avino_ex103.htm

  EXHIBIT 10.3
 
AVINO SILVER & GOLD MINES LTD. 
 
WARRANT TO PURCHASE COMMON SHARES
 
Warrant No.: [_______]
 
Number of Common Shares: 40,000
 
Date of Issuance: March 14, 2016 ("Issuance Date")
 
Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd., a company incorporated under the British Columbia Business Corporations Act (the "Company"), hereby certifies that, for good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which are hereby acknowledged, Noble International Investments, Inc., the registered holder hereof or its permitted assigns (the "Holder"), is entitled, subject to the terms set forth below, to purchase from the Company, at the Exercise Price (as defined below) then in effect, upon surrender of this Warrant to Purchase Common Shares (including any Warrants to Purchase Common Shares issued in exchange, transfer or replacement hereof, the "Warrant"), at any time or times on or after the date hereof (the "Exercisability Date"), but not after 4:30 p.m., Vancouver time, on the Expiration Date (as defined below), Forty Thousand (40,000) fully paid nonassessable Common Shares (as defined below) (the "Warrant Shares"). Except as otherwise defined herein, capitalized terms in this Warrant shall have the meanings set forth in Section 15. This Warrant is the Warrant to purchase Common Shares (this "Warrant") issued pursuant to Section 2 of that certain Placement Agency Agreement (the "PlacementAgreement"), dated as of March 9, 2016 (the "Subscription Date"), by and between the Company and the Holder (the "Subscription Agreement").
 
1. EXERCISE OF WARRANT. 
 
		(a) 	Mechanics of Exercise. Subject to the terms and conditions hereof, this Warrant may be exercised by the Holder on any day on or after the Exercisability Date, in whole or in part, by (i) delivery of a written notice, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit A (the "Exercise Notice"), of the Holder's election to exercise this Warrant and (ii) payment to the Company of an amount equal to the applicable Exercise Price multiplied by the number of Warrant Shares as to which this Warrant is being exercised (the "Aggregate Exercise Price") in cash or by wire transfer of immediately available funds. The Holder shall not be required to deliver the original Warrant in order to effect an exercise hereunder. Execution and delivery of the Exercise Notice with respect to less than all of the Warrant Shares shall have the same effect as cancellation of the original Warrant and issuance of a new Warrant evidencing the right to purchase the remaining number of Warrant Shares. On or before the first Business Day following the date on which the Company has received each of the Exercise Notice and the Aggregate Exercise Price (the "Exercise Delivery Documents"), the Company shall transmit by facsimile an acknowledgment of confirmation of receipt of the Exercise Delivery Documents, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit B, to the Holder and the Company's transfer agent and registrar for the Common Shares (the "Transfer Agent"). On or before the third Business Day following the date on which the Company has received all of the Exercise Delivery Documents (the "Share Delivery Date"), the Company shall, (X) provided that the Transfer Agent is participating in The Depository Trust Company ("DTC") Fast Automated Securities Transfer Program, upon the request of the Holder, cause such aggregate number of Warrant Shares to which the Holder is entitled pursuant to such exercise to be credited to the Holder's or its designee's balance account with DTC through its Deposit Withdrawal Agent Commission system, or (Y) if the Transfer Agent is not participating in the DTC Fast Automated Securities Transfer Program, cause the Transfer Agent to issue and dispatch by overnight courier to the address as specified in the Exercise Notice, a certificate, registered in the Company's share register in the name of the Holder or its designee, for the number of Common Shares to which the Holder is entitled pursuant to such exercise. Effective on the date of delivery of the Exercise Notice (and provided that the Exercise Price is delivered within 24 hours of delivery of the Exercise Notice), the Holder shall be deemed for all corporate purposes to have become the holder of record of the Warrant Shares with respect to which this Warrant has been exercised, irrespective of the date of the Company's receipt of the Exercise Price, or the date that such Warrant Shares are credited to the Holder's DTC account or the date of delivery of the certificates evidencing such Warrant Shares, as the case may be. If this Warrant is submitted in connection with any exercise pursuant to this Section 1(a) and the number of Warrant Shares represented by this Warrant submitted for exercise is greater than the number of Warrant Shares being acquired upon an exercise, then the Company shall as soon as practicable and in no event later than three Business Days after any exercise and at its own expense, issue a new Warrant (in accordance with Section 7(d)) representing the right to purchase the number of Warrant Shares purchasable immediately prior to such exercise under this Warrant, less the number of Warrant Shares with respect to which this Warrant is so exercised. No fractional Common Shares are to be issued upon the exercise of this Warrant, but rather the number of Common Shares to be issued shall be rounded up to the nearest whole number. The Company shall pay any and all taxes which may be payable with respect to the issuance and delivery of Warrant Shares upon exercise of this Warrant.


  
	 
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		(b) 	Exercise Price. For purposes of this Warrant, "Exercise Price" means $1.00, subject to adjustment as provided herein.

			
		(c) 	[Intentionally Omitted]

			
		(d) 	Disputes. In the case of a dispute as to the determination of the Exercise Price or the arithmetic calculation of the Warrant Shares, the Company shall promptly issue to the Holder the number of Warrant Shares that are not disputed.

			
		(e) 	Restrictive Legend. Any certificates representing the Warrant Shares (unless registered under the Act) shall be stamped or imprinted with a legend in substantially the following form:

			
	 
	 
	THE SHARES REPRESENTED BY THIS CERTIFICATE HAVE NOT BEEN REGISTERED UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, AS AMENDED. SUCH SHARES MAY NOT BE SOLD OR TRANSFERRED EXCEPT PURSUANT TO A REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER SAID ACT OR UNLESS THE COMPANY RECEIVES AN OPINION OF COUNSEL SATISFACTORY TO THE COMPANY THAT SUCH SHARES MAY BE SOLD OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRED PURSUANT TO AN EXEMPTION THEREFROM UNDER THE ACT AND ANY APPLICABLE STATE SECURITIES LAWS.
 
THE HOLDER OF THIS SECURITY MUST NOT TRADE THE SECURITY IN OR FROM A JURISDICTION OF CANADA. 


 
2. ADJUSTMENT OF EXERCISE PRICE AND NUMBER OF WARRANT SHARES. The Exercise Price and the number of Warrant Shares shall be adjusted from time to time as follows:
 
		(a) 	Adjustment upon Subdivision or Combination of Common Shares. If the Company at any time on or after the Subscription Date subdivides (by any stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization, reorganization, scheme, arrangement or otherwise) one or more classes of its outstanding Common Shares into a greater number of shares, the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to such subdivision will be proportionately reduced and the number of Warrant Shares will be proportionately increased. If the Company at any time on or after the Subscription Date combines (by any stock split, stock dividend, recapitalization, reorganization, scheme, arrangement or otherwise) one or more classes of its outstanding Common Shares into a smaller number of shares, the Exercise Price in effect immediately prior to such combination will be proportionately increased and the number of Warrant Shares will be proportionately decreased. Any adjustment under this Section 2(a) shall become effective at the close of business on the date the subdivision or combination becomes effective.


 
	 
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3. RIGHTS UPON DISTRIBUTION OF ASSETS.
 
		(a) 	If at any time or from time to time the holders of Common Shares of the Company (or any shares or other securities at the time receivable upon the exercise of this Warrant) shall have received or become entitled to receive, without payment therefor:



    
		 
	(i) 	Common Shares or any shares or other securities which are at any time directly or indirectly convertible into or exchangeable for Common Shares, or any rights or options to subscribe for, purchase or otherwise acquire any of the foregoing by way of dividend or other distribution (other than a dividend or distribution covered in Section 2(a) above);

		 
		
		 
	(ii) 	any cash paid or payable otherwise than as a cash dividend; or

		 
		
		 
	(iii) 	Common Shares or additional shares or other securities or property (including cash) by way of spinoff, split-up, reclassification, combination of shares or similar corporate rearrangement (other than Common Shares pursuant to Section 2(a) above), then and in each such case, the Holder hereof will, upon the exercise of this Warrant, be entitled to receive, in addition to the number of Common Shares receivable thereupon, and without payment of any additional consideration therefor, the amount of shares and other securities and property (including cash in the cases referred to in clauses (ii) and (iii) above) which such Holder would hold on the date of such exercise had such Holder been the holder of record of such Common Shares as of the date on which holders of Common Shares received or became entitled to receive such shares or all other additional stock and other securities and property.



 
		(b) 	Upon the occurrence of each adjustment pursuant to this Section 3, the Company at its expense will, at the written request of the Holder, promptly compute such adjustment in accordance with the terms of this Warrant and prepare a certificate setting forth such adjustment, including a statement of the adjusted number or type of Warrant Shares or other securities issuable upon exercise of this Warrant (as applicable), describing the transactions giving rise to such adjustments and showing in detail the facts upon which such adjustment is based. Upon written request, the Company will promptly deliver a copy of each such certificate to the Holder and to the Transfer Agent.


 
	 
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	4. 	US Transferrable. By acceptance of this Warrant, Holder agrees to comply with all applicable securities laws in connection with the transfer of this Warrant or the underlying Warrant Shares. This Warrant and all rights hereunder are transferable, in whole or in part, without charge to the holder hereof (except for transfer taxes), upon surrender of this Warrant properly endorsed or accompanied by written instructions of transfer. With respect to any offer, sale or other disposition of this Warrant or any Warrant Shares acquired pursuant to the exercise of this Warrant prior to registration of such Warrant or Warrant Shares, the holder hereof agrees to give written notice to the Company prior thereto, describing briefly the manner thereof, together with a written opinion of such holder's counsel, or other evidence, if requested by the Company, to the effect that such offer, sale or other disposition may be effected without registration or qualification (under the Act as then in effect or any federal or state securities law then in effect) of this Warrant or the Warrant Shares. Upon receiving such written notice and reasonably satisfactory opinion or other evidence, if so requested, the Company, as promptly as practicable, shall notify such holder that such holder may sell or otherwise dispose of this Warrant or such Warrant Shares, all in accordance with the terms of the notice delivered to the Company. Each certificate representing this Warrant or the Warrant Shares shall bear a legend as to the applicable restrictions on transferability in order to ensure compliance with such laws. The Company may issue stop transfer instructions to its transfer agent in connection with such restrictions. Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions of this Section 4, if the Company, with the advice of the Company's counsel, determines that all or any portion of the Warrant Shares that have been or that will be issued upon exercise of this Warrant may be freely transferred pursuant to Rule 144 without volume limitations or information requirements, the Company shall remove the legends from the certificates representing such Warrant Shares or permit ownership of such Warrant Shares to be represented electronically, and Holder may thereafter transfer such Warrant Shares without providing the Company with notice thereof unless otherwise agreed by the Company and Holder. Further, Holder agrees that if the Warrant Shares are registered with the SEC or otherwise become freely tradeable, Holder will only trade the Warrant Shares within the US or on the New York Stock Exchange, or such other US exchange as the Company may trade on, and in no event will Holder attempt to trade the stock in Canada or on a Canadian exchange.

		
	5. 	NONCIRCUMVENTION. The Company hereby covenants and agrees that the Company will not, by amendment of its Articles, Bylaws or through any reorganization, transfer of assets, consolidation, merger, scheme of arrangement, dissolution, issue or sale of securities, or any other voluntary action, avoid or seek to avoid the observance or performance of any of the terms of this Warrant, and will at all times in good faith carry out all the provisions of this Warrant and take all action as may be required to protect the rights of the Holder. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Company (i) shall not increase the par value of any Common Shares receivable upon the exercise of this Warrant above the Exercise Price then in effect, (ii) shall take all such actions as may be necessary or appropriate in order that the Company may validly and legally issue fully paid and nonassessable shares of Common Shares upon the exercise of this Warrant, and (iii) shall, so long as this Warrant is outstanding, take all action necessary to reserve and keep available out of its authorized and unissued shares of Common Shares, solely for the purpose of effecting the exercise of this Warrant, 100% of the number of shares of Common Shares issuable upon exercise of this Warrant then outstanding (without regard to any limitations on exercise).



 
	 
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	6. 	WARRANT HOLDER NOT DEEMED A SHAREHOLDER. Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, the Holder, solely in such Person's capacity as a holder of this Warrant, shall not be entitled to vote or receive dividends or be deemed the holder of share capital of the Company for any purpose, nor shall anything contained in this Warrant be construed to confer upon the Holder, solely in such Person's capacity as the Holder of this Warrant, any of the rights of a shareholder of the Company or any right to vote, give or withhold consent to any corporate action (whether any reorganization, issue of stock, reclassification of stock, consolidation, merger, conveyance or otherwise), receive notice of meetings, receive dividends or subscription rights, or otherwise, prior to the issuance to the Holder of the Warrant Shares which such Person is then entitled to receive upon the due exercise of this Warrant. In addition, nothing contained in this Warrant shall be construed as imposing any liabilities on the Holder to purchase any securities (upon exercise of this Warrant or otherwise) or as a shareholder of the Company, whether such liabilities are asserted by the Company or by creditors of the Company.

		
	7. 	REISSUANCE OF WARRANTS.



 
		(a) 	Transfer of Warrant. If this Warrant is to be transferred, the Holder shall surrender this Warrant to the Company and deliver the completed and executed Assignment Form, in the form attached hereto as Exhibit C, whereupon the Company will forthwith issue and deliver upon the order of the Holder a new Warrant (in accordance with Section 7(d)), registered as the Holder may request, representing the right to purchase the number of Warrant Shares being transferred by the Holder and, if less than the total number of Warrant Shares then underlying this Warrant is being transferred, a new Warrant (in accordance with Section 7(d)) to the Holder representing the right to purchase the number of Warrant Shares not being transferred.

			
		(b) 	Lost, Stolen or Mutilated Warrant. Upon receipt by the Company of evidence reasonably satisfactory to the Company of the loss, theft, destruction or mutilation of this Warrant, and, in the case of loss, theft or destruction, of any indemnification undertaking by the Holder to the Company in customary form and, in the case of mutilation, upon surrender and cancellation of this Warrant, the Company shall execute and deliver to the Holder a new Warrant (in accordance with Section 7(d)) representing the right to purchase the Warrant Shares then underlying this Warrant.

			
		(c) 	Exchangeable for Multiple Warrants. This Warrant is exchangeable, upon the surrender hereof by the Holder at the principal office of the Company, for a new Warrant or Warrants (in accordance with Section 7(d)) representing in the aggregate the right to purchase the number of Warrant Shares then underlying this Warrant, and each such new Warrant will represent the right to purchase such portion of such Warrant Shares as is designated by the Holder at the time of such surrender; provided, however, that no Warrants for fractional shares of Common Shares shall be given.

			
		(d) 	Issuance of New Warrants. Whenever the Company is required to issue a new Warrant pursuant to the terms of this Warrant, such new Warrant (i) shall be of like tenor with this Warrant, (ii) shall represent, as indicated on the face of such new Warrant, the right to purchase the Warrant Shares then underlying this Warrant (or in the case of a new Warrant being issued pursuant to Section 7(a) or Section 7(c), the Warrant Shares designated by the Holder which, when added to the number of Common Shares underlying the other new Warrants issued in connection with such issuance, does not exceed the number of Warrant Shares then underlying this Warrant), (iii) shall have an issuance date, as indicated on the face of such new Warrant which is the same as the Issuance Date, and (iv) shall have the same rights and conditions as this Warrant.



 
	 
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	8. 	NOTICES. Whenever notice is required to be given under this Warrant, unless otherwise provided herein, such notice shall be given in accordance with Section 6 of Annex I to the Subscription Agreement. The Company shall provide the Holder with prompt written notice of all actions taken pursuant to this Warrant, including in reasonable detail a description of such action and the reason therefore.

		
	9. 	AMENDMENT AND WAIVER. Except as otherwise provided herein, the provisions of this Warrant may be amended and the Company may take any action herein prohibited, or omit to perform any act herein required to be performed by it, only if the Company has obtained the written consent of the Holder.

		
	10. 	GOVERNING LAW. This Warrant shall be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with, and all questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation and performance of this Warrant shall be governed by the internal laws of the State of Florida without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law provision or rule that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdictions other than the State of Florida.

		
	11. 	CONSTRUCTION; HEADINGS. This Warrant shall be deemed to be jointly drafted by the Company and the Holder and shall not be construed against any person as the drafter hereof. The headings of this Warrant are for convenience of reference and shall not form part of, or affect the interpretation of, this Warrant.

		
	12. 	DISPUTE RESOLUTION. In the case of a dispute as to the determination of the Exercise Price or the arithmetic calculation of the Warrant Shares, the Company shall submit the disputed determinations or arithmetic calculations via facsimile within two Business Days of receipt of the Exercise Notice giving rise to such dispute, as the case may be, to the Holder. If the Holder and the Company are unable to agree upon such determination or calculation of the Exercise Price or the Warrant Shares within three Business Days of such disputed determination or arithmetic calculation being submitted to the Holder, then the Company shall, within two Business Days submit via facsimile (a) the disputed determination of the Exercise Price to an independent, reputable investment bank selected by the Company and approved by the Holder or (b) the disputed arithmetic calculation of the Warrant Shares to the Company's independent, outside accountant. The Company shall cause at its expense the investment bank or the accountant, as the case may be, to perform the determinations or calculations and notify the Company and the Holder of the results no later than ten Business Days from the time it receives the disputed determinations or calculations. Such investment bank's or accountant's determination or calculation, as the case may be, shall be binding upon all parties absent demonstrable error.

		
	13. 	REMEDIES, OTHER OBLIGATIONS, BREACHES AND INJUNCTIVE RELIEF. The remedies provided in this Warrant shall be cumulative and in addition to all other remedies available under this Warrant, at law or in equity (including a decree of specific performance and/or other injunctive relief), and nothing herein shall limit the right of the Holder to pursue actual damages for any failure by the Company to comply with the terms of this Warrant.

		
	14. 	TRANSFER. This Warrant may be offered for sale, sold, transferred or assigned without the consent of the Company, provided, however, that notice of any sale, transfer or assignment shall be provided to the Company, together with contact details for the purchaser, transferee or assignee.


 
	 
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	15. 	CERTAIN DEFINITIONS. For purposes of this Warrant, the following terms shall have the following meanings:


 
		(a) 	"Bloomberg" means Bloomberg Financial Markets.

			
		(b) 	"Business Day" means any day other than Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in The City of New York are authorized or required by law to remain closed.

			
		(c) 	"Common Shares" means (i) the Company's Common Shares, without par value, and (ii) any share capital into which such Common Shares shall have been changed or any share capital resulting from a reclassification of such Common Shares.

			
		(d) 	"Expiration Date" means the date three years following the Issuance Date. If the Expiration Date falls on a day other than a Business Day or on which trading does not take place on the Principal Market (a "Holiday"), the Expiration Date shall be the next date that is not a Holiday.

			
		(e) 	"Person" means an individual, a limited liability company, a partnership, a joint venture, a corporation, a trust, an unincorporated organization, any other entity and a government or any department or agency thereof.

			
		(f) 	"Principal Market" means the NYSE MKT or another exchange in the United States on which the Common Shares are listed if not listed on the NYSE MKT.

			
		(g) 	"Trading Day" means any day on which the Common Shares are traded on the Principal Market, or, if the Principal Market is not the principal trading market for the Common Shares, then on the principal securities exchange or securities market on which the Common Shares are then traded; provided that "Trading Day" shall not include any day on which the Common Shares are scheduled to trade on such exchange or market for less than 4.5 hours or any day that the Common Shares are suspended from trading during the final hour of trading on such exchange or market (or if such exchange or market does not designate in advance the closing time of trading on such exchange or market, then during the hour ending at 4:00:00 p.m., New York time).



 
[Signature Page Follows]
    
	 
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this Warrant to Purchase Common Stock to be duly executed as of the Issuance Date set out above.
  
 
	 
	AVINO SILVER & GOLD MINES LTD.	 

	 	 	 	 
		By:		 

	 
	Name:
	Malcolm Davidson	 

	 
	Title:
	Chief Financial Officer	 



 
 
[Warrant Signature Page]   

 
	 
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EXHIBIT A
 
EXERCISE NOTICE
 
TO BE EXECUTED BY THE REGISTERED HOLDER TO EXERCISE THIS
WARRANT TO PURCHASE COMMON SHARES
 
AVINO SILVER & GOLD MINES LTD.
 
The undersigned holder hereby exercises the right to purchase __________ of Common Shares ("Warrant Shares") of Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd., a company incorporated under the British Columbia, Business Corporations Act (the "Company"), evidenced by the attached Warrant to Purchase Common Share (the "Warrant"). Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined shall have the respective meanings set forth in the Warrant.
 
1. Form of Exercise Price. The Holder intends that payment of the Exercise Price shall be made as:
 
__________ a "Cash Exercise" with respect to __________ Warrant Shares.
 
2. Payment of Exercise Price. The holder shall pay the Aggregate Exercise Price in the sum of $ __________ to the Company in accordance with the terms of the Warrant.
 
3. Delivery of Warrant Shares. The Company shall deliver to the holder _________ Warrant Shares in accordance with the terms of the Warrant.
 
Date: _______ ___, ____
 
 
	Name of Registered Holder	 

	 	 	 
	By:		 

	Name:
		 

	 
	 
	 

	Title:
		 



 
	 
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EXHIBIT B
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
 
The Company hereby acknowledges this Exercise Notice and hereby directs Computershare to issue the above indicated number of Common Shares in accordance with the Transfer Agent Instructions dated March [__], 2016 from the Company and acknowledged and agreed to by Computershare.
 
    	 
	AVINO SILVER & GOLD MINES LTD.	 

	 	 	 	 
		By:		 

	 
	Name:
		 

	 
	Title:
		 



 
	 
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EXHIBIT C
 
ASSIGNMENT FORM 
 
AVINO SILVER & GOLD MINES LTD.
 
(To assign the foregoing Warrant, execute this form and supply required information. Do not use this form to purchase shares.) 
 
FOR VALUE RECEIVED, the foregoing Warrant and all rights evidenced thereby are hereby assigned to: 
 
	Name: 
	 
			 

	 
			(Please Print)
	 

	 
				 

	Address: 
	 
			 

	 
			(Please Print)
	 

	 
				 

	Date:
	_____________ ___, ______ 
			 

	Holder's Signature:
	 
			 

	Holder's Address:
	 
			 

	 
	 
	 
	 
	 

	 
	 
	 
	 
	 



 
NOTE: The signature to this Assignment Form must correspond with the name as it appears on the face of the Warrant. 
  
 
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