognizes the benefit of uncertain tax positions in the condensed consolidated financial statements. The Company’s practice is to recognize interest and penalties, if any, related to uncertain tax positions in income tax expense in the condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Exploration Stage

In accordance with U.S. GAAP, expenditures relating to the acquisition of mineral rights are initially capitalized as incurred while exploration and pre-extraction expenditures are expensed as incurred until such time as the Company exits the exploration stage by establishing proven or probable reserves. Expenditures relating to exploration activities such as drill programs to establish mineralized materials are expensed as incurred. Expenditures relating to pre-extraction activities are expensed as incurred until such time proven or probable reserves are established for that project, after which expenditures relating to mine development activities for that particular project are capitalized as incurred. As of August 31, 2023, the Company was not engaged in any mine exploration.

Mineral Rights

Acquisition costs of mineral rights are capitalized as incurred while exploration and pre-extraction expenditures are expensed as incurred until such time as the Company exits the exploration stage by establishing proven or probable reserves, as defined by the SEC under Industry Guide 7, through the completion of a “final” or “bankable” feasibility study. Expenditures relating to exploration activities are expensed as incurred and expenditures relating to pre-extraction activities are expensed as incurred until such time proven or probable reserves are established for that project, after which subsequent expenditures relating to development activities for that particular project are capitalized as incurred.

Where proven and probable reserves have been established, the project’s capitalized expenditures are depleted over proven and probable reserves upon commencement of production using the units-of-production method. Where proven and probable reserves have not been established, such capitalized expenditures are depleted over the estimated production life upon commencement of extraction using the straight-line method.

The carrying values of the mineral rights are assessed for impairment by management on a quarterly basis or when indicators of impairment exist. Should management determine that these carrying values cannot be recovered, the unrecoverable amounts are written off against earnings. As of August 31, 2023 and November 31, 2022, the Company did not have any capitalized mineral rights.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

All newly issued but not yet effective accounting pronouncements have been deemed to be not applicable or immaterial to the Company.

NOTE 4 – MINING RIGHTS

Snow White Mine located in San Bernardino County, CA – Deposit

On November 28, 2014, US Mining and Minerals Corporation entered into a Purchase Agreement in which it agreed to sell its fee simple property interest and certain mining claims to USMC. On December 1, 2014, USMC assigned its rights and obligations under the Purchase Agreement to the Company pursuant to an Assignment of Purchase Agreement. As a result of the Assignment, the Company assumed the purchaser position under the Purchase Agreement. The Purchase Agreement provides for the sale of approximately 280 acres of mining property containing 5 placer mining claims known as the Snow White Mine located near Barstow, California in San Bernardino County. The property is covered by a Conditional Use Permit allowing the mining of the property and a Plan of Operation and Reclamation Plan has been approved by San Bernardino County and Bureau of Land Management. An initial deposit of $50,000 was paid to the Company and held in escrow and the Purchase Agreement required the payment of an additional $600,000 at the end of the escrow period. There was a delay in the original seller, Joseph Richard Matthewson, receiving a clear title to the property and a fully permitted project, both of which were conditions to the closing of the sale from US Mining and Minerals Corporation to the Company. In light of the foregoing, and the payment of an additional $25,000, the parties agreed to extend the closing. Due to delays in the Company securing the necessary funding to close the purchase of the Snow White Mine property, John Bremer, a shareholder and a director of the Company, paid $575,000 to acquire the property interest and mining claims on or about October 15, 2015. Mr. Bremer agreed to transfer title to the Company upon payment of $575,000 plus expenses to Mr. Bremer, however, the Company is under no obligation to do so. The mining claims require a minimum royalty payment of $3,500 per year to be made by the Company, which is paid by USMC.

On April 1, 2020, the Company entered into a purchase and sale agreement with the Bremer Family 1995 Living Trust (the “Trust”), pursuant to which the Company will purchase the Snow White Mine for $836,000 (the “Purchase Price”) from the Trust. The Purchase Price plus 5% interest is payable in cash at closing. On April 14, 2022, the agreement was amended to extend the closing date to April 14, 2023. On April 7, 2023, the agreement was amended to extend the closing date to April 1, 2024.

NOTE 5 – PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

Property and equipment consisted of the following at:

SCHEDULE OF PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT