UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 6-K

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 UNDER
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the month of August 2019

Commission File No. 001-32210

NORTHERN DYNASTY MINERALS LTD.
(Translation of registrant’s name into English)

15 th Floor – 1040 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia, V6E 4H1, Canada
(Address of principal executive office)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F

Form 20-F [   ]        Form 40-F [X]

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) [   ]

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7) [   ]


INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

Exhibits 99.1 to 99.4 to this report on Form 6-K furnished to the SEC are expressly incorporated by reference into the Registration Statement on Form F-10 of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (File No. 333-229262), as amended and supplemented.

SUBMITTED HEREWITH

Exhibits    
     
99.1  

Underwriting Agreement dated August 9, 2019

     
99.2  

Material Change Report dated April 10, 2019 (Closing of US$11.5M bought deal offering and CAD$3.2M (US$2.4M) private placement)

     
99.3  

Material Change Report dated April 10, 2019 (Northern Dynasty announces appointment of Chief Financial Officer)

     
99.4  

Notice of Annual General Meeting of Shareholders to be held on June 11, 2019 and Information Circular dated April 30, 2019



SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

NORTHERN DYNASTY MINERALS LTD.

/s/ Trevor Thomas
Trevor Thomas
Secretary and General Counsel

Date: August 9, 2019



UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

August 9, 2019

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.

15th Floor - 1040 West Georgia Street

Vancouver, British Columbia

V6E 4H1

Attention:   Ronald W. Thiessen
President and Chief Executive Officer

Dear Sirs/Mesdames:

Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation (" CFCC "), as sole bookrunning manager and lead underwriter, together with BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc., H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC and TD Securities Inc. acting as underwriters (collectively with CFCC, the "Underwriters " and each individually an " Underwriter "), hereby severally, and not jointly nor jointly and severally, offer to purchase from Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (the " Company ") in the respective percentages set forth in Section 18 hereof, and the Company hereby agrees to issue and sell to the Underwriters, upon and subject to the terms hereof, an aggregate of 13,333,334 common shares of the Company (the " Firm Shares ") on an underwritten basis at a price of $0.75 per Firm Share (the " Offering Price ") for an aggregate purchase price of $10,000,000.50.

Upon and subject to the terms and conditions contained herein, the Company hereby grants to the Underwriters an option (the " Over-Allotment Option ") to purchase severally, and not jointly nor jointly and severally, in the respective percentages set forth in Section 18 hereof, up to an additional 2,000,000 common shares of the Company (the " Additional Shares ") at a price of $0.75 per Additional Share for the purposes of covering over-allotments and for market stabilization purposes.  The Over-Allotment Option may be exercised in accordance with Section 6(3) hereof.  The Firm Shares and the Additional Shares are collectively referred to herein as the " Offered Shares ".

The Company and the Underwriters agree that (i) any offers or sales of the Offered Shares in Canada will be conducted through the Underwriters, or one or more affiliates of the Underwriters, duly registered in compliance with applicable Canadian Securities Laws (as hereinafter defined); and (ii) any offers or sales of the Offered Shares in the United States will be conducted through the Underwriters, or one or more affiliates of the Underwriters, duly registered as a broker-dealer in compliance with applicable U.S. Securities Laws (as hereinafter defined) and the requirements of FINRA (as hereinafter defined).

In consideration of the agreement on the part of the Underwriters to purchase the Offered Shares and in consideration of the services rendered and to be rendered by the Underwriters hereunder, the Company agrees to pay to CFCC on behalf of the Underwriters, at the Closing Time (as hereinafter defined), and at the Option Closing Time (as hereinafter defined), if any, a cash fee equal to 6.0% of the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering (the " Underwriting Fee "), the payment of such fee to be reflected by the Underwriters making payment of the gross proceeds of the sale of the Firm Shares or the Additional Shares, as the case may be, to the Company less the amount of the Underwriting Fee and all fees, disbursements and expenses incurred by the Underwriters in accordance with the provisions in Section 16 hereof.


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The Underwriters understand that in addition to the Offering (as hereinafter defined), the Company is undertaking a non-brokered private placement of up to 2,866,667   Common Shares (as hereinafter defined) at a price of $0.75 per share for gross proceeds to the Company of up to $2,150,000.25 (the " Concurrent Private Placement ").

This Agreement shall be subject to the following terms and conditions:

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Section 1   Interpretation

(1)   Definitions

Where used in this Agreement or in any amendment hereto, the following terms shall have the following meanings, respectively:

" Additional Shares " has the meaning given to it in the second paragraph of this Agreement;

" affiliate " has the meaning given to it in the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) ;

" Agreement " means the agreement resulting from the acceptance by the Company of the offer made by the Underwriters by this agreement;

" Applicable Laws " means, in relation to any person or persons, the Applicable Securities Laws and all other statutes, regulations, rules, orders, by-laws, codes, ordinances, decrees, the terms and conditions of any grant of approval, permission, authority or licence, or any judgment, order, decision, ruling, award, policy or guidance document, of any Governmental Authority that are applicable to such person or persons or its or their business, undertaking, property or securities and emanate from a Governmental Authority, having jurisdiction over the person or persons or its or their business, undertaking, property or securities;

" Applicable Prospectus " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(q);

" Applicable Securities Laws " means the Canadian Securities Laws and the U.S. Securities Laws;

" Applicable Time " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(7);

" Business Day " means any day, other than a Saturday or Sunday, on which banks are open for business in Vancouver, British Columbia, Toronto, Ontario and New York, New York;


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" Canadian Commissions " means the securities regulatory authorities in each of the Qualifying Jurisdictions;

" Canadian Final Base Prospectus " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2);

" Canadian Offering Documents " has the meaning given to it in Section 5(1)(c);

" Canadian Preliminary Base Prospectus " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(1);

" Canadian Preliminary Prospectus Supplement " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2);

" Canadian Prospectus " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2);

" Canadian Prospectus Supplement " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2);

" Canadian Securities Laws " means all applicable securities laws of each of the Qualifying Jurisdictions and the respective rules and regulations under such laws together with applicable published national, multilateral and local policy statements, instruments, notices, blanket orders and rulings of the securities regulatory authorities in the Qualifying Jurisdictions;

" CDS " means the CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc.;

" CF US " has the meaning given to it in Section 8;

" CFCC " means Cantor Fitzgerald Corporation Canada;

" Claim " has the meaning given to it in Section 10(2);

" Closing Date " has the meaning given to it in Section 6(2);

" Closing Time " has the meaning given to it in Section 6(2);

" Code " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(vv);

" Commission " means the British Columbia Securities Commission;

" Common Shares " means the common shares in the capital of the Company;

" Company " means Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.;

" Concurrent Private Placement " has the meaning given to it in the fifth paragraph of this Agreement;

" Corporate Records " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(w);

" Defaulting Underwriter" has the meaning given to it in Section 18(2);


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" Distribution " means "distribution" or "distribution to the public" as those terms are defined in the Applicable Securities Laws;

" Effective Date " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2);

" Entity " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(ggg);

" Environmental Laws " has the meaning given in Section 8(1)(aaa)(i);

" Environmental Permits " has the meaning given in Section 8(1)(aaa)(ii);

" Exchanges " means, collectively, the TSX and NYSE American;

" Evaluation Date " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(y).

" Exchange Act " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(9);

" Financial Statements " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(s);

" Firm Shares " has the meaning given to it in the first paragraph of this Agreement;

" Form F-X " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2);

" Governmental Authority " means and includes, without limitation, any national, federal, provincial, state or municipal government or other political subdivision of any of the foregoing, any entity exercising executive, legislative, judicial, regulatory or administrative functions of or pertaining to government and any corporation or other entity owned or controlled (through stock or capital ownership or otherwise) by any of the foregoing;

" Hazardous Substances " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(aaa)(i);

" IFRS " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(s);

" Incorporated Documents " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(8);

" Indemnified Party " has the meaning given to it in Section 10(1);

" Indemnifying Party " has the meaning given to it in Section 10(1);

" Intellectual Property " has the meaning given to in Section 8(1)(kk);

" Issuer Free Writing Prospectus " means an "issuer free writing prospectus" as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act relating to the Offered Shares that (i) is required to be filed with the SEC by the Company, (ii) is a "road show that is a written communication" within the meaning of Rule 433(d)(8)(i) under the Securities Act whether or not required to be filed with the SEC or (iii) is exempt from filing pursuant to Rule 433(d)(5)(i) under the Securities Act because it contains a description of the Offered Shares or of the Offering that does not reflect the final terms, in each case in the form filed or required to be filed with the SEC or, if not required to be filed, in the form retained in the Company's records pursuant to Rule 433(g) under the Securities Act;


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" ITA " means the Income Tax Act (Canada), as amended;

" IT Systems and Data " meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(kkk);

" Marketing Documents " means the marketing materials approved in accordance with Section 4(2);

" marketing materials " has the meaning given to it in NI 41-101;

" Material Adverse Effect " means (i) any event, fact, circumstance, development, occurrence or state of affairs that is materially adverse to the business, assets (including intangible assets), affairs, operations, liabilities (contingent or otherwise), capital, properties, condition (financial or otherwise) or results of operations of the Company and any of the Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business or (ii) that would result in any of the Offering Documents containing a misrepresentation;

" material change " means a material change in or relating to the Company for the purposes of Applicable Securities Laws or any of them, or where undefined under the Applicable Securities Laws of an Offering Jurisdiction means a change in or relating to the business, operations or capital of the Company and its subsidiaries taken as a whole that would reasonably be expected to have a significant effect on the market price or value of any securities of the Company and includes a decision to implement such a change made by the board of directors of the Company or by senior management who believe that confirmation of the decision by the board of directors of the Company is probable;

" material fact " means a material fact for the purposes of Applicable Securities Laws or any of them, or where undefined under the Applicable Securities Laws of an Offering Jurisdiction means a fact that would reasonably be expected to have a significant effect on the market price or value of any securities of the Company;

" Material Property " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(pp);

" Material Subsidiaries " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(v);

" misrepresentation " means a misrepresentation for the purposes of the Applicable Securities Laws of an Offering Jurisdiction or any of them, or where undefined under the Applicable Securities Laws of an Offering Jurisdiction means: (i) an untrue statement of a material fact, or (ii) an omission to state a material fact that is required to be stated or that is necessary to make a statement not misleading in the light of the circumstances in which it was made;

" MI 11-202 " means Multilateral Instrument 11-102 - Passport System ;


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" MJDS " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2);

" Money Laundering Laws " has the meaning given in Section 8(1)(fff);

" NI 43-101 " means National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ;

" NI 44-101 " means National Instrument 44-101 - Short Form Prospectus Distributions ;

" NI 44-102 " means National Instrument 44-102 - Shelf Distributions ;

" NI 52-109 " means National Instrument 52-109 - Certification of Disclosure in Issuers' Annual and Interim Filings ;

" NP 11-202 " means National Policy 11-202 - Process for Prospectus Reviews in Multiple Jurisdictions ;

" NYSE American " means the NYSE American LLC;

" Offered Shares " has the meaning given to it in the second paragraph of this Agreement;

" Offering " means the sale of Offered Shares pursuant to this Agreement;

" Offering Documents " means the Canadian Offering Documents and the U.S. Offering Documents;

" Offering Jurisdictions " means the United States and the Qualifying Jurisdictions;

" Offering Price " has the meaning given to it in the first paragraph of this Agreement;

" Option Closing Date " has the meaning given to it in Section 6(3);

" Option Closing Time " has the meaning given to it in Section 6(3);

" Over-Allotment Option " has the meaning given to it in the second paragraph of this Agreement;

" Passport System " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(1);

" Permits " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(qq);

" Person " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(cc);

" Preliminary Prospectuses " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(5);

" Principal Regulator " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(1);


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" Prospectuses " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(5);

" Prospectus Supplements " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(5);

" Purchasers " means, collectively, each of the purchasers of the Offered Shares arranged by the Underwriters pursuant to the Offering;

" Qualifying Jurisdictions " means all the provinces of Canada except Quebec;

" Registration Statement " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(4);

" Regulation M " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(xx);

" Reports " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(qq)(iii);

" Road Show " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(7);

" Sanctions " has the meaning given to it in Section 8(1)(ggg)(i)(A);

" SEC " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2);

" SEDAR " means the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval;

" Securities Act " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2)

" Selling Firm" has the meaning given to it in Section 3(1);

" Shelf Information " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(1);

" Shelf Procedures " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(1);

" Subsidiary " has the meaning ascribed thereto in the Applicable Securities Laws of the Province of British Columbia and includes the Material Subsidiaries, and " Subsidiaries " means all of them;

" Supplementary Material " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(6);

" template version " has the meaning ascribed to such term in NI 41-101 and includes any revised template version of marketing materials as contemplated by NI 41-101;

" Time of Sale Prospectus " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(7);

" TMX Group " has the meaning given to it in Section 23;

" TSX " means the Toronto Stock Exchange;

" Underwriters " has the meaning given to it in the first paragraph of this Agreement;

" Underwriters' Expenses " has the meaning given to it in Section 16;


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" Underwriting Fee " has the meaning given to it in the fourth paragraph of this Agreement;

" U.S. Amended Prospectus " means a prospectus included in any U.S. Registration Statement Amendment;

" U.S. Final Base Prospectus " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2);

" U.S. Offering Documents " means the Registration Statement, any U.S. Registration Statement Amendment, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the U.S. Prospectus, and any U.S. Amended Prospectus;

" U.S. Preliminary Prospectus " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2);

" U.S. Preliminary Prospectus Supplement " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2);

" U.S. Prospectus " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2);

" U.S. Prospectus Supplement " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2);

" U.S. Registration Statement Amendment " means any amendment to the Registration statement and any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement filed with the SEC during the distribution of the Offered Shares;

" U.S. Securities Laws " has the meaning given to it in Section 2(2); and

" United States " means the United States of America, its territories and possessions, any State of the United States and the District of Columbia.

(2)   Capitalized terms used but not defined herein have the meanings ascribed to them in the Canadian Final Base Prospectus.

(3)   Any reference in this Agreement to a Section or Subsection shall refer to a section or subsection of this Agreement.

(4)   All words and personal pronouns relating thereto shall be read and construed as the number and gender of the party or parties referred to in each case required and the verb shall be construed as agreeing with the required word and/or pronoun.

(5)   Any reference in this Agreement to "$" or to "dollars" shall refer to the lawful currency of the United States, unless otherwise specified.

(6)   The following are the schedules to this Agreement, which schedules are deemed to be a part hereof and are hereby incorporated by reference herein:

Schedule "A" -  List of Material Subsidiaries


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Schedule "B" - Matters to be Addressed in the Company's Canadian Counsel Opinion

Schedule "C" - Form of Opinion to be Provided by the Company's U.S. Counsel

Schedule "D" - Form of Opinion to be Provided by the Company's U.S. Tax Counsel

Schedule "E" - Form of Lock-Up Agreement

Section 2   Background and Interpretation. 

(1)   The Company has prepared and filed with the Canadian Commissions in each of the Qualifying Jurisdictions a preliminary short form base shelf prospectus dated January 15, 2019 relating to the distribution of up to $50,000,000 of common shares, warrants, subscription receipts, and or any combination of such securities of the Company (the " Shelf Securities ") pursuant to Canadian Securities Laws and in accordance with MI 11-102 and NP 11-202 (together, the " Passport System "). Such preliminary short form base shelf prospectus relating to the distribution of the Shelf Securities, including any documents incorporated by reference therein and any supplements or amendments thereto, is herein called the " Canadian Preliminary Base Prospectus ." The Company has prepared and filed the Canadian Preliminary Base Prospectus pursuant to NI 44-101 and National Instrument 44-102 - Shelf Distributions , the " Shelf Procedures ". The British Columbia Securities Commission (the " Principal Regulator ") has issued a receipt for the Canadian Preliminary Base Prospectus and the Company has satisfied the conditions in MI 11-102 to the deemed issuance of a receipt by the Canadian Commissions for the Canadian Preliminary Base Prospectus in each of the other Qualifying Jurisdictions.

(2)   The Company has also prepared and filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the " SEC ") pursuant to the Canada/United States Multi-Jurisdictional Disclosure System adopted by the Canadian Commissions and the SEC (the " MJDS "), a registration statement on Form F-10 (Registration No. 333-229262) under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the " Securities Act "), including the Canadian Preliminary Base Prospectus with such deletions therefrom and additions or changes thereto as are permitted or required by Form F-10 and the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC. Such prospectus, including the documents incorporated by reference therein and any supplements or amendments thereto, is herein called the " U.S. Preliminary Prospectus" .   The Company has also prepared and filed with the SEC an Appointment of Agent for Service of Process and Undertaking on Form F-X at the time of the initial filing of the registration statement on Form F-10 (the " Form F-X "). For purposes of this Agreement, " U.S. Securities Laws " means all applicable securities laws in the United States, including without limitation, the Securities Act, the Exchange Act (as defined in Section 2(9)) and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, and any applicable state securities laws.

(3)   In addition, the Company (a) has prepared and filed (i) with the Canadian Commissions in the Qualifying Jurisdictions, a final short form base shelf prospectus dated January 25, 2019 relating to the distribution of the Shelf Securities (including any documents incorporated therein by reference and any supplements or amendments thereto, the " Canadian Final Base Prospectus "), pursuant to the Shelf Procedures, omitting the Shelf Information (as hereinafter defined) in accordance with the rules and procedures set forth in NI 44-102, and (ii) with the SEC an amendment to the registration statement on Form F-10, including the Canadian Final Base Prospectus (with such deletions therefrom and additions thereto as are permitted or required by Form F-10 and the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC (including the documents incorporated by reference therein and any supplements or amendments thereto, the " U.S. Final Base Prospectus "), which such amended registration statement on Form F-10/A became effective on January 31, 2019 (the " Effective Date ") pursuant to Rule 467(b) under the Securities Act, (iii) with the Canadian Commissions in the Qualifying Jurisdictions, in accordance with the Shelf Procedures, a preliminary prospectus supplement dated August 8, 2019, relating to the Offered Shares, which excluded certain information (" Canadian Preliminary Prospectus Supplement ", together with the Canadian Base Prospectus, and including any documents incorporated therein by reference and the documents otherwise deemed to be incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Canadian Securities Laws, the " Canadian Preliminary Prospectus "), and (iv) with the SEC pursuant to General Instruction II.L of Form F-10, the Canadian Preliminary Prospectus Supplement, with such deletions therefrom and additions thereto as are permitted or required by Form F-10 and the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC (including all documents incorporated therein by reference, the " U.S. Preliminary Prospectus Supplement ", together with the U.S. Final Base Prospectus, the " U.S. Preliminary Prospectus "), and (b) will prepare and file, as promptly as possible and in any event (i) not later than 5:00 p.m. (Vancouver time) on August 9, 2019, with the Canadian Commissions in the Qualifying Jurisdictions, in accordance with the Shelf Procedures, a prospectus supplement setting forth the Shelf Information (including any documents incorporated therein by reference and any supplements or amendments thereto, the " Canadian Prospectus Supplement ", and together with the Canadian Final Base Prospectus, the " Canadian Prospectus "), and (ii) within one business day of such filing with the Canadian Commissions, with the SEC pursuant to General Instruction II.L, of Form F-10, the Canadian Prospectus Supplement (with such deletions therefrom and additions thereto as are permitted or required by Form F-10 and the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC (including all documents incorporated by reference, the " U.S. Prospectus Supplement ", and together with the U.S. Final Base Prospectus, the " U.S. Prospectus "). The information, if any, included in the Canadian Prospectus Supplement that is omitted from the Canadian Final Base Prospectus for which a final receipt has been obtained from the Canadian Commissions, but that is deemed under the Shelf Procedures to be incorporated by reference into the Canadian Final Base Prospectus as of the date of the Canadian Prospectus Supplement, is referred to herein as the " Shelf Information ."  The Canadian Preliminary Prospectus and the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus and any other prospectus supplement to the Canadian Final Base Prospectus and U.S. Final Base Prospectus in preliminary form that describes the Offered Shares and the offering thereof and is used prior to the filing of the Prospectuses (as defined below), together with the Canadian Final Base Prospectus and U.S. Final Base Prospectus, are collectively called the " Preliminary Prospectuses ".


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(4)   The registration statement on Form F-10, at any given time, including amendments thereto to such time, the exhibits and any schedules thereto, at such time, and the documents incorporated by reference therein pursuant to Item 4 of Form F-10, at such time, and including the Shelf Information, is herein called the " Registration Statement ."


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(5)   The U.S. Prospectus and the Canadian Prospectus are hereinafter collectively sometimes referred to as the " Prospectuses ." The U.S. Prospectus Supplement and the Canadian Prospectus Supplement are hereinafter collectively sometimes referred to as the " Prospectus Supplements ."

(6)   Any amendment or supplement to the U.S. Prospectus or the Canadian Prospectus (including any document incorporated by reference therein), that may be filed by or on behalf of the Company with the Canadian Commissions in the Qualifying Jurisdictions or with the SEC after the Canadian Prospectus Supplement and the U.S. Prospectus Supplement have been filed and prior to the expiry of the period of distribution of the Offered Shares, is referred to herein collectively as the " Supplementary Material ".

(7)   As used herein, the " Applicable Time " is 5:00 p.m. (New York City time) on the date of this Agreement.  As used herein, a " free writing prospectus " has the meaning set forth in Rule 405 under the Securities Act, and a " Time of Sale Prospectus " means the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus together with the information and the free writing prospectuses, if any, and each "road show" (as defined in Rule 433 under the Securities Act), if any, related to the offering of the Offered Shares contemplated hereby that is a "written communication" (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) (each such road show, a " Road Show ").

(8)   As used herein, the terms " Registration Statement ", " Preliminary Prospectuses ", " Time of Sale Prospectus " and " Prospectuses " shall include the documents incorporated and deemed to be incorporated by reference therein (the " Incorporated Documents "), including, unless the context otherwise requires, the documents, if any, filed as exhibits to such Incorporated Documents.

(9)   All references in this Agreement to the Registration Statement, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus or the U.S. Prospectus shall include any copy thereof filed with the SEC pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system (" EDGAR "). All references in this Agreement to Financial Statements (as defined in Section 8(1)(s)) and schedules and other information which are "contained," "included" or "stated" in the Registration Statement, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the U.S. Prospectus (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such Financial Statements and schedules and other information which is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the U.S. Prospectus, as the case may be; and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the U.S. Prospectus, as the case may be, shall be deemed to mean and include the filing of any document under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the " Exchange Act ") or otherwise that is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the U.S. Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus or the U.S. Prospectus, as the case may be.


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Section 3   Distribution of the Offered Shares

(1)   Each Underwriter shall be permitted to appoint additional investment dealers or brokers (each, a " Selling Firm ") as its agents in the Offering and each such Underwriter may determine the remuneration payable to such Selling Firm. The Underwriters may offer the Offered Shares, directly and through Selling Firms or any affiliate of an Underwriter, in the Offering Jurisdictions for sale to the public only in accordance with Applicable Securities Laws and in any jurisdiction outside of the Offering Jurisdictions (subject to Section 7 hereof) to purchasers permitted to purchase the Offered Shares only in accordance with Applicable Securities Laws and applicable securities laws in such jurisdiction, and upon the terms and conditions set forth in the Offering Documents and in this Agreement. Each Underwriter shall require any Selling Firm appointed by such Underwriter to agree to the foregoing and such Underwriter shall be severally responsible for the compliance by such Selling Firm with the provisions of this Agreement.

(2)   For purposes of this Section 3, the Underwriters shall be entitled to assume that the Offered Shares are qualified for Distribution in any Qualifying Jurisdiction, unless otherwise notified in writing by the Company.

(3)   CFCC shall promptly notify the Company when, in their opinion, the Distribution of the Offered Shares has ceased and will provide to the Company, as soon as practicable thereafter, a breakdown of the number of Offered Shares distributed in each of the Qualifying Jurisdictions where such breakdown is required for the purpose of calculating fees payable to the Canadian Securities Commissions and, if applicable, in the United States.

(4)   The Underwriters shall not, in connection with the services provided hereunder, make any representations or warranties with respect to the Company or its securities, other than as set forth in the Offering Documents or in any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus.

(5)   Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 3, no Underwriter will be liable to the Company under this Section 3 with respect to a default by another Underwriter or another Underwriter's duly registered broker-dealer affiliate in the United States or any Selling Firm, as the case may be.

(6)   The Underwriters acknowledge that the Company is not taking any steps to qualify the Offered Shares for Distribution or register the Offered Shares or the Distribution thereof with any securities authority outside of the Offering Jurisdictions.

Section 4   Preparation of Prospectus Supplement; Marketing Materials; Due Diligence

(1)   During the period of the Distribution of the Offered Shares, the Company shall co-operate in all respects with the Underwriters to allow and assist the Underwriters to participate fully in the preparation of, and allow the Underwriters to approve the form and content of, the Offering Documents and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and shall allow the Underwriters to conduct all "due diligence" investigations which the Underwriters may reasonably require to fulfil the Underwriters' obligations under Applicable Securities Laws as underwriters and, in the case of the Canadian Prospectus Supplement, to enable the Underwriters responsibly to execute any certificate required to be executed by the Underwriters.


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(2)   Without limiting the generality of clause (1) above, during the Distribution of the Offered Shares:

(a)   the Company shall prepare, in consultation with CFCC, and shall approve in writing, prior to the time that any such marketing materials are provided to potential Purchasers, a template version of any marketing materials reasonably requested to be provided by the Underwriters to any such potential Purchasers, and such marketing materials shall comply with Applicable Securities Laws and shall be acceptable in form and substance to the Underwriters and their counsel, acting reasonably;

(b)   CFCC shall, on behalf of the Underwriters, approve a template version of any such marketing materials in writing prior to the time that such marketing materials are provided to potential Purchasers;

(c)   the Company shall file a template version of any such marketing materials on SEDAR as soon as reasonably practical after such marketing materials are so approved in writing by the Company and CFCC and in any event on or before the day the marketing materials are first provided to any potential Purchaser, and any comparables shall be removed from the template version in accordance with NI 44-101 prior to filing such on SEDAR (provided that if any such comparables are removed, the Company shall deliver a complete template version of any such marketing materials to the Commission), and the Company shall provide a copy of such filed template version to the Underwriters as soon as practicable following such filing; and

(d)   following the approvals and filings set forth in Section 4(2)(a) to (c) above, the Underwriters may provide a limited use version of such marketing materials to potential Purchasers in accordance with Applicable Securities Laws.

(3)   By the act of having delivered the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses to the Underwriters, the Company shall have represented and warranted to the Underwriters that all information and statements (except information and statements relating solely to the Underwriters and provided by them in writing solely for inclusion therein) contained in such documents, at the respective dates of initial delivery thereof, comply with the Applicable Securities Laws and are true and correct in all material respects, and that such documents, at such dates, contain no misrepresentation or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading and constitute full, true and plain disclosure of all material facts relating to the Company and the Offering as required by the Applicable Securities Laws.

(4)   Each of the Company and the Underwriters, on a several basis, covenants and agrees not to provide any potential Purchaser with any marketing materials except for marketing materials which have been approved as contemplated in Section 4(2).


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Section 5   Material Changes

(1)   During the period from the date of this Agreement to the completion of the Distribution of the Offered Shares, the Company covenants and agrees with the Underwriters that it shall promptly notify the Underwriters in writing of:

(a)   any material change (actual, anticipated, contemplated or threatened) in or relating to the business, affairs, operations, assets, liabilities (contingent or otherwise), capital or ownership of the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole;

(b)   any material fact which has arisen or been discovered and would have been required to have been stated in any of the Offering Documents or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus had the fact arisen or been discovered on or prior to the date of such document;

(c)   any change in any material fact (which for purposes of this Agreement shall be deemed to include the disclosure of any previously undisclosed material fact) contained in the Canadian Preliminary Prospectus, the Canadian Prospectus, any Supplementary Material, any Incorporated Documents and any Marketing Documents (collectively, the " Canadian Offering Documents "), as they exist immediately prior to such change, which fact or change is, or may reasonably be expected to be, of such a nature as to render any statement in such Canadian Offering Documents, as they exist taken together in their entirety immediately prior to such change, misleading or untrue in any material respect or which would result in the Canadian Offering Documents, as they exist immediately prior to such change, containing a misrepresentation or which would result in the Canadian Offering Documents, as they exist immediately prior to such change, not complying with the laws of any Qualifying Jurisdiction in which the Offered Shares are to be offered for sale or which change would reasonably be expected to have a significant effect on the market price or value of any securities of the Company; or

(d)   the occurrence of any event as a result of which (i) the U.S. Offering Documents, in each case as amended immediately prior to such occurrence, would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading, or (ii) the U.S. Prospectus, any U.S. Amended Prospectus or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, in each case as then amended or supplemented, would include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances in which they are made, not misleading.

(2)   The Underwriters agree, and will require each Selling Firm to agree, to cease the Distribution of the Offered Shares upon the Underwriter receiving written notification of any change or material fact with respect to any Offering Document contemplated by this Section 5 and to not recommence the Distribution of the Offered Shares until Supplementary Material disclosing such change are filed in such Offering Jurisdiction.


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(3)   The Company shall promptly comply with all applicable filing and other requirements under Applicable Securities Laws whether as a result of such change, material fact or otherwise; provided that the Company shall not file any Supplementary Material or other document without first providing the Underwriters with a copy of such Supplementary Material or other document and consulting with the Underwriters with respect to the form and content thereof.

(4)   If during the Distribution of the Offered Shares there is any change in any Applicable Securities Laws, which results in a requirement to file a Canadian Prospectus Amendment or U.S. Registration Statement Amendment, the Company shall subject to the proviso in Section 5(2) above, make any such filing under Applicable Securities Laws as soon as possible.

(5)   The Company shall in good faith discuss with the Underwriters any fact or change in circumstances (actual, anticipated, contemplated or threatened, financial or otherwise) which is of such a nature that there is reasonable doubt whether written notice need be given under this Section 5.

Section 6   Purchase, Sale, Payment and Delivery of the Offered Shares.

The Company hereby confirms its agreement with the Underwriters concerning the purchase and sale of the Offered Shares as follows:

(1)   Public Offering of the Offered Shares. CFCC hereby advises the Company that the Underwriters intend to offer for sale to the public, on the terms set forth in the Time of Sale Prospectus and each Prospectus, their respective portions of the Offered Shares as soon after this Agreement has been executed as CFCC, in its sole judgment, have determined is advisable and practicable. After the Underwriters have made a reasonable effort to sell all of the Offered Shares at the Offering Price, the purchase price of the Offered Shares may be decreased by the Underwriters and may be further changed from time to time to an amount not greater than the Offering Price, and the compensation realized by the Underwriters will be decreased by the amount that the aggregate price paid by purchasers for the Offered Shares is less than the gross proceeds paid by the Underwriters to the Company. Any such decrease will not affect the proceeds to be received by the Company.

(2)   The Closing Date in respect of the Offered Shares . Payment of the Offering Price for the Firm Shares, and if applicable, any Additional Shares, shall be made to the Company by wire transfer against delivery of the Firm Shares and, if applicable, Additional Shares, to CFCC on behalf of the Underwriters, through the facilities of CDS designated by the Underwriters, in such names and denominations as the Underwriters may request, and such payment and delivery shall be made by 8:30 a.m. (Toronto time), on August 14, 2019 (respectively, the " Closing Time " and the " Closing Date ") (unless another time and date shall be agreed to by CFCC and the Company or unless postponed in accordance with the provisions of Section 18 hereof). The Firm Shares, and Additional Shares, if any, shall be registered in such names and in such denominations as specified by CFCC on behalf of the Underwriters. It is understood that CFCC has been authorized, for its own accounts and the accounts of the non-defaulting Underwriters, to accept delivery of and receipt for, and make payment of the Offering Price for, the Offered Shares the Underwriters have agreed to purchase (subject to such adjustment as CFCC may determine to eliminate fractional shares and subject to adjustment in accordance with Section 18 hereof). CFCC, may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment for any Offered Shares to be purchased by any Underwriter whose funds shall not have been received by CFCC by the Closing Date for the account of such Underwriter, but any such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter from any of its obligations under this Agreement.


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(3)   Over-Allotment Option . The Over-Allotment Option may be exercised by CFCC on behalf of the Underwriters at any time, in whole or in part by delivering notice to the Company not later than 5:00 p.m. (Vancouver time) on the 30th day after the Closing Date, which notice will specify the number of Additional Shares to be purchased by the Underwriters and the date (the " Option Closing Date ") and time (the " Option Closing Time ") on and at which such Additional Shares are to be purchased. Such Option Closing Date may be the same as (but not earlier than) the Closing Date and will not be earlier than two Business Days nor later than five Business Days after the date of delivery of such notice (except to the extent a shorter or longer period shall be agreed to by the Company). Subject to the terms of this agreement, upon CFCC furnishing this notice, the Underwriters will be committed to purchase, in the respective percentages set forth in Section 18, and the Company will be committed to issue and sell in accordance with and subject to the provisions of this Agreement, the number of Additional Shares indicated in the notice. Additional Shares may be purchased by the Underwriters only for the purpose of satisfying over-allotments made in connection with the Offering.

(4)   Delivery of the Offered Shares and Closing Mechanics . The Company shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, to CFCC for the accounts of the Underwriters, the Firm Shares, and if applicable, the Additional Shares, at the Closing Date, against the irrevocable release of a wire transfer of immediately available funds for the amount of the Offering Price therefor. The Offered Shares shall be registered in such names and denominations as CFCC shall have requested at least one full business day prior to the Closing Date. Deliveries of the documents described in Section 15(1) hereof with respect to the purchase of the Offered Shares shall be made at the offices of McMillan LLP in Toronto, Ontario at 8:30 a.m. (Toronto time), or at such other place as CFCC and the Company may agree, on the Closing Date. In the event that the Over-Allotment Option is exercised after the Closing Date in accordance with its terms, the closing of the issuance and sale of that number of Additional Shares in respect of which the Underwriters are exercising the Over-Allotment Option shall take place at the Option Closing Time at the offices of McMillan LLP or at such other place as may be agreed to by the Underwriters and the Company. At the Option Closing Time, the Company shall issue to the Underwriters that number of Additional Shares in respect of which the Underwriters are exercising the Over-Allotment Option and deposit with CDS or its nominee, if requested by CFCC, the Additional Shares electronically through the non-certificated inventory system of CDS against payment of $0.75 per Additional Share by wire transfer or certified cheque payable to the Company or as otherwise directed by the Company. Time shall be of the essence, and delivery at the time and place specified in this Agreement is a further condition to the obligations of the Underwriters.


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Section 7   Regulatory Approvals

The Company will make all necessary filings, obtain all necessary consents and approvals (if any) and pay all filing fees required to be paid in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement. The Company will qualify the Offered Shares for offering and sale under the Applicable Securities Laws of the Offering Jurisdictions and in such other jurisdictions as the Underwriters may designate and maintain such qualifications in effect for so long as required for the Distribution of the Offered Shares; provided, however, that (i) the Company shall not be obligated to make any material filing, file any prospectus, registration statement or similar document, consent to service of process, or qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any of such other jurisdictions, or subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any of such other jurisdictions in which it is not otherwise so subject, or become subject to any additional periodic reporting or continuous disclosure obligations in such other jurisdictions, and (ii) the Underwriters and the Selling Firms shall comply with the applicable laws in any such designated jurisdiction in making offers and sales of Offered Shares therein.

Section 8   Representations and Warranties of the Company.

The Company represents and warrants to each of the Underwriters and Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. (" CF US ") and acknowledges that the Underwriters are relying on such representations and warranties in entering into this Agreement.  The representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement shall be true as of the date hereof, the Closing Time and Option Closing Time, if applicable, and shall survive the completion of the transactions contemplated under this Agreement and remain in full force and effect thereafter for the benefit of the Underwriters:

(a)   Registration Statement and Prospectuses. The Company was a "foreign private issuer" (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) when the Registration Statement was filed and is eligible to use Form F-10 under the Securities Act to register the offering of the Offered Shares under the Securities Act. The Company prepared and filed with the SEC an appointment of agent for service of process upon the Company on Form F-X in conjunction with the filing of the Registration Statement. The Registration Statement and the Form F-X conform, and any further amendments to the Registration Statement or the Form F-X will conform to the requirements of the Securities Act.

(b)   Compliance with Canadian Laws and Regulations. The Company is eligible to use the Shelf Procedures. No cease trade order preventing or suspending the use of the Canadian Preliminary Base Prospectus or the Canadian Prospectus or preventing the distribution of the Offered Shares has been issued and no proceeding for that purpose has been initiated or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, by any of the Canadian Commissions; as of their respective dates, the Canadian Preliminary Base Prospectus and the Canadian Prospectus complied in all material respects with all applicable Canadian Securities Laws; each of the Canadian Commissions in the Qualifying Jurisdictions has issued or is deemed to have issued receipts for the Canadian Preliminary Base Prospectus and the Canadian Prospectus. On the Closing Date and each Option Closing Date (i) the Canadian Prospectus will comply in all material respects with the Canadian Securities Laws, (ii) the U.S. Prospectus will conform with the Canadian Prospectus except for such deletions therefrom and additions thereto as are permitted or required by Form F-10 and the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC and (iii) the Canadian Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto constituted at the respective dates thereof, and will constitute at the Closing Date and each Option Closing Date full, true and plain disclosure of all material facts relating to the Offered Shares, that is required to be in the Canadian Prospectus, and did not at the respective dates thereof, and will not at the Closing Date and each Option Closing Date contain a misrepresentation or an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. To its knowledge, the Company is not a "related issuer" or "connected issuer" (as those terms are defined in National Instrument 33-105 - Underwriting Conflicts of the Canadian Securities Administrators) of any of the Underwriters.


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(c)   Compliance with U.S. Requirements. The Registration Statement has become effective under the Securities Act. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement is in effect and no proceedings for such purpose have been instituted or are pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, are contemplated or threatened by the SEC. The U.S. Preliminary Prospectus and the U.S. Prospectus when filed complied in all material respects with the Securities Act and were identical in all material respects to the copies thereof delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with the offer and sale of the Offered Shares. Each of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became effective and at the Closing Date and each Option Closing Date, complied and will comply in all material respects with the Securities Act and did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading. As of the Applicable Time, the Time of Sale Prospectus did not, and at the time of the Closing Date and each Option Closing Date, the Time of Sale Prospectus, as then amended or supplemented by the Company, if applicable, will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The U.S. Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, as of its date and at the Closing Date and each Option Closing Date, did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representations and warranties set forth in the three immediately preceding sentences shall not apply to statements in, or omissions from, any such document made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, information furnished to the Company by the Underwriters contemplated by Section 10(1) specifically for use in the preparation thereof. There are no agreements, contracts, arrangements or understandings (written or oral) or other documents required to be described in the Time of Sale Prospectus or the U.S. Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement which have not been described or filed as required.


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(d)   Reporting Issuer and TSX and NYSE American Status. The Company is a "reporting issuer" in each of the Qualifying Jurisdictions. The Company is in compliance in all material respects with the by-laws, rules and regulations of the Exchanges.

(e)   Short Form Eligibility. The Company is eligible to file a prospectus in the form of a short form prospectus under NI 44-101.

(f)   Status under the Securities Act. The Company was not and is not an "ineligible issuer" as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act at the times specified in Rules 164 and 433 under the Securities Act in connection with the offering of the Offered Shares.

(g)   Incorporated Documents. The documents incorporated or deemed to be incorporated by reference in the Prospectuses and the Registration Statement, when they were filed with the Canadian Commissions in each of the Qualifying Jurisdictions or the SEC under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, conformed in all material respects to the requirements of the Canadian Securities Laws or U.S. Securities Laws, as applicable; and any further documents to be incorporated by reference in the Prospectuses or the Registration Statement subsequent to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement and prior to the completion of the distribution of the Offered Shares, when such documents are so filed, will conform in all material respects to the applicable requirements of Canadian Securities Laws and U.S. Securities Laws, as applicable, and will not contain a misrepresentation or an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

(h)   No Marketing Materials. Other than the term sheet dated August 8, 2019 and the amended and restated term sheet dated August 9, 2019, each in respect of the offering and sale of Offered Shares, the Company has not provided any marketing materials to any potential investors of Offered Shares.

(i)   No Conflicts. Neither the execution of this Agreement, nor the issuance, offering or sale of the Offered Shares, nor the consummation of any of the transactions contemplated herein and therein, nor the compliance by the Company with the terms and provisions hereof and thereof will conflict with, or will result in a breach of, any of the terms and provisions of, or has constituted or will constitute a default under, or has resulted in or will result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any property or assets of the Company pursuant to the terms of any agreements, contracts, arrangements or understandings (written or oral) to which the Company may be bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company is subject, except (i) such conflicts, breaches or defaults as may have been waived, and (ii) such conflicts, breaches and defaults that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect (as defined below); nor will such action result (x) in any violation of the provisions of the organizational or governing documents of the Company, or (y) in any violation of the provisions of any statute or any order, rule or regulation applicable to the Company or of any Governmental Authority having jurisdiction over the Company, except such violations that would not reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect, either individually or in the aggregate.


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(j)   No Misstatement or Omission in an Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or marketing materials. Each Issuer Free Writing Prospectus and any marketing materials, as of its issue date and as of each Applicable Time, did not, does not and will not include any information that conflicted, conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, including any Incorporated Document deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified. The foregoing sentence does not apply to statements in or omissions from any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any marketing materials made in reliance upon, and in conformity with, written information furnished to the Company by or on behalf of the Underwriters specifically for inclusion therein as contemplated by Section 10(1).

(k)   Reports and Documents, etc. There are no reports or information of the Company or, to the knowledge of the Company, of any third party, that in accordance with the requirements of the Canadian Securities Laws or U.S. Securities Laws must be made publicly available in connection with the offering of the Offered Shares that have not been made publicly available as required. There are no documents of the Company or, to the knowledge of the Company, of any third party, required to be filed with the Canadian Commissions in the Qualifying Jurisdictions or with the SEC in the United States in connection with the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Canadian Prospectus and the U.S. Prospectus that have not been filed as required pursuant to the Canadian Securities Laws or U.S. Securities Laws, as applicable. There are no agreements, contracts, arrangements or understandings (written or oral) or other documents of the Company or, to the knowledge of the Company, of any third party, required to be described in the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Canadian Prospectus and the U.S. Prospectus which have not been described or filed as required pursuant to the Canadian Securities Laws or U.S. Securities Laws, as applicable.

(l)   Offering Materials Furnished to Underwriters. The Company has delivered or will deliver on the Closing Date to CFCC (or with respect to the registration statement on Form F-10 and each amendment thereto, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the U.S. Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, and any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, made available on EDGAR) one complete manually signed copy of the registration statement on Form F-10, each amendment thereto and each consent and certificate of experts filed as a part thereof, and conformed copies (to the extent such documents contain signatures) of the registration statement on Form F-10 and each amendment thereto, the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Canadian Prospectus and the U.S. Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, and any free writing prospectus reviewed and consented to by CFCC, in such quantities and at such places as CFCC has reasonably requested for each of the Underwriters.


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(m)   Corporate Action . All necessary corporate action has been taken by the Company to authorize the issuance, sale and delivery of the Firm Shares and the Additional Shares, on the terms set forth in this Agreement.

(n)   Distribution of Offering Material by the Company. The Company has not distributed and will not distribute, prior to the completion of the Underwriters' distribution of the Offered Shares, any offering material in connection with the offering and sale of the Offered Shares other than the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectuses, any free writing prospectus reviewed and consented to by CFCC on behalf of the Underwriters, or the Registration Statement.

(o)   Authorization; Enforceability. The Company has full corporate right, power and authority to enter into this Agreement and perform the transactions contemplated hereby.  This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and is a legal, valid and binding agreement of the Company enforceable in accordance with its terms, except to the extent that enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors' rights generally and by general equitable principles.

(p)   No Material Adverse Effect. Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, if any (including any document deemed incorporated by reference therein), there has not been (i) any Material Adverse Effect, (ii) any transaction which is material to the Company and the Material Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (iii) any obligation or liability, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations), incurred by the Company or any Material Subsidiary, which is material to the Company and the Material Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (iv) any material change in the capital stock or outstanding long-term indebtedness of the Company or any of the Material Subsidiaries or (v) any dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made on the capital stock of the Company or any Material Subsidiary, other than in each case above in the ordinary course of business or as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses.


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(q)   Independent Accountants. Deloitte LLP, who have delivered their report with respect to the audited Financial Statements (as defined below and which term as used in this Agreement includes the related notes thereto) filed with the SEC as a part of the Registration Statement and included in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Canadian Prospectus and the U.S. Prospectus (each, an " Applicable Prospectus " and collectively, the " Applicable Prospectuses "), are independent public, certified public or chartered accountants as required by the Securities Act, the Exchange Act and applicable Canadian Securities Laws. There has not been any "reportable event" (as that term is defined in National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations ) with Deloitte LLP or any other prior auditor of the Company or any of its Material Subsidiaries. To the Company's knowledge, after due and careful inquiry, Deloitte LLP is not in violation of the auditor independence requirements of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

(r)   Enforceability of Agreements. All agreements between the Company and third parties expressly referenced in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses are legal, valid and binding obligations of the Company enforceable in accordance with their respective terms, except to the extent that (i) enforceability may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or similar laws affecting creditors' rights generally and by general equitable principles, and (ii) the indemnification provisions of certain agreements may be limited by Applicable Law or public policy considerations in respect thereof, and except for any other potentially unenforceable term that, individually or in the aggregate, would not reasonably be expected to be material to the Company.

(s)   Financial Information. The consolidated financial statements of the Company filed with the SEC as a part of the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, together with the related notes and schedules (the " Financial Statements "), present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of the Company and the Material Subsidiaries as of the dates indicated and the consolidated statements of comprehensive income, shareholders' equity and cash flows of the Company for the periods specified. Such Financial Statements conform in all material respects with International Financial Reporting Standards as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board (" IFRS "), applied on a consistent basis during the periods involved. The other financial and statistical data with respect to the Company and the Material Subsidiaries contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, are accurately and fairly presented in all material respects and prepared on a basis consistent with the financial statements and books and records of the Company; there are no financial statements (historical or pro forma) that are required to be included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses that are not included or incorporated by reference as required; the Company and the Material Subsidiaries do not have any material liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent (including any off-balance sheet obligations), not described in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses and all disclosures contained or incorporated by reference therein; and no other financial statements are required to be set forth or to be incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses.


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(t)   Statistical, Industry-Related and Market-Related Data . The statistical, industry-related and market-related data included in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, are based on or derived from sources that the Company reasonably believes are reliable and accurate.

(u)   Organization . The Company and each of its Material Subsidiaries are, and will be, duly organized, validly existing as a corporation and in good standing (where such concept is recognized) under the laws of their respective jurisdictions of organization.  The Company and each of the Material Subsidiaries are, and will be, duly licensed or qualified as a foreign corporation for transaction of business and in good standing under the laws of each other jurisdiction in which their respective ownership or lease of property or the conduct of their respective businesses requires such license or qualification, and have all corporate power and authority necessary to own or hold their respective properties and to conduct their respective businesses as described in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing or have such power or authority would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect or would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(v)   Subsidiaries . The subsidiaries of the Company listed in Schedule "A" (individually a " Material Subsidiary " and collectively, the " Material Subsidiaries "), include all of the Company's significant subsidiaries (as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X promulgated by the SEC). Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectuses, the Company owns, directly or indirectly, all of the equity interests of the Material Subsidiaries free and clear of any lien, charge, security interest, encumbrance, right of first refusal or other restriction, and all the equity interests of the Material Subsidiaries are validly issued and are fully paid, non-assessable and free of preemptive and similar rights.


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(w)   Minute Books . Since January 1, 2016, all existing minute books of the Company and each of the Material Subsidiaries, including all existing records of all meetings and actions of the board of directors (including, the Audit, Compensation and Governance and Nominating Committees and other board committees) and securityholders of the Company (collectively, the " Corporate Records ") have been made available to the Underwriters and their counsel, and all such Corporate Records are complete in all material respects (except in respect of minutes for Board and Committee meetings since January 1, 2019 that are not yet available in draft form or otherwise, in which case agendas and handwritten notes of the business conducted at such meetings have been made available for review by the Underwriters). There are no transactions, agreements or other actions of the Company or any of the Material Subsidiaries that are required to be recorded in the Corporate Records that are not properly approved and/or recorded in the Corporate Records. All required filings have been made with the appropriate Governmental Authorities in the Province of British Columbia in a timely fashion under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia), except for such filings where the failure to file would not have a Material Adverse Effect, either individually or in the aggregate.

(x)   No Violation or Default. Neither the Company nor any of the Material Subsidiaries is (i) in violation of its articles or by-laws or similar organizational documents; (ii) except as are disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, in violation or default, and no event has occurred that, with notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute such a violation or default, in the due performance or observance of any term, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of the Material Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of the Material Subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the property or assets of the Company or any of the Material Subsidiaries are subject; or (iii) except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, in violation of any Applicable Law, except in the case of each of clauses (ii) and (iii) above, for any such violation or default that would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. To the Company's knowledge, no other party under any material agreements, contracts, arrangements or understandings (written or oral) to which it or any of the Material Subsidiaries is a party is in violation or default in any respect thereunder where such violation or default would have a Material Adverse Effect.


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(y)   Disclosure Controls. The Company and each of the Material Subsidiaries (other than Material Subsidiaries acquired not more than 365 days prior to the Evaluation Date, as defined below) maintain systems of internal accounting controls applicable under IFRS in applicable periods, or sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (i) transactions are executed in accordance with management's general or specific authorizations; (ii) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with IFRS and to maintain asset accountability; (iii) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management's general or specific authorization; and (iv) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. The Company's internal control over financial reporting is effective and the Company is not aware of any significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting. Since the date of the latest audited financial statements of the Company included or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, there has been no change in the Company's internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company's internal control over financial reporting. The Company has established disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15 and 15d-15) for the Company and designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that material information relating to the Company and each of the Material Subsidiaries is made known to the certifying officers by others within those entities, particularly during the Company's fiscal year ended December 31, 2018. The Company's certifying officers have evaluated the effectiveness of the Company's controls and procedures as of a date within 120 days prior to the filing date of the Form 40-F, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 (such date, the "Evaluation Date "). The Company presented in its Form 40-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 the conclusions of the certifying officers about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on their evaluations as of the Evaluation Date and the disclosure controls and procedures are effective. Since the Evaluation Date, there have been no significant changes in the Company's internal controls (as such term is defined in Item 307(b) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act) or, to the Company's knowledge, in other factors that could significantly affect the Company's internal controls, except that the Company has limited the scope of its disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting for its quarter ended March 31, 2019 to exclude controls, policies and procedures of a business that the Company acquired not more than 365 days before the last day of the period covered by the interim filing.


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(z)   Capitalization. The issued and outstanding Common Shares have been validly issued, are fully paid and non-assessable and are not subject to any pre-emptive rights, rights of first refusal or similar rights. The Company has an authorized, issued and outstanding capitalization as set forth in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses as of the dates referred to therein (other than the grant of additional options under the Company's existing stock option plans, or changes in the number of outstanding Common Shares of the Company due to the issuance of shares upon the exercise or conversion of securities exercisable for, or convertible into, Common Shares outstanding on the date hereof) and such authorized capital stock conforms in all material respects to the description thereof set forth in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses. The description of the securities of the Company in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses is complete and accurate in all material respects. Except as disclosed in or contemplated by the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, as of the date referred to therein, the Company does not have outstanding any options to purchase, or any rights or warrants to subscribe for, or any securities or obligations convertible into, or exchangeable for, or any contracts or commitments to issue or sell, any Common Shares or other securities.

(aa)   No Applicable Registration or Other Similar Rights. There are no persons with registration or other similar rights to have any equity or debt securities registered or qualified for sale under the Registration Statement or the Canadian Prospectus or included in the offering contemplated by this Agreement who have not waived such rights in writing (including electronically) prior to the execution of this Agreement.

(bb)   No Consents Required. No consent, approval, authorization, order, registration or qualification of or with Governmental Authority is required for the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement, the issuance and sale by the Company of the Offered Shares, except for (i) the qualification of the Offered Shares for distribution in the United States and in Canada; and (ii) such consents, approvals, authorizations, orders and registrations or qualifications as may be required under applicable U.S. federal and state securities laws or by the bylaws and rules of FINRA or the SEC in connection with the sale of the Offered Shares by the Underwriters.

(cc)   No Preferential Rights. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, (i) and except pursuant to options and warrants to purchase Common Shares pursuant to outstanding convertible securities of the Company, no person, as such term is defined in Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X promulgated under the Securities Act (each, a " Person "), has the right, contractual or otherwise, to cause the Company to issue or sell to such Person any Common Shares or other securities of the Company, (ii) the Company has not granted to any Person any preemptive rights, resale rights, rights of first refusal, or any other rights (whether pursuant to a "poison pill" provision or otherwise) to purchase any Common Shares or other securities of the Company, (iii) no Person has the right to act as an underwriter or as a financial advisor to the Company in connection with the offer and sale of the Offered Shares, and (iv) no Person has the right, contractual or otherwise, to require the Company to register under the Securities Act or qualify for distribution under Canadian Securities Laws any Common Shares or other securities of the Company, or to include any such Common Shares or other securities in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, whether as a result of the filing or effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the Prospectuses (or documents incorporated by reference therein) or the sale of the Offered Shares as contemplated thereby or otherwise.


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(dd)   Forward-Looking Information. No forward-looking statement (within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act and no forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 1(1) of the Securities Act ( British Columbia )) contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Prospectuses or the Time of Sale Prospectuses has been made or reaffirmed without a reasonable basis or has been disclosed other than in good faith.

(ee)   Certificates. The form of certificates representing the Offered Shares to the extent that physical certificates are issued for such securities, will be in due and proper form and conform to the requirements of the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia), the articles of incorporation of the Company and applicable requirements of the TSX, NYSE American, The Depository Trust Company and CDS or will have been otherwise approved by the TSX and NYSE American, if required. The Offered Shares will have been made eligible by The Depository Trust Company and CDS.

(ff)   Transfer Agent. Computershare Investor Services Inc. has been duly appointed as registrar and transfer agent for the Common Shares.

(gg)   No Litigation . Except as disclosed in or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, there are no legal, governmental or regulatory actions, suits or proceedings pending, nor, to the Company's knowledge, any legal, governmental or regulatory audits or investigations, to which the Company or a Subsidiary is a party or to which any property of the Company or any of the Material Subsidiaries is the subject that, individually or in the aggregate, if determined adversely to the Company or any of the Material Subsidiaries, could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect or materially and adversely affect the ability of the Company to perform its obligations under this Agreement; except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, to the Company's knowledge, no such actions, suits or proceedings are threatened or contemplated by any Governmental Authority or threatened by others; and (i) there are no current or pending audits or investigations, actions, suits or proceedings by or before any Governmental Authority that are required under the Securities Act or Canadian Securities Laws to be described in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses that are not so described; and (ii) there are no agreements, contracts, arrangements or understandings (written or oral) or other documents that are required under the Securities Act to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement that are not so filed.


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(hh)   Labor Disputes. No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of the Company or any of the Material Subsidiaries exists or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(ii)   Local Disputes. Except as set forth in the Registration Statement and the Prospectuses, no dispute between the Company and any local, aboriginal or indigenous group exists, or to the Company's knowledge, is threatened or imminent with respect to any of the Company's properties or exploration and development activities that could reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect.

(jj)   Proposed Acquisition . Except as described in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, there are no material agreements, contracts, arrangements or understandings (written or oral) with any persons relating to the acquisition or proposed acquisition by the Company or its Material Subsidiaries of any material interest in any business (or part of a business) or corporation, nor are there any other specific contracts or agreements (written or oral) in respect of any such matters in contemplation.

(kk)   Intellectual Property Rights . Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, the Company and the Material Subsidiaries own, possess, license or have other rights to use all foreign and domestic patents, patent applications, trade and service marks, trade and service mark registrations, trade names, copyrights, licenses, inventions, trade secrets, technology, Internet domain names, know-how and other intellectual property (collectively, the " Intellectual Property "), necessary for the conduct of their respective businesses as now conducted except to the extent that the failure to own, possess, license or otherwise hold adequate rights to use such Intellectual Property would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses (a) there are no rights of third parties to any such Intellectual Property owned by the Company and the Material Subsidiaries; (b) to the Company's knowledge, there is no infringement by third parties of any such Intellectual Property; (c) there is no pending or, to the Company's knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the Company's and the Material Subsidiaries' rights in or to any such Intellectual Property, and the Company is unaware of any facts which could form a reasonable basis for any such action, suit, proceeding or claim; (d) there is no pending or, to the Company's knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others challenging the validity or scope of any such Intellectual Property; (e) there is no pending or, to the Company's knowledge, threatened action, suit, proceeding or claim by others that the Company and the Material Subsidiaries infringe or otherwise violate any patent, trademark, copyright, trade secret or other proprietary rights of others; (f) to the Company's knowledge, there is no third-party U.S. patent or published U.S. patent application which contains claims for which an Interference Proceeding (as defined in 35 U.S.C. § 135) has been commenced against any patent or patent application described in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, as being owned by or licensed to the Company; and (g) the Company and the Material Subsidiaries have complied with the terms of each agreement pursuant to which Intellectual Property has been licensed to the Company or such Material Subsidiary, and all such agreements are in full force and effect, except, in the case of any of clauses (a)-(g) above, for any such infringement by third parties or any such pending or threatened suit, action, proceeding or claim as would not, individually or in the aggregate, result in a Material Adverse Effect.


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(ll)   Market Capitalization . At the time the Registration Statement was originally declared effective, and at the time the Company's most recent Annual Report on Form 40-F was filed with the SEC, the Company met the then applicable requirements for the use of Form F-10 under the Securities Act.

(mm)   No Material Defaults. Neither the Company nor any of the Material Subsidiaries has defaulted on any installment on indebtedness for borrowed money or on any rental on one or more long-term leases, which defaults, individually or in the aggregate, would have a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has not filed a report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act since the filing of its last Annual Report on Form 40-F, indicating that it (i) has failed to pay any dividend or sinking fund installment on preferred stock or (ii) has defaulted on any installment on indebtedness for borrowed money or on any rental on one or more long-term leases, which defaults, individually or in the aggregate, would have a Material Adverse Effect.


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(nn)   Certain Market Activities . Neither the Company, nor any of the Material Subsidiaries, nor to the knowledge of the Company any of their respective directors or officers has taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed, or that has constituted or might reasonably be expected to cause or result in, under the Exchange Act, Canadian Securities Laws or otherwise, the stabilization, maintenance or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Offered Shares.

(oo)   Title to Real and Personal Property . Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, the Company and the Material Subsidiaries have good and marketable title in fee simple to all items of real property owned by them, good and valid title to all personal property described in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses as being owned by them that are material to the businesses of the Company or such Material Subsidiary, in each case free and clear of all liens, encumbrances and claims, except those that (i) do not materially interfere with the use made and proposed to be made of such property by the Company and any of the Material Subsidiaries or (ii) would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect. Any real or personal property described in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses as being leased by the Company and any of the Material Subsidiaries is held by them under valid, existing and enforceable leases, except those that (A) do not materially interfere with the use made or proposed to be made of such property by the Company or any of the Material Subsidiaries or (B) would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

(pp)   Exploration Rights. The Pebble Project, as described in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses (the " Material Property ") is the only mineral property currently material to the Company in which the Company or the Material Subsidiaries has an interest; the Company or through the Material Subsidiaries, hold either mineral claims, exploration permits, prospecting permits or participant interests or other conventional property or proprietary interests or rights, recognized in the jurisdiction in which the Material Property is located, in respect of the ore bodies and minerals located on the Material Property in which the Company (through the applicable Material Subsidiary) has an interest under valid, subsisting and enforceable title documents or other recognized and enforceable agreements, contracts, arrangements or understandings, sufficient to permit the Company (through the applicable Material Subsidiary), subject to compliance with customary permit requirements for specific work programs, to explore for the minerals relating thereto; all leases or claims and permits relating to the Material Property in which the Company (through the applicable Material Subsidiary) has an interest or right have been validly located and recorded in accordance with all Applicable Laws and are valid and subsisting; except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, the Company (through the applicable Material Subsidiary) has all necessary rights and interests relating to the Material Property in which the Company (through the applicable Material Subsidiary) has an interest granting the Company (through the applicable Material Subsidiary) the right and ability to explore for minerals as are appropriate in view of the rights and interest therein of the Company or the applicable Material Subsidiary, with only such exceptions as do not materially interfere with the current use made by the Company or the applicable Material Subsidiary of the rights or interest so held, and each of the proprietary interests or rights and each of the agreements, contracts, arrangements or understandings and obligations relating thereto referred to above is currently in good standing in all respects in the name of the Company or the applicable Material Subsidiary; except as disclosed in the Prospectuses, the Company and the Material Subsidiaries do not have any responsibility or obligation to pay any commission, royalty, license, fee or similar payment to any person with respect to the property rights thereof, other than mineral claim fees, except where such fee or payment would not have a Material Adverse Effect, either individually or in the aggregate;


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(qq)   Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, the Company and the Material Subsidiaries have identified all the material permits, certificates, and approvals (collectively, the " Permits ") which are or will be required for the exploration, development and eventual or actual operation of the Material Property, which Permits include but are not limited to environmental assessment certificates, water licenses, land tenures, rezoning or zoning variances and other necessary local, provincial, state and federal approvals; and, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, the appropriate Permits have either been received, applied for, or the processes to obtain such Permits have been or will in due course be initiated by the Company or the applicable Material Subsidiaries; and, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, neither the Company nor the applicable Material Subsidiaries know of any issue or reason why the Permits should not be approved and obtained in the ordinary course;


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(i)   all assessments or other work required to be performed in relation to the material mineral claims of the Company and the applicable Material Subsidiary in order to maintain their respective interests therein, if any, have been performed to date and, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, the Company and the applicable Material Subsidiary have complied in all material respects with all Applicable Laws in this regard as well as with regard to legal and contractual obligations to third parties in this regard except in respect of mineral claims that the Company and the applicable Material Subsidiary intend to abandon or relinquish and except for any non-compliance which would not either individually or in the aggregate have a Material Adverse Effect; all such mineral claims are in good standing in all respects as of the date of this Agreement;

(ii)   except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, there are no environmental audits, evaluations, assessments, studies or tests relating to the Company or the Material Subsidiaries except for annual and at will assessments by the Department of Natural Resources and ongoing assessments conducted by or on behalf of the Company and the Material Subsidiaries in the ordinary course; 

(iii)   the Company made available to the respective authors thereof prior to the issuance of all of the applicable technical reports filed by the Company on SEDAR relating to the Material Property (the " Reports "), for the purpose of preparing the Reports, as applicable, all information requested, and no such information contained any material misrepresentation as at the relevant time the relevant information was made available;

(iv)   the Reports complied in all material respects with the requirements of NI 43-101 as at the date of each such Report and as of the date hereof there is no new material scientific or technical information concerning the Material Property that is not included in the Reports; and

(v)   the Company is in compliance, in all material respects, with the provisions of NI 43-101 and has filed all technical reports required thereby and, at the time of filing, all such reports complied, in all material respects, with the requirements of NI 43-101; except as noted in the Prospectuses, all scientific and technical information disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses: (i) is based upon information prepared, reviewed and/or verified by or under the supervision of a "qualified person" (as such term is defined in NI 43-101), (ii) has been prepared and disclosed in accordance with Canadian industry standards set forth in NI 43- 101, (iii) was true, complete and accurate in all material respects at the time of filing, (iv) information relating to the Company's estimates of mineral reserves and resources as at the date they were prepared has been reviewed and verified by the Company or independent consultants to the Company as being consistent with the Company's mineral resource estimates as at the date they were prepared and (v) the methods used in estimating the Company's mineral resources are in accordance with accepted mineral reserve and mineral resource estimation practices.


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(rr)   Taxes. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries have filed all federal, state, provincial, local and foreign tax returns which have been required to be filed and paid all taxes shown thereon through the date hereof, to the extent that such taxes have become due and are not being contested in good faith, except where the failure to so file or pay would not have a Material Adverse Effect. Except as otherwise disclosed in or contemplated by the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, no tax deficiency has been determined adversely to the Company or any of the Material Subsidiaries which would have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect. The Company has no knowledge of any federal, state, provincial or other governmental tax deficiency, penalty or assessment which has been asserted or threatened in writing against it which would have a Material Adverse Effect.

(ss)   No Reliance. The Company has not relied upon the Underwriters or legal counsel for the Underwriters for any legal, tax or accounting advice in connection with the offering and sale of the Offered Shares.

(tt)   Investment Company Act . Neither the Company nor any of the Material Subsidiaries is or, after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Offered Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, will be required to register as an "investment company" or an entity "controlled" by an "investment company," as such terms are defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

(uu)   ERISA . The Company does not have a material employee benefit plan, within the meaning of Section 3(3) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended.


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(vv)   Company is not a "Controlled Foreign Corporation". As of the date hereof, to the knowledge of the Company, the Company is not a " controlled foreign corporation ," as such term is defined in the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the " Code ").

(ww)   Insurance .  The Company and each of the Material Subsidiaries carry, or are covered by, insurance in such amounts and covering such risks as the Company and each of the Material Subsidiaries reasonably believe are adequate for the conduct of their properties and as is customary for companies engaged in similar businesses in similar industries.

(xx)   No Price Stabilization or Manipulation ; Compliance with Regulation M . The Company has not taken, nor will the Company take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might be reasonably expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Common Shares, as applicable, or any other "reference security" (as defined in Rule 100 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act (" Regulation M ")) whether to facilitate the sale or resale of the Offered Shares, as applicable, or otherwise, and has taken no action which would directly or indirectly violate Regulation M.

(yy)   Working Capital . To the Company's knowledge and taking into account the Company's projected work program, the Company's available working capital and the net proceeds receivable by the Company following the sale of the Offered Shares, the Company has sufficient working capital for its present requirements for a limited period of time from the date of the Prospectuses.

(zz)   FINRA Matters . All of the information provided to the Underwriters or to counsel for the Underwriters by the Company and, to the knowledge of the Company, its officers and directors and the holders of any securities (debt or equity) or options to acquire any securities of the Company in connection with letters, filings or other supplemental information provided to FINRA pursuant to FINRA Conduct Rule 5110, 5121 or 5190 is true, complete and correct in all material aspects. As of the date hereof, the Company meets the general eligibility requirements for use of a registration statement on Form F-10 in connection with an offering contemplated thereby pursuant to the standards for Form F-10 approved in Securities Act Release No. 33-6902 (June 21, 1991).

(aaa)   Environmental Laws . Except as set forth in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses:

(i)   each of the Company and the Material Subsidiaries is in compliance in all material respects with all applicable federal, provincial, state, municipal and local laws, statutes, ordinances, bylaws and regulations and orders, directives and decisions rendered by any ministry, department or administrative or regulatory agency (the " Environmental Laws ") relating to the protection of the environment, occupational health and safety or the processing, use, treatment, storage, disposal, discharge, transport or handling of any pollutants, contaminants, chemicals or industrial, toxic or hazardous wastes or substance, including any uranium or derivatives thereof (the " Hazardous Substances "), except where such non-compliance would not have a Material Adverse Effect, either individually or in the aggregate;


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(ii)   each of the Company and the Material Subsidiaries has obtained all licenses, permits, approvals, consents, certificates, registrations and other authorizations under all applicable Environmental Laws (the " Environmental Permits ") necessary as at the date hereof for the operation of the businesses carried on by the Company and the Material Subsidiaries, other than those Environmental Permits that are routine in nature and anticipated to be obtained in the ordinary course, and each Environmental Permit is valid, subsisting and in good standing and to the knowledge of the Company neither the Company nor the Material Subsidiaries is in default or breach of any Environmental Permit which would have a Material Adverse Effect, and no proceeding is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company or the Material Subsidiaries, threatened, to revoke or limit any Environmental Permit;

(iii)   neither the Company nor the Material Subsidiaries has used, except in compliance with all Environmental Laws and Environmental Permits, and other than as may be incidental to mineral resource exploration, any property or facility which it owns or leases or previously owned or leased, to generate, manufacture, process, distribute, use, treat, store, dispose of, transport or handle any Hazardous Substance; and

(iv)   neither the Company nor the Material Subsidiaries (including, if applicable, any predecessor companies) has received any notice of, or been prosecuted for an offence alleging, non-compliance with any Environmental Law that would have a Material Adverse Effect, and neither the Company nor the Material Subsidiaries (including, if applicable, any predecessor companies) has settled any allegation of non-compliance that would have a Material Adverse Effect short of prosecution. There are no orders or directions relating to environmental matters requiring any material work, repairs, construction or capital expenditures to be made with respect to any of the assets of the Company or the Material Subsidiaries, nor has the Company or the Material Subsidiaries received notice of any of the same; and (v) neither the Company nor the Material Subsidiaries has received any notice wherein it is alleged or stated that the Company or the Material Subsidiaries is potentially responsible for a federal, provincial, state, municipal or local clean-up site or corrective action under any Environmental Laws. Neither the Company nor the Material Subsidiaries has received any request for information in connection with any federal, state, municipal or local inquiries as to disposal sites.


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(bbb)   Finder's Fee's. Neither the Company nor any of the Material Subsidiaries has incurred any liability for any finder's fees, brokerage commissions or similar payments in connection with the Offering, except as may otherwise exist with respect to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement.

(ccc)   Broker/Dealer Relationships .  Neither the Company nor any of the Material Subsidiaries or any related entities (i) is required to register as a "broker" or "dealer" in accordance with the provisions of the Exchange Act or (ii) directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries, controls or is a "person associated with a member" or "associated person of a member" (within the meaning set forth in the FINRA Manual).

(ddd)   Dividend Restrictions . Except as may be restricted by Applicable Law, no Material Subsidiary is prohibited or restricted, directly or indirectly, from paying dividends to the Company, or from making any other distribution with respect to such Material Subsidiaries' equity securities or from repaying to the Company or any other Material Subsidiaries any amounts that may from time to time become due under any loans or advances to such Material Subsidiaries from the Company or from transferring any property or assets to the Company or to any other Material Subsidiaries.

(eee)   No Improper Practices. (i) Neither the Company nor the Material Subsidiaries, nor to the Company's knowledge, any of their respective directors or officers has, in the past five years, made any unlawful contributions to any candidate for any political office (or failed fully to disclose any contribution in violation of Applicable Law) or made any contribution or other payment to any official of, or candidate for, any federal, state, provincial, municipal, or foreign office or other person charged with similar public or quasi-public duty in violation of any Applicable Law or of the character required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses; (ii) no relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or, to the Company's knowledge, any Material Subsidiary or any affiliate of any of them, on the one hand, and the directors, officers and shareholders of the Company or, to the Company's knowledge, any Material Subsidiary, on the other hand, that is required by the Securities Act or Canadian Securities Laws to be described in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses that is not so described; (iii) no relationship, direct or indirect, exists between or among the Company or any Material Subsidiary or any affiliate of them, on the one hand, and the directors, officers, or shareholders of the Company or, to the Company's knowledge, any Material Subsidiary, on the other hand, that is required by the rules of FINRA (or Canadian equivalent thereof) to be described in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses that is not so described; (iv) except as described in the Prospectuses, there are no material outstanding loans or advances or material guarantees of indebtedness by the Company or, to the Company's knowledge, any Material Subsidiary to or for the benefit of any of their respective officers or directors or any of the members of the families of any of them; and (v) the Company has not offered, or caused any placement agent to offer, Common Shares or to make any payment of funds to any person with the intent to influence unlawfully (A) a customer or supplier of the Company or any Material Subsidiary to alter the customer's or supplier's level or type of business with the Company or any Material Subsidiary or (B) a trade journalist or publication to write or publish favorable information about the Company or any Material Subsidiary or any of their respective products or services, and, (vi) neither the Company nor any Material Subsidiary nor, to the Company's knowledge, any director, officer, employee or agent of the Company or any Material Subsidiary has made any payment of funds of the Company or any Material Subsidiary or received or retained any funds in violation of any Applicable Law (including, without limitation, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 and the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (Canada)).


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(fff)   Operations .  The operations of the Company and the Material Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial record keeping and reporting requirements of the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act (Canada), the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (Canada) and applicable rules and regulations thereunder, and the money laundering statutes of all applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar applicable rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any Governmental Authority (collectively, the " Money Laundering Laws "); and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or Governmental Authority involving the Company or any of the Material Subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened.

(ggg)   Sanctions. (i) The Company represents that, neither the Company nor any of the Material Subsidiaries (collectively, the " Entity ") nor, to the Company's knowledge, any director, officer, employee, agent, affiliate or representative of the Company, is a government, individual, or entity (in this paragraph (ggg), " Member ") that is, or is owned or controlled by a Member that is:

(A)   the subject of any sanctions administered or enforced by the U.S. Department of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, the United Nations Security Council, the European Union, Her Majesty's Treasury, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (Canada), or pursuant to the Special Economic Measures Act (Canada) or other relevant sanctions authority or Applicable Law (collectively, " Sanctions "), nor


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(B)   located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is the subject of Sanctions (including, without limitation, Burma/Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Zimbabwe).

(ii)   The Company represents and covenants that it will not, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other Member:

(A)   to fund or facilitate any activities or business of or with any Member or in any country or territory that, at the time of such funding or facilitation, is the subject of Sanctions; or

(B)   in any other manner that will result in a violation of Sanctions by any Member (including any Member participating in the offering, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise).

(iii)   The Company represents and covenants that, except as detailed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, for the past 5 years, it has not knowingly engaged in, is not now knowingly engaged in, and will not engage in, any dealings or transactions with any Member, or in any country or territory, that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject of Sanctions.

(hhh)   Certification of Disclosure . There has been no failure on the part of the Company or any of the Company's directors or officers, in their capacities as such, to comply in all material respects with any applicable provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, NI 52-109 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder. Each of the principal executive officer and the principal financial officer of the Company (or each former principal executive officer of the Company and each former principal financial officer of the Company as applicable) and each certifying officer of the Company (or each former certifying officer of the Company and each former certifying officer of the Company as applicable) has made all certifications required by Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act with respect to all reports, schedules, forms, statements and other documents required to be filed by it or furnished by it to the SEC and as required to be made and filed by NI 52-109. For purposes of the preceding sentence, "principal executive officer" and "principal financial officer" shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and "certifying officer" shall have the meanings given to such term in NI 52-109.


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(iii)   Filings. Since January 1, 2016, the Company has filed all documents or information required to be filed by it under Canadian Securities Laws, U.S. Securities Laws, and the rules, regulations and policies of the Exchanges, except where the failure to file such documents or information will not have a Material Adverse Effect, either individually or in the aggregate; all material change reports, annual information forms, financial statements, management proxy circulars and other documents filed by or on behalf of the Company with the Exchanges, the SEC and the Canadian Commissions, as of its date, did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading and did not contain a misrepresentation at the time at which it was filed; the Company has not filed any confidential material change report or any document requesting confidential treatment with any Governmental Authority that at the date hereof remains confidential.

(jjj)   Due Diligence Matters.  To the knowledge of the Company, all documents and information delivered and provided by or on behalf of the Company to the Underwriters as a part of their due diligence in connection with the Offering were complete and accurate in all material respects.

(kkk)   Cybersecurity .  Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, there has been no security breach or other compromise of or relating to any of the Company's information technology and computer systems, networks, hardware, software, data (including the data of their respective customers, employees, suppliers, vendors and any third party data maintained by or on behalf of them), equipment or technology (collectively, " IT Systems and Data ") and (y) the Company has not been notified of, and have no knowledge of any event or condition that would reasonably be expected to result in, any security breach or other compromise to their IT Systems and Data; (ii) the Company is presently in compliance with all applicable laws or statutes and all judgments, orders, rules and regulations of any court or arbitrator or governmental or regulatory authority, internal policies and contractual obligations relating to the privacy and security of IT Systems and Data and to the protection of such IT Systems and Data from unauthorized use, access, misappropriation or modification, except as would not, in the case of this clause (ii), individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect; and (iii) the Company has implemented backup and disaster recovery technology consistent with industry standards and practices.


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(lll)   Exchange Registration. The Common Shares are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act and are accepted for trading on the NYSE American under the symbol "NAK" and the TSX under the symbol "NDM," and the Company has taken no action designed to terminate the registration of the Common Shares under the Exchange Act or delisting the Common Shares from either of the Exchanges, nor, except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, has the Company received any notification that the SEC, the Canadian Commissions or either of the Exchanges is contemplating terminating such registration or listing. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement or included or incorporated by reference in the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus and the Prospectuses, the Company has complied in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the Exchanges for maintenance of inclusion of the Common Shares thereon. The Company has obtained, or will obtain by Closing, all necessary consents, approvals, authorizations or orders of, or filing, notification or registration with, the Exchanges, the SEC and the Canadian Commissions, where applicable, required for the listing and trading of the Offered Shares, subject only to satisfying their standard listing and maintenance requirements. The Company has no reason to believe that it will not in the foreseeable future continue to be in compliance with all such listing and maintenance requirements of each Exchange.

In this Agreement, a reference to " knowledge " of the Company, means the knowledge of Ronald W. Thiessen, President & Chief Executive Officer, Mark Peters, Chief Financial Officer, and Trevor Thomas, Company Secretary, in each case, after reasonable inquiry within the scope of such person's duties.

Any certificate signed by any officer on behalf of the Company or any of the Material Subsidiaries and delivered to the Underwriters or counsel for the Underwriters in connection with the offering of the Offered Shares shall be deemed to be a representation and warranty by the Company or Material Subsidiaries, as the case may be, as to matters covered thereby, to each Underwriter.

The Company acknowledges that the Underwriters and, for purposes of the opinions to be delivered pursuant to Section 15(1) hereof, counsel to the Company and counsel to the Underwriters will rely upon the accuracy and truthfulness of the foregoing representations and hereby consents to such reliance.

Section 9   Representations, Warranties and Covenants of the Underwriters

(1)   Each Underwriter hereby severally, and not jointly, nor jointly and severally, represents and warrants to the Company that:

(a)   it is, and will remain so, until the completion of the Offering, appropriately registered under Applicable Securities Laws so as to permit it to lawfully fulfill its obligations hereunder; and


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(b)   it has good and sufficient right and authority to enter into this Agreement and complete the transactions contemplated under this Agreement on the terms and conditions set forth herein.

(2)   The Underwriters hereby covenant and agree with the Company to the following:

(a)   Compliance with Securities Laws .   The Underwriters will comply with applicable securities laws in connection with the offer and sale and distribution of the Offered Shares.

(b)   Completion of Distribution .   The Underwriters will use their commercially reasonable efforts to complete the distribution of the Offered Shares as promptly as possible after the Closing Time, but in any event no later than seven (7) Business Days following the date of exercise of the entire Over-Allotment Option, if exercised.

(c)   Liability on Default.   No Underwriter shall be liable to the Company under this section with respect to a default by any of the other Underwriters.

(3)   The Company agrees that the Underwriters are acting severally and not jointly (or jointly and severally) in performing their respective obligations under this Agreement and that no Underwriter shall be liable for any act, omission or conduct by any other Underwriter or another Underwriter's duly registered broker-dealer affiliate in the United States or any Selling Firm.

(4)   Distribution in Canada.   No Underwriter that is a non-resident for purposes of the ITA will render any services under this Agreement in Canada.

(5)   Each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, covenants with the Company not to take any action that would result in the Company being required to file with the SEC pursuant to Rule 433-(d) under the Securities Act a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf such Underwriter that otherwise would not be required to be filed by the Company thereunder but for the action of the Underwriter.

Section 10   Indemnification

(1)              The Company (referred to in this Section 10 as the "Indemnifying Party" ) agrees to indemnify and save harmless each of the Underwriters, CF US and their respective affiliates and each of their respective directors, officers, partners, members, employees, shareholders and agents, and each person, if any, who controls the Underwriters within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act (each referred to in this Section 10 as an "Indemnified Party" ) from and against all liabilities, claims, losses (other than loss of profits in connection with the distribution of the Offered Shares), actions, suits, proceedings, charges, reasonable costs, damages and reasonable expenses which an Underwriter Indemnified Party suffers or incurs or is subject to, including all amounts paid to settle actions or satisfy judgments or awards and all reasonable legal fees and expenses that may be incurred in advising with respect to investigating or defending any Claim, in any way caused by, or arising directly or indirectly from, or in consequence of:


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(a)   any information or statement contained in the Registration Statement, the Prospectuses, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus or any Supplementary Material related thereto, or in any certificate or other document of the Company or of any officer of the Company or any of its Material Subsidiaries delivered hereunder or pursuant hereto which contains or is alleged to contain a misrepresentation;

(b)   any omission or alleged omission to state in the Registration Statement, the Prospectuses, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any marketing materials or any Supplementary Material related thereto, or any certificate or other document of the Company or any officer of the Company or any of the Material Subsidiaries delivered hereunder or pursuant hereto any material fact, required to be stated therein or necessary to make any statement therein not misleading in light of the circumstances under which it was made;

(c)   any order made or any inquiry, investigation or proceedings commenced or threatened by any securities commission, stock exchange or other Governmental Authority based upon any actual or alleged untrue statement, omission or misrepresentation in the Prospectuses, the Registration Statement, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any marketing materials or any Supplementary Material or based upon any actual or alleged failure to comply with Canadian Securities Laws or U.S. Securities Laws, preventing or restricting the trading in of the Firm Shares or Additional Shares or the distribution of the Offered Shares or any other securities of the Company;

(d)   the non-compliance or alleged non-compliance by the Company with any requirement of Canadian Securities Laws or U.S. Securities laws in any of the Qualifying Jurisdictions or in the United States or any state therein in connection with the transactions herein contemplated including the Company's non-compliance or alleged non-compliance with any statutory requirement to make any document available for inspection; or

(e)   any breach of any representation or warranty of the Company contained herein or in any certificate or other document of the Company or of any officers of the Company or any of the Material Subsidiaries delivered hereunder or pursuant hereto or the failure of the Company to comply with any of its obligations hereunder,

provided, however, that the foregoing indemnity (i) shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made solely in reliance upon and in conformity with written information relating to the Underwriters furnished to the Company by the Underwriters expressly for use in the Prospectus Supplements or Time of Sale Prospectus, or any such amendment or supplement thereto, or any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, and (ii) shall cease to apply if and to the extent that a court of competent jurisdiction in a final judgment from which no appeal can be made or a Governmental Authority in a final ruling from which no appeal can be made determines that any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense resulted primarily and directly from the gross negligence or willful misconduct of the Indemnified Party claiming indemnity. For greater certainty, the Company and the Underwriters agree that they do not intend that any failure by the Underwriters to conduct such reasonable investigation as necessary to provide the Underwriters with reasonable grounds for believing the applicable document contained no misrepresentation shall constitute "gross negligence" or "willful misconduct" for purposes of this Section 10 or otherwise disentitle the Underwriters from indemnification hereunder,


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(2)   If any matter or thing contemplated by this Section 10 (any such matter or thing being hereinafter referred to as a "Claim" ) is asserted against an Indemnified Party, the Indemnified Party shall notify the Indemnifying Party as soon as practicable, of such Claim to the extent allowable by Applicable Law (provided, however, that failure to provide such notice shall not affect the Indemnified Party's right to indemnification hereunder, except (and only) to the extent of material prejudice (through the forfeiture of substantive rights and defenses) to the Indemnifying Party therefrom) and the Indemnifying Party shall be entitled (but not required) to assume the defence of any suit, action or proceeding brought to enforce such Claim; provided, however, that the defence shall be conducted through legal counsel acceptable to the Indemnified Party and that no admission of liability or settlement of any such Claim may be made by the Indemnifying Party or the Indemnified Party without the prior written consent of the other.

(3)   In any such Claim, the Indemnified Party shall have the right to retain separate counsel to act on its behalf provided that the fees and disbursements of such counsel shall be paid by the Indemnified Party unless:

(a)   the Indemnifying Party fails to assume the defence of such Claim on behalf of the Indemnified Party within five (5) business days of receiving detailed notice thereof or, having assumed such defence, has failed to engage counsel promptly or who is acceptable to the Indemnified Parties, or has failed to pursue it diligently;

(b)   the Indemnifying Party and the Indemnified Party shall have mutually agreed to the retention of the other counsel; or

(c)   the named parties to the Claim (including any added, third parties or interpleaded parties) include the Indemnifying Party, and the Indemnifying Parties has been advised by counsel (including internal counsel) that there are legal defences available to such Indemnified Party that are different or in addition to those available to the Indemnifying Party, that representation of the Indemnified Party by counsel for the Indemnifying Party is inappropriate as a result of the potential or actual conflicting interests of those represented, or where in such Indemnified Party's reasonable judgment, the Claim gives rise to a conflict of interest between the Indemnifying Party and such Indemnified Party;

in each of cases Section 10(3)(a), Section 10(3)(b) and Section 10(3)(c), the Indemnifying Party will not have the right to assume the defence of the suit on behalf of such Indemnified Party, but the Indemnifying Party will be liable to pay the fees and expenses of separate counsel for all Indemnified Parties and, in addition, of local counsel in each applicable jurisdiction. Notwithstanding the foregoing, no settlement may be made by an Indemnified Party without the prior written consent of the Indemnifying Party, which consent will not be unreasonably withheld, conditioned or delayed.


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Section 11   Contribution

(1)   In order to provide for a just and equitable contribution in circumstances in which the indemnity provided in Section 10(1) would otherwise be available in accordance with its terms but is, for any reason, held to be unavailable to or unenforceable by the Indemnified Party or enforceable otherwise than in accordance with its terms or is insufficient to hold the Indemnified Party harmless, the Indemnifying Party shall contribute to the aggregate of all claims, expenses, costs and liabilities and all losses (other than loss of profits in connection with the distribution of the Offered Shares) of the nature contemplated in this Section 11 and suffered or incurred by the Indemnified Parties in such proportions as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other hand from the distribution of the Offered Shares as well as the relative fault of the parties in connection with the Claim or Claims which resulted in such claims, expenses, costs, damages, liabilities or losses, as well as any other equitable considerations determined by a court of competent jurisdiction; provided that: (i) no Underwriter shall in any event be liable to contribute, in the aggregate, any amount in excess of the aggregate fee or any portion thereof actually received by such Underwriter hereunder; and (ii) no party who has been determined by a court of competent jurisdiction in a final judgment that has become non-appealable to have engaged in any fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, wilful misconduct or gross negligence in connection with the Claim or Claims which resulted in such claims, expenses, costs, damages, liabilities or losses shall be entitled to claim contribution from any person who has not been so determined to have engaged in such fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation or gross negligence in connection with such Claim or Claims.

(2)   The rights of contribution and indemnity provided in this Section 11 shall be in addition to and not in derogation of any other right to contribution and indemnity which the Underwriters may have by statute or otherwise at law.

(3)   The Underwriters' obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 11 are several, and not joint, in proportion to their respective underwriting commitments as set forth opposite their respective names in Section 18 hereof.

(4)   In the event that any Company Indemnifying Party is held to be entitled to contribution from the Underwriters under the provisions of any Applicable Law, the Company Indemnifying Party shall be limited to contribution in an amount not exceeding the lesser of:

(a)   the portion of the full amount of the loss or liability giving rise to such contribution for which the Underwriters are responsible, as determined above; and


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(b)   the amount of the aggregate fee actually received by the Underwriters from the Indemnifying Party hereunder, provided that no individual Underwriter shall be required to contribute more than the fee actually received by such Underwriter.

(5)   If the Underwriters have reason to believe that a claim for contribution may arise, they shall give the Indemnifying Party notice thereof in writing, but failure to notify the Indemnifying Party shall not relieve the Indemnifying Party of any obligation which it may have to the Underwriters under this Section 11, except (and only) to the extent of material prejudice (through the forfeiture of substantive rights and defenses) to the Indemnifying Party therefrom.

(6)   With respect to Section 10 and this Section 11, the Company acknowledges and agrees that the Underwriters are contracting on their own behalf and as agents for their respective affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents, and each person, if any, controlling any Underwriter or any of its subsidiaries and each shareholder of any Underwriter. Accordingly, the Company hereby constitutes the Underwriters as agents for each person who is entitled to the covenants of the Company contained in Section 10 and this Section 11 and is not a party hereto and the Underwriters agree to accept such agents and to hold in trust for and to enforce such covenants on behalf of such persons. 

Section 12   Certain Covenants of the Company.

The Company further covenants and agrees with each Underwriter and CF US as follows:

(a)   Delivery of Registration Statement, Time of Sale Prospectus and Prospectuses . To the extent not available on EDGAR as it relates to the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the U.S. Prospectus and any supplements and amendments thereto, the Company shall furnish and deliver to the Underwriters, in such cities as the Underwriters may reasonably and lawfully request without charge, as soon as practicable after the Registration Statement becomes effective (as to the U.S. Prospectus) or after the filing thereof (as to the Canadian Prospectus), and during the period mentioned in Section 12(1)(e) or Section 12(1)(f) below, as many commercial copies, or originally signed versions, of the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Prospectuses and any supplements and amendments thereto or to the Registration Statement as CFCC on behalf of the Underwriters may reasonably request for the purposes contemplated by the Securities Act and the Canadian Securities Laws. As used herein, the term " Prospectus Delivery Period " means such period of time after the first date of the public offering of the Offered Shares and ending on the completion of the distribution of the offering of the Offered Shares, during which time a preliminary prospectus, preliminary prospectus supplement or a prospectus relating to the Offered Shares is required by applicable Canadian Securities Laws or U.S. Securities Laws to be delivered (or required to be delivered but for Rule 172 under the Securities Act) in connection with sales of the Offered Shares by any Underwriter or dealer.


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(b)   CFCC's Review of Proposed Amendments and Supplements . Prior to amending or supplementing the Registration Statement, the Time of Sale Prospectus, the Canadian Prospectus or the U.S. Prospectus (including any amendment or supplement through incorporation by reference of any document), the Company shall furnish to CFCC for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement, and the Company shall not file or use any such proposed amendment or supplement without CFCC's consent which shall not be unreasonably delayed, conditioned or withheld.

(c)   Free Writing Prospectuses . The Company shall furnish to CFCC for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a copy of each proposed free writing prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto to be prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company and the Company shall not file, use or refer to any proposed free writing prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto without CFCC's consent which shall not be unreasonably delayed, conditioned or withheld. The Company shall furnish to each Underwriter, without charge, as many copies of any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, or used by, the Company as such Underwriter may reasonably request. If during the Prospectus Delivery Period there occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of, used by, or referred to by the Company conflicted or would conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or, omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company shall promptly amend or supplement such free writing prospectus to eliminate or correct such conflict or so that the statements in such free writing prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or, omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances prevailing at such subsequent time, not misleading, as the case may be; provided, however, that prior to amending or supplementing any such free writing prospectus, the Company shall furnish to CFCC for review, a reasonable amount of time prior to the proposed time of filing or use thereof, a copy of such proposed amended or supplemented free writing prospectus and the Company shall not file, use or refer to any such amended or supplemented free writing prospectus without CFCC's consent which shall not be unreasonably delayed conditioned or withheld.

(d)   Filing of Underwriter Free Writing Prospectuses . The Company shall not take any action that would result in an Underwriter or the Company being required to file with the SEC pursuant to Rule 433(d) under the Securities Act a free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of the Underwriter that the Underwriter otherwise would not have been required to file thereunder.


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(e)   Amendments and Supplements to Time of Sale Prospectus . If any time prior to the Closing Date any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which the Time of Sale Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when delivered to a prospective purchaser, not misleading, or if, in the reasonable opinion of counsel for the Company or Underwriters, it is necessary to amend or supplement the Time of Sale Prospectus to comply with Applicable Law, including the Securities Act, the Company shall (subject to Section 12(1)(b) and Section 12(1)(c)) forthwith prepare, file with the SEC and furnish, at its own expense, to the Underwriters and to any dealer upon request, either amendments or supplements to the Time of Sale Prospectus so that the statements in the Time of Sale Prospectus as so amended or supplemented will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when delivered to a prospective purchaser, not misleading, or so that the Time of Sale Prospectus, as amended or supplemented, will comply with Applicable Law including the Securities Act and the Canadian Securities Laws.

(f)   Securities Act Compliance . The Company will prepare the Canadian Prospectus Supplement and the U.S. Prospectus Supplement in a form approved by CFCC and (i) will file the Canadian Prospectus Supplement with the Principal Regulator in accordance with the Shelf Procedures as soon as practicably possible, and in any event, not later than 5:00 p.m. (Vancouver Time) on August 9, 2019 and (ii) will file the U.S. Prospectus Supplement with the SEC not later than the SEC's close of business on the first business day following the day on which the filing of the Canadian Prospectus Supplement is made with the Principal Regulator. After the date of this Agreement, the Company shall promptly advise CFCC in writing (i) of the receipt of any comments of, or requests for additional or supplemental information or other communication from, any Canadian Commission or the SEC with respect to the Canadian Prospectus or the Registration Statement, (ii) of any request by any Canadian Commission to amend or supplement the Canadian Prospectus or for additional information or of any request by the SEC to amend the Registration Statement or to amend or supplement the U.S. Prospectus or for additional information, (iii) of the time and date of any filing of any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Time of Sale Prospectus, any free writing prospectus or the Prospectuses, (iv) of the time and date that any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement becomes effective, (v) of the issuance by the SEC or any Canadian Commission, as applicable, of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement, the U.S. Prospectus or the Canadian Prospectus or any post-effective amendment thereto or any order directed at any document incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the U.S. Prospectus or the Canadian Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto or any order preventing or suspending the use of the Preliminary Prospectus, the Time of Sale Prospectus, any free writing prospectus, any marketing materials, the U.S. Prospectus or the Canadian Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto or any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement, or the suspension of the qualification of the Offered Shares for sale in any jurisdiction, or of any proceedings to remove, suspend or terminate from listing or quotation the Common Shares from the TSX or NYSE American, or of the threatening or initiation of any proceedings for any of such purposes, and (vi) of the issuance by any Governmental Authority of any order having the effect of ceasing or suspending the distribution of the Offered Shares, or of the institution or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatening of any proceedings for any such purpose. If the SEC or any Canadian Commission shall enter any such stop order at any time, the Company will use best efforts to obtain the lifting of such order at the earliest possible moment.


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(g)   Amendments and Supplements to the Prospectuses and Other Securities Act Matters . The Company will comply with the U.S. Securities Laws and the Canadian Securities Laws so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Offered Shares during the Prospectus Delivery Period as contemplated in this Agreement and the Prospectuses. If any event shall occur or condition exist as a result of which it is necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectuses so that the Prospectuses do not include a misrepresentation or an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when the U.S. Prospectus or the Canadian Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not misleading, or if during the Prospectus Delivery Period in the reasonable opinion of the Company, CFCC or counsel for the Company or Underwriters it is otherwise necessary to amend or supplement the Prospectuses to comply with U.S. Securities Laws or Canadian Securities Laws, the Company agrees (subject to Section 12(1)(b) and Section 12(1)(c)) to promptly prepare, file with the SEC and the Canadian Commissions and furnish at its own expense to the Underwriters and to dealers, amendments or supplements to the Prospectuses so that the statements in the Prospectuses as so amended or supplemented will not include a misrepresentation or an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances when the U.S. Prospectus or the Canadian Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, not be misleading or so that the Prospectuses, as amended or supplemented, will comply with the U.S. Securities Laws and the Canadian Securities Laws, as applicable. Neither CFCC's consent to, nor delivery of, any such amendment or supplement shall constitute a waiver of any of the Company's obligations under Section 12(1)(b) or Section 12(1)(c).

(h)   Lock-Up Agreements . The Company shall use its commercially reasonable efforts to cause each of the Company's directors and officers to execute and deliver to CFCC a lock-up agreement in the form of Schedule "E" hereto on or before the Closing Date. 


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(i)   Stock Exchange Listing.  The Company shall use its best efforts to obtain the conditional listing of the Offered Shares on the TSX by the Closing Time, subject only to the official notice of issuance, and the Company will use its best efforts to have the Offered Shares listed and admitted and authorized for trading on the NYSE American by the Closing Time. 

(j)   Blue Sky Compliance . The Company shall cooperate with CFCC and counsel for the Underwriters to qualify or register the Offered Shares for sale under (or obtain exemptions from the application of) U.S. Securities Laws, Canadian Securities Laws, or other foreign laws of jurisdictions designated by CFCC, shall comply with such laws and shall continue such qualifications, registrations and exemptions in effect so long as required for the distribution of the Offered Shares. The Company shall not be required to qualify as a foreign corporation or to take any action that would subject it to general service of process in any jurisdiction in which it is not presently qualified or where it would be subject to taxation as a foreign corporation (except service of process with respect to the offering and sale of the Offered Shares). The Company will advise CFCC promptly of the suspension of the qualification or registration of (or any exemption relating to) the Offered Shares for offering, sale or trading in any jurisdiction or any initiation or threat of any proceeding for any such purpose, and in the event of the issuance of any order suspending such qualification, registration or exemption, the Company shall use its best efforts to obtain the withdrawal thereof at the earliest possible moment.

(k)   Use of Proceeds . The Company shall apply the net proceeds from the sale of the Firm Shares and the Additional Shares sold by it in the manner described under the caption " Use of Proceeds " in the Time of Sale Prospectus.

(l)   Transfer Agent . The Company shall engage and maintain, at its expense, a registrar and transfer agent for the Firm Shares and the Additional Shares.

(m)   Earnings Statement. As soon as practicable, but in any event no later than 18 months after the date of this Agreement, the Company will make generally available to its security holders and to CFCC an earnings statement (which need not be audited) covering a period of at least 12 months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Company commencing after the date of this Agreement which shall satisfy the provisions of Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations of the SEC thereunder.

(n)   Periodic Reporting Obligations . During the period when the U.S. Prospectus is required to be delivered under the Securities Act, the Company shall file, on a timely basis, with the SEC and NYSE American all reports and documents required to be filed under the Exchange Act.


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(o)   Agreement Not to Issue, Offer or Sell Additional Shares . Except as contemplated by this Agreement, the Company will not, without the prior written consent of CFCC (not to be unreasonably withheld) on behalf of the Underwriters, directly or indirectly issue, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer, lend or dispose of directly or indirectly, any Common Shares or securities or other financial instruments convertible into or having the right to acquire Common Shares or enter into any agreement or arrangement under which the Company would acquire or transfer to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of Common Shares, whether that agreement or arrangement may be settled by the delivery of Common Shares or other securities or cash, or agree to become bound to do so, or disclose to the public any intention to do so, during the period from the date hereof and ending 90 days following the Closing Date; provided that, notwithstanding the foregoing, the Company may (i) grant of options or other securities (including restricted stock units and deferred stock units) in the normal course pursuant to the Company's employee stock option plan or other equity compensation plans, and issue common shares upon the exercise of such options or vesting of such securities, (ii) issue equity securities pursuant to the exercise or conversion, as the case may be, of any warrants, special warrants or other convertible securities of the Company outstanding on the date hereof, (iii) issue Common Shares pursuant to the Concurrent Private Placement; and (iv) issue Common Shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of Common Shares, as consideration for mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations, strategic alliances or strategic investments occurring after the date of the date hereof which are not issued for capital raising purposes; provided, however that for clause (v) above, no more than 19.9% of the currently issued and outstanding Common Shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of Common Shares may be issued in the aggregate, and any Common Shares or securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of Common Shares issued must have an issue price that is no less than the Offering Price. In addition from the date hereof and ending 90 days following the Closing Date, the Company shall not file a prospectus under Canadian Securities Laws or a registration statement under the Securities Act in connection with any transaction by the Company or any person that is prohibited pursuant to the foregoing, except as pursuant to the Offering and for registration statements on Form S-8 relating to employee benefit plans.

(p)   Investment Limitation . The Company shall not invest or otherwise use the proceeds received by the Company from its sale of the Offered Shares in such a manner as would require the Company or any of its Material Subsidiaries to register as an investment company under the Investment Company Act.

(q)   No Stabilization or Manipulation ; Compliance with Regulation M . The Company will not take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to or that might be reasonably expected to cause or result in stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Common Shares or any other reference security, whether to facilitate the sale or resale of the Offered Shares or otherwise, and the Company will, and shall cause each of its affiliates to, comply with all applicable provisions of Regulation M. If the limitations of Rule 102 of Regulation M (" Rule 102 ") do not apply with respect to the Offered Shares or any other reference security pursuant to any exception set forth in Section (d) of Rule 102, then promptly upon notice from CFCC (or, if later, at the time stated in the notice), the Company will, and shall cause each of its affiliates to, comply with Rule 102 as though such exception were not available but the other provisions of Rule 102 (as interpreted by the SEC) did apply.


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(r)   Press Releases/Announcements . Prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall not, without CFCC's prior written consent, which shall not be unreasonably delayed, conditioned or withheld, issue any press releases or other communications directly or indirectly and shall not hold any press conferences with respect to the Company or any Material Subsidiaries, the financial condition, results of operations, business, properties, assets, or liabilities of the Company or any Material Subsidiaries, or with respect to the offering of the Offered Shares. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing contained in this subsection shall prevent the Company from issuing a press release forthwith in the event that the Company's counsel advises that it is necessary in order to comply with Applicable Law or the rules or requirements of the TSX or NYSE American, or from issuing a press release or holding an analyst call in the normal course in connection with the release of financial results.

CFCC, on behalf of the Underwriters, may, in their sole discretion, waive in writing the performance by the Company of any one or more of the foregoing covenants or extend the time for their performance.

Section 13   All Terms to be Conditions

The Company agrees that the conditions contained in this Agreement will be complied with insofar as the same relate to acts to be performed or caused to be performed by the Company.  Any breach or failure to comply with any of the conditions set out in this Agreement shall entitle any of the Underwriters to terminate their obligation to purchase the Offered Shares, by written notice to that effect given to the Company at or prior to the Closing Time or the Option Closing Time, as applicable. It is understood that the Underwriters may waive, in whole or in part, or extend the time for compliance with, any of such terms and conditions without prejudice to the rights of the Underwriters in respect of any such terms and conditions or any other or subsequent breach or non-compliance, provided that to be binding on any Underwriter any such waiver or extension must be in writing and signed by such Underwriter.


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Section 14   Termination of this Agreement.

(1)   Each Underwriter shall also be entitled to terminate its obligation to purchase the Offered Shares by written notice to that effect to the Company at or prior to the Closing Time or the Option Closing Time, as applicable, if:

(a)   there should occur any material change (actual, anticipated, contemplated or threatened, financial or otherwise) in the business, affairs, operations, assets, liabilities (contingent or otherwise), capital or control of the Company or a change in any material fact (other than a material fact related solely to any of the Underwriters as provided by the Underwriters in connection with and solely for the purposes of inclusion in any Applicable Prospectus), or the Underwriters become aware of any undisclosed material information (other than information related solely to any of the Underwriters as provided by the Underwriters in connection with and solely for the purposes of inclusion in any Applicable Prospectus), which in the opinion of an Underwriter, acting reasonably, could be expected to have a significant adverse effect on the market price or value of the Offered Shares; or

(b)   there should develop, occur or come into effect or existence, or be announced, any event, action, state, condition or major financial occurrence, catastrophe, accident, natural disaster, public protest, war or act of terrorism of national or international consequence or any new law or regulation or a change thereof or other occurrence of any nature whatsoever which, in the opinion of an Underwriter, acting reasonably, seriously adversely effects, or involves, or is expected to seriously adversely effect, or involve, financial markets in Canada or the United States generally or the business, operations, assets, liabilities (contingent or otherwise), capital or control of the Company; or

(c)   there should occur or commence or be announced or threatened any inquiry, action, suit, investigation or other proceeding (whether formal or informal) or any order or ruling is issued under or pursuant to any statute of Canada or the United States or of any province or territory of Canada, or state of the United States (including, without limitation, the Commission, the Canadian Commissions, the TSX, NYSE American or the SEC) (other than any such inquiry, action, suit, investigation or other proceeding or order relating solely to any of the Underwriters), which in the reasonable opinion of an Underwriter would be expected to operate to prevent or materially restrict trading in or distribution of the Offered Shares or would have a significant adverse effect on the market price or value of the Offered Shares; or

(d)   the Company is in breach of any term, condition or covenant of this Agreement or any representation or warranty given by the Company in this Agreement becomes false in any material respect.

(2)   If this Agreement is terminated by any of the Underwriters pursuant to Section 14(1), there shall be no further liability on the part of such Underwriter or of the Company to such Underwriter, except in respect of any liability which may have arisen or may thereafter arise under Section 10, Section 11 and Section 16.


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(3)   The right of the Underwriters or any of them to terminate their respective obligations under this Agreement is in addition to such other remedies as they may have in respect of any default, act or failure to act of the Company in respect of any of the matters contemplated by this Agreement. A notice of termination given by one Underwriter under this Section 14 shall not be binding upon the other Underwriters.

Section 15   Conditions of Closing and Option Closing

(1)   The obligations of the Underwriters under this Agreement are subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement both as of the date of this Agreement, the Closing Time and the Option Closing Time, the performance by the Company of its obligations under this Agreement and receipt by the Underwriters, at the Closing Time or Option Closing Time, as applicable, of:

(a)   a favourable legal opinion, dated the Closing Date and Option Closing Date, as applicable, from McMillan LLP, in its capacity as the Company's Canadian counsel, as to matters of Canadian federal and provincial law (who may rely on the opinions of local counsel acceptable to them and to the Underwriters' counsel as to matters governed by the laws of jurisdictions in Canada other than the Provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta and Québec), addressed to the Underwriters and the Underwriters' counsel, such matters to be as set out in the attached Schedule "B" subject to customary limitations, assumptions and qualifications;

(b)   a favourable legal opinion, dated the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, as applicable, from McMillan LLP, in its capacity as the Company's U.S. counsel, addressed to the Underwriters, to the effect set forth in Schedule "C" (subject to customary limitations, assumptions and qualifications), which shall be accompanied by a letter addressed to the Underwriters to the effect set forth in Schedule "C";

(c)   a favourable legal opinion, dated the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, as applicable, from Duane Morris LLP, in its capacity as the Company's U.S. tax counsel, addressed to the Underwriters, to the effect set forth in Schedule "D" (subject to customary limitations, assumptions and qualifications);

(d)   a letter, dated the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, as applicable, from Cooley LLP, the Underwriters' U.S. counsel, addressed to the Underwriters, to the effect that such counsel has participated in the preparation of the Registration Statement and the U.S. Prospectus (excluding the Documents Incorporated by Reference) and, subject to customary qualifications, confirming that, although such counsel has not undertaken to investigate or verify independently, and does not assume responsibility for, the accuracy or completeness of the statements contained in any of them, based upon such participation (and relying as to factual matters to the extent such counsel deems reasonable on officers, employees and other representatives of the Company), no facts have come to such counsel's attention which have caused such counsel to believe that the Registration Statement, at the time it became effective, contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or that the U.S. Prospectus, as of its date and as of the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, as applicable, contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading (in each case, other than the financial statements and other financial and statistical information, included or incorporated by reference therein, as to which such counsel expresses no belief);


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(e)   a favourable legal opinion, dated the Closing Date and Option Closing Date, as applicable, from the Company's counsel, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters, regarding the Material Subsidiaries, with respect to the following: (i) the incorporation and existence of each Material Subsidiary under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation, (ii) as to the registered ownership of the issued and outstanding shares of each Material Subsidiary, and (iii) that each Material Subsidiary has all requisite corporate power under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation to carry on its business as presently carried on and own its properties;

(f)   a favourable legal opinion, dated the Closing Date and Option Closing Date, as applicable, in form and substance satisfactory to the Underwriters, from Alaskan local counsel to the Company as to title matters in respect of the Material Property;

(g)   certificates or evidence of registration representing, in the aggregate, the Firm Shares (and Additional Shares, if applicable) in the name of CDS or its nominee or in such other name(s) as CFCC on behalf of the Underwriters shall have directed;

(h)   from Deloitte LLP, independent public or certified public accountants for the Company, (i) "long-form comfort letters" dated, respectively, the date of the Prospectus Supplements, and addressed to the Underwriters and CF US and the board of directors of the Company, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to CFCC, containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountant's " comfort letters " to underwriters which letters shall cover with respect to the Financial Statements, including without limitation, certain financial and accounting disclosures contained or incorporated by reference in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectuses, the Prospectuses and the Prospectus Supplements, and (ii) confirmation that they are independent public, certified public or chartered accountants as required by the Securities Act;


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(i)   on the Closing Date, a letter from Deloitte LLP, independent public or certified public accountants for the Company, dated such date, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to CFCC, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letters furnished by them pursuant to Section 15(1)(h), except that the specified date referred to therein for the carrying out of procedures shall be no more than two (2) business days prior to the Closing Date;

(j)   the payment of the Underwriting Fee in accordance with the terms of this Agreement;

(k)   evidence satisfactory to CFCC that the Offered Shares shall have been (A) listed and admitted and authorized for trading on the NYSE American, and (B) conditionally approved for listing on the TSX, subject only to the official notice of issuance;

(l)   a certificate, dated the Closing Date and the Option Closing Date, as applicable, and signed on behalf of the Company, but without personal liability, by the President and Chief Executive Officer and by the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, or such other officers of the Company as may be reasonably acceptable to the Underwriters, certifying that: (i) the Company has complied with all covenants and satisfied all terms and conditions hereof to be complied with and satisfied by the Company at or prior to the Closing Time and the Option Closing Time, as applicable; (ii) all the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein are true and correct as of the Closing Time and the Option Closing Time, as applicable with the same force and effect as if made at and as of the Closing Time and the Option Closing Time, as applicable, after giving effect to the transactions contemplated hereby; (iii) the Company is a "reporting issuer" or its equivalent under the securities laws of each of the Qualifying Jurisdictions and eligible to use the Short Form Prospectus System under NI 44-101; (iv) there has been no material change relating to the Company and its Subsidiaries, on a consolidated basis, since the date hereof which has not been generally disclosed, except for the offering of the Offered Shares, and with respect to which the requisite material change statement or report has not been filed and no such disclosure has been made on a confidential basis; and (v) that, to the best of the knowledge, information and belief of the persons signing such certificate, after having made reasonable inquiries, no order, ruling or determination having the effect of ceasing or suspending trading in the Common Shares or any other securities of the Company has been issued and no proceedings for such purpose are pending or are contemplated or threatened;

(m)   at the Closing Time or Option Closing Time, as applicable, certificates dated the Closing Date or the Over-Allotment Option Closing Date, as applicable, signed on behalf of the Company, but without personal liability, by the Chief Executive Officer of the Company or another officer acceptable to the Underwriters, acting reasonably, in form and content satisfactory to the Underwriters, acting reasonably, with respect to the constating documents of the Company; the resolutions of the directors of the Company relevant to the Offering, including the allotment, issue (or reservation for issue) and sale of the Firm Shares and Additional Shares, the grant of the Over-Allotment Option, the authorization of this Agreement, the listing of the Firm Shares and the Additional Shares on the TSX and NYSE American and transactions contemplated by this Agreement; and the incumbency and signatures of signing officers of the Company;


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(n)   at the Closing Time, the Company's directors and officers shall each have entered into lock-up agreements, substantially in the form attached hereto as Schedule "E";

(o)   at the Closing Time or Option Closing Time, as applicable, a certificate of status (or equivalent) for the Company and each of the Material Subsidiaries dated within one (1) Business Day (or such earlier or later date as the Underwriters may accept) of the Closing Date;

(p)   evidence satisfactory to CFCC that FINRA shall not have raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and arrangements of the Offering; and

(q)   such other documents as the Underwriters or counsel to the Underwriters may reasonably require; and all proceedings taken by the Company in connection with the issuance and sale of the Offered Shares shall be satisfactory in form and substance to CFCC and counsel for the Underwriters, acting reasonably.

Section 16   Expenses

The Company will pay all expenses and fees in connection with the Offering, including, without limitation: (i) all expenses of or incidental to the creation, issue, sale or distribution of the Offered Shares and the filing of the Prospectus Supplements, marketing materials and any Supplementary Material; (ii) the fees and expenses of the Company's legal counsel; (iii) all costs incurred in connection with the preparation of documentation relating to the Offering; and (iv) all reasonable out-of-pocket expenses of the Underwriters and (v) all reasonable fees and disbursements of the Underwriters' legal counsel to a maximum of $125,000, plus applicable taxes and disbursements ((iv) and (v), collectively, the " Underwriters' Expenses "). All reasonable fees and expenses incurred by the Underwriters, or on their behalf, shall be payable by the Company immediately upon receiving an invoice therefor from the Underwriters and shall be payable whether or not an offering is completed.  At the option of CFCC, such fees and expenses may be deducted from the gross proceeds otherwise payable to the Company on the closing of the Offering.  Regardless of whether the transactions contemplated herein are completed or not, the Company will pay the Underwriters' Expenses, as described in this Section 16.


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Section 17   No Advisory or Fiduciary Relationship

The Company acknowledges and agrees that (a) the purchase and sale of the Offered Shares pursuant to this Agreement, including the determination of the Offering Price of the Offered Shares and any related discounts and commissions, is an arm's-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other hand, (b) in connection with the Offering and the process leading to such transaction each Underwriter is and has been acting solely as a principal and is not the agent or fiduciary of the Company or its shareholders, creditors, employees or any other party, (c) no Underwriter has assumed or will assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favour of the Company with respect to the Offering or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company on other matters) and no Underwriter has any obligation to the Company with respect to the Offering except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (d) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company, and (e) the Underwriters have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the Offering and the Company has consulted its own legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deems appropriate.

Section 18   Obligation to Purchase.

(1)   Subject to the terms of this Agreement, the Underwriters' obligations under this Agreement to purchase the Offered Shares shall be several and not joint and several and the liability of each of the Underwriters to purchase the Offered Shares shall be limited to the following percentages of the purchase price paid for the Offered Shares:

 

Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation

 

80.0%

BMO Nesbitt Burns Inc.

10.0%

H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC

5.0%

TD Securities Inc.

5.0%

 

100.0%

 

 

(2)   If any of the Underwriters fails to purchase its applicable percentage of the Offered Shares at the Closing Time or the Option Closing Time, as the case may be, (a " Defaulting Underwriter ") and the percentage of Offered Shares that have not been purchased by the Defaulting Underwriter represents 10% or less of the Offered Shares then the other Underwriters will be severally, and not jointly and severally, obligated to purchase, on a pro rata basis to their respective percentages as aforesaid, all but not less than all of the Offered Shares not purchased by the Defaulting Underwriter, and to receive the Defaulting Underwriter's portion of the Underwriting Fee in respect thereof, and such non-defaulting Underwriters shall have the right, by notice to the Company, to postpone the Closing Date or Option Closing Date, as the case may be, by not more than three Business Days to effect such purchase.  In the event that the percentage of Offered Shares that have not been purchased by a Defaulting Underwriter represents more than 10% of the aggregate Offered Shares, the other Underwriters will have the right, but will not be obligated, to purchase all of the percentage of the Offered Shares which would otherwise have been purchased by the Defaulting Underwriter; the Underwriters exercising such right will purchase such Offered Shares, if applicable, pro rata to their respective percentages aforesaid or in such other proportions as they may otherwise agree. In the event that such right is not exercised, the non-defaulting Underwriters shall be relieved of all obligations to the Company arising from such default. Nothing in this section shall oblige the Company to sell to the Underwriters less than all of the Offered Shares or relieve from liability to the Company any Underwriter which shall be so in default.


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Section 19   Survival

The representations, warranties, obligations and agreements of the Company and of the Underwriters contained herein or delivered pursuant to this Agreement shall survive the purchase by the Underwriters of the Offered Shares and shall continue in full force and effect notwithstanding any subsequent disposition by the Underwriters of the Offered Shares and the Underwriters shall be entitled to rely on the representations and warranties of the Company contained in or delivered pursuant to this Agreement notwithstanding any investigation which the Underwriters may undertake or which may be undertaken on the Underwriters' behalf.

Section 20   Notices.

Any notice to be given hereunder shall be in writing and may be given by facsimile or by hand delivery and shall, in the case of notice to the Company, be addressed and faxed or delivered to:

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.

15th Floor - 1040 West Georgia Street

Vancouver, BC V6E 4H1

Attention:   Ronald W. Thiessen
Facsimile:   (604) 684-8092

with a copy to (such copy not to constitute notice):

McMillan LLP

Royal Centre, 1055 W. Georgia Street, Suite 1500

PO Box 11117

Vancouver, BC V6E 4N7

Attention:   Michael Taylor

Facsimile:   (604) 685-7084

and in the case of the Underwriters and CF US, c/o CFCC, addressed and faxed or delivered to:


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Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation

181 University Avenue, Suite 1500

Toronto, Ontario M5H 3M7  

Attention:   Graham Moylan

Facsimile:   (416) 350-2985

and

Cantor Fitzgerald & Co.

110 East 59 th Street

New York, NY 10022

Attention:   Legal Department 

Facsimile:   (212) 829-4708

with a copy to (such copy not to constitute notice):

Stikeman Elliott LLP
5300 Commerce Court West
199 Bay Street
Toronto, Ontario M5L 1B9

Attention:   Ivan Grbesic
Facsimile:    (416) 947-0866

and

Cooley LLP

1114 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10036

Attention:   Daniel I. Goldberg, Esq.

Facsimile:   (212) 479-6275

The Company and the Underwriters may change their respective addresses for notice by notice given in the manner referred to above.

Section 21   Actions on Behalf of the Underwriters.

All steps which must or may be taken by the Underwriters in connection with this Underwriting Agreement, with the exception of the matters contemplated by Section 10, Section 13 and Section 14, shall be taken by CFCC on the Underwriters' behalf and the execution of the Agreement by the Underwriters shall constitute the Company's authority for accepting notification of any such steps from, and for giving notice to, and for delivering any definitive certificate(s) representing the Offered Shares to, or to the order of, CFCC.


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Section 22   Market Stabilization

In connection with the distribution of the Offered Shares, the Underwriters (or any of them) may effect transactions which stabilize or maintain the market price of the Common Shares at levels other than those which might otherwise prevail in the open market, but in each case as permitted by Applicable Securities Laws. Such stabilizing transactions, if any, may be discontinued by the Underwriters at any time.

Section 23   TMX Group

TD Securities Inc. or affiliates thereof, owns or controls an equity interest in TMX Group Limited (" TMX Group ") and TD Securities Inc. has a nominee director serving on the TMX Group's board of directors. As such, such investment dealers may be considered to have an economic interest in the listing of securities on any exchange owned or operated by TMX Group, including the TSX, the TSX Venture Exchange and the Alpha Exchange. No person or company is required to obtain products or services from TMX Group or its affiliates as a condition of any such dealer supplying or continuing to supply a product or service.

Section 24   Entire Agreement

Any and all previous agreements with respect to the purchase and sale of the Offered Shares, whether written or oral, are terminated and this Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the Company and the Underwriters with respect to the purchase and sale of the Offered Shares.

Section 25   Governing Law

This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws in force in the Province of British Columbia and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein.

Section 26   Time of the Essence

Time shall be of the essence of this Agreement. This Agreement may be executed in counterparts, each of which when so executed shall be deemed to be an original and such counterparts together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

[ Remainder of page intentionally blank. Signature page follows . ]


If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding and is agreed to by you, will you please confirm your acceptance by signing the enclosed copies of this letter at the place indicated and returning the same to us.

Yours very truly,

 

 

CANTOR FITZGERALD CANADA CORPORATION

By:

(Signed ) Christopher Craib

 

Name:   Christopher Craib

 

Title:   President and Chief
  Executive Officer


 

 

BMO NESBITT BURNS INC.

By:

(Signed) Jamie Rogers

 

Name:   Jamie Rogers

 

Title:   Manager Director


 

 

H.C. WAINWRIGHT & CO., LLC

By:

(Signed) Edward D. Silvera

 

Name:   Edward D. Silvera

 

Title:   Chief Operating Officer


 

 

TD SECURITIES INC.

By:

(Signed) Edward J. McGurk

 

Name:   Edward J. McGurk

 

Title:   Managing Director



Acknowledged by CF US solely for the purpose of receiving the benefit of Section 8 of this Agreement. 

 

 

CANTOR FITZGERALD & CO.

By:

(Signed) Sage Kelly

 

Name:   Sage Kelly

 

Title:   Head of Investment Banking



The foregoing is in accordance with our understanding and is accepted by us.

 

 

 

NORTHERN DYNASTY MINERALS LTD.

By:

(Signed) Ronald W. Thiessen

 

Name:   Ronald W. Thiessen

 

Title:   President and Chief
  Executive Officer



SCHEDULE "A"
MATERIAL SUBSIDIARIES

Name

Jurisdiction of Incorporation

3537137 Canada Inc.

Canada

Pebble Mines Corp.

Delaware

Pebble West Claims Corporation

Alaska

Pebble East Claims Corporation

Alaska

Northern Dynasty Partnership

Alaska

Pebble Limited Partnership

Alaska

Pebble Services Inc.

Nevada



SCHEDULE "B"
MATTERS TO BE ADDRESSED IN THE COMPANY'S CANADIAN COUNSEL OPINION

(a)   the Company is a "reporting issuer", or its equivalent, in each of the Qualifying Jurisdictions and it is not listed as in default of any requirement of the Applicable Securities Laws in any of the Qualifying Jurisdictions;

(b)   the Company is a corporation amalgamated and validly existing under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia);

(c)   the Company has all necessary corporate power and capacity to carry on its business as now conducted and to own, lease and operate its property and assets and the Company has the requisite corporate power and capacity to execute and deliver this Agreement and to carry out the transactions contemplated hereby;

(d)   the Company has all necessary corporate power and capacity: (i) to issue and sell the Firm Shares and the Additional Shares; and (ii) to grant the Over-Allotment Option;

(e)   the authorized and issued capital of the Company;

(f)   the statements in the Registration Statement under "Part II - Information Not Required to be Delivered to Offerees or Purchasers - Indemnification" insofar as such statements summarize legal matters or documents discussed therein, are fair summaries of such legal matters or documents in all material respects.

(g)   the attributes attaching to the Offered Shares are consistent and conform with the description under "Description of the Securities Being Distributed" in the Canadian Prospectus Supplement;

(h)   all necessary corporate action having been taken by Company to authorize the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder and to authorize the issuance, sale and delivery of the Firm Shares and Additional Shares and the grant of the Over-Allotment Option;

(i)   the Offered Shares have been and, upon exercise of the Over-Allotment Option in accordance with its terms, the Additional Shares will be duly allotted and validly issued as fully-paid and non-assessable Common Shares in the capital of the Company upon full payment therefor and the issue thereof;

(j)   the form and terms of the definitive certificate representing the Common Shares have been approved by the directors of the Company and comply in all material respects with the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia), the articles of the Company and the rules, policies and by-laws of the TSX;

(k)   if applicable, the delivery of the Offered Shares in electronic form does not conflict with the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) or the articles of the Company and the rules, policies and by-laws of the TSX;


(l)   all necessary corporate action has been taken by the Company to authorize the execution and delivery of each of the Canadian Prospectus Supplement, any Supplementary Material and any Marketing Documents and the filing thereof with the Commissions;

(m)   this Agreement has been duly executed and delivered by the Company and constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, subject to customary limitations and qualifications including, but not limited to, bankruptcy, insolvency and other laws affecting the rights of creditors generally and subject to the qualification that equitable remedies may be granted in the discretion of a court of competent jurisdiction and that enforcement of rights to indemnity, contribution and waiver of contribution set out in this Agreement may be limited by applicable law;

(n)   the execution and delivery of this Agreement and the fulfillment of the terms thereof by the Company, the offering, issuance, sale and delivery of the Firm Shares and the Additional Shares, and the grant of the Over-Allotment Option do not and will not conflict with any of the terms, conditions or provisions of the articles of the Company, any resolutions of the shareholders or directors (or any committee thereof) of the Company or any applicable corporate or securities laws of British Columbia or federal laws applicable therein;

(o)   Computershare Investor Services Inc. is the duly appointed registrar and transfer agent for the Common Shares of the Company and Computershare Trust Company, N.A. is the duly appointed co transfer agent for the Common Shares in the United States;

(p)   all necessary documents have been filed, all requisite proceedings have been taken and all approvals, permits and consents of the appropriate regulatory authority in each Qualifying Jurisdiction have been obtained to qualify the distribution of the Offered Shares in each of the Qualifying Jurisdictions through persons who are registered under Applicable Securities Laws and who have complied with the relevant provisions of such applicable laws;

(q)   subject only to the Standard Listing Conditions, the Offered Shares have been conditionally listed or approved for listing on the TSX; and

(r)   as to the accuracy of the statements under the headings "Eligibility For Investment" and "Certain Canadian Federal Income Tax Considerations" in the Canadian Prospectus Supplement.


SCHEDULE "C"
FORM OF OPINION TO BE PROVIDED BY COMPANY'S U.S. COUNSEL

1.   Neither the execution and delivery by the Company of the Underwriting Agreement nor the consummation by the Company of the issuance and sale of the Offered Shares contemplated thereby (i) violates or will result in the breach of any U.S. Securities Laws, or (ii) requires the consent, approval, order or authorization of, or any filing, qualification or registration with, any governmental authority under any U.S. Securities Laws, except for those consents, approvals, licenses and authorizations already obtained and those filings, recordings and registrations already made.

2.   The Company is not currently, and solely after giving effect to the offering and sale of the Offered Shares and the application of the proceeds thereof as described in the U.S. Final Base Prospectus will not be, required to register as an "investment company" as such term is defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.

3.   To our knowledge, no person has the right to require registration of any common shares or any other securities of the Company under the Securities Act resulting from the filing or effectiveness of the Registration Statement or otherwise.

Such counsel shall also state in a separate letter as follows:

Pursuant to Rule 467(b) under the Securities Act, the Registration Statement became effective upon the filing of [] thereto with the SEC on ______, 2019.  To our knowledge, based solely upon our review of the SEC's website, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued.  According to the SEC's EDGAR database, the Form F-X was filed with the SEC prior to the effectiveness of the Registration Statement.

On the basis of the customary assumptions and qualifications set forth in the letter,

(i)   the Registration Statement, as of its most recent effective date, and the U.S. Prospectus, as of its date, appeared on their face to be appropriately responsive in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder (except that in each case we do not express any view as to the financial statements, schedules and other financial information included or incorporated by reference therein or excluded therefrom),

(ii)   the Form F-X, as of its date, appeared on its face to be appropriately responsive in all material respects to the requirements of the Securities Act and the rules and regulations thereunder applicable to such form, and


(iii)   no facts have come to our attention that have caused us to believe that the Registration Statement, as of its most recent effective date, contained an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, or that the U.S. Prospectus, as of its date and as of the date hereof, contained or contains an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or omits to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading (except that in each case we do not express any view as to the financial statements, schedules and other financial and statistical information included or incorporated by reference therein or excluded therefrom, the report of management's assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, information derived from the reports or attributed to (x) the persons named in the U.S. Prospectus under the heading "Interests of Experts", included or incorporated by reference therein, and (y) the Company's independent engineering and technical experts, information include in or derived from the reports of the independent registered public accounting firms incorporated by reference into the U.S. Prospectus, or the statements contained in the exhibits to the Registration Statement (other than the statements contained in the Incorporated Documents (as defined in the letter), which Incorporated Documents are themselves required to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement pursuant to paragraph (4) of Part II of Form F-10 under the Securities Act and the MJDS (as defined in the letter))).


SCHEDULE "D"
FORM OF OPINION TO BE PROVIDED BY COMPANY'S U.S. TAX COUNSEL

1.   Although the discussion set forth in the U.S. Prospectus Supplement under the heading "Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations" does not purport to discuss all possible United States federal income tax considerations relevant to the ownership and disposition of the Offered Shares, such discussion constitutes, in all material respects, a fair and accurate summary of the United States federal income tax considerations relevant to the ownership and disposition of the Offered Shares.


SCHEDULE "E"
FORM OF LOCK-UP AGREEMENT

__________________, 2019

To:   Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation

Re:   Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. - Lock-up Agreement

The undersigned understands that this lock-up agreement (the " Lock-Up Agreement ") is being delivered to you in connection with the Underwriting Agreement dated August 9, 2019 (the " Underwriting Agreement ") entered into by Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (the " Company ") and the Underwriters (as defined in the Underwriting Agreement), with respect to the public offering (the " Offering ") of common shares of the Company (the " Common Shares ").

In consideration of the benefit that the Offering will confer upon the undersigned as a director and/or officer of the Company, and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the undersigned agrees that, in respect of Common Shares owned directly or indirectly by the undersigned, or under control or direction of the undersigned (including holding as a custodian) or with respect to which the undersigned has beneficial ownership (as such term is used in Rule 13d-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the " Exchange A ct")) (collectively, the " Locked-Up Securities "), during the period beginning from the date hereof and ending on the day that is ninety (90) days following the date of the closing of the Offering (the " Lock-Up Period "), the undersigned will not, without the prior written consent of CFCC, which consent shall not unreasonably be delayed, conditioned or withheld, (i) issue, offer, sell (including, without limitation, any short sale), contract or agree to sell, hypothecate, pledge, grant any option to purchase or otherwise dispose of or agree to dispose of or transfer, directly or indirectly, or establish or increase a "put equivalent position" or liquidate or decrease a "call equivalent position" within the meaning of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the " SEC ") promulgated thereunder (the " Exchange Act "), with respect to, any Locked-Up Securities, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, or warrants or other rights to purchase, the foregoing, (ii) except as permitted in the Underwriting Agreement cause to become effective a registration statement under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (the " Securities Act "), or to file a prospectus in Canada, relating to the offer and sale of any Locked-Up Securities or securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Locked-Up Securities or other rights to purchase Locked-Up Securities or any other securities of the Company that are substantially similar to the Locked-Up Securities, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, or any warrants or other rights to purchase, the foregoing, (iii) enter into any swap or other arrangement that transfers to another, in whole or in part, any of the economic consequences of ownership of the Locked-Up Securities or any other securities of the Company that are substantially similar to the Locked-Up Securities, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for, or any warrants or other rights to purchase, the foregoing, whether any such transaction is to be settled by delivery of Common Shares or such other securities, in cash or otherwise or (iv) publicly announce an intention to effect any transaction specified in clause (i), (ii) or (iii).


The foregoing paragraph shall not apply to (A) dispositions to any trust for the direct or indirect benefit of the undersigned and/or the spouse, any lineal descendent, father, mother, brother or sister of the undersigned, provided that such trust agrees in writing with the Underwriters to be bound by the terms of this Lock-Up Agreement, (B) tenders pursuant to a bona fide third party take-over bid made to all holders of Common Shares of the Company or similar acquisition transaction provided that in the event that the take-over bid or acquisition transaction is not completed, any Locked-Up Securities shall remain subject to the restrictions contained in this Lock-Up Agreement, (C) any dispositions pursuant to any pre-existing 10b5-1 plans, (D) exercise of stock options and related dispositions of shares under any stock options issued or outstanding under the Company's equity incentive compensation plans, (E) any dispositions required for tax withholdings in connection with the exercise or vesting of any stock options or restricted stock units issued or outstanding under the Company's equity incentive compensation plans, (F) by testate succession or intestate succession, (G) by operation of law, such as pursuant to a qualified domestic order or in connection with a divorce settlement, or (H) if acquired by the undersigned in open market transactions after the Offering.

In addition, the undersigned hereby waives any and all pre-emptive rights, participation rights, resale rights, rights of first refusal and similar rights that the undersigned may have in connection with the Offering or with any issuance or sale by the Company of any equity or other securities in connection with the Offering.

The undersigned hereby confirms that the undersigned has not, directly or indirectly, taken, and hereby covenants that the undersigned will not, directly or indirectly, take, any action designed, or which has constituted or will constitute or might reasonably be expected to cause or result in the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the sale or resale of the Common Shares.

The undersigned understands that the Company and the Underwriters are relying upon this Lock-Up Agreement in proceeding toward the consummation of the Offering. The undersigned further understands that this Lock-Up Agreement is irrevocable and shall be binding upon the undersigned's legal representatives, successors, and assigns, and shall enure to the benefit of the Company, the Underwriters and their legal representatives, successors and assigns.

The obligations of the undersigned pursuant to this Lock-Up Agreement may be waived in writing in whole or in part by CFCC in its sole discretion.

This Lock-Up Agreement is governed by the laws of the Province of British Columbia and the laws of Canada applicable therein.



    Yours very truly,

 

 

 

Witness

 

Name


 

 

 

Number of Common Shares subject to this Lock-Up Agreement

 

 

Acknowledged and agreed as of the date first written above.

 

 

CANTOR FITZGERALD CANADA CORPORATION

By:

 

 

Name:

 

Title:




FORM 51–102F3

MATERIAL CHANGE REPORT

Item 1             Name and Address of Company

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (the “ Company ”)
15th Floor - 1040 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 4H1

Item 2             Date of Material Change

March 18, 2019 and March 26, 2019.

Item 3             News Release

The news releases with respect to the material changes referred to in this report were issued by the Company on March 18 and 26, 2019 and distributed through the facilities of CNW. The news releases were filed on SEDAR and are available at www.sedar.com.

Item 4             Summary of Material Change

On March 18, 2019, the Company announced that it has closed its previously announced bought deal offering, including the exercise in full of the over-allotment option.

On March 26, 2019, the Company announced that it has completed a non-brokered private placement of common shares.

Item 5             Full Description of Material Change

5.1                   Full Description of Material Change

On March 18, 2019, the Company completed a bought deal offering of common shares, including the exercise in full of the over-allotment option (the “ Bought Deal Offering ”). A total of 17,968,750 common shares of the Company were sold at a price of US$0.64 per share for gross proceeds of US$11.5 million. The Bought Deal Offering was completed pursuant to an underwriting agreement dated March 13, 2019 among the Company and Cantor Fitzgerald Canada Corporation, as lead underwriter and sole bookrunner, and a syndicate of underwriters including BMO Capital Markets, H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC. and TD Securities Inc. (collectively, the “ Underwriters ”). The Company paid a 6% commission to the Underwriters.

The Bought Deal Offering was completed by way of a prospectus supplement (the “ Prospectus Supplement ”) to the Company’s existing Canadian base shelf prospectus (the “ Base Shelf Prospectus ”) and related U.S. base shelf prospectus included in the Company’s registration statement on Form F-10 (SEC File No. 333-229262) (the “ Registration Statement ”) filed under the Canada/U.S. multi-jurisdictional disclosure system.

On March 26, 2019, the Company completed a non-brokered private placement (the “ Private Placement ”) of 3,769,476 common shares of the Company at a price of $0.86 (US$0.64) per share for gross proceeds of approximately $3.2 million (US$2.4 million). The shares are subject to applicable resale restrictions, including a four month and one day hold under Canadian securities legislation.


- 2 -

The proceeds of the Bought Deal Offering and the Private Placement are anticipated to be used for (i) operational expenditures, including engineering, environmental, permitting and evaluation expenses associated with the Pebble Project and the advancement of completion of the United States Army Corps of Engineers Environmental Impact Study, (ii) enhanced outreach and engagement with political and regulatory offices in the Alaska state and U.S. federal government, Alaska Native partners and broader regional and state-wide stakeholder groups, and (iii) general corporate purposes.

5.2                   Disclosure for Restructuring Transactions

Not applicable.

Item 6             Reliance on subsection 7.1(2) of National Instrument 51–102

Not applicable.

Item 7             Omitted Information

Not applicable.

Item 8             Executive Officer

Mark Peters
Chief Financial Officer
Tel: 604-684-6365

Item 9             Date of Report

April 10, 2019



FORM 51–102F3

MATERIAL CHANGE REPORT

Item 1             Name and Address of Company

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (“ Northern Dynasty ” or the “ Company ”)
15th Floor - 1040 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 4H1

Item 2             Date of Material Change

April 3, 2019.

Item 3             News Release

The news release with respect to the material change referred to in this report was issued by the Company on April 3, 2019 and distributed through the facilities of CNW. The news release was filed on SEDAR and is available at www.sedar.com.

Item 4             Summary of Material Change

On April 3, 2019, the Company announced the appointment of Mark Peters as Chief Financial Officer.

Item 5             Full Description of Material Change

5.1                   Full Description of Material Change

On April 3, 2019, the Company announced that Mark Peters has joined Northern Dynasty as Chief Financial Officer (“ CFO ”), replacing Marchand Snyman who has resigned from his role with the Company.

Mark Peters has more than 18 years of experience in the areas of financial reporting and taxation, working primarily with Canadian and US public corporations. He is an experienced Chief Financial Officer, having served as CFO for Hunter Dickinson Services Inc. (“ HDI ”) since 2016 and a TSX Venture-listed company since 2012. Prior to that, Mr. Peters led the tax department for the HDI group of companies. Before joining HDI in 2007, Mr. Peters worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in the both the audit and tax groups.

Mr. Peters is a Chartered Professional Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Victoria.

5.2                   Disclosure for Restructuring Transactions

Not applicable.

Item 6             Reliance on subsection 7.1(2) of National Instrument 51–102

Not applicable.


- 2 -

Item 7             Omitted Information

Not applicable.

Item 8             Executive Officer

Ronald W. Thiessen
President and Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: 604-684-6365

Item 9             Date of Report

April 10, 2019



ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS
TO BE HELD ON JUNE 11, 2019


 

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

AND

INFORMATION CIRCULAR

DATED APRIL 30, 2019

 
These materials are important and require your immediate attention. If you have questions or require
assistance with voting your shares, you may contact the Company’s proxy solicitation agent:
Laurel Hill Advisory Group
North America Toll-Free: 1-877-452-7184
Collect Calls outside North America: 1-416-304-0211
Email: assistance@laurelhill.com
 

YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT. PLEASE VOTE YOUR SHARES TODAY.


15 th Floor, 1040 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 4H1
Telephone: (604) 684-6365 Fax: (604) 684-8092

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS

The annual general meeting (the " Meeting ") of Shareholders of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (the " Company ") will be held at the 1500 – 1055 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, on June 11, 2019 at 2:00 p.m., local time, for the following purposes:

1.

To receive the Consolidated Financial Statements for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, the related report of Independent Registered Accounting Firm and the Management Discussion and Analysis;

   
2.

To elect directors of the Company for the ensuing year; and

   
3.

To appoint the auditor for the ensuing year; and

   
4.

to consider, and if thought advisable, to pass an ordinary resolution to ratify and approve the Amended and Restated Shareholder Rights Plan Agreement, for continuation for a three-year period, as more particularly described in the Information Circular prepared for the Meeting.

An Information Circular accompanies this Notice of Meeting (the " Notice "). The Information Circular contains further particulars of matters to be considered at the Meeting. The Meeting will also consider any permitted amendment to or variations of any matter identified in this Notice, and transact such other business as may properly come before the Meeting or any adjournment thereof. Copies of the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, including the report of Independent Registered Accounting Firm and related Management Discussion and Analysis, as well as the Annual Information Form (the " annual financials "), will be made available at the Meeting and are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com .

You are receiving this notification because Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. has elected to use the notice-and-access model as such provisions are set out under National Instrument 51-102 and National Instrument 54-101 (" Notice-and-Access Provisions ") for the delivery of proxy materials relating to this Meeting. Notice-and-Access Provisions are a set of rules developed by the Canadian Securities Administrators that allow a Company to reduce the volume of materials to be physically mailed to Shareholders by posting the Information Circular and any additional annual meeting materials (the " Proxy Materials ") online. Under Notice-and-Access, instead of receiving paper copies of the Company’s Information Circular, Shareholders will receive this Notice and a form of proxy. In the case of beneficial (non-registered) shareholders, they will receive this Notice and a voting instruction form (" VIF "). The form of proxy/VIF enables Shareholders to vote. Before voting, Shareholders are reminded to review the Information Circular online by logging onto the website access page provided and following the instructions set out below. Shareholders may also choose to receive a printed copy of the Information Circular by following the procedures set out below.

Copies of the Proxy Materials and the annual financials are posted on the Company’s website at https://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/investors/agm/.

How to Obtain Paper Copies of the Information Circular

Any Shareholder may request a paper copy of the Information Circular be mailed to them at no cost by contacting the Company at 1040 West Georgia Street, Suite 1500, Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 4H1; by telephone: 778-373-4533; by telephone toll-free: 1-877-441-4533 or by fax: 778-373-4534. A Shareholder may also use the toll-free number noted above to obtain additional information about Notice-and-Access Provisions.


ii

To allow adequate time for a Shareholder to receive and review a paper copy of the Information Circular and then to submit their vote by 2 p.m. (Pacific Time) on Friday, June 7, 2019 (the " Proxy Deadline "), a Shareholder requesting a paper copy of the Information Circular as described above, should ensure such request is received by the Company no later than May 31, 2019 . Under Notice-and-Access Provisions, Proxy Materials must be available for viewing for up to 1 year from the date of posting and a paper copy of the Proxy Materials can be requested at any time during this period. To obtain a paper copy of the Information Circular after the Meeting date, please contact the Company.

The Company will not use a procedure known as ‘ stratification ’ in relation to its use of Notice-and-Access Provisions. Stratification occurs when a reporting issuer while using Notice-and-Access Provisions also provides a paper copy of the Circular to some of its shareholders with the notice package. In relation to the Meeting, all Shareholders will receive the required documentation under Notice-and-Access Provisions, and will not include a paper copy of the Information Circular.

The Information Circular contains details of matters to be considered at the Meeting. Please review the Information Circular before voting.

Registered shareholders who are unable to attend the Meeting in person and who wish to ensure that their Common Shares will be voted at the Meeting are requested to complete, date and sign the enclosed form of proxy or complete another suitable form of proxy and deliver it in accordance with the instructions set out in the form of Proxy and in the Information Circular. To be effective, the Proxy must be duly completed and signed and then deposited with the Company’s registrar and transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company of Canada, 100 University Avenue, 8 t h Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5J 2Y1, or voted via telephone, fax or via the internet (online) as specified in the Proxy, no later than 2:00 p.m., Pacific Time, on June 7, 2019.

Non-registered shareholders (beneficial shareholders) who hold their shares through a brokerage firm, bank or trust company and plan to attend the Meeting must follow the instructions set out in the accompanying form of proxy or voting instruction form, and in the Information Circular to ensure that your shares will be voted at the Meeting.

DATED at Vancouver, British Columbia, April 30, 2019.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD

/s/ Ronald Thiessen

Ronald Thiessen
President and Chief Executive Officer

If you have any questions or require assistance with voting your shares, please contact Laurel Hill Advisory Group, the proxy solicitation agent, by telephone at: (in North America – Call Toll Free) 1-877-452-7184 or (Outside North America – Call Collect) 416-304-0211; or contact Laurel Hill by email at: assistance@laurelhill.com.


iii

15 th Floor, 1040 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6E 4H1
Telephone No. (604) 684-6365 / Fax No. (604) 684-8092

INFORMATION CIRCULAR

TABLE OF CONTENTS

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS i
   
GENERAL PROXY INFORMATION 1
   
      SOLICITATION OF PROXIES 1
      NOTICE-AND-ACCESS 1
      HOW TO OBTAIN PAPER COPIES OF THE INFORMATION CIRCULAR 2
      APPOINTMENT OF PROXYHOLDERS 2
      VOTING BY PROXYHOLDER 3
      REGISTERED SHAREHOLDERS 3
      BENEFICIAL SHAREHOLDERS 3
      NOTICE TO SHAREHOLDERS IN THE UNITED STATES 4
      REVOCATION OF PROXIES 4
   
INTEREST OF CERTAIN PERSONS IN MATTERS TO BE ACTED UPON 4
   
RECORD DATE, VOTING SECURITIES AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF VOTING SECURITIES 5
   
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 5
   
VOTES NECESSARY TO PASS RESOLUTIONS 5
   
ELECTION OF DIRECTORS 5
   
      MAJORITY VOTE POLICY 6
      ADVANCE NOTICE PROVISIONS 6
      MANAGEMENT’S DIRECTOR NOMINEES 6
      BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION OF NOMINEES FOR DIRECTOR 7
   
APPOINTMENT OF AUDITOR 12
   
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE 12
   
      MANDATE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 12
      COMPOSITION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 12
      COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS 13
            Compensation Committee 14
            Nominating and Governance Committee (“NG Committee”) 14
      BOARD OF DIRECTORS DECISIONS 15
      GOVERNANCE POLICIES FOR BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND DIRECTORS’ ATTENDANCE OF MEETINGS 15
      DIRECTORSHIPS 16
      ORIENTATION AND CONTINUING EDUCATION 16
      ETHICAL BUSINESS CONDUCT 16
      NOMINATION OF DIRECTORS 16
      ASSESSMENTS 16
   
STATEMENT OF EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION 17
   
      COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS 17
      NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS 17


iv

      COMPENSATION COMMITTEE 17
      REPORT ON EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION 18
      PERFORMANCE GRAPH 21
      SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE 23
      INCENTIVE PLAN AWARDS 25
      TERMINATION AND CHANGE OF CONTROL BENEFITS 26
   
SECURITIES AUTHORIZED FOR ISSUANCE UNDER EQUITY COMPENSATION PLANS 30
   
      SHARE OPTION PLAN 31
      DEFERRED SHARE UNIT PLAN AND RESTRICTED SHARE UNIT PLAN 33
      M ATERIAL T ERMS 33
      DEFERRED SHARE UNIT PLAN 33
      RESTRICTED SHARE UNIT PLAN 35
      EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION 37
   
PARTICULARS OF MATTERS TO BE ACTED UPON 38
   
INDEBTEDNESS OF DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS 43
   
INTEREST OF INFORMED PERSONS IN MATERIAL TRANSACTIONS 43
   
MANAGEMENT CONTRACTS 43
   
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 44
   
OTHER MATTERS 44
   
SCHEDULE A - Board Diversity Policy  



15 th Floor, 1040 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, B.C. V6E 4H1
Telephone No. (604) 684-6365 / Fax No. (604) 684-8092

INFORMATION CIRCULAR
as at April 30, 2019 (except as otherwise indicated)

This Information Circular is furnished in connection with the solicitation of proxies by the management of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (the "Company") for use at the annual general meeting (the "Meeting") of its shareholders to be held on June 11, 2019 at the time and place and for the purposes set forth in the accompanying notice of the Meeting.

In this Information Circular, references to "the Company ", " we " and " our " refer to Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. " Common Shares " means common shares without par value in the capital of the Company. " Beneficial Shareholders " means shareholders who do not hold Common Shares in their own name and " intermediaries " refers to brokers, investment firms, clearing houses and similar entities that hold securities on behalf of Beneficial Shareholders.

GENERAL PROXY INFORMATION

Solicitation of Proxies

The solicitation of proxies will be primarily by mail, but proxies may be solicited personally or by telephone by directors, officers and regular employees of the Company. The Company has retained the services of Laurel Hill Advisory Group (" Laurel Hill ") to act as the Company’s proxy solicitation agent and assist in connection with the Company’s communication with shareholders. In connection with these services, Laurel Hill is expected to receive a fee of approximately $35,000, plus out-of-pocket expenses. The Company will bear all costs of this solicitation. We have arranged for intermediaries to forward the Proxy Materials to beneficial owners of the Common Shares held of record by those intermediaries and we may reimburse the intermediaries for their reasonable fees and disbursements in that regard.

Notice-and-Access

The Company has chosen to deliver the Notice of Meeting of its Shareholders, the information circular (the “ Information Circular ”) and form of Proxy forming the proxy-related materials (the " Proxy Materials ") using Notice-and-Access provisions, which govern the delivery of proxy-related materials to Shareholders utilizing the internet. Notice-and-Access provisions are found in section 9.1.1 of National Instrument 51-102 – Continuous Disclosure Obligations (" NI 51-102 "), for delivery to registered Shareholders, and in section 2.7.1 of National Instrument 54-101 – Communication with Beneficial Owners of Securities of a Reporting Issuer (" NI 54-101 "), for delivery to beneficial Shareholders (together " Notice-and-Access Provisions ").

Notice-and-Access Provisions allow the Company to choose to deliver Proxy Materials to Shareholders by posting them on a non-SEDAR website (usually the reporting issuer’s website or the website of their transfer agent), provided that the conditions of NI 51-102 and NI 54-101 are met, rather than by printing and mailing the Proxy Materials. Notice-and-Access Provisions can be used to deliver materials for both general and special meetings. The Company may still choose to continue to deliver Proxy Materials by mail, and shareholders are entitled to request a paper copy of the Proxy Materials, and more particularly, the Information Circular, be mailed to them at the Company’s expense.

Use of Notice-and-Access Provisions reduces paper waste and the Company’s printing and mailing costs. Under Notice-and-Access Provisions the Company must send a notice and form of proxy (the “notice package”) to each Shareholder, including Registered and Beneficial Shareholders, indicating that the Proxy Materials have been posted and explaining how a Shareholder can access them or obtain a paper copy of the Proxy Materials, including the Information Circular, from the Company. This Information Circular has been posted in full, together with the Notice of Annual General Meeting and the form of Proxy, on the Company’s website at https://www.northerndynastyminerals.com/investors/agm/ and under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.


2

The Information Circular contains details of matters to be considered at the Meeting.

Please review the Information Circular before voting.

How to Obtain Paper Copies of the Information Circular

Any Shareholder may request a paper copy of the Information Circular be mailed to them at no cost by contacting the Company at 1040 West Georgia Street, Suite 1500, Vancouver, British Columbia V6E 4H1; by telephone: 778-373-4533; by telephone toll-free: 1-877-441-4533 or by fax: 778-373-4534. A Shareholder may also use the toll-free number noted above to obtain additional information about Notice-and-Access Provisions.

To allow adequate time for a Shareholder to receive and review a paper copy of the Information Circular and then to submit their vote by 2 p.m. (Pacific Time) on Friday, June 7, 2019 (the " Proxy Deadline "), a Shareholder requesting a paper copy of the Information Circular as described above, should ensure such request is received by the Company no later than May 31, 2019 . Under Notice-and-Access Provisions Proxy Materials must be available for viewing for up to one year from the date of posting and a paper copy of the Proxy Materials can be requested at any time during this period. To obtain a paper copy of the Information Circular after the Meeting date, please contact the Company.

Pursuant to Notice-and-Access Provisions, the Company has set the record date for the Meeting to be at least 40 days prior to the shareholder meeting in order to ensure there is sufficient time for the Proxy Materials to be posted on the applicable website and for them to be delivered to Shareholders. The requirements of the Notice of Meeting included with the Company’s notice package, and in which the Company must (i) provide basic information about the Meeting and the matters to be voted on, (ii) explain how a Shareholder can obtain a paper copy of the Information Circular and any related financial statements and related management discussion and analysis, and (iii) explain the Notice-and-Access Provisions process; have been built into the Notice of Meeting. The Notice of Meeting has been delivered to Shareholders by the Company, along with the applicable voting document: a form of Proxy in the case of registered Shareholders; or a Voting Instruction Form in the case of Non-Registered (Beneficial) Holders.

As the Company has previously used procedures following Notice-and-Access Provisions for delivery of its annual meeting materials, it is not required to but, for this Meeting it has filed notification of the Meeting and Record Dates indicating its intent to utilize Notice-and-Access Provisions, at least 25 days prior to the Record Date. This filing was completed on March 28, 2019.

The Company will not rely upon the use of ‘stratification’. Stratification occurs when a reporting issuer using Notice-and-Access Provisions provides a paper copy of its information circular with the notice to be provided to its shareholders as described above. In relation to the Meeting, all Shareholders will have received the required documentation under Notice-and-Access Provisions and all documents required to vote in respect of all matters to be voted on at the Meeting. Shareholders will not receive a paper copy of the Information Circular from the Company, or from any intermediary, unless such Shareholder specifically requests one.

All Shareholders may call 1-877-441-4533 (toll-free) in order to obtain additional information relating to Notice-and-Access Provisions or to obtain a paper copy of the Information Circular, up to and including the date of the Meeting, including any adjournment of the Meeting.

Appointment of Proxyholders

The individuals named in the accompanying form of proxy (the " Proxy ") are directors or officers of the Company.

If you are a shareholder entitled to vote at the Meeting, you have the right to appoint a person or company other than either of the persons designated in the Proxy, who need not be a shareholder, to attend and act on your behalf at the Meeting. You may do so either by inserting the name of that other person, and that person may be you, in the blank space provided in the Proxy or by completing and delivering another suitable form of proxy. If your Common Shares are actually registered in your name, then you are a registered shareholder. However, if like most shareholders you keep your Common Shares in a brokerage account, then you are a beneficial shareholder and the manner for voting is different for registered and beneficial shareholders. Please read the instructions below carefully.


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Voting by Proxyholder

The persons named in the Proxy will vote or withhold from voting the Common Shares represented thereby in accordance with your instructions on any ballot that may be called for. If you specify a choice with respect to any matter to be acted upon, your Common Shares will be voted accordingly. The Proxy confers discretionary authority on the persons named therein with respect to:

(a)

each matter or group of matters identified therein for which a choice is not specified,

   
(b)

any amendment to or variation of any matter identified therein, and

   
(c)

any other matter that may properly come before the Meeting.

In respect of a matter for which a choice is not specified in the Proxy, the persons named in the Proxy will vote the Common Shares represented by the Proxy for the approval of such matter.

Registered Shareholders

Registered Shareholders may wish to vote by proxy whether or not they are able to attend the Meeting in person. Registered Shareholders electing to submit a proxy may do so by:

(a)

completing, dating and signing the enclosed form of proxy and returning it to the Company’s transfer agent, Computershare Trust Company of Canada (" Computershare "), by fax within North America at 1-866-249- 7775, outside North America at 1-416-263-9524, or by mail to the 8th Floor, 100 University Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5J 2Y1; or

   
(b)

using a touch-tone phone to transmit voting choices to a toll free number. Registered shareholders must follow the instructions of the voice response system and refer to the enclosed proxy form for the toll free number, the holder’s account number and the proxy access number; or

   
(c)

using the internet via the website voting page of Computershare at www.investorvote.com . Registered Shareholders must follow the instructions provided at the voting page and refer to the enclosed proxy form for the holder’s account number and the proxy access number.

In all cases a Registered Shareholder must ensure that the completed proxy is received at least 48 hours (excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays) before the Meeting or the adjournment thereof at which the proxy is to be used.

Beneficial Shareholders

The following information is of significant importance to shareholders who do not hold Common Shares in their own name. Beneficial Shareholders should note that the only proxies that can be recognized and acted upon at the Meeting are those deposited by registered shareholders (those whose names appear on the records of the Company as the registered holders of Common Shares) or as set out in the following disclosure.

If Common Shares are listed in an account statement provided to a shareholder by a broker, then in almost all cases those Common Shares will not be registered in the shareholder’s name on the records of the Company. Such Common Shares will more likely be registered under the names of the shareholder’s broker or an agent of that broker. In Canada, the vast majority of such Common Shares are registered under the name of CDS & Co. (the registration name for The Canadian Depository for Securities Limited, which acts as nominee for many Canadian brokerage firms). In the United States of America (the " United States "), the vast majority of such Common Shares are registered under the name of Cede & Co. as nominee for The Depository Trust Company (which acts as depositary for many U.S. brokerage firms and custodian banks).

Intermediaries are required to forward the Proxy Materials to the Beneficial Shareholders unless, in the case of certain proxy-related materials, the Beneficial Shareholder has waived the right to receive them. The majority of intermediaries now delegate responsibility for obtaining instructions from Beneficial Shareholders to Broadridge Financial Services, Inc. (" Broadridge "). Broadridge typically mails a scannable voting instruction form (the " VIF ") to Beneficial Shareholders and asks them to return the VIF to Broadridge. Alternatively, the Beneficial Shareholder may call a toll-free number or go online to www.proxyvote.com to vote. The Company may utilize the Broadridge QuickVote TM service to assist shareholders with voting their shares. Certain Beneficial Shareholders who have not objected to the Company knowing who they are (non-objecting beneficial owners) may be contacted by Laurel Hill to conveniently submit their vote directly by telephone.


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A Beneficial Shareholder cannot use the VIF provided to vote directly at the Meeting. Should a Beneficial Shareholder wish to attend and vote in person at the Meeting, they must insert their name (or the name of such other person the Beneficial Shareholder chooses to attend and vote on their behalf) in the blank space provided for that purpose on the VIF; then the completed VIF must be returned in accordance with the instructions provided well in advance of the Meeting.

If you have any questions or require assistance with voting your Common Shares, please contact Laurel Hill Advisory Group, the proxy solicitation agent, by telephone at: 1-877-452-7184 (in North America - Toll Free) or (Outside North America – Call Collect) 416-304-0211; or by email at: assistance@laurelhill.com.

Notice to Shareholders in the United States

The solicitation of proxies and the transactions contemplated in this Information Circular involve securities of an issuer located in Canada and is being effected in accordance with the corporate laws of the Province of British Columbia, Canada and the securities laws of the provinces of Canada. The proxy solicitation rules under the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934 , as amended, are not applicable to the Company or this solicitation, and this solicitation has been prepared in accordance with the disclosure requirements of the securities laws of the provinces of Canada. Shareholders should be aware that disclosure requirements under the securities laws of the provinces of Canada differ from the disclosure requirements under United States securities laws.

The enforcement by Shareholders of civil liabilities under United States federal securities laws may be affected adversely by the fact that the Company is incorporated under the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia) , as amended, certain of its directors and its executive officers are residents of Canada and a portion of its assets and the assets of such persons are located outside the United States. Shareholders may not be able to sue a foreign company or its officers or directors in a foreign court for violations of United States federal securities laws. It may be difficult to compel a foreign company and its officers and directors to subject themselves to the jurisdiction of, or a judgment by, a United States court.

Revocation of Proxies

In addition to revocation in any other manner permitted by law, a registered shareholder who has given a proxy may revoke it by:

(a)

executing a proxy bearing a later date or by executing a valid notice of revocation, either of the foregoing to be executed by the registered shareholder or the registered shareholder’s authorized attorney in writing or, if the shareholder is a corporation, under its corporate seal by an officer or attorney duly authorized, and by delivering the proxy bearing a later date to Computershare at the address shown on the preceding page or at the address of the registered office of the Company at 1500 Royal Centre, 1055 West Georgia Street, P. O. Box 11117, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6E 4N7, at any time up to and including the last business day that precedes the day of the Meeting or, if the Meeting is adjourned, the last business day that precedes any reconvening thereof, or to the chairman of the Meeting on the day of the Meeting or any reconvening thereof, or in any other manner provided by law, or

   
(b)

personally attending the Meeting and voting the registered shareholder’s Common Shares.

A revocation of a proxy will not affect a matter on which a vote is taken before the revocation.

Beneficial Shareholders who wish to change their vote must, in sufficient time in advance of the Meeting, arrange for their respective Intermediaries to change their vote and if necessary, revoke their proxy in accordance with the revocation procedures set out above.

INTEREST OF CERTAIN PERSONS IN MATTERS TO BE ACTED UPON

No director or executive officer of the Company, or any person who has held such a position since the beginning of the last completed financial year of the Company, nor any nominee for election as a director of the Company, nor any associate or affiliate of the foregoing persons, has any substantial or material interest, direct or indirect, by way of beneficial ownership of securities or otherwise, in any matter to be acted on at the Meeting other than the election of directors and as may be set out herein.


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RECORD DATE, VOTING SECURITIES AND PRINCIPAL HOLDERS OF VOTING SECURITIES

The Board of Directors (the " Board ") of the Company has fixed April 24, 2019, as the record date (the " Record Date ") for determination of persons entitled to receive notice of the Meeting. Only shareholders of record at the close of business on the Record Date who either attend the Meeting personally or complete, sign and deliver a form of proxy in the manner and subject to the provisions described above will be entitled to vote or to have their Common Shares voted at the Meeting.

The Company is authorized to issue an unlimited number of Common Shares. The Common Shares are listed for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange (the " TSX ") and on the NYSE American. As of the Record Date, there were 345,632,683 Common Shares issued and outstanding, each carrying the right to one vote. No group of shareholders has the right to elect a specified number of directors, nor are there cumulative or similar voting rights attached to the Common Shares.

To the knowledge of the directors and executive officers of the Company, there is currently no shareholder of the Company that beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, or exercises control or direction over, Common Shares carrying more than 10% of the voting rights attached to all outstanding Common Shares of the Company. At the Record Date, the shareholdings of Stirling Global Value Fund Inc., formerly a shareholder of more than 10% of the issued Common Shares, reports as follows:

Shareholder Name
Number of common Shares
Beneficially Owned or Controlled
Percentage of Issued Common
Shares
Stirling Global Value Fund Inc. 1 33,520,193 9.7%

Note:

1.

Derived from information provided by Stirling Global Value Fund Inc. via insider reports available on SEDI (www.sedi.ca).

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The audited consolidated financial statements of the Company for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, the report of the auditor and the related management’s discussion and analysis will be placed before the Meeting. These documents have been filed with the securities commissions or similar regulatory authorities in all Provinces of Canada in which the Company is registered as a reporting issuer, being all Provinces of Canada, except Quebec. Copies of the documents may be obtained by a Shareholder upon request without charge from Investor Relations, Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., 15th Floor, 1040 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6E 4H1, telephone: 604-684-6365 or 1-800-667-2114. These documents are also available under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

VOTES NECESSARY TO PASS RESOLUTIONS

A simple majority of affirmative votes cast at the Meeting is required to pass the resolutions described herein. If there are more nominees for election as directors than there are vacancies to fill, those nominees receiving the greatest number of votes will be elected or appointed, as the case may be, until all such vacancies have been filled. If the number of nominees for election or appointment is equal to the number of vacancies to be filled, all such nominees will be declared elected or appointed by acclamation. Subject to the majority vote policy, which is only a policy under which an elected director will offer his or her resignation, the eight nominees receiving the highest number of votes are elected, even if a director only gets one vote. Similarly, unless there is a nomination from the floor for an alternative auditor, the auditor proposed by management will be appointed.

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

The term of office of each of the current directors will end at the conclusion of the Meeting. Unless the director’s office is vacated earlier in accordance with the provisions of the Business Corporations Act (British Columbia ) ("BCA"), each director elected will hold office until the conclusion of the next annual general meeting of the Company or, if no director is then elected, until a successor is elected.


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Majority Vote Policy

The Board has adopted a policy stipulating that if the votes "for" the election of a director nominee at a meeting of shareholders are fewer than the number voted "withhold", the nominee will submit his or her resignation promptly after the meeting for the consideration of the Nominating and Governance Committee. The Nominating and Governance Committee will make a recommendation to the Board of Directors after reviewing the matter, and the Board will then decide within 90 days after the date of the meeting of shareholders whether to accept or reject the resignation. The Board will accept the resignation absent exceptional circumstances. The Board's decision to accept or reject the resignation will be disclosed by way of a press release, a copy of which will be sent to the Toronto Stock Exchange. If the Board does not accept the resignation, the press release will fully state the reasons for the decision. The nominee will not participate in any Committee or Board deliberations whether to accept or reject the resignation. This policy does not apply in circumstances involving contested director elections.

Advance Notice Provisions

As announced in the Company’s Information Circular dated May 17, 2013, which was SEDAR filed on May 23, 2013, the Board submitted Alteration of Articles of the Company to include advance notice provisions (the "Advance Notice Provisions") for approval by the shareholders. A copy of the Advance Notice Provisions was included as Schedule "A" – Alteration of Articles to such Information Circular. The alteration to the Articles was ratified, confirmed and approved by the Company’s shareholders at the Company’s annual general and special meeting held on June 19, 2013 and are available for review on the Company’s website at www.northerndynastyminerals.com .

The Advance Notice Provisions provide shareholders, directors and management of the Company with a clear framework for nominating directors. Among other things, the Advance Notice Provisions fix a deadline by which holders of Common Shares must submit director nominations to the Company prior to any annual or special meeting of shareholders and sets forth the minimum information that a shareholder must include in such notice to the Company for the notice to be in proper written form.

As of the date hereof, the Company has not received notice of a nomination in compliance with the Company’s Articles and, as such, other than nominations that may be received by the Company in compliance with the Advance Notice Provisions, any nominations which are not nominations by or at the direction of the Board, or an authorized officer of the Company, will be disregarded at the Meeting.

Management’s Director Nominees

The Board has determined that eight (8) directors be elected to the Board at the Meeting. The following disclosure and accompanying biographical information sets out the names of management’s eight (8) nominees for election as directors, all major offices and positions with the Company and any of its significant affiliates each now holds, each nominee’s principal occupation, business or employment for the five preceding years, the period of time during which each has been a director of the Company, and the number of Common Shares of the Company beneficially owned by each, directly or indirectly, or over which each exercised control or direction. The information as to Common Shares and options beneficially owned or controlled is based on insider reports filed on www.sedi.ca as at April 24, 2019.

Name of Nominee; Current Position with the
Company, and Province or State and Country of
Residence

Period as a Director of the
Company

Common Shares Beneficially
Owned or Controlled
Desmond M. Balakrishnan
Director
British Columbia, Canada
Since December 2015 42,962   Shares 4
601,000   Options  
84,014   DSUs    
Steven A. Decker 2
Director
California, USA
Since March 2016 130,000   Shares   
300,000   Options   
110,000   Warrants   
74,830   DSUs      
Robert A. Dickinson
Chairman and Director
British Columbia, Canada
Since June 1994 4,200,164   Shares 5      
1,784,000   Options      
478,110   Warrants  


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Name of Nominee; Current Position with the
Company, and Province or State and Country of
Residence
Period as a Director of the
Company
Common Shares Beneficially
Owned or Controlled
Gordon B. Keep 1, 3
Director
British Columbia, Canada
Since October 2015 545,136    Shares     
892,400    Options 6
210,000    Warrants
85,884    DSUs    
David C. Laing 2, 3
Director
British Columbia, Canada
Since May 2016 423,028    Shares   
501,000    Options  
286,250    Warrants
57,738    DSUs   
Christian Milau 1,2
Lead Director
British Columbia, Canada
Since May 2016 661,500   Shares   
601,000   Options   
661,500   Warrants  
63,486    DSUs     
Kenneth W. Pickering 1,3
Director
British Columbia, Canada
Since August 2013 116,000    Shares    
831,000    Options  
92,177    DSUs    
Ronald W. Thiessen
President, CEO and Director
British Columbia, Canada
Since November 1995 4,242,090    Shares     
3,330,000    Options   
      295,555    Warrants   

Notes:

1.

Member of the Audit and Risk Committee. Mr. Milau serves as Chair.

2.

Member of the Nominating and Governance Committee. Mr. Laing serves as Chair.

3.

Member of the Compensation Committee. Mr. Pickering serves as Chair.

4.

Mr. Balakrishnan’s Common Shares are held through his affiliate, Balakrishnan Law Corporation.

5.

Certain of these Common Shares are held through an affiliated private company, United Mineral Services Ltd. , of which Mr. Dickinson is a majority shareholder.

6.

Of these options 90,710 are owned by affiliates of Mr. Keep and are therefore under his control. Mr. Keep directly owns options to purchase 779,600 Common Shares.

Biographical Information of Nominees for Director

The following information as to principal occupation, business or employment is not within the knowledge of the management of the Company and has been furnished by the respective nominees. Where stated, " CEO " stands for "Chief Executive Officer", " CFO ", "Chief Financial Officer" and " COO ", Chief Operating Officer.

Desmond M. Balakrishnan BA., LLB. – Director

Mr. Balakrishnan is a lawyer practicing in the areas of Corporate Finance and Securities, Mergers and Acquisitions, Lending, Private Equity and Gaming and Entertainment for McMillan LLP, where he has been a partner since 2004. He has been lead counsel on over $500 million in financing transactions and in mergers and acquisitions aggregating in excess of $1 billion. He also serves as a director and/or officer of several resource, finance and gaming firms. He holds CLA and BA from Simon Fraser University and a Bachelor of Laws (with Distinction) from the University of Alberta.

Mr. Balakrishnan is, or was within the past five years, an officer and/or director of the following public companies:

Company Market Positions Held From To
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. TSX, NYSE American Director December 2015 Present
Aroway Energy Inc. TSX-V Director July 2010 Present
Big Sky Petroleum Corporation TSX-V Director November 2011 Present
Contagious Gaming Inc. TSX-V Director August 2014 Present
Hillcrest Petroleum Ltd. TSX-V Secretary January 2008 August 2015
Network Exploration Ltd. TSX-V Secretary May 2008 Present


8

Company Market Positions Held From To
Petro Basin Energy Corp. TSX-V (NEX) Director February 2012 Present
Poydras Gaming Finance Corp. TSX-V Secretary April 2010 May 2014
Red Rock Capital Corp. TSX-V (NEX) Director February 2012 Present
Shelby Ventures Inc. TSX-V (NEX) Director December 2010 Present

Steven A. Decker, CFA – Director

Mr. Decker is a Chartered Financial Analyst® charter-holder with more than 20 years of investment experience as an Analyst and Portfolio Manager. He holds an MBA in Finance from the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California where he received the Marcia Israel Award for Entrepreneurship and was a manager of the California Equity Fund.

Mr. Decker is, or was within the past five years, an officer and/or director of the following public companies:

Company Market Positions Held From To
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. TSX, NYSE American Director March 2016 Present

Robert A. Dickinson, B.Sc., M.Sc. – Director and Chairman of the Board

Robert Dickinson is an economic geologist who has been actively involved in mineral exploration and mine development for over 45 years, and was inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 2012. He is Chairman of HDI and HDSI (both defined below), as well as a director and member of the management team of a number of public companies associated with HDSI. He is also President and Director of United Mineral Services Ltd., a private resources company. He also serves as a Director of Britannia Mine Museum and Trustee of the BC Mineral Resources Education Program.

Mr. Dickinson is, or was within the past five years, an officer and/or director of the following public companies:

Company Market Positions Held From To
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. TSX,
NYSE American
Director June 1994 Present
Chairman April 2004 Present
Amarc Resources Ltd. TSX-V, OTCBB Director April 1993 Present
Chairman April 2004 Present
Heatherdale Resources Ltd. TSX-V Director November 2009 Present
Northcliff Resources Ltd. TSX Director June 2011 Present
Quartz Mountain Resources Ltd. TSX-V Director December 2011 February 2019
Chairman December 2011 February 2019
President & CEO November 2017 February 2019
Taseko Mines Limited TSX,
NYSE American
Director January 1991 Present

Gordon B. Keep, B.Sc., MBA, P.Geo. – Director

Gordon Keep is a Professional Geologist with extensive business experience in investment banking and creating public natural resource companies. Mr. Keep is CEO of Fiore Management & Advisory Corp., a private financial advisory firm. He also serves as an officer and/or director for several natural resource companies. He holds a B.Sc. in Geological Science from Queen's University and an MBA from the University of British Columbia.

Mr. Keep is, or was within the past five years, an officer and/or director of the following public companies:

Company Market Positions Held From To
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. TSX,
NYSE American
Director October 2015 Present
Tekmodo Industries Inc. TSX-V Director July 2015 January 2017
Catalyst Copper Corp. TSX-V Director April 2008 May 2016


9

Company Market Positions Held From To
Cruzsur Energy Ltd. (previously PentaNova Energy Corp.) TSX-V Director July 2017 Present
Eastern Platinum Limited TSX, JSE Director November 2003 July 2016
Encanto Potash Corp. TSX-V Director December 2008 December 2017
Chairman October 2009 December 2017
Klondike Gold Corp. TSX-V Director December 2013 Present
Oceanic Iron Ore Corp. TSX-V Director September 2010 Present
Peregrine Diamonds Ltd. TSX Director February 2005 July 2015
Petroamerica Oil Corp. TSX-V Secretary January 2008 August 2014
Petromanas Energy Inc. TSX-V Director August 2010 May 2016
Renaissance Oil Corp. TSX-V Director September 2014 Present
Rusoro Mining Ltd. TSX-V Director July 2016 Present
Sandspring Resources Ltd. TSX-V Director March 2017 Present
Vanadian Energy Ltd. (previously Uracan Resources Ltd.) TSX-V Director November 2003 Present

David Laing, BSc Mining Engineering – Director

Mr. Laing is a Mining Engineer with 40 years’ experience in mining operations, projects, engineering studies, mining finance, investor relations, mergers and acquisitions, corporate development, and company building. Mr. Laing is currently the COO of Equinox Gold Corp. Previously he was the COO and director of Trek Mining Inc., Luna Gold Corp and COO of True Gold Mining Inc. Prior to joining True Gold, Mr. Laing was COO and led the origination and execution of stream financing transactions of Quintana Resources Capital ULC, a base metals streaming company. He was also one of the original executives of Endeavour Mining Corporation as the group grew from one mine in Burkina Faso to a 500,000-ounce gold producer in West Africa. Mr. Laing was an integral part of the acquisition and integration of three junior gold producers and led the feasibility of a fourth project, in Burkina Faso. Prior to these recent roles, Mr. Laing held senior positions in mining investment banking at Standard Bank in New York, technical consulting at MRDI in California, the Refugio project at Bema Gold Corp. and various roles at Billiton and Royal Dutch Shell’s mining business.

Mr. Laing is, or was within the past five years, an officer and/or director of the following public companies:

Company Market Positions Held From To
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. TSX,
NYSE American
Director May 2016 Present
Arian Silver Corporation LSE Director December 2014 July 2015
Aton Resources Inc. TSX-V Director May 2016 Present
CB Gold Inc. TSX-V Director April 2014 August 2015
Catalyst Copper Corp. TSX-V President, CEO and Director March 2014 August 2014
Equinox Gold Corp. 1 TSX-V COO December 2017 Present
Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. TSX, NYSE
American
Director September 2016 Present
KBL Mining Limited  1 ASX Director March 2015 January 2016
Luna Gold Corp. 1 TSX COO and August 2016 March 2017
Director
Sandspring Resources Ltd. TSX-V Director August 2015 Present
Trek Mining Inc. 1 TSX COO March 2017 December 2017
True Gold Mining Inc. 2 TSX-V COO July 2015 April 2016

Notes:

1.

Equinox Gold Corp. is the result of the merger in December 2017 of Trek Mining Inc., NewCastle Gold Ltd. and Anfield Gold Corp. Trek Mining Inc. was the result of the merger of Luna Gold Corp. and TSX-V listed JDL Gold Corp. in March 2017.

2.

The Company was acquired by Endeavour in April 2016 and its shares were delisted.



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Christian Milau, CPA, CA, CPA (Illinois) – Lead Director

Mr. Milau is a Chartered Professional Accountant (Chartered Accountant). Mr Milau is CEO and Director of Equinox Gold Corp. Prior to this he was CEO and Director of Trek Mining Inc., Luna Gold Corp and True Gold Mining Inc. Mr. Milau has finance and capital markets experience as well as operational, government and stakeholder relations experience in North and South America and West Africa. Prior to these recent roles, Mr. Milau was CFO at Endeavour Mining Corporation and was Treasurer of New Gold Inc.

Mr. Milau is, or was within the past five years, an officer and/or director of the following public companies:

Company Market Positions Held From To
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. TSX,
NYSE American
Director May 2016 Present
Endeavour Mining Corporation TSX Executive Vice President and CFO April 2011 March 2015
Equinox Gold Corp. 1 TSX-V CEO and Director December 2017 Present
Luna Gold Corp. 1 TSX CEO and Director June 2016 March 2017
Plateau Energy Metals Inc. TSX-V Director June 2016 Present
Trek Mining Inc. 1 TSX-V CEO and Director March 2017 December 2017
True Gold Mining Inc. 2 TSX-V President, CEO and Director March 2015 April 2016

Notes:

1.

Equinox Gold Corp. is the result of the merger in December 2017 of Trek Mining Inc., NewCastle Gold Ltd. and Anfield Gold Corp. Trek Mining Inc. was the result of the merger of Luna Gold Corp. and TSX-V listed JDL Gold Corp. in March 2017.

2.

The Company was acquired by Endeavour in April 2016 and its shares were delisted.

Kenneth W. Pickering, P . E ng. – Director

Mr. Pickering is a Professional Engineer and mining executive with 40 years of experience in a variety of capacities in the natural resources industry. He has led the development, construction and operation of world-class mining projects in Canada, Chile, Australia, Peru and the United States, focusing on operations, executive responsibilities and country accountabilities.

Mr. Pickering is, or was within the past five years, an officer and/or director of the following public companies:

Company Market Positions Held From To
Enaex Chile IPSA Director May 2011 May 2018
Endeavour Silver Corp. TSX, NYSE
American
Director August 2012 Present
Pan Aust Minerals ASX Director October 2011 August 2015
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. TSX, NYSE
American
Director September 2013 Present
Taseko Mines Limited TSX, NYSE
American
Director December 2018 Present
Teck Resources Limited TSX, NYSE
American
Director March 2015 Present
THEMAC Resources Group Limited TSX-V Director March 2011 December 17, 2016

Ronald W. Thiessen, FCPA, FCA – President, Chief Executive Officer and Director

Mr. Thiessen is a Chartered Professional Accountant (Chartered Accountant) with professional experience in finance, taxation, mergers, acquisitions and re-organizations. Since 1986, Mr. Thiessen has been involved in the acquisition and financing of mining and mineral exploration companies. Mr. Thiessen is a director of HDSI (and HDI), a company providing management and administrative services to several publicly-traded companies and focuses on directing corporate development and financing activities.

Mr. Thiessen is, or was within the past five years, an officer and/or director of the following public companies:


11

Company Market Positions Held From To
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. TSX, Director November 1995 Present
NYSE American President, CEO November 2001 Present
Amarc Resources Ltd. TSX-V, OTCBB Director September 1995 February 2019
CEO September 2000 February 2019
President September 2000 November 2014
Quartz Mountain Resources Ltd. TSX-V President, CEO and Director December 2011 December 2017
Taseko Mines Limited TSX,
NYSE American
Director October 1993 Present
Chairman May 2006 Present

None of the proposed nominees for election as a director of the Company are proposed for election pursuant to any arrangement or understanding between the nominee and any other person, except the directors and senior officers of the Company acting solely in such capacity.

Bankruptcies, Penalties, Sanctions or Cease-Trade Orders

Except as disclosed below, within the 10 years preceding the date of this Information Circular no proposed nominee for election as a director of the Company was a director or executive officer of any company (including the Company in respect of which this Information Circular is prepared) or acted in that capacity for a company that was:

  (a)

subject to a cease trade or similar order or an order denying the relevant company access to any exemptions under securities legislation, for more than 30 consecutive days;

     
  (b)

subject to an event that resulted, after the director or executive officer ceased to be a director or executive officer, in the company being the subject of a cease trade or similar order or an order that denied the relevant company access to any exemption under the securities legislation, for a period of more than 30 consecutive days;

     
  (c)

within a year of that person ceasing to act in that capacity, became bankrupt, made a proposal under any legislation relating to bankruptcy or insolvency or was subject to or instituted any proceedings, arrangement or compromise with creditors or had a receiver, receiver manager or trustee appointed to hold its assets; or has become bankrupt, made a proposal under any legislation relating to bankruptcy or insolvency, or become subject to or instituted any proceedings, arrangement or compromise with creditors, or had a receiver, receiver manager or trustee appointed to hold the assets of the proposed director;

     
  (d)

subject to any penalties or sanctions imposed by a court relating to securities legislation or by a securities regulatory authority or has entered into a settlement agreement with a securities regulatory authority; or

     
  (e)

subject to any other penalties or sanctions imposed by a court or a regulatory body that would likely be considered important to a reasonable securityholder in deciding whether to vote for a proposed director.

Exceptions:

As publicly disclosed at www.sedar.com, in September 2012 Great Basin Gold Ltd. (" GBG "), a company for which Mr. Thiessen was at the time a director, became bankrupt due to heavy indebtedness, mine production issues and falling gold prices.

On May 21, 2013, the British Columbia Securities Commission (" BCSC ") issued a cease trade order against Rusoro Mining Ltd. (" Rusoro "), a company for which Mr. Keep serves as a director. The cease trade order was for the failure by Rusoro to file its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2012 and related MD&A (" 2012 Year End Disclosure "). On June 5, 2013, and June 7, 2013, respectively, similar cease trade orders were issued against Rusoro by the Ontario Securities Commission (" OSC ") and the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (" AMF "). On August 19, 2013, Rusoro filed its 2012 Year End Disclosure. On August 21, 2013, August 28, 2013 and September 4, 2013, BCSC, AMF and OSC respectively, granted full revocations of their cease trade orders. Rusoro was unable to file its 2012 Year End Disclosure by the required filing deadline because it experienced significant delays in preparing them due to the nationalization by the Venezuelan government of Rusoro’s gold mining assets in Venezuela.


12

Multiple Directorships

Other than Mr. Decker, the directors of the Company also serve as directors of other companies involved in natural resource development. It may occur from time to time that, as a consequence of a particular director’s activity in the mineral industry and serving on such other boards, a director may become aware of potential resource property opportunities which are of interest to more than one of the companies on whose boards that person serves. Furthermore, it is possible that the directors of the Company and the directors of one or more such other companies (many of which are described herein) may also agree to allow joint participation on the Company’s properties or the properties of that other company. Accordingly, situations may arise in the ordinary course, which involve a director in an actual or potential conflict of interest as well as issues in connection with the general obligation of a director to make corporate opportunities available to the company whose board the director serves. In all such events, any director is required to disclose a financial interest in a contract or transaction by virtue of office, employment or security holdings or other such interest in another company or in a property interest under consideration by the Board, and is obliged to abstain from voting as a director of the Company in respect of any transaction involving that other company or in respect of any property in which an interest is held by him. The directors will use their best business judgment to help avoid situations where conflicts or corporate opportunity issues might arise and they must at all times fulfil their duties to act honestly and in the best interests of the Company as required by law.

APPOINTMENT OF AUDITOR

Deloitte LLP (" Deloitte "), Chartered Professional Accountants, and Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, Suite 2800, 1055 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, will be nominated at the Meeting for appointment as auditor of the Company. Deloitte was first appointed auditor of the Company on April 21, 2009.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Mandate of the Board of Directors

The Board has a formal mandate as outlined in the Corporate Governance Policies and Procedures Manual (the " Governance Manual "), dated July 11, 2018. The Governance Manual mandates the Board to: (i) assume responsibility for the overall stewardship and development of the Company and monitoring of its business decisions, (ii) identify the principal risks and opportunities of the Company’s business and ensure the implementation of appropriate systems to manage these risks, (iii) oversee ethical management and succession planning, including appointing, training and monitoring of senior management and directors, and (iv) oversee the integrity of the Company’s internal financial controls and management information systems. The Governance Manual also includes written charters for each committee and it contains a code of ethics, policies dealing with issuance of news releases and disclosure documents, as well as share trading black-out periods. The Manual also provides director share ownership guidelines whereby an appropriate level of share ownership for each director represents a value which is equal to three times annual fees and should be acquired over a period of not more than five years. Further, in the Governance Manual the Board encourages but does not require continuing education for all the Company’s directors. A copy of the Governance Manual is available for review on the Company’s website at www.northerndynastyminerals.com under the Corporate Governance tab.

Composition of the Board of Directors

Applicable governance policies require that a listed issuer’s board of directors determine the status of each director as independent or not, based on each director’s interest in or other relationship with, the Company. Governance authorities generally recommend that a board of directors be constituted with a majority of directors who qualify as independent directors (as defined below) Northern Dynasty notes however that the remunerative relationships which make the below directors technically non-independent are not in the Board’s view sufficient to represent a material relationship which would impact their discretion as directors.

A board of directors should also examine its size with a view to determining the impact of the number of directors upon the effectiveness of the board of directors, and the board of directors should implement a system which enables an individual director to engage an outside advisor at the expense of the corporation in appropriate circumstances. The Company’s policies allow for retention of independent advisors for members of the board of directors when they consider it advisable.

Under the policies, an "independent" director is one who "has no direct or indirect material relationship" with the Company. Generally speaking, a director is independent if he or she is free from any employment, business or other relationship which could, or could reasonably be expected, to materially interfere with the exercise of the director’s independent judgment. A material relationship includes having been (or having a family member who has been) within the last three years an employee or executive of the Company or employed by the Company’s external auditor. An individual who (or whose family member) is or has been within the last three years, an executive officer of an entity where any of the Company’s executive officers served at the same time on that entity’s Compensation Committee is deemed to have a material relationship as is any individual who (or whose family members or partners) received directly or indirectly, any consulting, advisory, accounting or legal fee or investment banking compensation from the Company (other than compensation for acting as a director or as a part time chairman or vice-chairman).


13

The Board is proposing eight (8) nominees to be elected to the office of director, five (5) of whom can be considered independent directors. The independent nominees are Steven Decker, Gordon Keep, David Laing, Christian Milau and Ken Pickering. These nominees are considered independent by virtue of not being executive officers of the Company and having received no compensation other than in their role as directors. The non-independent directors (and the reasons for that status) are: Robert Dickinson (Chairman of the Board and geological consultant for the Company), Ronald Thiessen (President and CEO) and Desmond Balakrishnan (a partner of McMillan LLP, legal counsel to the Company).

Messrs. Dickinson and Thiessen serve together on boards of directors of other publicly traded companies associated with Hunter Dickinson Inc. (" HDI "), a private company in which Messrs. Dickinson and Thiessen also serve as directors. As described in the Company’s Annual Information Form, HDI is the parent company of Hunter Dickinson Services Inc. (" HDSI "), which provides geological, corporate development, administrative and management services to, and incurs third party costs on behalf of, the Company at a cost which in the Board’s view does not exceed the fair market value of such services. HDSI employs members of the executive management of some of these public companies (of which the Company is one) and in turn invoices those companies for their share of these services, pursuant to annually set rates.

The Board’s Nominating and Governance Committee (the " NG Committee ") formalizes the process of ensuring high calibre directors and proper director succession planning. The NG Committee currently consists of David Laing (Chair), Steven Decker and Christian Milau, all of whom are independent (discussed above).

The Board monitors the activities of the senior management through regular meetings and discussions amongst the Board and between the Board and senior management. The Board is of the view that its communication policy between senior management, members of the Board and shareholders is good. Meetings of independent directors are not held on a regular scheduled basis but communications among this group occurs on an ongoing basis and as needs arise from regularly scheduled meetings of the Board or otherwise. The number of these meetings has not been recorded but it would be less than five in the financial year that commenced on January 1, 2018. The Board also encourages independent directors to bring up and discuss any issues or concerns and the Board is advised of and addresses any such issues or concerns raised thereby.

The Board has appointed Christian Milau as Lead Director (Independent), and as such, Mr. Milau’s mandate includes ensuring that the Board carries out its responsibilities effectively and independent from management.

The Board believes that adequate structures and processes are in place to facilitate the functioning of the Board with a sufficient level of independence from the Company’s management. The Board is satisfied with the integrity of the Company’s internal control and financial management information systems.

Committees of the Board of Directors

Applicable regulatory governance policies require that (i) the Board’s Audit and Risk Committee be composed only of independent directors, and the role of the Audit and Risk Committee be specifically defined and include the responsibility for overseeing management’s system of internal controls, (ii) the Audit and Risk Committee have direct access to the Company’s external auditor, (iii) other committees of the Board be composed of at least a majority of independent directors (iv) the Board expressly assume responsibility, or assign to a committee of directors responsibility, for the development of the Company’s approach to governance issues, and (v) the Board appoint a committee, composed of a majority of independent directors, with the responsibility for proposing new nominees to the Board and for assessing directors on an ongoing basis.


14

The following committees have been established by the members of Northern Dynasty’s board of directors:

Committee Membership

Audit and Risk Committee
Christian Milau (Chair)
Gordon Keep
Ken Pickering

Compensation Committee
Ken Pickering (Chair)
David Laing
Gordon Keep

Nominating and Governance Committee
David Laing (Chair)
Steven Decker
Christian Milau

For information concerning the Audit and Risk Committee please see Item 19 and Appendix A, of the Company’s Annual Information Form filed on April 1, 2019 under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com .

Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee recommends compensation for the directors and executive officers of the Company. See further disclosure under the heading, Statement of Executive Compensation . The Compensation Committee charter is included in the Governance Manual and is available for viewing at or can be downloaded from the Company’s website under Corporate / Governance, at www.northerndynastyminerals.com.

The function of the Compensation Committee includes review, on an annual basis, of the compensation paid to the Company’s executive officers and directors, review of the performance of the Company’s executive officers and making recommendations on compensation to the Board.

The Compensation Committee administers the Company’s share option plan and periodically considers the grant of share options. Share options have been granted to the executive officers and directors and certain other service providers, taking into account competitive compensation factors and the belief that share options help align the interests of executive officers, directors and service providers with the interests of shareholders.

The Compensation Committee also administers the Company’s Deferred Share Unit Plan and Restricted Share Unit Plan.

Nominating and Governance Committee (“NG Committee”)

The NG Committee Charter is included in the Governance Manual and is available for viewing or downloading from the Company’s website under Corporate / Governance www.northerndynastyminerals.com.

The NG Committee has been given the responsibility of developing and recommending to the Board the Company’s approach to corporate governance and of assisting members of the Board in carrying out their duties. The NG Committee also reviews with the Board the rules and policies applicable to governance of the Company to assure that the Company remains in full compliance with proper governance practices.

The nominating function of the NG Committee is to evaluate and recommend to the Board the size of the Board and persons as nominees for the position of director of the Company.

The NG Committee does not set specific minimum qualifications for director positions. Instead, the NG Committee believes that nominations for election or re-election to the Board should be based on a particular candidate’s skills and the Company’s needs after taking into account the current composition of the Board. When evaluating candidates annually for nomination for election, the NG Committee considers each individual’s skills, the overall diversity needs of the Board (skills mix, age profiles gender, work and life experience) and independence and time availability.

The NG Committee seeks to achieve for the Board a balance of industry and business knowledge and experience, including expertise in the mining industry, in regulatory and public policy issues, in management and operations and in transactional situations, as well as independence, financial expertise, public company experience, sound judgment and reputation.

Board Diversity


15

The NG Committee continues to believe that a diverse Board offers depth of perspective and enhances Board operations. As such, the NG Committee strives to identify candidates with the ability to strengthen the Board. The NG Committee does not specifically define diversity, but considers diversity of experience, education, ethnicity and gender, as part of its overall annual evaluation of director nominees. The Board appreciates that women have been under represented on Canadian boards, and the Company believes that enhancing gender diversity will strengthen the Board. However, the Board does not establish quotas for any selection criteria, as the composition of the Board is based on numerous factors and the character of a candidate and the selection is often a function of the "best available" candidate.

The Company has adopted an express policy specifically addressing gender diversity. A copy of the Board Diversity Policy is set out in Schedule A hereto, and the Company continues in its efforts to enhance Board diversity and to meet the stated Board Diversity Policy targets on female representation on the Board.

Director Term Limits

The Company has not set mandatory age or term limits for its directors or senior officers as it focuses on measurable performance rather than employing arbitrary age thresholds which are of dubious legality in light of discrimination laws. However, review by the NG Committee of the performance of all Board members and senior officers of the Company is ongoing and it is within the mandate of the NG Committee to keep within its scope the possibility of imposing such limits in the future. The Company’s code of ethics, as set out in the Governance Manual, provides a framework for undertaking ethical conduct in employment. Pursuant to its code of ethics the Company will not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment in the workplace.

The Company has formal procedures for assessing the effectiveness of Board committees as well as the Board as a whole. This function is carried out annually under the direction of the NG Committee and those assessments are then provided to the Board.

Board of Directors Decisions

Good governance policies require the Board of a listed corporation, together with its chief executive officer, to develop position descriptions for the Board and for the chief executive officer, including the definition of limits to management’s responsibilities. Any responsibility which is not delegated to senior management or to a Board committee remains with the full Board. The Board has approved written position descriptions for the Board Chair and the Chairs of the Board Committees.

The Board generally requires that all material transactions (including those in excess of $5 million) receive prior Board approval. In this regard, virtually all financing transactions are considered material to the Company. Any property acquisitions and significant work programs in excess of $5 million must also receive approval of the Board. The Governance Manual includes provisions that deal with these and other related items.

Governance Policies for Board of Directors and Directors’ Attendance of Meetings

Good governance policies require that (i) the board of directors of every listed corporation implement a process for assessing the effectiveness of the Board and its committees, and the contribution of individual directors, (ii) every corporation provide an orientation and education program for new directors, and (iii) every board of directors review the adequacy and form of compensation of directors and ensure that the compensation realistically reflects the responsibilities and risks involved in being an effective director.

The following table sets forth the record of attendance of Board, Audit and Risk, Compensation and NG Committee meetings by Directors for the 12-month period ended December 31, 2018:

Director Board of
Directors
Meetings
Audit and Risk
Committee Meetings
NG Committee
Meetings
Compensation
Committee
Meetings 1
Desmond Balakrishnan 2 1 of 3
Steven Decker 3 of 3 4 of 4 1 of 1
Robert Dickinson 3 of 3
Gordon Keep 3 of 3 Nil
David Laing 3 of 3 1 of 1 Nil
Christian Milau 3 of 3 4 of 4 1 of 1
Ken Pickering 2 2 of 3 4 of 4 Nil


16

Director Board of
Directors
Meetings
Audit and Risk
Committee Meetings
NG Committee
Meetings
Compensation
Committee
Meetings 1
Ronald Thiessen 3 of 3

Notes:

1.

All business in 2018 was approved by written consent resolutions.

2.

Mr. Pickering’s absence was due to the fact that he was travelling out of country without available connection at the meeting time. As a matter of course, any member missing a Board meeting receives a full briefing of matters discussed at the Board meeting following the meeting, on a timely basis.

Directorships

The section entitled " Election of Directors " above gives details of other reporting issuers of which each director is a director and/or officer where applicable.

Orientation and Continuing Education

The Company has traditionally retained experienced mining people as directors and hence the orientation needed is minimized. When new directors are appointed, they generally are acquainted with the Company’s mineral project(s) and the expectations of directors, or they would receive orientation commensurate with their previous experience on the Company’s properties, business, technology and industry and the responsibilities of directors. Board meetings generally include presentations by the Company’s senior management and project staff in order to give the directors full insight into the Company’s operations.

To enable each director to better perform his or her duties and to recognize and deal appropriately with issues that arise, the Company will provide the directors with appropriate education programs and/or suggestions to undertake continuing director education, the cost of which will be borne by the Company.

Ethical Business Conduct

The Board has a formal ethics policy which is contained in the Governance Manual and which is available for download from the Company’s website under Corporate Governance at www.northendynastyminerals.com . In addition, the Board has implemented an annual procedure whereby directors and officers sign off on and ratify that they have read and understand the Company’s code of ethics and that they are unaware of any violations thereof.

Nomination of Directors

The Board considers its size each year when it considers the number of directors to recommend to the shareholders for election at the annual meeting of shareholders, taking into account the number required to carry out the Board’s duties effectively and to maintain a diversity of views and experience. The NG Committee recommended to the Board the eight (8) directors as nominees for election in 2018. See the description of the NG Committee above under the heading, Committees of the Board of Directors .

Assessments

The Board monitors the adequacy of information given to directors, communication between the Board and management and the strategic direction and processes of the Board and its committees. The NG Committee oversees an annual formal assessment of the Board and its three main committees namely the Audit and Risk Committee, Compensation Committee and NG Committee. The Board is satisfied with the overall project and corporate achievements of the Company and believes this reflects well on the Board and its practices.

Shareholder Engagement

The Board of Directors believes that regular and constructive engagement between the Board and the Company’s shareholders on governance matters is of primary importance. Accordingly, the Board has adopted a Policy on Engagement with Shareholders on Governance Matters reflecting the foregoing, a copy of which is attached as Appendix 9 to the Manual and is available for viewing at the Company’s website at www.northerndynastyminerals.com.

Other Governance Matters – Compensation Clawback Policy


17

The Board had approved a Compensation Clawback Policy. The Board believes that having a compensation clawback policy is in line with good governance practices. The Compensation Committee will require employees, officers and directors to reimburse, in all appropriate cases, any bonus, short-term incentive award or amount, or long-term incentive award or amount awarded to the employee, officer or director and any non-vested equity based awards previously granted to the employee, officer or director (collectively “Incentive Compensation”) if:

(a)

the amount of the Incentive Compensation was calculated based upon the achievement of certain financial results that were subsequently during the previous three-year period the subject of a material restatement or the correction of a material error;

   
(b)

the employee, officer or director engaged in intentional misconduct that caused or partially caused the need for the material restatement or caused or partially caused the material error; and

   
(c)

the amount of the Incentive Compensation that would have been awarded to the employee, officer or director, if the financial results had been properly reported and amount actually awarded would have been lower.

STATEMENT OF EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

Named Executive Officers

In this section "Named Executive Officer" (or " NEO ") means each of the following individuals:

(a)

the Chief Executive Officer (" CEO ");

   
(b)

the Chief Financial Officer (" CFO ");

   
(c)

each of the three most highly compensated executive officers, or the three most highly compensated individuals acting in a similar capacity, other than the CEO and CFO, at the end of the most recently completed financial year whose total compensation was, individually, more than $150,000 for that financial year; and

   
(d)

each individual who would be an NEO under paragraph (c) but for the fact that the individual was neither an executive officer of the company, nor acting in a similar capacity, at December 31, 2018.

The NEOs of the Company as at December 31, 2018 are as follows:

Mr. Ronald Thiessen – President and CEO of the Company;
   
Mr. Marchand Snyman – Former CFO of the Company. Mr Snyman resigned as CFO in April 2019.;
   
Mr. Thomas Collier – Pebble Limited Partnership (" PLP ") President, CEO and Chief Operating Officer;
   
Mr. Peter Robertson – PLP Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs; and
   
Mr. Stephen Hodgson – PLP Senior Vice President Engineering and Project Director.

The following disclosure sets out the compensation that the Board intended to pay, make payable, award, grant, give or otherwise provide to each NEO and director for the financial year ended December 31, 2018.

Compensation Committee

As indicated above, the Company has a Compensation Committee to assist the Board in carrying out its responsibilities relating to executive and director compensation. The Compensation Committee charter is included in the Governance Manual and is available for viewing from the Company’s website under Corporate / Governance on the Company’s website at www.northerndynastyminerals.com.

The current members of the Compensation Committee of the Company as stated above are Ken Pickering (Chair), Gordon Keep and David Laing, all of whom are independent directors. The Compensation Committee had one formal meeting during the year and also undertook business by way of consent resolution. The Compensation Committee assists the Board in carrying out its responsibilities relating to executive and director compensation.

The members of the Compensation Committee possess the skills and experience that enable the committee to make decisions on the suitability of the Company’s compensation policies and practices.


18

As a result of their education and experience, each member of the Compensation Committee has familiarity with, an understanding of, or experience in:

(a)

reviewing compensation philosophy including base compensation structures & incentive programs;

   
(b)

reviewing specific executive and director compensation;

   
(c)

administering of share options and other equity based compensation plans and the determination of share option grants; and

   
(d)

reviewing performance goals and the assessments of corporate officers.

Messrs. Pickering, Keep and Laing, serve on other boards of publicly traded mining companies and have experience in the area of compensation and related issues. See disclosure under " Biographical Information of Nominees for Director" for relevant education and experience of policies of the Compensation Committee.

The Compensation Committee (the " Committee ") has, among other things, the following duties, responsibilities and authority:

(a)

to recommend to the Board the form and amount of compensation to be paid by the Company to directors for service on the Board and on its committees. The Committee shall review director compensation at least annually.

   
(b)

to annually review the Company’s base compensation structure and the Company's incentive compensation, share option and other equity-based compensation programs and recommend changes in or additions to such structure and plans to the Board as needed.

   
(c)

to recommend to the Board the annual base compensation of the Company's executive officers and senior managers (collectively the " Officers ").

   
(d)

to recommend to the Board annual corporate goals and objectives under any incentive compensation plan adopted by the Company for Officers, and recommend incentive compensation participation levels for Officers under any such incentive compensation plan. In determining the incentive component of compensation, the Committee will consider the Company’s performance and relative shareholder return, the values of similar incentives at comparable companies and the awards given in past years.

   
(e)

to evaluate the performance of Officers generally and in light of annual corporate goals and objectives under any incentive compensation plan.

   
(f)

to periodically review with the Chairman and CEO their assessments of corporate officers and senior managers and succession plans and make recommendations to the Board regarding appointment of officers and senior managers.

   
(g)

to administer the Company's share option and other equity based compensation plans and determine the annual grants of share options and other equity based compensation.

   
(h)

to recommend to the NG Committee the qualifications and criteria for membership on the Compensation Committee.

Report on Executive Compensation

This report on executive compensation has been authorized by the Compensation Committee members as aforementioned. The Board assumes responsibility for reviewing and monitoring the long-range compensation strategy for the Company’s senior management, although the Compensation Committee guides it in this role. As part of its mandate, the Board determines the type and amount of compensation for the Company’s executive officers. In addition, the Board reviews the methodology utilized by the Company for setting salaries of employees throughout the organization.

The Compensation Committee receives competitive market information on compensation levels for executives. The Company’s compensation policies and programs are designed to be competitive with similar junior mining exploration companies and to recognize and reward executive performance consistent with the success of the Company’s business.


19

In 2017 the Compensation Committee engaged Lane Caputo Compensation Inc. (“Lane Caputo”) to provide independent third party compensation advice regarding appropriate compensation levels and practices. The following table discloses fees paid to Lane Caputo for such services. Lane Caputo was not engaged for 2018.

Activity 2018 2017
Executive Board Compensation Consulting Fees $Nil $12,850
All Other Fees $Nil $Nil

Philosophy and Objectives

The Company’s senior management compensation program is designed to ensure that the level and form of compensation achieves certain objectives, including:

  (a)

attracting and retaining talented, qualified and effective executives;

     
  (b)

motivating the short and long-term performance of these executives; and

     
  (c)

better aligning their interests with those of the Company’s Shareholders.

In compensating its senior management, the Company employs a combination of base salary, bonus compensation and equity participation through its share option plan.

Base Salary

In the Board’s view, paying base salaries that are competitive in the markets in which the Company operates is a first step to attracting and retaining talented, qualified and effective executives. The NEOs are paid a salary in order to ensure that the compensation package offered by the Company is in line with that offered by other companies in our industry, and as an immediate means of rewarding the NEO for efforts expended on behalf of the company.

The salary to be paid to a particular NEO is determined by gathering competitive salary information on comparable companies within the industry from a variety of sources, including surveys conducted by independent consultants and national and international publications such as the Mercer Mining Industry Compensation Survey and Hays Group Global Mining Compensation Review . Payment of a cash salary fits within the objective of the compensation program since it rewards each NEO for performance of his duties and responsibilities.

Bonus Compensation

Except as outlined herein, there are currently no performance goals set by the Company for executive bonus compensation. Bonus compensation is awarded at the discretion of the Board and the Board considers performance, shareholder benefits, competitive factors and other matters in awarding bonuses. The Company’s objective is to achieve certain strategic objectives and milestones relating to the Pebble Limited Partnership. The Board will consider executive bonus compensation dependent upon the Company meeting those strategic objectives and milestones and sufficient cash resources being available for the granting of bonuses.

Mr. Collier’s employment agreement provides for a discretionary bonus based on performance milestones related to the advancement of the Pebble Project, and in addition to the discretionary bonus, the payment of an extraordinary bonus (the " Bonus ") in the event that a positive final record of decision in respect of a 404 permit (the " ROD ") for the Pebble Project is issued by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (the " USACE ") as follows:

The Bonus on the issue of for a final positive ROD will be payable as follows:

  (a)

within four years from date of application US$12.5 million;

     
  (b)

within five years from date of application US$10.0 million;

     
  (c)

within six years from date of application US$7.5 million.

In the event that the Board determines to delay the permit process or file a material modification of the permit application (the " Permit Modification ") the date such delay is reversed and PLP renews its efforts to actively pursue the permit or the date such Permit Modification is filed shall be substituted for the foregoing date of application.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event of litigation following the issuance of the ROD, then an amount equal to 35% of the Bonus as determined above will be paid out and the balance (65%) paid out after the later of the running of all statutes of limitation or the settlement or resolution of all litigation related to the ROD in favor of PLP. For the purposes hereof litigation related to the ROD will be considered settled or resolved in favor of PLP only if PLP is able to proceed with the development and construction of the same project in all material respects that was approved under the ROD. In the event the Company is required to pay all or a part of the Bonus, the Company may pay such in cash or in stock of the Company at the Company's sole election.


20

Mr. Hodgson’s employment agreement provides for a discretionary bonus based on performance milestones related to the advancement of the Pebble Project, and the issuance of a positive ROD as follows:

The Bonus structure to Mr. Hodgson is as follows:

  (a)

US$100,000 upon USACE’s acceptance of Pebble Project permit application by April 1, 2018 (met and paid in late 2017);

     
  (b)

US$100,000 upon completion by USACE of an Environment Impact Study ("EIS") scoping period by August 1, 2018 (met and paid in 2018);

     
  (c)

US$100,000 upon receipt from USACE of a Draft EIS by September 1, 2019; and

     
  (d)

US$600,000 upon receipt from USACE of a positive ROD by November 1, 2018.

The Company also obtains salary and bonus information through its affiliation to the HDI group of companies. No compensation was paid directly to HDSI or any compensation consultant for compensation services for the two most recently completed financial years.

All Other Fees

There were no other fees paid to any consultants or advisors, which relate to executive compensation.

Equity Participation – Option Based Awards

The Company has a share option plan (the " Option Plan "), which was last approved by shareholders on June 23, 2017. The Option Plan was established to provide incentive to qualified parties to increase their proprietary interest in the Company, encourage the alignment of interests with its shareholders, and foster their continued association with the Company.

The Company’s long term incentives include options to purchase Common Shares. The Compensation Committee is delegated the authority to grant share options. The Compensation Committee reviews the grants of share options to directors, management, employees and consultants. Share options are generally granted annually, and at other times of the year to individuals commencing employment with the Company. Share option exercise prices are set in accordance with TSX policies (" TSX rules ") and are based on the five-day volume weighted average trading price prior to the date of grant.

The Company believes that encouraging its executives, employees and directors to become Shareholders is the best way of aligning their interests with those of its Shareholders. Equity participation is accomplished through the Option Plan, as well as through the DSU Plan and the RSU Plan (see Particulars of Matters to be Acted upon below). Share options are granted taking into account a number of factors, including the amount and term of options previously granted, base salary and bonuses, and competitive factors. Share options vest on terms established by the Compensation Committee.

The Company’s long term incentive plans are designed to foster and promote the long-term financial success of the Company by strengthening the ability of the Company to attract and retain highly competent employees, motivating performance through incentive compensation, promoting greater alignment of interests between employees and shareholders in creating long-term shareholder value, and enabling employees to participate in the long-term growth and financial success of the Company. Share options provide employees with the opportunity to participate in the growth of the price of the Common Shares of the Company, and it allows them to benefit from the favourable tax treatment applicable to this form of compensation.

See disclosure below under " Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans " for material terms of the Option Plan.

Equity Participation – Restricted Share Unit Plan and Deferred Share Unit Plan


21

The Company also has a Restricted Share Unit Plan (the " RSU Plan ") and a Deferred Share Unit Plan (the " DSU Plan ") both of which were initially approved by the shareholders in July 2015, and subsequently approved, as amended, for continuation for a further three years, at the Company’s shareholder meeting held June 28, 2018, see Securities Authorized for Issuance under Equity Compensation Plans below .

General

The Compensation Committee considered the implications of the risks associated with the Company’s compensation policies and practices and concluded that, given the nature of the Company’s business and the role of the Compensation Committee in overseeing the Company’s executive compensation practices, the compensation policies and practices do not serve to encourage any NEO or individual at a principal business unit or division to take inappropriate or excessive risks, and no risks were identified arising from the Company’s compensation policies and practices that are reasonably likely to have a material adverse effect on the Company.

There is a restriction on NEOs or directors regarding the purchase of financial instruments including prepaid variable forward contracts, equity swaps, collars, or units of exchange funds that are designed to hedge or offset a decrease in market value of equity securities granted as compensation or held, directly or indirectly, by the NEO or director. For the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, no NEO or director, directly or indirectly, employed a strategy to hedge or offset a decrease in market value of equity securities granted as compensation or held.

Given the evolving nature of the Company’s business, the Board continues to review and redesign the overall compensation plan for senior management so as to continue to address the objectives identified above.

Performance Graph

The following graph compares the cumulative shareholder return on an investment of $100 in the Common Shares of the Company for the past five years of the Company on the TSX with a cumulative total shareholder return on the S&P/TSX Composite Index.

The Company’s Common Shares performed negatively relative to the TSX during period 2013 to 2015. The Company believes the pre-emptive regulatory action by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (the " EPA ") under Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act to consider severe restrictions or a prohibition on mining activities in the vicinity of the Pebble deposit together with the weakness in the junior mining sector and the withdrawal of the Company’s partner from the Pebble Project in late 2013, all contributed to the negative performance of the Company’s Common Shares. In response to the EPA’s pre-emptive regulatory action, the Company pursued a multi-dimensional strategy and had engaged in direct discussions with the EPA for resolution thereof however, the uncertainty surrounding the EPA’s actions contributed to the significant and material decline in the price of the Common Shares over the period 2012 to 2015. In 2013 NEO compensation was lower than the following years as no share options were granted to directors. In 2014, NEO Compensation increased due in part to the inclusion of the new CEO for PLP and the granting of share options. This increase contrasted with the negative performance in the Common Shares relative to the performance of the TSX. From 2015 to 2016, NEO compensation was on par with 2014 and the Company’s market share price recovered from the lows in the prior years. In 2017, NEO compensation increased due to incentive bonuses being paid in connection with certain milestones being achieved, including the joint settlement agreement reached with the EPA and the submission of a Section 404(c) permit application with the US Army Corps of Engineers the granting of share options which were valued at higher share prices on date of grant and the issue of RSUs. In 2018, NEO compensation decreased mainly due to the lower fair value estimated for share options granted as the Company’s Common Share price decreased in 2018.


22

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23

SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE

The compensation paid to the NEOs during the Company’s three most recently completed financial years ended December 31 is as set out below and expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted:






Name and
principal
position







Year






Salary
($)




Share-
based
awards
($)




Option-
based
awards
($)
Non-equity incentive plan
compensation
($)





Pension
value
($)




All other
compen-
sation
($)




Total
Compen-
sation
($)
Annual
incentive
plans
($)
Long-term
incentive
plans
($)
Ronald Thiessen 2, 3
President & CEO
2018 506,000 - 513,000 7  1,019,000
2017 506,000 402,486 17 1,108,800 6 101,200 17  2,118,486
2016 287,500 242,908 16 294,000 4 824,408
Marchand Snyman 2, 3
Former CFO
2018 275,000 - 342,000 7 617,000
2017 275,000 218,742 17 739,200 6 55,000 17 1,287,942
2016 163,000 132,016 16 294,000 4  589,016
Thomas Collier 1, 9
PLP CEO
2018 868,596 - 142,500 7 816,931 12 161,087 14, 15 1,989,114
2017 843,718 240,012 18 1,109,489 13 164,525 14, 15 2,357,744
2016 861,611 245,000 4 145,044 14, 15 1,251,655
Peter Robertson 1, 9
PLP Senior VP Corp.
Affairs
2018 543,495 36,000 8 20,643 14  600,138
2017 538,329 147,800 6 31,152 14  717,281
2016 550,106 142,250 4, 5 28,237 14  720,593
Stephen Hodgson
PLP Senior VP
Engineering &
Project Director
2018 471,179 10 142,500 7 254,661 25,967 15  894,307
2017 211,475 11 295,680 6 127,590  634,745
2016 55,999 11 61,250 4  117,249

Notes:

1.

Salaries paid to Messrs. Collier and Robertson are paid in United States dollars (" US dollars "). In 2018, Mr. Hodgson was paid in US dollars (refer to note 10 below). For Messrs. Collier, Hodgson and Robertson, the following annual average exchange rates have been applied where applicable for the years ended December 31: 2018 – Cdn$1.00 = US$0.7702; 2017 – Cdn$1.00 = US$0.7704; and 2016 – Cdn$1.00 = US$0.7544.

2.

Salary for Messrs. Thiessen and Snyman is paid to HDSI. The compensation amount shown is the amount paid to HDSI directly for Messrs. Thiessen and Snyman based on the estimated amount of time spent providing services to the Company, including the Pebble Partnership. Mr. Snyman resigned as Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective April 2, 2019.

3.

Messrs. Thiessen and Snyman did not serve the Company on a full time basis, and their salary from the Company is allocated based on the estimated amount of time spent providing services to the Company. Mr. Snyman resigned as CFO in April 2019. Mr. Mark Peters has been appointed CFO to replace Mr. Snyman.

4.

The share options were granted in July 2016 pursuant to the Company’s share option plan. For compensation purposes, the Black- Scholes option valuation model has been used to determine the fair value on the date of grant using the following assumptions: expected life of 5 years, expected volatility of 82.09%, expected dividend yield of 0%, and risk-free interest rate of 0.53%. The Black-Scholes grant date fair value for these awards was $0.49 per option which was 100% of the option exercise price.

5.

The options were granted in March 2016 pursuant to the Company’s share option plan. For compensation purposes, the Black- Scholes option valuation model has been used to determine the fair value on the date of grant using the following assumptions: expected life of 5 years, expected volatility of 80.13%, expected dividend yield of 0%, and risk-free interest rate of 0.73%. The Black-Scholes grant date fair value for these awards was $0.27 per option which was 56% of the option exercise price.

6.

The options were granted in July 2017 pursuant to the Company’s share option plan. For compensation purposes, the Black-Scholes option valuation model has been used to determine the fair value on the date of grant using the following assumptions: expected life of 5 years, expected volatility of 92.13%, expected dividend yield of 0%, and risk-free interest rate of 1.60%. The Black-Scholes grant date fair value for these awards was $1.232 per option which was 70% of the option exercise price.

7.

The options were granted in August 2018 pursuant to the Company’s share option plan. For compensation purposes, the Black- Scholes option valuation model has been used to determine the fair value on the date of grant using the following assumptions: expected life of 5 years, expected volatility of 94.77%, expected dividend yield of 0%, and risk-free interest rate of 2.24%. The Black-Scholes grant date fair value for these awards was $0.57 per option which was 75% of the option exercise price.

8.

The options were granted in August 2018 pursuant to the Company’s share option plan. For compensation purposes, the Black- Scholes option valuation model has been used to determine the fair value on the date of grant using the following assumptions: expected life of 3 years, expected volatility of 97.12%, expected dividend yield of 0%, and risk-free interest rate of 2.15%. The Black-Scholes grant date fair value for these awards was $0.48 per option which was 63% of the option exercise price.



24

9.

Messrs. Collier, who holds the position of CEO for PLP, and Robertson, who holds the position of Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs, for PLP, are employed and paid through a subsidiary of the Company.

10.

Mr. Hodgson is employed and seconded to PLP on a full time basis. From January 2018 until June 2018, Mr. Hodgson was employed through HDSI, and from July 2018, Mr. Hodgson commenced employment through a US subsidiary of HDSI (" HDUS "). The Company paid HDSI pursuant to set rates for the services of Mr. Hodgson for the first half of 2018 and has reimbursed HDUS for the salary cost incurred in the latter half of 2018. Mr. Hodgson’s US dollar salary cost has been translated at the annual average exchange rate for 2018.

11.

Prior to Mr. Hodgson’s appointment as PLP Senior VP Engineering & Project Director, Mr. Hodgson did not serve the Company on a full time basis, and his salary from the Company is allocated based on the estimated amount of time spent providing services to the Company, which in 2017 was 75% and in 2016 was 25%.

12.

Mr. Collier received an aggregate bonus of US$854,750 with respect to fiscal years 2015 and 2016.

13.

Mr. Collier received a bonus of US$629,200 in respect to fiscal 2017.

14.

A subsidiary of the Company has a 401(k) retirement savings plan for U.S. employees whereby employees are able to contribute a portion of their pay and receive a dollar for dollar Company match up to 6% of their pay, subject to United States Internal Revenue Service limitations.

15.

Messrs. Collier and Hodgson each receive housing, vehicle and spousal/partner allowances as their primary residences are outside of Alaska.

16.

Messrs. Thiessen and Snyman received 352,041 and 191,327 RSUs respectively in July 2016. The RSUs have been valued at the TSX closing price for the Company’s common shares on date of grant which was $0.69. The RSUs vested and payout in cash was made in July 2017.

17.

Messrs. Thiessen and Snyman received short term incentive compensation in July 2017 which was paid in cash and RSUs. Mr. Thiessen received 231,314 RSUs and Mr. Snyman received 125,714 RSUs. The RSUs have been valued at the TSX closing price for the Company’s common shares on date of grant, which was $1.74. The RSUs vested and were settled in common shares in July 2018.

18.

Mr. Collier received 107,629 RSUs in September 2017. The RSUs have been valued at the TSX closing price on date of grant, which was $2.23. One-third vested on date of grant and was settled in shares net of tax obligations. In 2018, another third vested but was settled in shares net of tax obligations in January 2019. The final third vests in September 2019.

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25

INCENTIVE PLAN AWARDS

Outstanding Share-based Awards and Option-based Awards

The Company currently has an option-based awards plan and two share based awards plans. The following table sets out the options and share-based awards outstanding as at December 31, 2018, for each NEO:











Name








Year
of
grant
Option-based Awards Share-based Awards





Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options (#)






Option
exercise
price
($)







Option
expiration date
m-d-y





Value of
unexercised
in-the-money
options
($) 1



Number
of shares
or units of
shares
that have
not vested
(#)


Market or
payout
value of
share-based
awards that
have not
vested
($) 1
Market or
payout
value of
vested
share-based
awards not
paid out or
distrib-
uted
($) 2


Ronald Thiessen
President and CEO

2014 480,000 1.77 Feb-26-2019
2015 450,000 0.50 Oct-20-2020 117,000
2016 600,000 0.49 Jul-11-2021 162,000
2017 900,000 1.75 Jul-27-2022      
2018 900,000 0.76 Aug-09-2023      
Marchand Snyman
Former CFO
2014 480,000 1.77 Feb-26-2019
2015 450,000 0.50 Oct-20-2020 117,000
2016 600,000 0.49 Jul-11-2021 162,000
2017 600,000 1.75 Jul-27-2022    
2018 600,000 0.76 Aug-09-2023      
Thomas Collier
PLP CEO
2014 750,000 0.89 Apr-16-2019 35,876 80,000 80,000
2016 500,000 0.49 Jul-11-2021 81,000
2018 250,000 0.76 Aug-09-2023      
Peter Robertson
PLP Senior
VP
Corp. Affairs
2015 125,000 0.89 Apr-16-2019
2016 300,000 0.48 Mar-15-2021 84,000
2016 125,000 0.49 Jul-11-2021 33,750
2017 120,000 1.75 Jul-27-2022
2018 75,000 0.76 Aug-09-2021
Stephen Hodgson
PLP Senior VP
Engineering &
Project Director
2014 100,000 1.77 Feb-26-2019
2015 90,000 0.50 Oct-20-2020 23,400
2016 125,000 0.49 Jul-11-2021 33,750
2017 240,000 1.75 Jul-27-2022
2018 250,000 0.76 Aug-09-2023

Notes:

1.

The value is the difference between the TSX closing price of $0.76 per common share at December 31, 2018 and the exercise price of options. For RSUs vesting, the value has been calculated based on the number of common shares underlying such awards multiplied by the TSX closing price on the date of grant of $$2.23 for Mr. Collier.

2.

One-third of Mr. Collier’s RSUs vested in September 2018 but were only settled in January 2019. The values have been determined as per 1 above. Except for the aforementioned RSUs, there were no outstanding RSUs that had vested as of December 31, 2018.

During the most recently completed financial year, on August 9, 2018, the Company granted 5,635,000 options with an exercise price of $0.76 per Common Share with either a five or three-year term to directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Company and to employees of the Pebble Partnership. The options vest in two equal tranches: one-half vested on date of grant and one-half vests 12 months from the grant date. Of the options granted, an aggregate of 2,950,000 options were awarded to directors and officers of the Company.


26

Incentive Plan Awards – Value Vested or Earned During the Year

The following table sets out all incentive plans (value vested or earned) during the year ended December 31, 2018, for each NEO:






Name

Option-based
awards –
Value vested
during the year
($) 1

Share-based
awards – Value
vested during the
year
($)
Non-equity
incentive plan
compensation –
Value earned
during the year
($)
Ronald Thiessen , President and CEO 47,000 nil 2
Marchand Snyman , Former CFO 44,000 nil 2
Thomas C. Collier , PLP CEO 34,167 80,000 3        
Peter Robertson , PLP Senior VP Corp. Affairs 8,667
Stephen Hodgson , Senior VP Engineering & Project Director 10,417

Notes:

1.

Represents the aggregate dollar value that would have been realized if options under the option-based award had been exercised on the 2018 vesting date determined by taking the difference between the market price of the shares subject to the option at date of vesting and the exercise price of the option.

2.

231,314 and 118,171 RSUs issued to Messrs. Thiessen and Snyman, respectively, vested and were settled in common shares in July 2018. The value vested has been determined to be nil as the market price of $0.80 was below the value determined at the date of grant of $1.74.

3.

One-third of RSUs issued to Mr. Collier vested in September 2018. The value has been determined as the grant date TSX closing price multiplied by the number of RSUs that vested.

PENSION PLAN BENEFITS

Except as outlined herein, the Company has no pension or deferred compensation plans for its NEOs, directors, officers or employees.

Pebble Partnership, a subsidiary of the Company, has a 401(k) retirement savings plan for U.S. employees whereby employees are able to contribute a portion of their pay and receive a dollar-for-dollar Company match up to 6% of their pay, subject to IRS limitations.

TERMINATION AND CHANGE OF CONTROL BENEFITS

Other than Messrs. Collier and Robertson, who have employment agreements with a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, Pebble Services Inc. (" PSI "), there is no written employment contract between the Company and the remaining NEOs. Messrs. Thiessen, Snyman and Magee have agreements with HDSI and are seconded to the Company. Mr. Hodgson is seconded to the Company on a full time basis based in Anchorage, Alaska through a written employment contract with a wholly-owned US subsidiary of HDSI. Each of Messrs, Thiessen, Snyman, and Hodgson have change of control agreements with the Company

There are no compensatory plan(s) or arrangement(s), with respect to any NEO, other than discussed below, resulting from the resignation, retirement or any other termination of employment of the officer’s employment or from a change of any NEO’s responsibilities following a change in control.

Under Mr. Collier’s employment agreement, in the event of termination without cause by the Company or termination by Mr. Collier for good reason (as defined in the agreement) including a material breach of the agreement by PSI, constructive dismissal by PSI or termination by the employee following the six month period after a change of control if the change of control results in the Company no longer owning any interest in the Pebble Project, Mr. Collier is entitled to receive an amount equal to two years annual base salary.

With respect to the payment of the Bonus (see Bonus Compensation discussed under Incentive Plan Awards), in the event that there is a positive final ROD:


27

In the event that Mr. Collier’s employment with PSI is terminated pursuant to a change of control, then if Mr. Collier’s employment is terminated by PSI without cause or by Mr. Collier for good reason within six months following a change in control, PSI shall pay the Mr. Collier all compensation set forth above including payment of the Bonus. In addition, each granted and outstanding option to purchase Common Shares then held by Mr. Collier will immediately vest and become exercisable in full in accordance with terms of the Option Plan.

For the purposes of Mr. Collier’ agreement, a change of control means a sale of a partnership interest in PLP or a merger, a consolidation, a reorganization or an arrangement that results in a transfer of more than 50% of the total voting power in PLP to a person or a group of persons different from that or those holding such voting power immediately prior to such transaction, other than (i) to a person that already directly or indirectly controls PLP or (ii) the admittance of another limited partner other than the Northern Dynasty partners.

Mr. Robertson’s employment agreement with PSI states that in the event that Mr. Robertson’s employment with PSI is terminated due to the following conditions:

then PSI will provide Mr. Robertson with six months’ prior notice of the termination of his employment agreement and Mr. Robertson employment or six months’ salary in lieu of notice, or a combination of the two.

The above notice/severance provisions for Mr. Robertson do not apply if he accepts employment from one of PLP’s partner companies on terms and conditions no less favorable overall than the terms and conditions of his agreement with PSI.

Under the change of control agreements for Messrs. Thiessen and Snyman, upon resignation or termination without cause, including constructive dismissal, following a change of control, each of Messrs. Thiessen and Snyman would be entitled to receive a payment equal to two times his annual salary payable by the Company as set out in the agreement (in total $920,000 for Mr. Thiessen and $500,000 for Mr. Snyman). Under the change of control agreement for Mr. Hodgson, upon termination without cause, including constructive dismissal, following a change of control, Mr. Hodgson would be entitled to receive a payment equal to one time his annual salary payable under his employment contract with a wholly-owned US subsidiary of HDSI. Mr. Snyman resigned as Chief Financial Officer of the Company effective April 2, 2019.

In addition to the foregoing, Messrs. Thiessen, Snyman and Hodgson would be entitled to receive any amount earned and payable under any Company incentive plan, or if no amount is earned for the year in question any incentive plan payment made in the previous year, and all stock options held thereby will vest and be exercisable in full until their normal expiry date.

DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

Philosophy and Objectives

The main objective of director compensation is to attract and retain directors with the relevant skills, knowledge and abilities to carry out the Board’s mandate.

Director Compensation Table

The compensation provided to the directors, excluding a director who is included in disclosure for an NEO, for the Company’s most recently completed financial year of December 31, 2018 is:


28






Name




Fees earned
($)


Share-
based
awards
($)

Share
option-
based
awards
($) 3
Non-equity
incentive
plan
compen-
sation
($)



Pension
value
($)


All other
compen-
sation
($)




Total
($)
Desmond Balakrishnan 44,550 57,000 101,550
Steven Decker 1 50,325 57,000 107,325
Robert Dickinson 2, 170,000 114,000 170,000
Gordon Keep 1 50,325 57,000 107,325
David Laing 1 52,250 57,000 109,250
Christian Milau 1 57,970 57,000 114,970
Ken Pickering 1 52,250 57,000 109,250

Notes:

1.

In 2018, each director of the Company was entitled to an annual director’s fee comprising of: a) $44,550 Base Fee; b) $9,570 for being the Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee; c) $3,850 for being the Chair of the Compensation Committee or NG Committee; and d) $3,850 for being a member of one of the committees.

2.

Fees for Mr. Dickinson are paid through HDSI. The fee amounts shown are the amounts paid to HDSI for Mr. Dickinson based on the estimated time spent on the Company’s activities.

3.

The options were granted in August 2018 pursuant to the Corporation’s share option plan. For compensation purposes, the Black-Scholes option valuation model has been used to determine the fair value on the date of grant using the following assumptions: expected life of 5 years, expected volatility of 94.77%, expected dividend yield of 0%, and risk- free interest rate of 2.24%. The Black-Scholes grant date fair value for these awards was $0.57 per option which was 75% of the option exercise price.

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29

Outstanding Share-based Awards and Option-based Awards

The following table sets out all option-based awards outstanding pursuant to the Option Plan and all outstanding share-based awards pursuant to the DSU Plan and the RSU Plan as at December 31, 2018, each director, excluding a director who is already set out in disclosure for an NEO bove:









Name






Year
of
grant
Option-based Awards Share-based Awards


Number of
securities
underlying
unexercised
options
(#)




Option
exercise
price
($)





Option
expiration date
m – d - y



Value of
unexercised in-
the-money
options
($) 1

Number of
shares or
units of
shares that
have not
vested
(#)


Market or
payout value
of share-
based awards
that have not
vested ($) 1
Market or
payout value
of vested share
based awards
not paid out or
distrib-
uted
($) 3
Desmond
Balakrishnan
2016 300,000 0.49 Jul-11-2021 81,000 84,014 188,191
2017 201,000 1.75 Jul-27-2022
2018 100,000 0.76 Aug-09-2023
Steven Decker 2016 300,000 0.49 Jul-11-2021 81,000 74,830 167,619
2017 201,000 1.75 Jul-27-2022
2018 100,000 0.76 Aug-09-2023
Robert Dickinson 2014 480,000 5 1.77 Feb-26-2019
2015 450,000 4 0.50 Oct-20-2020 117,000
2016  450,000 3 0.49 Jul-11-2021 121,500
2017 204,000 1.75 Jul-27-2022
2018 200,000 0.76 Aug-09-2023
Gordon Keep 2015 56,400 2 0.37 Jun-30-2019 21,996
2015 9,400 2 0.37 Mar-10-2021 3,666
2015 37,600 2 0.37 Dec-15-2021 14,664
2015 37,600 2 0.40 Dec-12-2022 13,536
2015 37,600 2 0.29 Dec-8-2024 17,672
2016 300,000 0.49 Jul-11-2021 81,000 85,884 192,380
2017 201,000 1.75 Jul-27-2022
2018 100,000 0.76 Aug-09-2023
David Laing 2016 300,000 0.49 Jul-11-2021 81,000 57,738 129,333
2017 201,000 1.75 Jul-27-2022
2018 100,000 0.76 Aug-09-2023
Christian Milau 2016 300,000 0.49 Jul-11-2021 81,000 63,486 142,209
2017 201,000 1.75 Jul-27-2022
2018 100,000 0.76 Aug-09-2023
Ken Pickering 2014 150,000 1.77 Feb-26-2019
2015 80,000 0.50 Oct-20-2020 20,800
2016 300,000 0.49 Jul-11-2021 81,000 92,177 206,476
2017 201,000 1.75 Jul-27-2022
2018 100,000 0.76 Aug-09-2023

Notes:

1.

For options, the value is the difference between the TSX closing price of $0.76 per Common Share at December 31, 2018 and the exercise price of the options.

2.

On completion of the acquisition of Cannon Point Resources Ltd. ("Cannon Point") in October 2015, Mr. Keep’s Cannon Point options were exchanged for Options of the Company.



30

3.

For DSUs, the value has been calculated based on the number of Common Shares underlying such awards multiplied by the TSX closing price of $2.24 per Common Share.

Incentive Plan Awards – Value Vested or Earned During the Year

The following table sets out all awards pursuant to incentive plans (value vested or earned) during the year ended December 31, 2018, for each director, excluding a director who is already set out in disclosure for an NEO above:



Name

Option-based awards – Value
vested during the year 1
($)

Share-based awards – Value
vested during the year 2
($)
Non-equity incentive plan
compensation – Value
earned during the year
($)
Desmond Balakrishnan 20,000
Steven Decker 20,000
Robert Dickinson 30,500 nil
Gordon Keep 20,000
David Laing 20,000
Christian Milau 20,000
Ken Pickering 20,000

Notes:

1.

Represents the aggregate dollar value that would have been realized if options under the option-based award had been exercised on the vesting date, determined by taking the difference between the market price of the shares subject to the share option at date of vesting and the exercise price of the share option.

2.

The outstanding DSUs fully vested on date of grant in July 2016. 77,714 RSUs issued to Mr. Dickinson in the prior year vested and were settled in common shares in July 2018. The value vested has been determined to be nil as the market price of $0.80 was below the value determined at the date of grant of $1.74.

Compensation Actions, Decisions or Policies made after December 31, 2018.

Mr. Snyman resigned as CFO in April 2019. Mr. Mark Peters has been appointed CFO to replace Mr. Snyman.

Given the evolving nature of the Corporation’s business, the Board continues to review and redesign the overall compensation plan for directors and senior management so as to continue to address the objectives identified above.

SECURITIES AUTHORIZED FOR ISSUANCE UNDER EQUITY COMPENSATION PLANS

See disclosure under "Statement of Executive Compensation – Compensation Discussion and Analysis - Equity Participation – Option Based Awards" concerning the Company’s rolling Share Option Plan (the " Option Plan ") continuation of which was last approved and ratified by shareholders on June 23, 2017 for a three-year period. The Company expects to present an ordinary resolution at its annual shareholder meeting in 2020 to approve the Option Plan for continuation for three more years until 2023. Pursuant to the Option Plan, options may be granted to purchase Common Shares, together with all other Share Compensation Arrangements of the Company, up to an aggregate maximum of 10% of the outstanding Common Shares. All Share Compensation Arrangements of the Company include the Option Plan, the Deferred Share Unit Plan (" DSU Plan ") and the Restricted Share Unit Plan (" RSU Plan "). See Equity Compensation Plan Information below. As outstanding share options are exercised, additional share options may be granted to replace the exercised share options. In addition, as the number of issued and outstanding Common Shares increases, the number of share options available for grant to eligible optionees also increases. As at the date hereof, there are share options outstanding to purchase an aggregate of 24,743,132 Common Shares representing approximately 7.15% of the outstanding Common Shares.


31

SHARE OPTION PLAN

Material Terms

The following is a summary of the material terms of the Option Plan:

(a)

Persons who are directors, officers, employees, or consultants to the Company or its affiliates, or who are employees of a management company providing services to the Company are eligible to receive grants of options under the Option Plan.

   
(b)

Options may be granted only to an individual or to a company that is owned by individuals eligible for an option grant. If the option is granted to a company, the company must undertake that it will not permit any transfer of its shares, nor issue further shares, to any other individual or entity as long as the incentive stock option remains in effect without the consent of the TSX.

   
(c)

All options granted under the Option Plan may be exercisable only by the Optionee to whom they have been granted and the options are non-assignable and non-transferable, except that in the case of the death of an Optionee, any vested option held by the deceased Optionee at the date of death will become exercisable by the Optionee’s lawful personal representatives, heirs or executors until the earlier of: (i) one year after the date of death of such Optionee; and (ii) the date of expiration of the term otherwise applicable to such Option.

   
(d)

Vesting of options is determined by the Board and subject to the following:


 

where an Optionee has left the Company’s employ/office or has been advised their services are no longer required or their service contract has expired, subject to other provisions set out in the Option Plan, vested options expire on the earlier of the expiry date of the option or 90 days after the date the Optionee ceases to be employed by, provide services to, or be a director or officer of, the Company, and all unvested options immediately terminate without right to exercise same unless the Board otherwise resolves;

     
 

in the case of the death of an Optionee, any vested Option held by him at the date of death will become exercisable by the Optionee’s lawful personal representatives, heirs or executors until the earlier of one year after the date of death of such Optionee and the date of expiration of the term otherwise applicable to such Option;

     
 

in the case of an Optionee being dismissed from employment or service for cause, such Optionee’s options, whether or not vested at the date of dismissal, immediately terminate without right to exercise same;

     
 

in the event of a change of control occurring, options granted to directors and officers which are subject to vesting provisions are deemed to have immediately vested upon the occurrence of the change of control; and

     
 

in the event of a director not being nominated for re-election as a director of the Company, although consenting to act and being under no legal incapacity which would prevent the director from being a member of the Board, options granted which are subject to a vesting provision are deemed to have vested on the date of Meeting upon which the director is not re-elected.


(e)

All share options granted under the Option Plan are exercisable for a period of up to 5 years and will vest at the discretion of the Board, provided that the term of such options may be extended in circumstances where the expiry date otherwise falls during a black-out period (defined below) as determined in accordance with the Company’s policies or applicable securities legislation, and subject to:


  (i)

the Optionee remaining employed by or continuing to provide services to the Company or any of its subsidiaries and affiliates as well as, at the discretion of the Board, achieving certain milestones which may be defined by the Board from time to time or receiving a satisfactory performance review by the Company or its subsidiary or affiliate during the vesting period; or

     
  (ii)

remaining as a director of the Company or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates during the vesting period.

A “blackout period” is any period of time during which a participant in the Option Plan is unable to trade securities of the Company as a consequence of the implementation of a general restriction on trading by an authorized Officer or Director pursuant to the Company’s governance policies that authorize general and/or specific restrictions on trading by service providers in circumstances where there may exist undisclosed material changes or undisclosed material facts in connection with the Company’s affairs. The term of an option will expire on its Expiry Date as defined in the Option Plan unless the Expiry Date occurs during a blackout period or within five business days after the expiry of the blackout period, in which case the Expiry Date for that Option will be the date that is the tenth business day after the date the blackout period expires.


32

(f)

The exercise price of the option is established by the Board at the time the option is granted, provided that the minimum exercise price shall not be less than the weighted average trading price of the Company’s shares on the TSX for the five trading days preceding the date of the grant.

   
(g)

The number of Common Shares that may be issuable to directors who are independent directors of the Company, when combined with all of the Company’s other share compensation arrangements currently in effect for their benefit, may not exceed 1% of the Company’s outstanding Common Shares.

   
(h)

Subject to the policies of the TSX, the Option Plan may be amended by the Board without further shareholder approval to:

   
(i)

make amendments which are of a typographical, grammatical or clerical nature;

   
(ii)

change the vesting provisions of an option granted under the Option Plan;

   
(iii)

change the termination provision of an option granted under the Option Plan, if it does not entail an extension beyond the original expiry date of such option;

   
(iv)

add a cashless exercise feature payable in cash or Common Shares;

   
(v)

make amendments necessary as a result in changes in securities laws applicable to the Company; and

   
(vi)

make such amendments as may be required by the policies of such senior stock exchange or stock market if the Company becomes listed or quoted on a stock exchange or stock market senior to the TSX.

   
(i)

The Option Plan has the following additional restrictions:

   
(i)

Common Shares to be issued to Insiders under the Option Plan, when combined with all of the Company’s other share compensation arrangements, may not exceed 10% of the outstanding Common Shares in any 12- month period;

   
(ii)

the number of Common Shares issuable to Insiders as a group under the Plan, when combined with Common Shares issuable to Insiders under all the Company’s other security based compensation plans, may not exceed 10% of the Company’s issued Common Shares;

   
(iii)

Common Shares being issuable to independent directors under the Plan, when combined with all of the Company’s other share compensation arrangements, may not exceed 1% of the outstanding Common Shares of the Company from time to time; and

   
(iv)

a reduction in the exercise price of an option granted hereunder to an Insider or an extension of the term of an option granted hereunder benefiting an Insider, would require the approval of the disinterested shareholders (defined below) of the Company.

Disinterested Shareholder approval shall be required in respect of:

  a.

any amendment which reduces the Exercise Price of an Option;

     
  b.

any amendment to extend the term of an option granted to an Insider;

     
  c.

amendments to increase any of the limits on the number of Options that may be granted;

     
  d.

any amendment that may permit an increase to the proposed limit on independent director participation;

     
  e.

any amendment relating to the transferability or assignability of an Option;

     
  f.

any amendment to section 2.9 – “ Terms or Amendments Requiring Disinterested Shareholder Approval ” of the Plan; and

     
  g.

any amendments required to be approved by shareholders under applicable law.



33

The Option Plan provides for the grant of Options that meet the definition of Incentive Stock Options under the United States Internal Revenue Code . Subject to adjustment for general changes to the Common Shares, the total number of Common Shares which may be issued pursuant to such Incentive Stock Options is limited to 5,000,000 Common Shares.

Deferred Share Unit Plan and Restricted Share Unit Plan

Material Terms

The Company has a DSU Plan and a RSU Plan, both of which were amended and approved for continuation by the shareholders in June 2018.

The material terms of the DSU Plan and the RSU Plan are set out below:

The purpose of the DSU and RSU Plans (together, the “ Plans ”) is to provide non-executive directors, employees, management and other service providers (the “ Eligible Persons ”) with the opportunity to receive equity based compensation and incentives, thereby (i) increasing the proprietary interests of the Eligible Persons in the Company, (ii) aligning the interests of such Eligible Persons with the interests of the Company’s Shareholders (iii) encouraging such Eligible Persons to remain associated with the Company, and (iv) substituting equity based compensation for cash based compensation.

The Plans were initially approved by shareholders at the Company’s annual general meeting held July 7, 2015 and copies of the Plans were filed under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. In 2018 the Company amended the Plans, and the 2018 Non-Employee Directors Deferred Share Unit Plan (the “ DSU Plan ”), and the 2018 Restricted Share Unit Plan (the “ RSU Plan ”) were approved by shareholders at the Company’s annual general meeting held June 28, 2018. Copies of the Plans, as amended, are available under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Together with the Company’s Share Option Plan, the Plans comprise all equity based compensation (“ Equity Based Compensation ”) issuable by the Company. The maximum aggregate number of Common Shares available for reserve at any one time under all Equity Based Compensation plans is 10% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares of the Company, from time to time.

DEFERRED SHARE UNIT PLAN

Summary of the DSU Plan

A summary of the DSU Plan is set out below and a complete copy is available under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Capitalized terms used, but not defined herein have the meaning ascribed to them in the DSU Plan.

Administration of Plan

The Compensation Committee shall administer the DSU Plan. The DSU Plan provides that non-employee directors may elect to receive up to 100% of their annual compensation amount as established from time to time by the Board (the “ Annual Base Compensation ”) in DSUs. A DSU is a unit credited to a Participant by way of a bookkeeping entry in the books of the Company, the value of each DSU is equivalent to one Common Share. All DSUs paid with respect to Annual Base Compensation will be credited to the director by means of an entry in a notional account in their favour on the books of the Company (a “ DSU Account ”) when such Annual Base Compensation is payable. The director’s DSU Account will be credited with the number of DSUs calculated to the nearest thousandth of a DSU, determined by dividing the dollar amount of compensation payable in DSUs on the payment date by the Share Price of a Common Share at the time. Share Price is defined in the DSU Plan and means (if the Common Shares are listed and posted for trading on the TSX) the closing price of a Common Share on the TSX averaged over the five (5) consecutive trading days immediately preceding the date of grant or the redemption date, as the case may be. Fractional Common Shares will not be issued and any fractional entitlements will be rounded down to the nearest whole number.

Generally, a Participant (as defined in the DSU Plan as Non – Employee director of the Company) shall be entitled to redeem his or her DSUs during the period commencing on the business day immediately following the date upon which the Participant ceases to hold any position as a director of the Company or its subsidiaries and is no longer otherwise employed by the Company or its subsidiaries, including in the event of death of the Participant (the “ Termination Date ”) and ending on the 90th day following the Termination Date, provided, however that for U.S. Eligible Participants, redemption will be made upon such Participant’s “separation from service” as defined under Internal Revenue Code Section 409A. Redemptions of DSUs under the DSU Plan may be in Common Shares issued from treasury (subject to the Shareholder approval being sought at this Meeting), may be purchased by the Company on the open market for delivery to the former non-employee director, may be settled in cash or any combination of the foregoing.


34

Maximum Number of Common Shares Issuable for DSUs

DSUs may be granted in accordance with the DSU Plan, provided the aggregate number of DSUs outstanding pursuant to the DSU Plan from time to time does not exceed 2.0% of the issued and outstanding Common Shares from time to time. The maximum number of Common Shares issuable pursuant to all Security Based Compensation Arrangements (including all of Option, DSU and RSU Plans), at any time, including all Common Shares, options or other rights to purchase or otherwise acquire Common Shares that are granted, shall not exceed 10% of the total number of outstanding Common Shares.

The DSU Plan provides that the maximum number of Common Shares issued to insiders (as that term is defined by the TSX) pursuant to the DSU Plan, together with any Common Shares issuable pursuant to any other security- based compensation arrangement of the Company, within a one-year period, will not exceed 10% of the total number of outstanding Common Shares.

Transferability

No right to receive payment of deferred compensation or retirement awards shall be transferable or assignable by any Participant under the DSU Plan except by will or laws of descent and distribution.

Amendments Pursuant to the DSU Plan

The Board may at any time, and from time to time, and without further shareholder approval, amend any provision of the DSU Plan, subject to any regulatory or stock exchange requirement at the time of such amendment, including, without limitation:

(a)

for the purposes of making formal minor or technical modifications to any of the provisions of the DSU Plan including amendments of a “clerical” or “housekeeping” nature;

   
(b)

to correct any ambiguity, defective provision, error or omission in the provisions of the DSU Plan;

   
(c)

amendments to the termination provisions of the DSU Plan;

   
(d)

amendments necessary or advisable because of any change in applicable laws;

   
(e)

amendments to the transferability of DSUs;

   
(f)

amendments relating to the administration of the DSU Plan; or

   
(g)

any other amendment, fundamental or otherwise, not requiring shareholder approval under applicable laws;

provided, however, that:

(h)

no such amendment of the DSU Plan may be made without the consent of each affected Participant in the DSU Plan if such amendment would adversely affect the rights of such affected Participant(s) under the DSU Plan; and

   
(i)

shareholder approval shall be obtained in accordance with TSX requirements, for any amendment:


  i.

to increase the maximum number of Common Shares which may be issued under the DSU Plan;

     
  ii.

to the amendment provisions of the DSU Plan; or

     
  iii.

to expand the definition of “Participant”.

Certain United States Federal Income Tax Consequences

The following is a summary of the principal U.S. federal income tax consequences generally applicable to DSUs awarded under the DSU Plan. The following description applies to DSUs that are subject to U.S. federal income tax. The grant of DSUs and the crediting of DSUs to a Director’s DSU Account should not result in taxable income to the Director at the time of grant. When DSUs are paid out, the Director will recognize ordinary income equal to the fair market value of the Common Shares and cash received in settlement of the DSUs, and the Company will be entitled at that time to a corporate income tax deduction (for U.S. federal income tax purposes) for the same amount, subject to the general rules concerning deductibility of compensation. A Director’s basis in any Common Shares received will equal the fair market value of the Common Shares at the time the Director recognized ordinary income. If, as usually is the case, the Common Shares are a capital asset in the Director’s hands, any additional gain or loss recognized on a subsequent sale or exchange of the Common Shares will not be ordinary income but will qualify as capital gain or loss. To the extent that a Director’s DSUs are subject to U.S. federal income tax and to taxation under the Income Tax Act (Canada), DSUs awarded under the DSU Plan are intended to comply with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code and to avoid adverse tax consequences under paragraph 6801(d) of the regulations under the Income Tax Act (Canada), To that end, the DSU Plan contains certain forfeiture provisions that could apply to DSUs awarded under the DSU Plan in limited circumstances.


35

2018 Amendments to DSU Plan

The DSU Plan was amended in 2018 and those amendments were approved by the Board, the shareholders and the TSX. Specifically, the amendments were as follows:

1.

to remove the Board’s ability to award DSUs in addition to, any and all quarterly awards of DSUs to any Participant under the DSU Plan granted in payment of Annual Base Compensation, as described in the DSU Plan;

   
2.

to effect a housekeeping amendment to remove the maximum grant of 10% of all Share Compensation Arrangements to Insiders of the Company; and

   
3.

to amend the Withholding provisions claiming that the Company has no responsibility concerning tax consequences related to a grant of DSUs, or the receipt or payout in respect of DSUs granted pursuant to the DSU Plan, whether by a Participant under the DSU Plan, or in respect of the Participants’ participation pursuant to the DSU Plan.

RESTRICTED SHARE UNIT PLAN

Summary of the RSU Plan

A summary of the RSU Plan is set out below and a complete copy of the RSU Plan is available for viewing under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com. Capitalized terms used, but not defined herein have the meaning ascribed to them in the RSU Plan.

Eligible Participants

The RSU Plan is administered by the Compensation Committee of the Board. Employees, executive officers or executive directors and eligible consultants of the Company and its designated subsidiaries (“ Participants ”) are eligible to participate in the RSU Plan. Non-executive directors may not be Participants under the RSU Plan. RSUs awarded to Participants are credited to them by means of an entry in a notional account in their favour on the books of the Company. Each RSU awarded conditionally entitles the Participant to receive one Common Share (or the cash equivalent) upon attainment of the RSU vesting criteria.

Vesting

The “ vesting ” (i.e. fulfilment of conditions required for absolute entitlement) of RSUs is conditional upon the expiry of a time-based vesting period. The duration of the vesting period and other vesting terms applicable to the grant of the RSUs shall be determined at the time of the grant by the Compensation Committee.

Once the RSUs vest, the Participant is entitled to receive the equivalent number of underlying Common Shares or cash equal to the Market Value of the equivalent number of Common Shares. The vested RSUs may be settled through the issuance of Common Shares from treasury (subject to the Shareholder approval being obtained at the Meeting), by the delivery of Common Shares purchased in the open market, in cash or in any combination of the foregoing (at the discretion of the Company). If settled in cash, the amount shall be equal to the number of Common Shares in respect of which the Participant is entitled multiplied by the Market Value of a Common Share on the payout date. Market Value per share is defined in the RSU Plan and means, as at any date (if the Common Shares are listed and posted for trading on the TSX), the arithmetical average of the closing price of the Common Shares traded on the TSX for the five (5) trading days on which a board lot was traded immediately preceding such date. The RSUs may be settled on the payout date, which shall generally be before the third anniversary of the date of the grant. The expiry date of RSUs will be determined by the Committee at the time of grant. However, unless otherwise determined on the Grant Date, the expiry date shall be within the maximum term for all RSUs of three years. All RSUs for which vesting cannot be satisfied due to a departure from the Company, would be cancelled and become available for future grants.


36

Maximum Number of Common Shares Issuable

RSUs may be granted in accordance with the RSU Plan provided the aggregate number of RSUs outstanding pursuant to the RSU Plan from time to time shall not exceed 2.0% of the number of issued and outstanding Common Shares from time to time. Furthermore, the aggregate maximum number of Common Shares issuable pursuant to all Security Based Compensation Arrangements (including Option, DSU and RSU Plans), at any time, shall not exceed 10% of the total number of outstanding Common Shares.

The RSU Plan provides that the maximum number of Shares issued to Insiders (as that term is defined by the TSX) pursuant to the RSU Plan, together with any Common Shares issuable pursuant to any other security-based compensation arrangement of the Company, within any one-year period, shall not exceed 10% of the total number of weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the year.

Cessation of Entitlement

Unless otherwise determined by the Company in accordance with the RSU Plan, RSUs which have not vested on a Participant’s termination date shall terminate and be forfeited. If a Participant who is an employee ceases to be an employee as a result of termination of employment without cause, in such case, at the Company’s discretion (unless otherwise provided in the applicable Grant Agreement), all or a portion of such Participant’s RSUs may be permitted to continue to vest, in accordance with their terms, during any statutory or common law severance period or any period of reasonable notice required by law or as otherwise may be determined by the Company in its sole discretion. All forfeited RSUs are available for future grants.

Transferability

RSUs are not assignable or transferable other than by operation of law, except, if and on such terms as the Company may permit, to certain family members and private affiliate companies of the Participants.

Amendments Pursuant to the RSU Plan

In the event of receipt of Shareholders’ approval for the RSU Plan the Board may, without notice, at any time and from time to time, without shareholder approval, amend the RSU Plan or any provisions thereof in such manner as the Board, in its sole discretion, determines appropriate including, without limitation:

(a)

for the purposes of making formal minor or technical modifications to any of the provisions of the RSU Plan;

   
(b)

to correct any ambiguity, defective provision, error or omission in the provisions of the RSU Plan;

   
(c)

to change the vesting provisions of RSUs;

   
(d)

to change the termination provisions of RSUs or the RSU Plan that does not entail an extension beyond the original expiry date of the RSU;

   
(e)

to preserve the intended tax treatment of the benefits provided by the RSU Plan, as contemplated therein; or

   
(f)

any amendments necessary or advisable because of any change in applicable laws;

provided, however, that:

(g)

no such amendment of the RSU Plan may be made without the consent of each affected Participant if such amendment would adversely affect the rights of such affected Participant(s) under the RSU Plan; and

   
(h)

shareholder approval shall be obtained in accordance with TSX requirements for any amendment that results in:


  i.

an increase in the maximum number of Common Shares issuable pursuant to the RSU Plan other than as already contemplated in the RSU Plan;

     
  ii.

an extension of the expiry date for RSUs granted to insiders under the RSU Plan;

     
  iii.

other types of compensation through Common Share issuance;

     
  iv.

expansion of the rights of a Participant to assign RSUs beyond what is currently permitted in the RSU Plan;



37

  v.

the addition of new categories of Participants, other than as already contemplated in the RSU Plan; or

     
  vi.

any amendments to the amending s. 12 of the RSU Plan that will increase the Company’s ability to amend the Plan without shareholder approval.

Certain United States Federal Income Tax Consequences

The following is a summary of the principal U.S. federal income tax consequences generally applicable to RSUs awarded under the RSU Plan. The following description applies to RSUs that are subject to U.S. federal income tax. The grant of RSUs should not result in taxable income to the Participant at the time of grant. When RSUs are paid out, the Participant will recognize ordinary income equal to the fair market value of the Common Shares and cash received in settlement of the RSUs, and the Company will be entitled at that time to a corporate income tax deduction (for U.S. federal income tax purposes) for the same amount, subject to the general rules concerning deductibility of compensation. A Participant’s basis in any Common Shares received will equal the fair market value of the Common Shares at the time the Participant recognized ordinary income. If, as usually is the case, the Common Shares are a capital asset in the Participant’s hands, any additional gain or loss recognized on a subsequent sale or exchange of the Common Shares will not be ordinary income but will qualify as capital gain or loss.

2018 Amendments to RSU Plan

The RSU Plan was amended in 2018 and those amendments were approved by the Board, the shareholders and the TSX. Specifically, the amendments were as follows:

1.

the definition of “Expiry Date” was amended to allow the Board to set an expiry date alternative to the date of December 31 in the third calendar year following the date of grant of an RSU;

   
2.

the definition of “Participant” was amended to include an executive officer or executive director, and to clarify that no Participant shall be a non-executive director of the Company;

   
3.

the allowable aggregate maximum number of Share Units outstanding under the RSU Plan from time to time was decreased from a 3% to a 2% maximum issuable to all Participants regardless of a Participant’s relationship to the Company;

   
4.

the provision that any amendment to the amendment provisions of the RSU Plan was added; to stipulate that whenever such amendment would increase the Company’s ability to amend the RSU Plan without shareholder approval, then the Company must first obtain shareholder approval to such amendment; and

   
5.

to amend the tax provisions claiming that the Company has no responsibility concerning tax consequences related to a grant of RSUs, or the receipt or payout in respect of any Share Units or payout in respect thereof, whether by a Participant under the RSU Plan, or in respect of a Participant’s participation pursuant to the RSU Plan.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

The table below sets out equity compensation plan information at the December 31, 2018 financial year end.







Number of shares to be
issued upon exercise of
outstanding share
options, warrants and
rights 1


Weighted-average exercise
price of outstanding share
options, warrants and
rights
Number of securities
remaining available for
future issuance under
equity compensation
plans (excluding securities
reflected in column (a))
Plan Category (a) (b) (c)
Share Option Plan 2 4 24,934,432 $1.02 5,752,472
Deferred Share Unit Plan 2 4 458,129 N/A N/A
Restricted Share Unit Plan 2 3 4 196,753 N/A N/A
Total 25,589,314 $1.02 5,752,472

Notes:

1.

Determined based on the 10% aggregate maximum Common Shares allowable pursuant to all share compensation arrangements, which at the fiscal year end was 31,341,786 Common Shares.



38

2.

At the 2018 fiscal year end, the outstanding grants as a percentage of issued Common Shares was as follows: options 8.0%; DSUs 0.1%; and RSUs 0.1%.

3.

The Company issued 125,000 RSUs in fiscal 2018 and 434,742 RSUs were settled in Common Shares.

4.

The number of available securities has been determined based on the maximum number of eligible Common Shares permitted to be issued under the Share Option Plan, the DSU Plan and the RSU Plan being, in the aggregate 10% of the outstanding Common Shares as at December 31, 2018, and assuming no further DSUs or RSUs will be issued. Notwithstanding the foregoing, to the extent that any DSUs or RSUs are issued the aggregate number of these DSUs and RSUs will be deducted from and reduce accordingly the number of available securities disclosed. The maximum number of RSUs outstanding from time to time may not exceed 3% of the number of outstanding Common Shares and the maximum number of DSUs outstanding from time to time may not exceed 2% of the outstanding Common Shares, with the proviso that either cannot exceed the 10% aggregate maximum. Potentially there are 5,752,472 DSUs (1.84% of outstanding Common Shares) that may be issued assuming no issues of options and RSUs. If no DSUs and options are issued, then 5,752,472 RSUs (1.84% of outstanding Common Shares) may be issued under the RSU plan.

The following table for each equity compensation plan:

  For the fiscal year ended December 31,
Plan Category 2018 2017 2016
The Option Plan 1.80% 1.93% 2.76%
The DSU Plan N/A N/A 0.19%
The RSU Plan 0.04% 0.18 % 0.26 %

Note:

1.

The annual burn rate is calculated as the number of securities granted under the arrangement during the applicable fiscal year divided by the weighted average number of securities outstanding for the applicable fiscal year.

PARTICULARS OF MATTERS TO BE ACTED UPON

In addition to the annual matters requiring Shareholder approval, each of which are described in detail above, namely the election of directors and appointment of the auditor for the ensuing year, the Company will also seek Shareholder approval to an ordinary resolution to ratify and approve the Amended and Restated Shareholder Rights Plan for continuation for a three-year period.

Shareholder Rights Plan

The Company adopted a shareholder rights plan, which was initially dated for reference May 17, 2013 pursuant to the shareholder rights plan agreement between the Company and Computershare, as rights agent, which was amended and restated effective May 10, 2016 (the “ Existing Rights Plan ”), which Existing Rights Plan, as amended and restated, was approved for continuation by shareholders at the annual general meeting of the Company held June 16, 2016. At the Meeting, the Company will seek Shareholder approval to ratify, confirm and approve the continued existence of the Amended and Restated Shareholder Rights Plan, as amended and extended as of April 30, 2019 (the “ Shareholder Rights Plan ”). The form of the Shareholder Rights Plan will, effectively, be the same as the Existing Rights Plan, but with minor amendments including changing stated dates for currency of effectiveness and of expiration. The main changes to the Shareholder Rights Plan are to remove the definition of Meeting Deadline Date and all references to such date; and a few changes concerning administration of the Shareholder Rights Plan with the Rights Agent, Computershare.

Approval of the Shareholder Rights Plan and its continuation for the next three years are not being proposed in response to, or in anticipation of, any pending, threatened or proposed acquisition or take-over bid that is known to management of the Company. The proposed approval of the Shareholder Rights Plan and its continuation are also not intended as a means to prevent a take-over of the Company, to secure the continuance of management or the Board in their respective offices, or to deter fair offers for the Common Shares.

Unless otherwise defined below, all capitalized terms shall have the meanings specified in the Existing Rights Plan.

Proposed Amendments

Pursuant to its terms, the Existing Rights Plan will expire on at the termination of the Meeting, unless its continuation, in the amended and extended form of the Shareholder Rights Plan is ratified and approved for continuation by the Shareholders in accordance with its provisions. Management of the Company has reviewed the terms of the Existing Rights Plan for conformity with current Canadian securities laws and has determined that there are no new amendments necessary to ensure compliance with requirements of Canadian Securities Administrators. The Board determined that it is appropriate and in the best interests of the Shareholders that the Shareholder Rights Plan be approved to continue for the next three years as described below.


39

As previously noted, other than the amendments made: (i) to remove the definition of Meeting Deadline Date and any references to such date; (ii) to make minor administrative revisions concerning the Rights Agent, Computershare; and (iii) to update it; the Shareholder Rights Plan is identical to the Existing Rights Plan. The following is a brief summary of the Shareholder Rights Plan, which is qualified in its entirety by reference to the complete text of the form of Shareholder Rights Plan Agreement a copy of which is posted and available for viewing together with copies of the Meeting proxy materials on the Company’s website at www.northerndynastyminerals.com and under the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com . A blacklined copy of the Shareholder Rights Plan, showing the amendments made to the Existing Rights Plan, is also available for viewing on the Company’s website at www.northerndynastyminerals.com .

Purpose of the Plan

The objectives of the Shareholder Rights Plan are to ensure, to the extent possible, that all Shareholders are treated equally and fairly in connection with any takeover bid for the Company. Takeover bids may be structured to be coercive or may be initiated at a time when the Board will have a difficult time preparing an adequate response to the offer. Accordingly, such offers do not always result in Shareholders receiving equal or fair treatment or full or maximum value for their investment. Under current Canadian securities legislation, a takeover bid is required to remain open for 105 days, a period of time which may be insufficient for the directors to: (i) evaluate a takeover bid (particularly if it includes share consideration); (ii) explore, develop and pursue alternatives which are superior to the takeover bid and which could maximize Shareholder value; and (iii) make reasoned recommendations to the Shareholders.

The Shareholder Rights Plan discourages discriminatory, coercive or unfair takeovers of the Company and gives the Board time if, in the circumstances, the Board determines it is appropriate to take such time, to pursue alternatives to maximize Shareholder value in the event an unsolicited takeover bid is made for all or a portion of the outstanding Common Shares. As set forth in detail below, the Shareholder Rights Plan discourages coercive hostile takeover bids by creating the potential that any Common Shares which may be acquired or held by such a bidder will be significantly diluted. The potential for significant dilution to the holdings of such a bidder can occur as the Shareholder Rights Plan provides that all holders of Common Shares who are not related to the bidder will be entitled to exercise Rights (defined below) issued to them under the Shareholder Rights Plan and to acquire Common Shares at a substantial discount to prevailing market prices. The bidder, or the persons related to the bidder, will not be entitled to exercise any Rights under the Shareholder Rights Plan. Accordingly, the Shareholder Rights Plan encourages potential bidders to make takeover bids by means of a Permitted Bid (as defined below) or to approach the Board to negotiate a mutually acceptable transaction. The Permitted Bid provisions of the Shareholder Rights Plan are designed to ensure that in any takeover bid for outstanding Common Shares of the Shareholders, all Shareholders are treated equally and are given adequate time to properly assess such takeover bid on a fully-informed basis.

The Shareholder Rights Plan is not being proposed to prevent a takeover of the Company, to secure the continuance of management or the directors of the Company in their respective offices or to deter fair offers for the Common Shares.

Term

Provided the Shareholder Rights Plan is approved at the Meeting, the Shareholder Rights Plan (unless terminated earlier) will remain in effect until termination of the annual meeting of Shareholders in 2022 unless the term of the Shareholder Rights Plan is extended beyond such date by resolution of Shareholders at such meeting.

Issuance of Rights

The Shareholder Rights Plan provides that one right (a “ Right ”) will be issued by the Company pursuant to the Shareholder Rights Plan in respect of each Voting Share outstanding as of the close of business (Vancouver time) (the “ Record Time ”) on the Effective Date. “ Voting Shares ” include the Common Shares and any other shares of the Company entitled to vote generally in the election of all directors. One Right will also be issued for each additional Voting Share issued after the Record Time and prior to the earlier of the Separation Time and the Expiration Time, subject to the earlier termination or expiration of the Rights as set out in the Rights Agreement.


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As of the Effective Date, the only Voting Shares outstanding are the Common Shares. The issuance of the Rights is not dilutive and does not affect reported earnings or operating cash flow per share until the Rights separate from the underlying Common Shares and become exercisable or until the exercise of the Rights. The issuance of the Rights does not change the manner in which Shareholders trade their Common Shares.

Certificates and Transferability

Prior to the Separation Time, the Rights are evidenced by a legend imprinted on certificates for Common Shares issued after the Record Time. Rights are also attached to Common Shares outstanding on the Effective Date, although share certificates issued prior to the Effective Date do not bear such a legend. Shareholders are not required to return their certificates in order to have the benefit of the Rights. Prior to the Separation Time, Rights will trade together with the Common Shares and will not be exercisable or transferable separately from the Common Shares. From and after the Separation Time, the Rights will become exercisable, will be evidenced by Rights Certificates and will be transferable separately from the Common Shares.

Separation of Rights

The Rights will become exercisable and begin to trade separately from the associated Common Shares at the “ Separation Time ” which is generally (subject to the ability of the Board to defer the Separation Time) the close of business on the tenth trading day after the earliest to occur of:

1.

a public announcement that a person or group of affiliated or associated persons or persons acting jointly or in concert has become an “ Acquiring Person ”, meaning that such person or group has acquired Beneficial Ownership (as defined in the Rights Plan) of 20% or more of the outstanding Voting Shares other than as a result of: (i) a reduction in the number of Voting Shares outstanding; (ii) a “Permitted Bid” or “Competing Permitted Bid” (as defined below); (iii) acquisitions of Voting Shares in respect of which the Board has waived the application of the Rights Agreement; (iv) other specified exempt acquisitions and pro rata acquisitions in which shareholders participate on a pro rata basis; or (v) an acquisition by a person of Voting Shares upon the exercise, conversion or exchange of a security convertible, exercisable or exchangeable into a Voting Share received by a person in the circumstances described in (ii), (iii) or (iv) above;

   
2.

the date of commencement of, or the first public announcement of an intention of any person (other than the Company or any of its subsidiaries) to commence a takeover bid (other than a Permitted Bid or a Competing Permitted Bid) where the Voting Shares subject to the bid owned by that person (including affiliates, associates and others acting jointly or in concert therewith) would constitute 20% of more of the outstanding Voting Shares; and

   
3.

the date upon which a Permitted Bid or Competing Permitted Bid ceases to qualify as such.

Promptly following the Separation Time, separate certificates evidencing rights (“ Rights Certificates ”) will be mailed to the holders of record of the Voting Shares as of the Separation Time and the Rights Certificates alone will evidence the Rights.

Rights Exercise Privilege

After the Separation Time, each Right entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at an initial “ Exercise Price ” equal to three times the “ Market Price ” at the Separation Time. The Market Price is defined as the average of the daily closing prices per share of such securities on each of the 20 consecutive trading days through and including the trading day immediately preceding the Separation Time. Following a transaction which results in a person becoming an Acquiring Person (a “ Flip-In Event ”), the Rights entitle the holder thereof to receive, upon exercise, such number of Common Shares which have an aggregate Market Price (as of the date of the Flip-In Event) equal to twice the then Exercise Price of the Rights for an amount in cash equal to the Exercise Price. In such event, however, any Rights beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person (including affiliates, associates and other acting jointly or in concert therewith), or a transferee of any such person, will be null and void. A Flip-In Event does not include acquisitions approved by the Board or acquisitions pursuant to a Permitted Bid or Competing Permitted Bid.

Permitted Bid Requirements

A bidder can make a takeover bid and acquire Voting Shares without triggering a Flip-In Event under the Rights Plan if the takeover bid qualifies as a Permitted Bid.

The requirements of a “ Permitted Bid ” include the following:


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the takeover bid must be made by means of a takeover bid circular;

   

 

 

the takeover bid is made to all holders of Voting Shares on the books of the Company, other than the offeror;

   

 

 

the takeover bid contains an irrevocable and unqualified provision that no Voting Shares will be taken up or paid for pursuant to the takeover bid unless more than 50% of the Voting Shares held by Independent Shareholders: (i) shall have been deposited or tendered pursuant to the take-over bid and not withdrawn; and (ii) have previously been or are taken up at the same time;

   

 

 

the takeover bid contains an irrevocable and unqualified provision that, no Voting Shares will be taken up or paid for pursuant to the takeover bid prior to the close of business on the date which is not less than 105 days following the date of the takeover bid;

   

 

 

the takeover bid contains an irrevocable and unqualified provision that, Voting Shares may be deposited pursuant to such takeover bid at any time during the period of time between the date of the takeover bid and the date on which Voting Shares may be taken up and paid for and any Voting Shares deposited pursuant to the takeover bid may be withdrawn until taken up and paid for; and

   

 

 

the takeover bid contains an irrevocable and unqualified provision that, if on the date on which Voting Shares may be taken up and paid for under the takeover bid, more than 50% of the Voting Shares held by Independent Shareholders have been deposited pursuant to the takeover bid and not withdrawn, the offeror will make public announcement of that fact and the takeover bid will remain open for deposits and tenders of Voting Shares for not less than 10 business days from the date of such public announcement.

The Shareholder Rights Plan also allows for a competing Permitted Bid (a “ Competing Permitted Bid ”) to be made while a Permitted Bid is in existence. A Competing Permitted Bid must satisfy all of the requirements of a Permitted Bid and contain an irrevocable and unqualified provision that no Voting Shares will be taken up or paid for pursuant to such takeover bid prior to the close of business on the date that is no earlier than the date on which Voting Shares may be taken up under any Permitted Bid (determined as of the date of making the takeover bid, assuming no amendment or variation to the terms and satisfaction of all conditions to the completion of the Permitted Bid) that preceded the Competing Permitted Bid.

Permitted Lock-Up Agreements

A person will not become an Acquiring Person by virtue of having entered into an agreement (a “ Permitted LockUp Agreement ”) with a Shareholder whereby the Shareholder agrees to deposit or tender Voting Shares to a takeover bid (the “ Lock-Up Bid ”) made by such person, provided that the agreement meets certain requirements including:

1.

the terms of the agreement are publicly disclosed and a copy of the agreement is publicly available not later than the date of the Lock-Up Bid or, if the Lock-Up Bid has not been made prior to the date on which such agreement is entered into, not later than the first business day following the date of such agreement;

   
2.

the holder who has agreed to tender Voting Shares to the Lock-Up Bid made by the other party to the agreement is permitted to terminate its obligation under the agreement, and to terminate any obligation with respect to the voting of such Voting Shares, in order to tender Voting Shares to another takeover bid or to support another transaction where: (i) the offer price or value of the consideration payable under the other takeover bid or transaction is greater than the price or value of the consideration per share at which the holder has agreed to deposit or tender Voting Shares to the Lock-Up Bid, or is greater than a specified minimum which is not more than 7% higher than the price or value of the consideration per share at which the holder has agreed to deposit or tender Voting Shares under the Lock-Up Bid; and (ii) if the number of Voting Shares offered to be purchased under the Lock-Up Bid is less than all of the Voting Shares held by Shareholders (excluding Voting Shares held by the offeror), the number of Voting Shares offered to be purchased under the other takeover bid or transaction (at an offer price not lower than in the Lock-Up Bid) is greater than the number of Voting Shares offered to be purchased under the Lock-Up Bid or is greater than a specified number which is not more than 7% higher than the number of Voting Shares offered to be purchased under the Lock-Up Bid; and

   
3.

no break-up fees, top-up fees, or other penalties that exceed in the aggregate the greater of 2.5% of the price or value of the consideration payable under the Lock-Up Bid and 50% of the increase in consideration resulting from another takeover bid or transaction shall be payable by the holder if the holder fails to deposit or tender Voting Shares to the Lock-Up Bid.



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Waiver and Redemption

If a potential offeror does not desire to make a Permitted Bid, it can negotiate with, and obtain the prior approval of, the Board to make a takeover bid by way of a takeover bid circular sent to all holders of Voting Shares on terms which the Board considers fair to all Shareholders. In such circumstances, the Board may waive the application of the Shareholder Rights Plan thereby allowing such bid to proceed without dilution to the offeror. Any waiver of the application of the Shareholder Rights Plan in respect of a particular takeover bid shall also constitute a waiver of any other takeover bid which is made by means of a takeover bid circular to all holders of Voting Shares while the initial takeover bid is outstanding. The Board may also waive the application of the Shareholder Rights Plan in respect of a particular Flip-in Event that has occurred through inadvertence, provided that the Acquiring Person that inadvertently triggered such Flip-in Event reduces its beneficial holdings to less than 20% of the outstanding Voting Shares within 14 days or such earlier or later date as may be specified by the Board. With the prior consent of the holders of Voting Shares, the Board may, prior to the occurrence of a Flip-in Event that would occur by reason of an acquisition of Voting Shares otherwise than pursuant to the foregoing, waive the application of the Shareholder Rights Plan to such Flip- in Event.

The Board may, with the prior consent of the holders of Voting Shares, at any time prior to the occurrence of a Flip-in Event, elect to redeem all but not less than all of the then outstanding Rights at a redemption price of $0.00001 per Right. Rights are deemed to be redeemed following completion of a Permitted Bid, a Competing Permitted Bid or a takeover bid in respect of which the Board has waived the application of the Rights Plan.

Protection Against Dilution

The Exercise Price, the number and nature of securities which may be purchased upon the exercise of Rights and the number of Rights outstanding are subject to adjustment from time to time to prevent dilution in the event of dividends, subdivisions, consolidations, reclassifications or other changes in the outstanding Common Shares, pro rata distributions to holders of Common Shares and other circumstances where adjustments are required to appropriately protect the interests of the holders of Rights.

Exemptions for Investment Advisors

Investment advisors (for client accounts), trust companies (acting in their capacity as trustees or administrators), statutory bodies whose business includes the management of funds (for employee benefit plans, pension plans, or insurance plans of various public bodies) and administrators or trustees of registered pension plans or funds acquiring greater than 20% of the Voting Shares are exempted from triggering a Flip- in Event, provided they are not making, either alone or jointly or in concert with any other person, a takeover bid.

Duties of the Board

The adoption of the Shareholder Rights Plan will not in any way lessen or affect the duty of the Board to act honestly and in good faith with a view to the best interests of the Company. The Board, when a takeover bid or similar offer is made, will continue to have the duty and power to take such actions and make such recommendations to Shareholders as are considered appropriate.

Amendment

The Company may make amendments to the Shareholder Rights Plan at any time to correct any clerical or typographical error and may make amendments which are required to maintain the validity of the Shareholder Rights Plan due to changes in any applicable legislation, regulations or rules. The Company may, with the prior approval of Shareholders (or the holders of Rights if the Separation Time has occurred), supplement, amend, vary, rescind or delete any of the provisions of the Shareholder Rights Plan.

Vote Required and Recommendation of the Board

At the Meeting, Shareholders will be asked to consider and, if deemed advisable, to pass the ordinary resolution, with or without variation, to ratify and approve the Amended and Restated Shareholder Rights Plan, for continuation, as described above. The text of the ordinary resolution to ratify and approve the Amended and Restated Shareholder Rights Plan is as follows:


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BE IT RESOLVED THAT :

  1.

The Amended and Restated Shareholder Rights Plan, dated as of May 10, 2016, as amended and extended April 30, 2019, with amendments approved by the Board of Directors of the Company on April 30, 2019, be and is hereby ratified, confirmed and approved, for continuation for three years to 2022.

     
  2.

Any director or officer of the Company be and is hereby authorized and directed, for and on behalf of the Company, to do all things necessary, and to execute and deliver all such agreements, documents and instruments necessary or desirable in connection with, and to give effect to the foregoing resolution.”

The Board believes that approval of the Shareholder Rights Plan is in the best interests of the Company and its Shareholders and, accordingly, recommends that Shareholders vote FOR the resolution. The TSX requires the resolution be passed by affirmative votes cast by Shareholders of not less than a majority of the Common Shares represented in person or by proxy at the Meeting. Except where a Shareholder who has given the proxy directs that his or her Common Shares be voted against such resolution, the appointees named in the accompanying Form of Proxy will vote the Common Shares represented by such proxy FOR such resolution.

INDEBTEDNESS OF DIRECTORS AND EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

No directors, proposed nominees for election as directors, executive officers or their respective associates or affiliates, or other management of the Company were indebted to the Company as of the end of the most recently completed financial year or as at the date hereof.

INTEREST OF INFORMED PERSONS IN MATERIAL TRANSACTIONS

To the knowledge of management of the Company, no informed person (a director, officer or holder of 10% or more of the Common Shares) or nominee for election as a director of the Company or any associate or affiliate of any informed person or proposed director had any interest in any transaction which has materially affected or would materially affect the Company or any of its subsidiaries during the year ended December 31, 2018, or has any interest in any material transaction in the current year other than as set out herein or in a document disclosed to the public.

MANAGEMENT CONTRACTS

There are no management functions of the Company, which are to any substantial degree performed by a person or company other than the directors or senior officers of the Company.

HDSI is a company which is privately owned by persons of whom some are directors of the Company: Messrs. Dickinson and Thiessen. Mr. Snyman, the Company’s former CFO is also an active director of HDSI. HDSI provides geological, corporate development, administrative and management services to, and incurs third party costs on behalf of, the Company and its subsidiaries at annually set hourly rates pursuant to an agreement dated July 2, 2010 (the " Agreement ") which hourly rates do not exceed the fair market value of such services. Details with respect to fees paid by the Company to HDSI for fiscal years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017 expressed in thousands, is set forth below:


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Transactions   2018     2017  
Services rendered by HDSI : $  5,636   $  5,219  
 Technical   2,683     2,329  
     Engineering   1,199     741  
     Environmental   706     736  
     Socioeconomic   462     699  
     Other technical services   316     153  
 General and administrative   2,953     2,890  
    2,326     2,225  
     Management, corporate communications, secretarial, financial and administration            
     Shareholder communication   627     665  
Reimbursement of third party expenses   891     658  
 Conferences and travel   502     309  
 Insurance   70     62  
 Office supplies and information technology   319     287  
Total value of transactions $  6,527   $  5,877  

Certain members of the Company’s senior management are employed directly by HDSI rather than by Northern Dynasty.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Additional information relating to the Company is included in the Company’s Annual Information Form and in the Audited Consolidated Financial Statements for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, Report of Independent Accounting Firm, and related Management Discussion and Analysis filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Copies of the Company’s most recent interim financial statements and related management discussion and analysis, and additional information, may also be obtained from SEDAR and upon request from the Company at telephone no. (604) 684-6365 or fax number (604) 684-8092.

OTHER MATTERS

The Board of Directors is not aware of any other matters which it anticipates will come before the Meeting as of the date of this Information Circular.

The contents of this Information Circular and its distribution to shareholders have been approved by the Board of Directors.

DATED at Vancouver, British Columbia, April 30, 2019.

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

/s/ Ronald Thiessen

Ronald Thiessen
President and Chief Executive Officer

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SCHEDULE A

NORTHERN DYNASTY MINERALS LTD.
BOARD DIVERSITY POLICY

Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. (the “ Company ”) believes in diversity and values the benefits that diversity can bring to its board of directors (the “ Board ”). Diversity promotes the inclusion of different perspectives and ideas, mitigates against groupthink and ensures that the Company has the opportunity to benefit from all available talent. The promotion of a diverse Board makes prudent business sense and makes for better corporate governance.

The Company seeks to maintain a Board comprised of talented and dedicated directors with a diverse mix of expertise, experience, skills and backgrounds. The skills and backgrounds collectively represented on the Board should reflect the diverse nature of the business environment in which the Company operates. For purposes of Board composition, diversity includes, but is not limited to, business experience, geography, age, gender, and ethnicity and aboriginal status. In particular, the Board should include an appropriate number of women directors. The Company will periodically assess the expertise, experience, skills and backgrounds of its directors in light of the needs of the Board, including the extent to which the current composition of the Board reflects a diverse mix of knowledge, experience, skills and backgrounds, including an appropriate number of women directors.

Whenever the Board or a Committee of the Board is in the process of identifying new candidates, including when an external search firm is engaged, the Board or said Committee, or search firm will be specifically directed to include diverse candidates generally in the pool of candidates, and must include women candidates in particular.

If the Company determines to establish an evergreen list of potential board candidates, women candidates for director will be included in the evergreen list.

The goal of the Company is to have at least one woman on the Board by 2022.

In order to promote the specific objective of gender diversity, the selection process for Board nominees will involve the following steps:

a heightened focus on identifying potential candidates who will increase the gender diversity of the Board; and
                     

if, at the end of the selection process, a candidate who increases gender diversity is not selected, the Board must be satisfied that there are objective reasons to support its determination.

In its annual consideration of Board nominees, the Nominating and Governance Committee will discuss and measure its progress in achieving diversity on the Board and, where appropriate, make recommendations to the Board in that regard.

While the Company does not currently have a female director or executive officer, the Board continually reviews and assesses Board composition and executive officer appointments. Further to the above, the Board considers the level of representation of women on the Board and in executive officer positions in making such appointments and specific effort is made through the selection processes to identify suitable female candidates who meet the Company’s needs. It remains a key objective of the Board to achieve gender diversity Annually, the Board or a committee of the Board will review this policy and assess its effectiveness in promoting a diverse Board.

Approved by the Board on April 30, 2019.

/s/ Ronald Thiessen

Ronald Thiessen
President and Chief Executive Officer


 

 

 

 

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