| 9. |
SHARE-BASED PAYMENTS |
| a) |
Stock options |
The Company has a stock option plan under which the Company is authorized to grant stock options of up to 10% of the number of common shares issued and outstanding of the Company at any given time.
The following table presents changes in stock options outstanding and exercisable:
| December 31, 2017 | December 31, 2016 | |||||||||||
| Number of | Weighted Average | Number of | Weighted Average | |||||||||
| Options | Exercise Price (CAD$) | Options | Exercise Price (CAD$) | |||||||||
| Outstanding, beginning of year | 15,710,000 | 0.16 | 15,765,000 | 0.38 | ||||||||
| Granted | 2,900,000 | 0.10 | 3,025,000 | 0.065 | ||||||||
| Expired | (2,500,000 | ) | (0.45 | ) | (2,870,000 | ) | (1.24 | ) | ||||
| Forfeiture | (60,000 | ) | (0.10 | ) | (210,000 | ) | (0.32 | ) | ||||
| Outstanding, end of year | 16,050,000 | 0.16 | 15,710,000 | 0.16 | ||||||||
| Exercisable, end of year | 15,850,000 | 0.17 | 15,310,000 | 0.17 | ||||||||
The following table summarizes stock options outstanding by expiry dates with exercise price at the date of recording in Canadian dollars:
| Number of Options Outstanding | |||||||||
| Expiry Date | Exercise Price (CAD$) | December 31, 2017 | December 31, 2016 | ||||||
| March 27, 2017 | 0.50 | – | 100,000 | ||||||
| June 28, 2017 | 0.45 | – | 2,400,000 | ||||||
| September 19, 2018 | 0.16 | 3,760,000 | 3,760,000 | ||||||
| June 25, 2019 | 0.10 | 2,815,000 | 2,815,000 | ||||||
| December 31, 2019 | 0.05 | 1,000,000 | 1,000,000 | ||||||
| March 26, 2020 | 0.05 | 200,000 | 200,000 | ||||||
| July 16, 2020 | 0.13 | 2,380,000 | 2,410,000 | ||||||
| April 14, 2021 | 0.065 | 2,995,000 | 3,025,000 | ||||||
| June 23, 2022 | 0.095 | 2,900,000 | – | ||||||
| 16,050,000 | 15,710,000 | ||||||||
The Company used the following assumptions in the Black-Scholes option pricing model:
| December 31, 2017 | December 31, 2016 | December 31, 2015 | |||||||
| Weighted average share price | CAD0.08 | CAD0.06 | CAD0.09 | ||||||
| Risk–free interestrate | 0.60% | 0.60% | 0.48% | ||||||
| Expected share price volatility | 85% | 141% | 143% | ||||||
| Expected option life in years | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | ||||||
| Forfeiture rate | 0% | 0% | 0% | ||||||
| Expected dividend yield | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Share-based payment expenses were allocated as follows:
| Year ended December 31, | |||||||||
| 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | |||||||
| $ | $ | $ | |||||||
| Consultants | 55 | 30 | 38 | ||||||
| Directors and officers | 88 | 85 | 146 | ||||||
| Employees | 26 | 21 | 24 | ||||||
| 169 | 136 | 208 | |||||||
| b) |
Share purchase warrants |
The following table summarizes warrants outstanding as of December 31, 2017 and 2016:
| Expiry date | Exercise price | Number of Warrants | ||||
| January 2, 2018 | CAD0.16 | 5,721,000 | ||||
| September 13, 2018 | $ | 0.15 | 29,810,000 | |||
| October 3, 2019 | $ | 0.16 | 19,000,000 | |||
| 54,531,000 |
Subsequent to year end, 5,721,000 warrants expired unexercised.