Document:

Golden Queen Mining Co. Ltd.: Exhibit 10.1 - Filed by newsfilecorp.com

AGREEMENT AND AMENDMENT NO. 1 

This AGREEMENT AND AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO PLEDGE AGREEMENT (this
“Agreement”) is made as of February 27, 2015 by and among GOLDEN QUEEN
MINING CO. LTD., a British Columbia corporation (the “Borrower”), GOLDEN
QUEEN MINING HOLDINGS, INC., a California corporation (“Holdings”),
GOLDEN QUEEN MINING CANADA LTD., a recently incorporated British Columbia
corporation and a wholly owned subsidiary of the Borrower (“BC
Subco”), THE LANDON T. CLAY 2009 IRREVOCABLE TRUST DATED MARCH 6, 2009
(“LTC Lender”) and JONATHAN C. CLAY, an individual (together with
LTC Lender, the “Lenders”). 

Whereas the Borrower, Holdings and the Lenders are parties to
that certain Pledge Agreement (the “Pledge Agreement”) dated December 31,
2014; terms defined in the Pledged Agreement are used herein with the same
meanings. 

Whereas the Borrower and the Lenders are parties to that
certain Term Loan Agreement dated December 31, 2014 (the “Term Loan
Agreement”). 

Whereas Section 5.10 of the Term Loan Agreement requires BC
Subco to be joined as a guarantor to that certain Guaranty dated December 31,
2014 among Holdings and the Lenders (the “Subsidiary Guaranty”). 

Whereas pursuant to that certain Share Transfer Agreement (the
“Transfer Agreement”) dated of even date herewith between the Borrower
and BC Subco, the Borrower proposes to sell and transfer all of the shares of
Holdings held by the Borrower (the “Holdings Shares”) to BC Subco. 

Whereas the shares of BC Subco held by the Borrower the “BC
Subco Shares”) will constitute Pledged Securities pursuant to the Pledge
Agreement. 

Whereas, pursuant to Section 5.3 of the Pledge Agreement the
Borrower agreed not to convey, sell or otherwise dispose of the Holdings Shares
except in favor of the Lenders (the “Transfer Restriction”). 

Whereas the sale and transfer of the Holdings Shares by the
Borrower to BC Subco is a transaction with an Affiliate (as such is defined in
the Term Loan Agreement) and is subject to the approval requirements set forth
in Section 6.7 of the Term Loan Agreement (the “Approval
Requirements”).

Now, therefore, for good and valuable consideration, the
receipt and adequacy of which are hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree
as follows: 

1. BC Subco agrees to be bound by the Pledge Agreement as if it
were originally named a Pledgor and henceforth shall be a “Pledgor” in respect
of the Holdings Shares, the Borrower hereby pledges the BC Subco Shares to the
Lenders pursuant to the Pledge Agreement, the BC Subco Shares henceforth shall
constitute Pledged Securities, and the table set forth in Exhibit A to the
Pledge Agreement is hereby amended and restated in its entirety to read as set
forth in the table attached hereto as Schedule 1.

2. BC Subco hereby agrees to be bound by the Subsidiary
Guaranty as if it were originally named a Guarantor thereunder and henceforth
shall be a “Guarantor” (as such is defined in the Subsidiary Guaranty). Without
limiting the generality of the foregoing, BC Subco hereby absolutely,
unconditionally and irrevocably guarantees to the Lenders the full and punctual
payment when due (whether at maturity, by acceleration or otherwise) and the performance of all
Obligations (as such are defined in the Term Loan Agreement). BC Subco also
makes each of the representations and warranties and agrees to each of the
covenants applicable to the Guarantor contained in the Subsidiary Guaranty.

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3. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth herein, the
Lenders hereby consent to the sale and transfer of the Holdings Shares by the
Borrower to BC Subco pursuant to the Transfer Agreement, and, solely to permit
such sale and transfer to be effected without constituting a breach of the
Pledge Agreement or the Term Loan Agreement, hereby provide a limited waiver of
the Transfer Restriction and the Approval Requirements. Other than the limited
waiver provided pursuant to this paragraph, the Transfer Restriction and
Approval Requirements shall remain in full force and effect. 

4. The Pledge Agreement and the Subsidiary Guaranty, as
modified hereby, shall continue in full force and effect and shall continue to
apply and be enforceable among the parties thereto and hereto. 

5. The provisions of Sections 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the Pledge
Agreement are hereby incorporated by reference into this Agreement and shall
apply to this Agreement and the parties hereto as if fully set forth herein.

[Signatures on following page] 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed this
AGREEMENT AND AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO PLEDGE AGREEMENT as of the date first above
written. 

GOLDEN QUEEN MINING CO. LTD. 

	By: 	/s/
      Andrée St-Germain 
	  	Name: Andrée St-Germain 
	  	Title: CFO 

GOLDEN QUEEN MINING HOLDINGS, INC.

	By: 	/s/ H.
      Lutz Klingmann 
	  	Name: H. Lutz Klingmann 
	  	Title: President 

GOLDEN QUEEN MINING CANADA LTD. 

	By: 	/s/ H.
      Lutz Klingmann 
	  	Name: H. Lutz Klingmann 
	  	Title: President 

THE LANDON T. CLAY 2009 IRREVOCABLE
TRUST DATED MARCH 6, 2009 

	By: 	/s/
      Thomas M. Clay 
	  	Name: Thomas M. Clay 
	  	Title: Trustee 

JONATHAN C. CLAY 

	  /s/
      Jonathan Clay

SCHEDULE I 

	Pledgor Name	Issuer of Equity Interests	Pledged Equity Interests
	Golden Queen Mining Co. Ltd. 	Golden Queen Mining Canada Ltd., a British
      Columbia corporation 	100 common shares in the capital of the issuer,
      constituting all of the issued and outstanding shares of the issuer 
	Golden Queen Mining Canada Ltd. 	Golden Queen Mining Holdings, Inc., a
      California corporation 	100 shares of common stock, constituting all of
      the capital stock of the issuer 
	Golden Queen Mining Holdings, Inc. 	Golden Queen Mining Company, LLC, a California
      limited liability company 	50% of the LLC membership interests, subject to
      adjustment as set forth in the Amended and Restated Limited Liability
      Company Agreement of Golden Queen Mining Company, LLCEX-10.1

 Exhibit 10.1 
  

 
 July 29, 2014 
 Armando
Lins Netto 
 Dear Armando: 
 It’s been a pleasure
getting to know you during the recent interview process. We appreciate the time investment and travel investment you’ve made to explore this opportunity. On behalf of FleetCor, I’m pleased to offer you the position of CEO, FleetCor Brazil
reporting to me. 
 In the Brazil CEO role, you will have responsibility for: 
  

	 	•	 	Delivering the annual revenue and profit plan for both of our “existing businesses” in Brazil (VB and CTF/DB). 

  

	 	•	 	Developing annual budgets and developing 3 year growth plans to insure 20% plus profit growth annually throughout the forecast period. 

 

	 	•	 	Working with Corporate to identify, assess and acquire new business opportunities in the region. 

  

	 	•	 	Developing and implementing key customer, merchant, partner, government and industry relationships in the region, and ensure the ongoing awareness of the competitive environment and market conditions. 

 

	 	•	 	Hiring, developing and retaining key executives and second level management. 

 The general terms of your
employment offer are as follows. 
 Salary 
 Your
salary will be R$872,093 per year, or R$72,672.42 paid monthly in accordance with FleetCor’s normal payroll practice for statutory managers. (Your salary in R$ was calculated taking $375,000 (USD) divided by an average exchange rate of
0.43 = R$872,093; your monthly salary was calculated by dividing R$872,093 by 12). 
 Executive Bonus Program 

You will be eligible to participate in FleetCor’s Executive Bonus Program. Your annual target payout for this bonus will be R$465,116 (or $200,000 (USD).
Your 2014 bonus payment will prorated to reflect your actual hire date but will be guaranteed to be a minimum R$348,837 (or $150,000 USD). Your 2015 annual bonus payment will be guaranteed at the target of R$465,116 (or $200,000 USD). Bonus payments
for 2016 and beyond are dependent upon meeting your performance on your individual objectives. Bonus payments are generally made in February of the following year. Your bonus targets in R$ were calculated using the same average exchange rate of
0.43. 
 Incremental Guaranteed Bonus 
 You will
be eligible to receive a guaranteed bonus of R$100,000 per year. This bonus is in lieu of participation in traditional employee benefits such as Christmas bonus, vacation bonus and pension contribution. This bonus payment will be made at the same
time the bonuses under the Executive Bonus Program are paid and will remain in effect as long as you are employed at FleetCor or until we reach a new agreement. Your actual 2014 bonus will be prorated for your hire date and your payment will be
R$58,334. Beginning in 2015, this bonus will be paid quarterly. 

  
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 Annual Restricted Stock: You will be granted approximately $175,000 (USD) in restricted stock
annually. These shares vest if FleetCor achieves its annual EPS target. At the beginning of 2014, this was 1,600 restricted shares. Your actual 2014 grant of 933 shares (prorated for your start date) was approved on July 24, 2014. 

Employment Status 
 As we discussed, you are
employed as a statutory manager. 
 Equity 
 You
will be granted equity as follows: 
 Recovery of Tivit Equity: You will be granted 20,000 shares of performance restricted stock
immediately. These shares will vest based on achieving the 2015 Brazil profit targets (per the 2015 budgeted EBITDA). These grants will not be pro-rated. If in the event, FLT is trading below $125 per share in January 2015, your RS
grant will be upsized to target a $2.5M potential value. This grant was approved on July 15, 2014. 
 Performance-Based Restricted
Stock: You will be granted an additional 20,000 performance based restricted shares that will vest based upon achievement of criteria on which we jointly agree in 2016 / 2017. These shares were approved on November 13, 2014. 

Stock Options: You will be granted 45,000 stock options. These stock options, which will vest evenly over 4 years, were approved by the
Board on July 15, 2014 at an exercise price of $132.24. 
 Severance 

Our executive severance policy is 6 months’ salary continuation and does not include target bonus. This policy is in the unlikely event of termination not
for cause. [Note: Termination for cause carries no severance.] 
 Benefits 

You will be entitled to participate in FleetCor Brazil’s benefit plans which I think you will find quite competitive. Like our other senior executives in
Brazil, you receive a car allowance of R$2,800 per month. If you have detailed questions, please contact Cirlene Montiero Silveiro at csilveiro@ctf.com.br. 

Armando, we are excited to welcome you to the FleetCor team. Your previous experiences at Tivit, Unisys and McKinsey will prove invaluable to FleetCor. As we
have discussed, this represents an exciting opportunity for you to join a company with a growth outlook in a role where you can make a significant impact. We’re looking forward to getting started. 

Best Regards, 
  
  

 
 Ron Clarke, Chairman and CEO 

cc:  Crystal Williams 

  
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