UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, DC 20549
FORM 10-Q
(MARK ONE)
x QUARTERLY REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
FOR THE QUARTERLY PERIOD ENDED JUNE 30, 2014.
OR
o TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM TO .
COMMISSION FILE NUMBER 1-13627
GOLDEN MINERALS COMPANY
(EXACT NAME OF REGISTRANT AS SPECIFIED IN ITS CHARTER)
DELAWARE |
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26-4413382 |
(STATE OR OTHER JURISDICTION OF |
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(I.R.S. EMPLOYER |
INCORPORATION OR ORGANIZATION) |
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IDENTIFICATION NO.) |
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350 INDIANA STREET, SUITE 800 |
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GOLDEN, COLORADO |
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80401 |
(ADDRESS OF PRINCIPAL EXECUTIVE OFFICES) |
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(ZIP CODE) |
(303) 839-5060
(REGISTRANTS TELEPHONE NUMBER, INCLUDING AREA CODE)
INDICATE BY CHECK MARK WHETHER THE REGISTRANT (1) HAS FILED ALL REPORTS REQUIRED TO BE FILED BY SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 DURING THE PRECEDING 12 MONTHS (OR FOR SUCH SHORTER PERIOD THAT THE REGISTRANT WAS REQUIRED TO FILE SUCH REPORTS), AND (2) HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO SUCH FILING REQUIREMENTS FOR THE PAST 90 DAYS: YES x NO o
INDICATE BY CHECK MARK WHETHER THE REGISTRANT HAS SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY AND POSTED ON ITS CORPORATE WEB SITE, IF ANY, EVERY INTERACTIVE DATA FILE REQUIRED TO BE SUBMITTED AND POSTED PURSUANT TO RULE 405 OF REGULATION S-T (§232.405 OF THIS CHAPTER) DURING THE PRECEDING 12 MONTHS (OR FOR SUCH SHORTER PERIOD THAT THE REGISTRANT WAS REQUIRED TO SUBMIT AND POST SUCH FILES). YES x NO o
INDICATE BY CHECK MARK WHETHER THE REGISTRANT IS A LARGE ACCELERATED FILER, AN ACCELERATED FILER, A NON-ACCELERATED FILER, OR A SMALLER REPORTING COMPANY:
LARGE ACCELERATED FILER o |
ACCELERATED FILER o |
NON-ACCELERATED FILER o |
SMALLER REPORTING COMPANY x |
INDICATE BY CHECK MARK WHETHER THE REGISTRANT IS A SHELL COMPANY (AS DEFINED IN RULE 12B-2 OF THE EXCHANGE ACT): YES o NO x
INDICATE BY CHECK MARK WHETHER THE REGISTRANT HAS FILED ALL DOCUMENTS AND REPORTS REQUIRED TO BE FILED BY SECTIONS 12, 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 SUBSEQUENT TO THE DISTRIBUTION OF SECURITIES UNDER A PLAN CONFIRMED BY A COURT: YES x NO o
AT AUGUST 5, 2014, 43,530,833 SHARES OF COMMON STOCK, $0.01 PAR VALUE PER SHARE, WERE ISSUED AND OUTSTANDING.
GOLDEN MINERALS COMPANY
FORM 10-Q
QUARTER ENDED JUNE 30, 2014
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PAGE |
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3 |
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MANAGEMENTS DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS |
16 |
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23 |
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24 |
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26 |
GOLDEN MINERALS COMPANY
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Expressed in United States dollars)
(Unaudited)
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June 30, |
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December 31, |
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2014 |
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2013 |
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(in thousands, except share data) |
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||||
Assets |
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Current assets |
|
|
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|
|
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Cash and cash equivalents (Note 3) |
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$ |
10,400 |
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$ |
19,146 |
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Trade receivables |
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|
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25 |
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||
Inventories (Note 5) |
|
384 |
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449 |
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Value added tax receivable, net (Note 6) |
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1,775 |
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1,765 |
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Prepaid expenses and other assets (Note 4) |
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923 |
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1,091 |
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Total current assets |
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13,482 |
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22,476 |
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Property, plant and equipment, net (Note 7) |
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30,639 |
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32,375 |
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Prepaid expenses and other assets, non-current (Note 4) |
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30 |
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Total assets |
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$ |
44,121 |
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$ |
54,881 |
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Liabilities and Equity |
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Current liabilities |
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Accounts payable and other accrued liabilities (Note 8) |
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$ |
1,747 |
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$ |
1,365 |
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Other current liabilities (Note 10) |
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3,488 |
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4,405 |
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Total current liabilities |
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5,235 |
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5,770 |
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Asset retirement obligation (Note 9) |
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2,589 |
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2,602 |
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Other long term liabilities |
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74 |
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53 |
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Total liabilities |
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7,898 |
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8,425 |
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Commitments and contingencies (Note 16) |
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Equity (Note 13) |
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Common stock, $.01 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized; 43,530,833 shares issued and outstanding for both periods |
|
435 |
|
435 |
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Additional paid in capital |
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495,115 |
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494,647 |
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Accumulated deficit |
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(459,327 |
) |
(448,626 |
) |
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Shareholders equity |
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36,223 |
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46,456 |
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Total liabilities and equity |
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$ |
44,121 |
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$ |
54,881 |
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The accompanying notes form an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
GOLDEN MINERALS COMPANY
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
(Expressed in United States dollars)
(Unaudited)
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Three Months Ended |
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Six Months Ended |
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June 30, |
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June 30, |
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2014 |
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2013 |
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2014 |
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2013 |
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(in thousands, except share data) |
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Revenue: |
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Sale of metals (Note 14) |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
4,467 |
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$ |
|
|
$ |
10,297 |
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Costs and expenses: |
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||||
Costs applicable to sale of metals (exclusive of depreciation shown below) (Note 14) |
|
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(8,145 |
) |
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(17,017 |
) |
||||
Exploration expense |
|
(1,653 |
) |
(1,240 |
) |
(3,253 |
) |
(2,764 |
) |
||||
El Quevar project expense |
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(421 |
) |
(586 |
) |
(755 |
) |
(1,673 |
) |
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Velardeña project expense |
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(759 |
) |
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(2,921 |
) |
||||
Velardeña shutdown and care & maintenance costs |
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(1,208 |
) |
(2,329 |
) |
(2,457 |
) |
(2,329 |
) |
||||
Administrative expense |
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(1,150 |
) |
(1,633 |
) |
(2,805 |
) |
(3,530 |
) |
||||
Stock based compensation |
|
(257 |
) |
(558 |
) |
(587 |
) |
(979 |
) |
||||
Reclamation and accretion expense |
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(49 |
) |
(46 |
) |
(98 |
) |
(88 |
) |
||||
Impairment of long lived assets |
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(238,020 |
) |
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(238,020 |
) |
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Impairment of goodwill |
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(11,180 |
) |
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(11,180 |
) |
||||
Other operating income, net |
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2 |
|
630 |
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4 |
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3,828 |
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||||
Depreciation, depletion and amortization |
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(778 |
) |
(2,529 |
) |
(1,624 |
) |
(5,097 |
) |
||||
Total costs and expenses |
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(5,514 |
) |
(266,395 |
) |
(11,575 |
) |
(281,770 |
) |
||||
Loss from operations |
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(5,514 |
) |
(261,928 |
) |
(11,575 |
) |
(271,473 |
) |
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Other income and (expense): |
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Interest and other income, net |
|
487 |
|
251 |
|
881 |
|
323 |
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Gain on foreign currency |
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(16 |
) |
(1,145 |
) |
(7 |
) |
(410 |
) |
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Total other income (expense) |
|
471 |
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(894 |
) |
874 |
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(87 |
) |
||||
Loss from operations before income taxes |
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(5,043 |
) |
(262,822 |
) |
(10,701 |
) |
(271,560 |
) |
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Income tax benefit |
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45,017 |
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47,495 |
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Net loss |
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$ |
(5,043 |
) |
$ |
(217,805 |
) |
$ |
(10,701 |
) |
$ |
(224,065 |
) |
Comprehensive loss: |
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||||
Unrealized gain on securities |
|
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|
90 |
|
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Comprehensive loss |
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$ |
(5,043 |
) |
$ |
(217,805 |
) |
$ |
(10,701 |
) |
$ |
(223,975 |
) |
Net loss per common share basic |
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Loss |
|
$ |
(0.12 |
) |
$ |
(5.09 |
) |
$ |
(0.25 |
) |
$ |
(5.23 |
) |
Weighted average common stock outstanding - basic (1) |
|
42,918,426 |
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42,821,914 |
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42,906,090 |
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42,812,918 |
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(1) Potentially dilutive shares have not been included because to do so would be anti-dilutive.
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
GOLDEN MINERALS COMPANY
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Expressed in United States dollars)
(Unaudited)
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Six Months Ended |
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June 30, |
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||||
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2014 |
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2013 |
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(in thousands) |
|
||||
Cash flows from operating activities: |
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Net cash used in operating activities (Note 15) |
|
$ |
(8,740 |
) |
$ |
(16,788 |
) |
Cash flows from investing activities: |
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|
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Sale of available for sale investments |
|
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|
198 |
|
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Proceeds from sale of assets |
|
1 |
|
3,842 |
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Capitalized costs and acquisitions of property, plant and equipment |
|
(7 |
) |
(1,667 |
) |
||
Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities |
|
$ |
(6 |
) |
$ |
2,373 |
|
Cash flows from financing activities: |
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|
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Net cash provided by financing activities |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents |
|
(8,746 |
) |
(14,415 |
) |
||
Cash and cash equivalents - beginning of period |
|
19,146 |
|
44,406 |
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Cash and cash equivalents - end of period |
|
$ |
10,400 |
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$ |
29,991 |
|
See Note 15 for supplemental cash flow information.
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
GOLDEN MINERALS COMPANY
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN EQUITY
(Expressed in United States dollars)
(Unaudited)
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Accumulated |
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|
|||||
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Other |
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Additional |
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Comprehensive |
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Total |
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|||||
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Common Stock |
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Paid-in |
|
Accumulated |
|
income |
|
Equity |
|
|||||||
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Shares |
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Amount |
|
Capital |
|
Deficit |
|
(loss) |
|
(Deficit) |
|
|||||
|
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(in thousands except share data) |
|
|||||||||||||||
Balance, December 31, 2012 |
|
43,265,833 |
|
$ |
433 |
|
$ |
493,175 |
|
$ |
(208,246 |
) |
$ |
(90 |
) |
$ |
285,272 |
|
Stock compensation accrued |
|
265,000 |
|
2 |
|
1,472 |
|
|
|
|
|
1,474 |
|
|||||
Realized gain on marketable equity securities, net of tax |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
90 |
|
90 |
|
|||||
Net loss |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(240,380 |
) |
|
|
(240,380 |
) |
|||||
Balance, December 31, 2013 |
|
43,530,833 |
|
$ |
435 |
|
$ |
494,647 |
|
$ |
(448,626 |
) |
$ |
|
|
$ |
46,456 |
|
Stock compensation accrued |
|
|
|
|
|
586 |
|
|
|
|
|
586 |
|
|||||
KELTIP mark-to-market |
|
|
|
|
|
(118 |
) |
|
|
|
|
(118 |
) |
|||||
Net loss |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
(10,701 |
) |
|
|
(10,701 |
) |
|||||
Balance, June 30, 2014 |
|
43,530,833 |
|
$ |
435 |
|
$ |
495,115 |
|
$ |
(459,327 |
) |
$ |
|
|
$ |
36,223 |
|
The accompanying notes form an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
GOLDEN MINERALS COMPANY
NOTES TO THE CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS UNAUDITED
(Expressed in United States dollars)
1. Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements and Nature of Operations
Golden Minerals Company (the Company), a Delaware corporation, has prepared these unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Such rules and regulations allow the omission of certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP), so long as such omissions do not render the financial statements misleading. The year-end balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements, but does not include all disclosures normally required by GAAP.
In the opinion of management, these financial statements reflect all adjustments that are necessary for a fair presentation of the financial results for the periods presented. These interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the annual financial statements included in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, and filed with the SEC on February 28, 2014.
In June 2013 the Company suspended mining and processing at its Velardeña and Chicago precious metals mining properties (the Velardeña Properties) in Mexico in order to conserve the asset until the Company was able to create new mining and processing plans that, at then current prices for silver and gold, indicated a sustainable cash margin. On June 18, 2014 the Company announced it would restart mining at the Velardeña Properties beginning in July 2014. On July 11, 2014 the Company announced that it had restarted mining at its Velardeña Properties on July 1, 2014, with plans to begin processing material from the mine in the fourth quarter of 2014. The Company is primarily focused on its activities to restart mining and processing at the Velardeña Properties and continued exploration of properties in Mexico. The Company is also reviewing strategic opportunities, focusing primarily on development or operating properties in North America, including Mexico.
The Company is considered an exploration stage company under the criteria set forth by the SEC as the Company has not yet demonstrated the existence of proven or probable reserves, as defined by the SEC Industry Guide 7, at the Velardeña Properties, or any of the Companys other properties. As a result, and in accordance with GAAP for exploration stage companies, all expenditures for exploration and evaluation of the Companys properties are expensed as incurred. As such the Companys financial statements may not be comparable to the financial statements of mining companies that do have proven and probable reserves.
The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis under which an entity is considered to be able to realize its assets and satisfy its liabilities in the normal course of business. However, the continuing operations of the Company are dependent upon its ability to secure sufficient funding and to generate future profitable operations. The underlying value and recoverability of the amounts shown as mineral properties in the condensed consolidated balance sheets are dependent on the ability of the Company to generate positive cash flows from operations and to continue to fund exploration and development activities that would lead to profitable mining activities or proceeds from the disposition of the mineral properties. There can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in generating future profitable operations or securing additional funding in the future on terms acceptable to the Company or at all.
2 . New Accounting Pronouncements
On May 28, 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (ASU 2014-09). ASU 2014-09 outlines a single comprehensive model for entities to use in accounting for revenue arising from contracts with customers and supersedes most current revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance. In addition, the guidance requires improved disclosures to help users of financial statements better understand the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue that is recognized and the related cash flows. ASU 2014-09 is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016; early application is not permitted. The Company is evaluating the financial statement implications of adopting ASU 2014-09 but does not believe adoption of ASU 2014-09 will have a material impact on the its consolidated financial position or results of operations.
In April 2014 the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-08 Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant, and Equipment (Topic 360): Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity (ASU 2014-08). ASU 2014-08 changes the criteria for reporting discontinued operations while enhancing disclosures in this area. Under ASU 2014-08, only disposals representing a strategic shift in operations will be presented as discontinued operations. Additionally, ASU 2014-08 requires expanded disclosures about discontinued operations that will provide financial statement users with more information about the assets, liabilities, income, and expenses of discontinued operations. ASU 2014-08 will become effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2015. The Company does not believe the adoption of ASU 2014-08 will have a material impact on the Companys consolidated financial position or results of operations.
In July 2013 the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2013-11 Income Taxes (Topic 740): Presentation of an Unrecognized Tax Benefit When a Net Operating Loss Carryforward, a Similar Tax Loss, or a Tax Credit Carryforward Exists (ASU 2013-11), which requires an unrecognized tax benefit to be presented as a reduction to a deferred tax asset for a net operating loss carryforward, a similar tax loss or a tax credit carryforward that the entity intends to use and is available for settlement at the reporting date. ASU 2013-11 became effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2014. The adoption of ASU 2013-11 has not had a material impact on the Companys consolidated financial position or results of operations.
3. Cash and Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments
The Company considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. Short-term investments include investments with maturities greater than three months, but not exceeding 12 months, or highly liquid investments with maturities greater than 12 months that the Company intends to liquidate during the next 12 months for working capital needs.
The Company determines the appropriate classification of its investments in equity securities at the time of purchase and re-evaluates those classifications at each balance sheet date. Available for sale investments are marked to market at each reporting period with changes in fair value recorded as a component of other comprehensive income (loss). If declines in fair value are deemed other than temporary, a charge is made to net income (loss) for the period.
The Company had no short-term investments as of June 30, 2014 or December 31, 2013.
4. Prepaid expenses and other assets
Prepaid expenses and other current assets consist of the following:
|
|
June 30, |
|
December 31, |
|
||
|
|
2014 |
|
2013 |
|
||
|
|
(in thousands) |
|
||||
Prepaid insurance |
|
$ |
452 |
|
$ |
687 |
|
Prepaid contractor fees and vendor advances |
|
198 |
|
193 |
|
||
Taxes receivable |
|
83 |
|
96 |
|
||
Recoupable deposits and other |
|
190 |
|
115 |
|
||
|
|
$ |
923 |
|
$ |
1,091 |
|
June 30, 2014
The prepaid contractor fees and vendor advances consist of advance payments made to equipment manufacturers, contractors and suppliers primarily at the Companys Velardeña Properties in Mexico.
December 31, 2013
The prepaid contractor fees and vendor advances consist of advance payments made to contractors and suppliers primarily at the Companys Velardeña Properties in Mexico.
In addition, included in non-current assets at December 31, 2013 is approximately $30,000 of prepaid insurance on which amortization will be recognized through 2014.
5. Inventories
Inventories at the Velardeña Properties at June 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 consist of the following:
|
|
June 30, |
|
December 31, |
|
||
|
|
2014 |
|
2013 |
|
||
|
|
(in thousands) |
|
||||
Material and supplies |
|
$ |
384 |
|
$ |
449 |
|
|
|
$ |
384 |
|
$ |
449 |
|
The Company had no metals or in process inventories at June 30, 2014 or December 31, 2013 as the result of the suspension of mining and processing at the Velardeña Properties in June 2013.
6. Value Added Tax Receivable, Net
The Company has recorded value added tax (VAT) paid in Mexico and related to the Velardeña Properties as a recoverable asset. Mexican tax law allows for certain VAT payments to be recovered through ongoing applications for refunds. The Company expects that the current amounts will be recovered within a one year period.
The Company has also paid VAT in Mexico as well as other countries, primarily related to exploration projects, which has been charged to expense as incurred because of the uncertainty of recoverability.
7. Property, Plant and Equipment, Net
The components of property, plant and equipment are as follows:
|
|
June 30, |
|
December 31, |
|
||
|
|
2014 |
|
2013 |
|
||
|
|
(in thousands) |
|
||||
Mineral properties |
|
$ |
22,397 |
|
$ |
22,397 |
|
Exploration properties |
|
2,993 |
|
2,993 |
|
||
Royalty properties |
|
200 |
|
200 |
|
||
Buildings |
|
2,357 |
|
2,349 |
|
||
Mining equipment and machinery |
|
19,416 |
|
19,441 |
|
||
Other furniture and equipment |
|
841 |
|
1,054 |
|
||
Asset retirement cost |
|
2,002 |
|
2,087 |
|
||
|
|
50,206 |
|
50,521 |
|
||
Less: Accumulated depreciation and amortization |
|
(19,567 |
) |
(18,146 |
) |
||
|
|
30,639 |
|
32,375 |
|
||
The asset retirement cost (ARC) is all related to the Companys Velardeña Properties. The decrease in the ARC during the period is related to an adjustment to the asset retirement obligation (ARO) (see Note 9).
8. Accounts Payable and Other Accrued Liabilities
The Companys accounts payable and other accrued liabilities consist of the following:
|
|
June 30, |
|
December 31, |
|
||
|
|
2014 |
|
2013 |
|
||
|
|
(in thousands) |
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Accounts payable and accruals |
|
$ |
706 |
|
$ |
717 |
|
Accrued employee compensation and benefits |
|
1,041 |
|
648 |
|
||
|
|
$ |
1,747 |
|
$ |
1,365 |
|
June 30, 2014
Accounts payable and accruals at June 30, 2014 are primarily related to amounts due to contractors and suppliers in the amounts of approximately $0.4 million and $0.3 million related to the Companys Velardeña Properties and corporate administrative activities, respectively.
Accrued employee compensation and benefits at June 30, 2014 consist of $0.2 million of accrued vacation and $0.8 million related to withholding taxes and benefits payable, of which $0.3 million is related to the Velardeña Properties.
December 31, 2013
Accounts payable and accruals at December 31, 2013 are primarily related to amounts due to contractors and suppliers in the amounts of $0.4 million, $0.2 million and $0.1 million related to the Companys Velardeña Properties, corporate administrative activities and exploration, respectively.
Accrued employee compensation and benefits at December 31, 2013 consist of $0.1 million of accrued vacation payable and $0.5 million related to withholding taxes and benefits payable, of which $0.3 million is related to activities at the Velardeña Properties.
Key Employee Long-Term Incentive Plan
On December 13, 2013, the Board of Directors of the Company approved and the Company adopted the 2013 Key Employee Long-Term Incentive Plan (the KELTIP), which became effective immediately. The KELTIP provides for the grant of units (KELTIP Units) to certain officers and key employees of the Company, which units will, once vested, entitle such officers and employees to receive an amount, in cash or in Company common stock issued pursuant to the Companys Amended and Restated 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, measured generally by the price of the Companys common stock on the settlement date. KELTIP Units are not an actual equity interest in the Company and are solely unfunded and unsecured obligations of the Company that are not transferable and do not provide the holder with any stockholder rights. Payment of the settlement amount of vested KELTIP Units is deferred generally until the earlier of a change of control of the Company or the date the grantee ceases to serve as an officer or employee of the Company.
The KELTIP Units are marked to market at each reporting period. At June 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 the Company had recorded liabilities of $198,000 and $81,000, respectively related to KELTIP Unit grants which are included in accrued employee compensation and benefits in the table above.
9. Asset Retirement Obligations
The Company retained the services of a mining engineering firm to prepare a detailed closure plan for the Velardeña Properties. The plan was completed during the second quarter 2012 and indicated that the Company had an ARO and offsetting ARC of approximately $1.9 million. The estimated $3.5 million ARO and ARC that was recorded at the time of the acquisition of the Velardeña Properties was adjusted accordingly.
The Company will continue to accrue additional estimated ARO amounts based on an asset retirement plan as activities requiring future reclamation and remediation occur. During the first six months of 2014 the Company recognized approximately $0.1 million of accretion expense and approximately $0.1 million of amortization expense related to the ARC.
The following table summarizes activity in the Velardeña Properties ARO:
|
|
Six Months Ended |
|
||||
|
|
June 30, |
|
||||
|
|
2014 |
|
2013 |
|
||
|
|
(in thousands) |
|
||||
Beginning balance |
|
$ |
2,467 |
|
$ |
2,080 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
Changes in estimates, and other |
|
(85 |
) |
203 |
|
||
Accretion expense |
|
98 |
|
88 |
|
||
Ending balance |
|
$ |
2,480 |
|
$ |
2,371 |
|
The decrease in the ARO recorded during the six months ended June 30, 2014 is the result of changes in assumptions related to inflation factors and discount rates used in the determination of future cash flows.
The increase in ARO recorded during the six months ended June 30, 2013 relates to a change in assumption related to inflation factors used in the determination of future cash flows. The corresponding increase in ARO was discounted using the Companys current credit-adjusted risk-free interest rate.
The ARO set forth on the accompanying Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets at June 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013 include approximately $0.1 million of reclamation liabilities related to activities at the El Quevar project in Argentina.
10. Other Current Liabilities
The Company recorded other current liabilities of approximately $3.5 million and $4.4 million at June 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively. The amounts are primarily related to a loss contingency on foreign withholding taxes that the government could assert are owed by the Company, acting as withholding agent, on certain interest payments made to a third party. The amounts include estimated interest, penalties and other adjustments.
11. Fair Value Measurements
The Company follows the guidance of ASC Topic 820 Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (ASC 820) for financial assets and liabilities and nonfinancial assets and liabilities which are measured at fair value on a recurring basis. ASC 820 establishes a framework for measuring fair value in the form of a fair value hierarchy which prioritizes the inputs into valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels. This hierarchy gives the highest priority to quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs. Further, financial assets and liabilities should be classified by level in their entirety based upon the lowest level of input that was significant to the fair value measurement. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy per ASC 820 are as follows:
Level 1: Unadjusted quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that are accessible at the measurement date.
Level 2: Quoted prices in inactive markets for identical assets or liabilities, quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets, or other observable inputs either directly related to the asset or liability or derived principally from corroborated observable market data.
Level 3: Unobservable inputs due to the fact that there is little or no market activity. This entails using assumptions in models which estimate what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability.
The following table summarizes the Companys financial assets and liabilities at fair value at June 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, by respective level of the fair value hierarchy:
|
|
Level 1 |
|
Level 2 |
|
Level 3 |
|
Total |
|
||||
|
|
(in thousands) |
|
||||||||||
At June 30, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Assets: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Cash equivalents |
|
$ |
10,400 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
10,400 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Liabilities: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
KELTIP payable |
|
198 |
|
|
|
|
|
198 |
|
||||
|
|
$ |
10,202 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
10,202 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
At December 31, 2013 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Assets: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Cash equivalents |
|
$ |
10,400 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
10,400 |
|
Trade Accounts Receivable |
|
25 |
|
|
|
|
|
25 |
|
||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
Liabilities: |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||
KELTIP payable |
|
81 |
|
|
|
|
|
81 |
|
||||
|
|
$ |
10,344 |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
10,344 |
|
The Companys cash equivalents, comprised principally of U.S. treasury securities, are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy.
The KELTIP payable are related to employee and officer compensation as discussed in Note 8 and are marked to market at the end of each period based on the closing price of the Companys common stock resulting in a classification of Level 1 within the fair value hierarchy.
During the six months ended June 30, 2014 and for the year ended December 31, 2013 there were no amounts transferred between levels and there were no changes in fair value measurement techniques. The Company did not have any Level 2 or Level 3 financial assets or liabilities at June 30, 2014 or December 31, 2013.
Credit Risk
Credit risk is the risk that a third party might fail to fulfill its performance obligations under the terms of a financial instrument. For cash and cash equivalents and investments, the Companys maximum exposure to credit risk represents the carrying amount on the balance sheet. The Company attempts to mitigate credit risk for cash and cash equivalents by placing its funds with high credit-quality financial institutions, limiting the amount of exposure to each financial institution, monitoring the financial condition of the financial institutions and investing only in government and corporate securities rated investment grade or better. The Company invests with financial institutions that maintain a net worth of not less than $1.0 billion and are members in good standing of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.
12. Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with the provisions of ASC 740, Income Taxes (ASC 740), on a tax jurisdictional basis. For the six months ended June 30, 2014, the Company had no income tax benefit or expense. The Company operates in jurisdictions that have generated ordinary losses on a year-to-date basis and no benefit can be recognized on those losses, thus an estimated effective tax rate is not used to report the year-to-date results. For the six months ended June 30, 2013, the Company recorded a $47.5 million income tax benefit related primarily to the impairment of long lived assets of the Velardeña Properties and Mexico net operating losses, resulting in an elimination of the net deferred tax liability in existence at that time.
In accordance with ASC 740, the Company presents deferred tax assets net of its deferred tax liabilities on a tax jurisdictional basis on its Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of June 30, 2014 and as of December 31, 2013, the Company had no net deferred tax assets or net deferred tax liabilities reported on its balance sheet.
The Company, a Delaware corporation, and its subsidiaries file tax returns in the United States and in various foreign jurisdictions. The tax rules and regulations in these countries are highly complex and subject to interpretation. The Companys income tax returns are subject to examination by the relevant taxing authorities and in connection with such examinations, disputes can arise with the taxing authorities over the interpretation or application of certain tax rules within the country involved. In accordance with ASC 740, the Company identifies and evaluates uncertain tax positions, and recognizes the impact of uncertain tax positions for which there is less than a more-likely-than-not probability of the position being upheld upon review by the relevant taxing authority. Such positions are deemed to be unrecognized tax
benefits which require additional disclosure and recognition of a liability within the financial statements. The Company had no unrecognized tax benefits as of June 30, 2014 and as of December 31, 2013.
13. Equity
Equity Incentive Plans
In May 2014, the Companys stockholders approved amendments to the Companys 2009 Equity Incentive Plan, adopting the Amended and Restated 2009 Equity Incentive Plan (the Equity Plan), pursuant to which awards of the Companys common stock may be made to officers, directors, employees, consultants and agents of the Company and its subsidiaries. The Company recognizes stock-based compensation costs using a graded vesting attribution method whereby costs are recognized over the requisite service period for each separately vesting portion of the award.
The following table summarizes the status of the Companys restricted stock grants issued under the Equity Plan at June 30, 2014 and changes during the six months then ended:
Restricted Stock Grants |
|
Number of
|
|
Weighted Average
|
|
|
Outstanding at December 31, 2013 |
|
915,971 |
|
$ |
2.47 |
|
Granted during the period |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Restrictions lifted during the period |
|
(118,667 |
) |
2.39 |
|
|
Forfeited during the period |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding at June 30, 2014 |
|
797,304 |
|
$ |
2.48 |
|
Restrictions were lifted on 118,667 shares during the period on the anniversaries of grants made to officers and employees in prior years.
For the six months ended June 30, 2014 the Company recognized approximately $0.3 million of compensation expense related to outstanding restricted stock grants. The Company expects to recognize additional compensation expense related to these awards of approximately $0.4 million over the next 24 months.
The following table summarizes the status of the Companys stock option grants issued under the Equity Plan at June 30, 2014 and changes during the six months then ended:
Equity Plan Options |
|
Number of
|
|
Weighted
|
|
|
Outstanding at December 31, 2013 |
|
110,810 |
|
$ |
8.02 |
|
Granted during period |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forfeited or expired during period |
|
(15,000 |
) |
8.02 |
|
|
Exercised during period |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding at June 30, 2014 |
|
95,810 |
|
8.02 |
|
|
Exercisable at end of period |
|
95,810 |
|
8.02 |
|
|
Granted and vested |
|
95,810 |
|
8.02 |
|
|
At June 30, 2014, in addition to the Equity Plan options outstanding, the Company has outstanding 126,000 options to purchase shares of the Companys common stock at an exercise price of $16.00. The options are related to the merger with ECU Silver Mining Inc. (ECU) on September 2, 2011 and were issued to former ECU stock option holders to replace options previously issued to them by ECU. The options expire on October 22, 2014.
Also, pursuant to the Equity Plan, the Companys board of directors adopted the Non-Employee Directors Deferred Compensation and Equity Award Plan (the Deferred Compensation Plan). Pursuant to the Deferred Compensation Plan the non-employee directors receive a portion of their compensation in the form of Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) issued
under the Equity Plan. The RSUs vest on the first anniversary of the grant date and each vested RSU entitles the director to receive one unrestricted share of common stock upon the termination of the directors board service.
The following table summarizes the status of the RSU grants issued under the Deferred Compensation Plan at June 30, 2014 and changes during the six months then ended:
Restricted Stock Units |
|
Number of
|
|
Weighted Average
|
|
|
Outstanding at December 31, 2013 |
|
585,285 |
|
$ |
2.97 |
|
Granted during the period |
|
350,000 |
|
0.58 |
|
|
Restrictions lifted during the period |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Forfeited during the period |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding at June 30, 2014 |
|
935,285 |
|
$ |
2.08 |
|
For the six months ended June 30, 2014 the Company recognized approximately $0.3 million of compensation expense related to the RSU grants. The Company expects to recognize additional compensation expense related to these awards of approximately $0.2 million over the next 12 months.
Pursuant to the KELTIP (see Note 8) KELTIP Units may be granted to certain officers and key employees of the Company, which units will, once vested, entitle such officers and employees to receive an amount in cash or in Company common stock measured generally by the price of the Companys common stock on the settlement date. The KELTIP Units are recorded as a liability as discussed in detail in Note 8.
Common stock warrants
The following table summarizes the status of the Companys common stock warrants at June 30, 2014 and changes during the six months then ended:
Common Stock Warrants |
|
Number of
|
|
Weighted Average
|
|
|
Outstanding at December 31, 2013 |
|
5,263,578 |
|
$ |
12.10 |
|
Granted during period |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Expired during period |
|
(1,831,929 |
) |
19.00 |
|
|
Exercised during period |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Outstanding at June 30, 2014 |
|
3,431,649 |
|
$ |
8.42 |
|
The warrants that expired were warrants related to the merger with ECU on September 2, 2011 and were issued to former ECU warrant holders to replace warrants previously issued to them by ECU. The warrants expired on February 20, 2014.
The remaining warrants are related to a public offering and private placement of the Companys common stock completed on September 19, 2012 whereby 6,863,298 shares and warrants were sold as units (Units) at a price of $5.75 per Unit with each Unit consisting of one share of the Companys common stock and a warrant to purchase 0.50 of a share of the Companys common Stock at an exercise price of $8.42. The warrants became exercisable on March 20, 2013 and will expire on September 19, 2017.
14. Sale of Metals and Related Costs
Prior to the suspension of mining and processing in June 2013 (see Note 1) the Company sold marketable products including concentrates and precipitates at its Velardeña Properties. During the six months ended June 30, 2014 the Company did not sell any product or incur any related costs as the result of the suspension of mining and processing.
During the six months ended June 30, 2013 the Company sold marketable products to five customers. Under the terms of the Companys agreements with one precipitate customer, title does not pass to the purchaser until the product is received by the refinery, at which point revenue is recognized. For the Companys other customers, title generally passes when a provisional payment is made, which occurs after the product is shipped and customary sales documents are
completed. Costs related to the sale of metals products include direct and indirect costs incurred to mine, process and market the products. At June 30, 2013 the Company had written down its metals inventory to net realizable value including a charge to the cost of metals sold of approximately $1.6 million and a charge to depreciation expense of approximately $0.3 million. Also included in cost of metals sold at June 30, 2013 is a $0.6 million charge related to workforce reduction severance costs.
15. Supplemental Cash Flow Information
The following table reconciles net loss for the period to cash used in operations:
|
|
Six Months Ended |
|
||||
|
|
June 30, |
|
||||
|
|
2014 |
|
2013 |
|
||
|
|
(in thousands) |
|
||||
Cash flows from operating activities: |
|
|
|
|
|
||
Net loss |
|
$ |
(10,701 |
) |
$ |
(224,065 |
) |
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: |
|
|
|
|
|
||
Amortization and depreciation |
|
1,624 |
|
5,097 |
|
||
Accretion of asset retirement obligation |
|
98 |
|
78 |
|
||
Foreign currency (gain) loss on loss contingency |
|
16 |
|
(260 |
) |
||
Foreign currency gain on deferred tax liability |
|
|
|
423 |
|
||
Impairment of goodwill |
|
|
|
11,180 |
|
||
Impairment of long lived assets |
|
|
|
238,020 |
|
||
Asset write off |
|
120 |
|
60 |
|
||
Write off of loss contingencies |
|
(859 |
) |
(299 |
) |
||
Realized loss on marketable securities |
|
|
|
133 |
|
||
Gain on sale of assets, net |
|
(1 |
) |
(3,236 |
) |
||
Income tax provision |
|
|
|
(47,495 |
) |
||
Stock compensation |
|
586 |
|
979 |
|
||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: |
|
|
|
|
|
||
(Increase) decrease in trade accounts receivable |
|
25 |
|
(21 |
) |
||
Decrease in prepaid expenses and other assets |
|
198 |
|
241 |
|
||
Decrease in inventories |
|
65 |
|
1,564 |
|
||
(Increase) decrease in value added tax recoverable, net |
|
(10 |
) |
1,674 |
|
||
Decrease in reclamation liability |
|
(112 |
) |
(6 |
) |
||
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable and accrued liabilities |
|
190 |
|
(767 |
) |
||
Increase (decrease) in deferred leasehold payments |
|
21 |
|
(88 |
) |
||
Net cash used in operating activities |
|
$ |
(8,740 |
) |
$ |
(16,788 |
) |
16. Commitments and Contingencies
The Company has recorded a loss contingency of approximately $3.3 million and $4.2 million at June 30, 2014 and December 31, 2013, respectively as discussed in Note 10.
17. Segment Information
The Companys sole activity is the mining, construction and exploration of mineral properties containing precious metals. The Companys reportable segments are based upon the Companys revenue producing activities and cash consuming activities. The Company reports two segments, one for its Velardeña Properties in Mexico and the other comprised of non-revenue producing activities including exploration, construction and general and administrative activities. Intercompany revenue and expense amounts have been eliminated within each segment in order to report on the basis that management uses internally for evaluating segment performance.
The financial information relating to the Companys segments is as follows:
|
|
Revenue |
|
Costs
|
|
Depreciation,
|
|
Exploration, El
|
|
Pre-Tax loss |
|
Total Assets |
|
Capital
|
|
|||||||
Three Months Ended June 30, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Velardeña Properties |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
577 |
|
$ |
1,208 |
|
$ |
1,328 |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
Corporate, Exploration & Other |
|
|
|
|
|
201 |
|
3,224 |
|
3,715 |
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
778 |
|
$ |
4,432 |
|
$ |
5,043 |
|
|
|
$ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Six Months Ended June 30, 2014 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Velardeña Properties |
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
1,202 |
|
$ |
2,457 |
|
$ |
3,324 |
|
$ |
27,828 |
|
$ |
|
|
Corporate, Exploration & Other |
|
|
|
|
|
422 |
|
6,813 |
|
7,377 |
|
16,293 |
|
7 |
|
|||||||
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
|
|
$ |
1,624 |
|
$ |
9,270 |
|
$ |
10,701 |
|
$ |
44,121 |
|
$ |
7 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Three Months Ended June 30, 2013 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Velardeña Properties |
|
$ |
4,467 |
|
$ |
8,145 |
|
$ |
2,222 |
|
$ |
1,103 |
|
$ |
259,160 |
|
|
|
$ |
757 |
|
|
Corporate, Exploration & Other |
|
|
|
|
|
307 |
|
3,114 |
|
3,662 |
|
|
|
29 |
|
|||||||
|
|
$ |
4,467 |
|
$ |
8,145 |
|
$ |
2,529 |
|
$ |
4,217 |
|
$ |
262,822 |
|
|
|
$ |
786 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Six Months Ended June 30, 2013 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||
Velardeña Properties |
|
$ |
10,297 |
|
$ |
17,017 |
|
$ |
4,559 |
|
$ |
3,265 |
|
$ |
265,874 |
|
$ |
42,724 |
|
$ |
1,638 |
|
Corporate, Exploration & Other |
|
|
|
|
|
538 |
|
7,622 |
|
5,686 |
|
34,172 |
|
29 |
|
|||||||
|
|
$ |
10,297 |
|
$ |
17,017 |
|
$ |
5,097 |
|
$ |
10,887 |
|
$ |
271,560 |
|
$ |
76,896 |
|
$ |
1,667 |
|
Item 2. Managements Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
General
Golden Minerals is a mining company with its Velardeña and Chicago precious metals mining properties in the State of Durango, Mexico (the Velardeña Properties), the El Quevar advanced exploration property in the province of Salta, Argentina, and a diversified portfolio of precious metals and other mineral exploration properties located in or near historical precious metals producing regions of Mexico and Argentina.
We are considered an exploration stage company under SEC criteria since we have not demonstrated the existence of proven or probable reserves at our Velardeña Properties or any of our other properties. Prior to suspending mining and processing at the Velardeña Properties in June 2013, we had revenues from the sale of gold, silver, lead and zinc products from the Velardeña and Chicago mines. Even though we have recommenced mining at the Velardeña Properties, until such time, if ever, that we demonstrate the existence of proven or probable reserves pursuant to SEC Industry Guide 7 we expect to remain as an exploration stage company.
This discussion should be read in conjunction with Managements Discussion and Analysis included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, filed with the SEC on February 28, 2014.
2014 Highlights
During the first six months of 2014 we continued to evaluate alternative plans for a restart of our Velardeña Properties. On June 18, 2014 we announced we would restart mining activities at the Velardeña Properties in July 2014 with plans to begin processing material from the mine in the fourth quarter 2014. During the first six months of 2014 we also continued efforts to actively solicit a partner to advance our El Quevar project and continue to review strategic opportunities, focusing on development or operating properties in North America, including Mexico.
· Restart of Mining at the Velardeña Properties
Since the shutdown of the Velardeña Properties in June 2013, we have continued to develop and evaluate plans for a restart of mining. We completed this evaluation and new mine plans in the second quarter 2014 and on July 1, 2014 we restarted mining at the Velardeña Properties with plans to begin processing material from the mine in the fourth quarter 2014. Once mining and processing are ramped up to approximately an average of 285 tonnes per day (tpd) of sulfide material, anticipated to occur by the end of the second quarter 2015, we expect output of approximately 1.0 to 1.2 million silver equivalent ounces per annum (including silver and gold but excluding lead and zinc and calculated at a ratio of 60 silver ounces to 1 gold ounce), with cash costs between $12 and $15 per payable silver ounce net of by-product gold, lead and zinc credits. Cash costs per payable silver ounce, net of by-product credits is a non-GAAP financial measure defined below in Non-GAAP Financial Measures.
We completed the evaluation of a 9,000-meter drill program at the Velardeña Properties during June 2014 in vein systems located largely outside the boundaries of our 2012 mineralized material estimate. This drill program represents the first known drilling of the Terneras and Roca Negra vein sulfides in the area below the historic Terneras mine workings. Our drilling, mine planning and analysis indicate that positive net cash flow may be achieved at the Velardeña Properties at silver and gold prices of $20.00 and $1,250, respectively once material processing reaches the 285 tpd level. An independent engineering firm participated in the preparation of the mining plan.
We expect the incremental 2014 cash outlay to resume mining to total approximately $3.0 million. This is comprised of approximately $1.0 million in re-start capital costs for mill improvements and slusher equipment plus $3.0 million of negative gross margin (revenue less cost of sales) in 2014, offset by approximately $1.0 million of avoided care and maintenance costs. We also plan to explore possible sales of excess mining equipment which could offset part of the $3.0 million cash outlay. We also continue to search for oxide feed from outside sources, which could enable us to restart the Velardeña oxide plant during the restart plan.
Lower Cost Mining
We have reopened Velardeña as a leaner and lower cost mine, with a new general manager and new mine and mill managers. We have hired 50 new employees under a new labor union agreement and are mining two ten-hour shifts per day. By year-end 2014, we expect to employ approximately 150 people, with approximately 100 employees under the new labor union agreement. This is less than one-third of the employees prior to June 2013 when we were running both sulfide and oxide plants and processing approximately 500 tpd.
Under our new mine plan, we are using an overhand cut and fill mining method and slusher mucking in the stopes. This mining method should allow us to mine vein widths as narrow as 0.5 meters, which should significantly decrease dilution and allow higher grade material to be hauled to the mill. For conservative planning purposes, we have assumed dilution of the veins to one meter widths. Material will be removed from the mine using the new 1.9 kilometer production-sized San Mateo access ramp, which we completed prior to suspending mining in June 2013. This ramp will provide more efficient and lower cost removal of mined material compared to pre-suspension haulage primarily from a low capacity internal shaft.
Going forward, we expect mining to focus on the San Mateo, Terneras, and Roca Negra veins. Drilling results and metallurgical studies indicate that these sulfide veins , mined minimally in the past, contain higher grade material over more consistent widths in the 0.5 to 1.0 meter range, with significantly lower arsenic levels than those in the Santa Juana vein system that was the focus of our previous mining activity. We expect that the lower arsenic will allow for improved payment terms and metallurgical recovery of the metals. The Roca Negra vein, not considered in the initial restart plan, should add greater flexibility in achieving the objectives of the mine plan, providing an additional vein for mining.
The mining plan calls for the processing of mined material to make lead, zinc and gold-bearing pyrite concentrates. The mining plan is based on favorable results of preliminary metallurgical testing and our expectation, based on the results of the 2014 drill program, that processed material will contain an average of approximately 4 grams per tonne gold and 200 to 250 grams per tonne silver. As noted above, other than portions of the San Mateo vein, this material is not included in our reported mineralized material.
Ramp-up Schedule
We began mining on July 1, 2014, focused primarily on the San Mateo and Roca Negra veins. We plan to stockpile mined material until the fourth quarter 2014, when we expect to commence processing mined material through the sulfide mill. We plan to mine from the San Mateo, Terneras and Roca Negra veins during the fourth quarter 2014, with mining in the Terneras vein ramping up in the second quarter 2015. Plans call for sulfide mill processing of an average of approximately 150 tpd during the fourth quarter 2014, increasing to an average of approximately 285 tpd by the end of the second quarter 2015. We expect to produce payable metals beginning in the fourth quarter 2014 of approximately 160,000 ounces of silver equivalents increasing to approximately 275,000 ounces of silver equivalents per quarter by the end of the second quarter 2015 when the ramp-up is completed. We project cash costs per payable silver ounce, net of by-product credits, of between $25 and $30 in the fourth quarter 2014, decreasing to between $12 and $15 by mid-2015.
· El Quevar
The Company has placed the El Quevar property on care and maintenance and continues to actively solicit a partner to fund further drilling to follow up on mineralization discovered in late 2012.
· Exploration Portfolio
In the fourth quarter 2013, we began drilling at the 233 hectare Los Azules property in Chihuahua, Mexico as part of a planned 2,000 meter drill program to test down dip targets on the previously mined vein system. Based on results from phase one drilling we initiated a phase two drill program in the first quarter 2014 and have now completed a total of 6,900 meters in 29 holes drilled from both surface and underground. We have suspended drilling pending phase two results which we expect to receive in the third quarter 2014.
Results of Operations
For the results of continuing operations discussed below, we compare the results from operations for the three month and six month period ended June 30, 2014 to the results from operations for the three month and six month period ended June 30, 2013.
Three Months Ended June 30, 2014
Revenue from the sale of metals. We did not record any revenue for the three months ended June 30, 2014 due to the suspension of mining and processing at our Velardeña Properties in Mexico in June 2013. During the three months ended June 30, 2013 we recorded $4.5 million of revenue from the sale of products produced at our Velardeña Properties.
Costs of metals sold. We did not record any cost of metal sold during the three months ended June 30, 2014 due to the suspension of mining and processing at our Velardeña Properties in Mexico in June 2013. For the three months ended June 30, 2013 we recorded $8.1 million of costs of metals sold including a $1.6 million write down of finished goods inventory to its estimated net realizable value for the period.
Exploration . Our exploration expenses, including concession payments, other property holding costs and costs incurred by our local exploration offices, were $1.7 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014, as compared to $1.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2013. The 2014 exploration expenses were incurred primarily for drilling programs at our Velardeña Properties and our Los Azules property in Mexico. The 2013 exploration expenses were incurred primarily for concession payments in Mexico, drilling programs in Mexico and other exploration activities in Mexico and Argentina.
Velardeña project expense. During the three months ended June 30, 2014 we did not incur any project expenses related to our Velardeña Properties due to the suspension of mining and processing in June 2013. Expenditures for the evaluation of restart plans for the Velardeña Properties were recorded as part of Velardeña shutdown and care and maintenance costs, described below. During the three months ended June 30, 2013 we incurred $0.8 million of project expenses related to our Velardeña Properties primarily related to construction of the San Mateo drift, other mine
construction, and engineering work. In addition to amounts expensed during the three months ended June 30, 2013 we incurred capital expenditures of approximately $0.8 million for plant construction, mining and other equipment.
Velardeña shutdown and care and maintenance costs . During the three months ended June 30, 2014 we recorded $1.2 million of expense related to shutdown and care and maintenance costs at our Velardeña Properties as the result of the suspension of mining and processing in June 2013. During the three months ended June 30, 2013 we recorded a $2.3 million expense related to the severance of 420 positions and other costs at our Velardeña Properties as the result of the suspension of mining and processing at Velardeña in June 2013.
El Quevar project expense . During the three months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013 we incurred $0.4 million and $0.6 million of project expense, respectively. The 2014 costs were primarily related to holding and maintenance costs while the 2013 costs were primarily related to furthering our evaluation of the Yaxtché deposit at our El Quevar project in Argentina. The reduction in costs for 2014 is primarily the result of placing the El Quevar project in a holding and maintenance state while we actively solicit a partner to move the project forward.
Administrative . Administrative expenses were $1.2 million for the three months ended June 30, 2014 compared to $1.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2013. The reduction in administrative expenses for 2014 as compared to 2013 is primarily the result of a reduction in staff at the corporate headquarters. We expect administrative expenses for the remainder of 2014 to be approximately $2.0 million. Administrative expenses are typically highest in the first quarter of the year because they include annual audit, stock exchange and regulatory filing fees.
Other Operating Income, Net. During the three months ended June 30, 2014, we recorded a nominal amount of other operating income related to our exploration activities. During the three months ended June 30, 2013 we recorded $0.6 million of net other operating income, of which $0.3 million is related to the lease of certain exploration properties in Mexico.
Stock based compensation. During the three months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013 we recorded approximately $0.3 million and $0.6 million, respectively of stock based compensation expense. Stock based compensation varies from period to period depending on the number and timing of shares granted, the type of grant, the market value of the shares on the date of grant and other variables.
Reclamation Expense. During each of the three months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013 we incurred less than $0.1 million of reclamation expense, all related to the accretion of an asset retirement obligation at the Velardeña Properties.
Impairment of long lived assets and goodwill. We assess the recoverability of our property, plant and equipment and goodwill, at least annually, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. The significant decrease in metals prices in the second quarter 2013 and the suspension of mining and processing at our Velardeña Properties at the end of the second quarter were events that required an assessment of the recoverability of the Velardeña Properties asset group and goodwill. We completed an impairment analysis at June 30, 2013 and determined that both the long lived assets and the goodwill associated with the Velardeña Properties and the San Diego property were impaired. As a result we recorded a $238.0 million impairment charge related to the long lived assets and an $11.2 million impairment charge related to goodwill during the three months ended June 30, 2013. There were no such charges during the three months ended June 30, 2014.
Interest and Other Income, Net . During the three months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013 we recorded approximately $0.5 million and $0.2 million, respectively of interest and other income primarily related to the reduction of a loss contingency liability related to foreign withholding taxes that the government could assert are owed by the Company, acting as withholding agent, on certain interest payments made to a third party for both periods.
Gain/Loss on Foreign Currency. During the three months ended June 30, 2014 we recorded a nominal foreign currency loss compared to a $1.1 million foreign currency gain for the same period in 2013. Foreign currency gains and losses are primarily related to the effect of currency fluctuations of monetary assets net of liabilities held by our foreign subsidiaries, primarily in Mexico, that are denominated in currencies other than US dollars.
Income Taxes . There were no income benefits recorded for the three months ended June 30, 2014, as the Companys net operating losses in the period are currently subject to a full valuation allowance. In comparison, an income tax benefit of $45.0 million was recorded for the three months ended June 30, 2013 related primarily to the impairment of long lived assets of the Velardeña Properties.
Six Months Ended June 30, 2014
Revenue from the sale of metals. We did not record any revenue for the six months ended June 30, 2014 due to the suspension of mining and processing at our Velardeña Properties in Mexico in June 2013. During the six months ended June 30, 2013 we recorded $10.3 million of revenue from the sale of products produced at our Velardeña Properties.
Costs of metals sold. We did not record any cost of metal sold during the six months ended June 30, 2014 due to the suspension of mining and processing at our Velardeña Properties in Mexico in June 2013. For the six months ended June 30, 2013 we recorded $17.0 million of costs of metals sold including a $1.6 million write down of finished goods inventory to its estimated net realizable value for the period. Also included in the 2013 cost of metals sold was a $0.6 million charge related to workforce reduction severance costs incurred in the first quarter.
Exploration . Our exploration expenses, including concession payments, other property holding costs and costs incurred by our local exploration offices, were $3.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014, as compared to $2.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013. The 2014 exploration expenses were incurred primarily for drilling programs at our Velardeña Properties and our Los Azules property in Mexico. The 2013 exploration expenses were incurred primarily for concession payments in Mexico, drilling programs in Mexico and other exploration activities in Mexico and Argentina.
Velardeña project expense. During the six months ended June 30, 2014 we did not incur any project expenses related to our Velardeña Properties due to the suspension of mining and processing in June 2013. Expenditures for the evaluation of restart plans for the Velardeña Properties were recorded as part of Velardeña shutdown and care and maintenance costs, described below. During the six months ended June 30, 2013 we incurred $2.9 million of project expenses related to our Velardeña Properties primarily related to construction of the San Mateo drift, other mine construction, and engineering work. In addition to amounts expensed during the six months ended June 30, 2013 we incurred capital expenditures of approximately $1.6 million for plant construction, mining and other equipment.
Velardeña shutdown and care and maintenance costs . During the six months ended June 30, 2014 we recorded $2.5 million of expense related to shutdown and care and maintenance costs at our Velardeña Properties as the result of the suspension of mining and processing at Velardeña in June 2013. During the six months ended June 30, 2013 we recorded a $2.3 million expense related to the severance of 420 positions and other costs at our Velardeña Properties as the result of the suspension of mining and processing at Velardeña in June 2013.
El Quevar project expense . During the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013 we incurred $0.8 million and $1.7 million of project expense, respectively. The 2014 costs were primarily related to holding and maintenance costs while the 2013 costs were primarily related to furthering our evaluation of the Yaxtché deposit at our El Quevar project in Argentina. The reduction in costs for 2014 is primarily the result of placing the El Quevar project in a holding and maintenance state while we actively solicit a partner to move the project forward.
Administrative . Administrative expenses were $2.8 million for the six months ended June 30, 2014 compared to $3.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013. The reduction in administrative expenses for 2014 as compared to 2013 is primarily the result of a reduction in staff at the corporate headquarters. We expect administrative expenses for the remainder of 2014 to be approximately $2.0 million. Administrative expenses are typically highest in the first quarter of the year because they include annual audit, stock exchange and regulatory filing fees.
Other Operating Income, Net. During the six months ended June 30, 2014, we recorded a nominal amount of other operating income related to our exploration activities. During the six months ended June 30, 2013 we recorded $3.8 million of net other operating income primarily related to the gain on the sale of certain exploration properties in Peru for $2.9 million, the receipt of an $0.3 million option payment for another Peruvian exploration property, and the receipt of approximately $0.3 million for the lease of a mineral property in Mexico.
Stock based compensation. During the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013 we recorded approximately $0.6 million and $1.0 million, respectively of stock based compensation expense. Stock based compensation varies from period to period depending on the number and timing of shares granted, the type of grant, the market value of the shares on the date of grant and other variables.
Reclamation Expense. During each of the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013 we incurred $0.1 million of reclamation expense, all related to the accretion of an asset retirement obligation at the Velardeña Properties.
Impairment of long lived assets and goodwill. We assess the recoverability of our property, plant and equipment and goodwill at least annually, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. The significant decrease in metals prices in the second quarter 2013 and the suspension of mining and processing at our Velardeña Properties at the end of the second quarter were events that required an assessment of the recoverability of the Velardeña Properties asset group and goodwill. We completed an impairment analysis at June 30, 2013 and determined that both the long lived assets and the goodwill associated with the Velardeña Properties and the San Diego property were impaired. As a result we recorded a $238.0 million impairment charge related to the long lived assets and a $11.2 million impairment charge related to goodwill. There were no such charges during the six months ended June 30, 2014.
Interest and Other Income, Net . During the six months ended June 30, 2014 and 2013 we recorded approximately $0.9 million and $0.3 million, respectively of interest and other income primarily related to the reduction of a loss contingency liability related to foreign withholding taxes that the government could assert are owed by the Company, acting as withholding agent, on certain interest payments made to a third party for both periods.
Gain/Loss on Foreign Currency. During the six months ended June 30, 2014 we recorded a nominal foreign currency loss compared to a $0.4 million foreign currency gain for the same period in 2013. Foreign currency gains and losses are primarily related to the effect of currency fluctuations of monetary assets net of liabilities held by our foreign subsidiaries, primarily in Mexico, that are denominated in currencies other than US dollars.
Income Taxes . There were no income benefits recorded for the six months ended June 30, 2014, as the Companys net operating losses in the period are currently subject to a full valuation allowance. In comparison, we recorded an income tax benefit of $47.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2013, related primarily to the impairment of long lived assets of the Velardeña Properties and Mexico net operating losses.
Liquidity, Capital Resources and Going Concern
At June 30, 2014 our aggregate cash and cash equivalents totaled $10.4 million. With the cash balance at June 30, 2014, and the assumptions described below, including costs related to the restart of mining at the Velardeña Properties, we expect to have sufficient funding to continue our long term business strategy through 2014, ending 2014 with a cash balance of approximately $2.0 million. Our cash and cash equivalents balance at June 30, 2014 of $10.4 million is $8.7 million lower than the $19.1 million in similar assets held at December 31, 2013 due primarily to the expenditure of $2.5 million in care and maintenance and $1.0 million in drilling costs at our Velardeña Properties; $2.3 million in other exploration expenditures; $0.8 million in maintenance and property holding costs at the El Quevar project; and $2.8 million in general and administrative expenses; offset in part by a reduction in working capital of $0.7 million primarily related to an increase in accounts payable for expenditures associated with drilling programs at the Velardeña Properties and the Los Azules exploration project in Mexico.
With the cash balance at June 30, 2014 of $10.4 million we plan to spend the following amounts totaling approximately $8.5 million during the remainder of 2014.
· Approximately $3.0 million of negative gross margin (defined as revenue less costs of sales) and start-up costs related to the restart of the Velardeña Properties, assuming metals prices of $20.00 per ounce of silver and $1,250 per ounce of gold during the last six months of 2014;
· Approximately $1.0 million of capital expenditures for mill improvements and slusher equipment related to the restart of the Velardeña Properties;
· Approximately $0.5 million at the El Quevar project to fund ongoing maintenance activities and property holding costs;
· Approximately $1.5 million on other exploration activities and property holding costs related to the Companys portfolio of exploration properties located primarily in Mexico; and
· Approximately $2.0 million on general and administrative costs and $0.5 million in increased working capital, primarily related to an increase in inventories and accounts receivable at the Velardeña Properties related to the restart.
A 10 percent change in the price per ounce of silver would have a $0.2 million impact (positive or negative) on our cash balance at the end of 2014. A 10 percent change in the price per ounce of gold would have a $0.2 million impact (positive or negative) on our cash balance at the end of 2014.
The actual amount that we spend through year-end 2014 and the projected year-end cash balance may vary significantly from the amounts specified above and will depend on a number of factors, including the timing and costs associated with the restart of the Velardeña Properties, and the results of continued project assessment work at our other exploration properties. Despite projections of positive net cash flow by mid 2015 from the Velardeña Properties at metals prices of $20.00 per ounce of silver and $1,250 per ounce of gold, our projected cash balance at the end of 2014 would not be sufficient to provide adequate reserves in the event of decreasing metals prices, delays in the restart or ramp up of the Velardeña Properties or to adequately pursue further exploration of our properties in Mexico, requiring us to seek additional funding from equity or debt or from monetization of non-core assets. There can be no assurance that we would be successful in obtaining sufficient funding from any of these actions or sources in the future on terms acceptable to us or at all.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Cash costs, after by-product credits, per payable ounce of silver produced is a non GAAP financial measure that is widely used in the mining industry. Under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP), there is no standardized definition of cash cost, after by-product credits, per payable ounce of silver produced, and therefore the Companys forecasted cash costs may not be comparable to similar measures reported by other companies.
Forecasted cash costs for the Velardeña Properties were calculated based on the mining plan, and include all forecasted direct and indirect costs associated with the physical activities that would generate concentrate products for sale to customers, including mining to gain access to mineralized materials, mining of mineralized materials and waste, milling, third-party related treatment, refining and transportation costs, on-site administrative costs, and royalties. Forecasted cash costs do not include depreciation, depletion, amortization, exploration expenditures, reclamation and remediation costs, sustaining capital, financing costs, income taxes, or corporate general and administrative costs not directly or indirectly related to the Velardeña Properties. By-product credits include forecasted revenues from gold, lead, and zinc contained in the products sold to customers. Cash costs, after by-product credits, were divided by the quantity of payable silver forecasted to be produced during the period to arrive at cash costs, after by-product credits, per payable ounce of silver produced. Cost of sales is the most comparable financial measure, calculated in accordance with GAAP, to cash costs. As compared to cash costs, cost of sales includes adjustments for changes in inventory and excludes net revenue from by-products and third-party related treatment, refining and transportation costs, which are reported as part of revenue in accordance with GAAP.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some information contained in or incorporated by reference into this Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q may contain forward-looking statements. These statements include comments regarding:
· Future expectations, plans and expected timing with respect to mining, processing and ramp up at the Velardeña Properties and anticipated costs related thereto;
· Planned expansion, spending, labor and other activities at the Velardeña Properties;
· Planned evaluation and anticipated care and maintenance and other costs at the El Quevar Project;
· Planned evaluation, spending and costs on exploration activities at other exploration properties;
· Anticipated timing of drill results from certain exploration properties;
· Planned spending on general and administrative activities; and
· Planned spending and expected cash requirements, and statements concerning our financial condition, operating strategies and operating and legal risks.
The use of any of the words anticipate, continues, estimate, expect, may, will, project, should, believe and similar expressions are intended to identify uncertainties. We believe the expectations reflected in those forward-looking statements are reasonable. However, we cannot assure that these expectations will prove to be correct. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of the factors set forth below and other factors set forth in, or incorporated by reference into this report:
· Higher than anticipated costs for activities related to the re-start of mining, processing and ramp up at the Velardeña Properties;
· Risks related to the our Velardeña Properties, including variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located there, our ability to extract and sell minerals from the mines successfully or profitably at current lower silver and gold prices and in the quantities and at the costs anticipated, mining or processing problems, decreases in expected silver and gold prices, our ability to obtain and maintain any necessary permits, consents, or authorizations for mining and processing at the Velardeña Properties, accidents and other unanticipated events and our ability to raise the necessary capital if required to finance future mining and processing at the Velardeña Properties;
· Risks related to the El Quevar project in Argentina, including whether we will be able to find a joint venture partner to advance the project, results of future exploration, feasibility and economic viability, delays and increased costs associated with evaluation of the project;
· Our ability to retain key management and mining personnel necessary for the restart plan for our Velardeña Properties and to successfully operate and grow our business;
· The results of future exploration at our exploration portfolio properties;
· Economic and political events affecting the market prices for gold, silver, zinc, lead and other minerals which may be found on our exploration properties;
· Political and economic instability in Mexico, Argentina, and other countries in which we conduct our business and future actions of any of these governments with respect to nationalization of natural resources or other changes in mining or taxation policies; and
· The factors discussed under Risk Factors in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013 and Item 1A of this report on Form 10-Q.
Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. You should not unduly rely on these forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this report on Form 10-Q. Except as required by law, we are not obligated to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or developments.
Item 3. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Interest Rate Risk
We invest substantially all of our excess cash in U.S. government and debt securities rated investment grade or better. The rates received on such investments may fluctuate with changes in economic conditions. Based on the average cash and investment balances outstanding during the second quarter 2014, a 1% decrease in interest rates would have resulted in a reduction in interest income for the period of less than $0.1 million.
Foreign Currency Exchange Risk
Although most of our expenditures are in U.S. dollars, certain purchases of labor, supplies and capital assets are denominated in other currencies, primarily in Mexico. As a result, currency exchange fluctuations may impact the costs of our exploration and mining activities. To reduce this risk, we maintain minimum cash balances in foreign currencies and complete most of our purchases in U.S. dollars.
Commodity Price Risk
We are primarily engaged in the exploration and mining of properties containing gold, silver, zinc, lead and other minerals. As a result, decreases in the price of any of these metals have the potential to negatively impact our ability to establish reserves and mine on our properties. We currently hold no commodity derivative positions.
Item 4. Controls and Procedures
(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures
Our Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) and Chief Financial Officer (principal financial officer) have evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the Exchange Act)) as of June 30, 2014 (the Evaluation Date). Based on such evaluation, such officers have concluded that, as of the Evaluation Date, our disclosure controls and procedures are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act are recorded, processed, summarized and reported within the time periods specified in the SECs rules and forms and to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the reports that we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.
(b) Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting
There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
None.
The risk factors for the quarter ended June 30, 2014, are substantially the same as those set forth in Part I, Item 1A of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013.
Item 2. Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities and Use of Proceeds
None.
Item 3. Defaults Upon Senior Securities
None.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
None.
None.
10.1 |
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Golden Minerals Company Amended and Restated 2009 Equity Incentive Plan |
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31.1 |
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Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. |
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31.2 |
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Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. |
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32 |
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Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350 (Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act). |
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101.INS |
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XBRL Instance Document |
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101.SCH |
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XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document |
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101.CAL |
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XBRL Taxonomy Calculation Linkbase Document |
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101.DEF |
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XBRL Taxonomy Definition Document |
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101.LAB |
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XBRL Taxonomy Label Linkbase Document |
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101.PRE |
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XBRL Taxonomy Presentation Linkbase Document |
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.
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GOLDEN MINERALS COMPANY |
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Date: August 6, 2014 |
By: |
/s/ Jeffrey G. Clevenger |
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Jeffrey G. Clevenger |
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President and Chief Executive Officer |
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Date: August 6, 2014 |
By: |
/s/ Robert P. Vogels |
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Robert P. Vogels |
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Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
EXHIBIT 10.1
GOLDEN MINERALS COMPANY
AMENDED AND RESTATED 2009 EQUITY INCENTIVE PLAN
1. PURPOSES.
(a) Background. The Company originally established this Plan effective as of March 4, 2009 (the Effective Date). The Company hereby adopts this amended and restated Plan effective as of May 22, 2014 (the Restatement Date).
(b) Eligible Stock Award Recipients. The persons eligible to receive Stock Awards are the Employees, Directors, Officers and Consultants of the Company and its Affiliates.
(c) Available Stock Awards. The purpose of the Plan is to provide a means by which eligible recipients may be given an opportunity to benefit from increases in value of the Common Stock through the granting of the following: (i) Incentive Stock Options, (ii) Nonqualified Stock Options, (iii) restricted Common Stock, (iv) unrestricted Common Stock, (v) stock appreciation rights, (vi) restricted stock units, and (vii) other stock awards.
(d) General Purpose. The Company, by means of the Plan, seeks to retain the services of the group of persons eligible to receive Stock Awards, to secure and retain the services of new members of this group and to provide incentives for such persons to exert maximum efforts for the success of the Company and its Affiliates.
2. DEFINITIONS.
(a) Affiliate means any entity that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with the Company.
(b) Board means the Board of Directors of the Company.
(c) Code means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
(d) Committee means a pre-existing or newly formed committee of members of the Board appointed by the Board in accordance with subsection 3(c).
(e) Common Stock means the Companys common stock par value US$0.01.
(f) Company means Golden Minerals Company, a Delaware corporation.
(g) Consultant means any person, including an advisor, (i) engaged by the Company or an Affiliate to render consulting or advisory services and who is compensated for such services or (ii) who is a member of the Board of Directors of an Affiliate.
(h) Continuous Service means that the Participants service with the Company or an Affiliate, whether as an Employee, Director, Officer or Consultant, is not interrupted or terminated. Unless otherwise provided in a Stock Award Agreement or Option Agreement, as applicable, the Participants Continuous Service shall not be deemed to have terminated merely because of a change in the capacity in which the Participant renders service to the Company or an Affiliate as an Employee, Director, Officer or Consultant or a change in the entity for which the Participant renders such service, provided that there is no interruption or termination of the Participants service to the Company or an Affiliate as an Employee, Director, Officer or Consultant. For example, a change in status from an Employee of the Company to a Consultant of an Affiliate may not constitute an interruption of Continuous Service. The Board, in its sole discretion, may determine whether Continuous Service shall be considered interrupted in the case of any leave of absence, including sick leave, military leave or any other personal leave.
(i) Covered Employee means a covered employee as determined for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code.
(j) Director means a member of the Board of Directors of the Company.
(k) Disability means the Participants inability, due to illness, accident, injury, physical or mental incapacity or other disability, to carry out effectively the duties and obligations to the Company and its Affiliates performed by such person immediately prior to such disability for a period of at least six (6) months, as determined in the good faith judgment of the Board.
(l) Dollars or $ or US$ means United States dollars.
(m) Employee means any individual employed by the Company or an Affiliate. Service as a Director or payment of a directors fee by the Company or an Affiliate alone shall not be sufficient to constitute employment by the Company or an Affiliate.
(n) Exchange Act means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.
(o) Fair Market Value means, as of any date, the value of the Common Stock determined as follows:
(i) If the Common Stock is listed on any established stock exchange in the United States, the Fair Market Value of a share of Common Stock shall be the closing sales price for such share (or the closing bid, if no sales were reported) as quoted on such exchange (or the exchange with the greatest volume of trading in Common Stock if such shares are traded on more than one such exchange) on the day of determination, as reported by such exchange or such other source as the Board reasonably deems reliable.
(ii) In the absence of such markets for the Common Stock, the Fair Market Value shall be determined in good faith by the Board using a reasonable valuation method in accordance with Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-1(a)(5)(iv)(B) or any successor thereto.
(p) Incentive Stock Option means an Option designated as an incentive stock option in an Option Agreement and that is granted in accordance with the requirements of, and that conforms to the applicable provisions of, Section 422 of the Code. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, no Option shall be treated as an incentive stock option within the meaning of Section 422 of the Code unless the Plan has been (i) approved by the shareholders of the Company in a manner intended to comply with the shareholder approval requirements of Section 422(b)(1) of the Code or (2) a determination has been made by the Committee that the method of adoption and approval of the Plan meets the shareholder approval requirements of Section 422 of the Code. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any Option intended to be an incentive stock option shall not fail to be effective solely on account of a failure to obtain such approval, but rather such Option shall be treated as a nonqualified stock option unless and until such approval is obtained.
(q) Independent Director means a Director who is each of the following: (i) a Director who satisfies the definition of Independent Director or similar definition under the applicable United States stock exchange rules and regulations upon which the Common Stock is traded from time to time; (ii) a Director who either (A) is not a current employee of the Company or an affiliated corporation (within the meaning of Treasury Regulations promulgated under Section 162(m) of the Code), is not a former employee of the Company or an affiliated corporation receiving compensation for prior services (other than benefits under a tax qualified pension plan), was not an officer of the Company or an affiliated corporation at any time and is not currently receiving direct or indirect remuneration from the Company or an affiliated corporation for services in any capacity other than as a Director or (B) is otherwise considered an outside director for purposes of Section 162(m) of the Code; and (iii) a Director who is a Non-Employee Director, as defined from time to time for purposes of Section 16 of the Exchange Act.
(r) Nonqualified Stock Option means an Option that is not designated in an Option Agreement as an Incentive Stock Option or was not granted in accordance with the requirements of or does not otherwise conform to the applicable provisions of Section 422 of the Code.
(s) Officer means a person who is an officer of the Company within the meaning of Section 16 of the Exchange Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.
(t) Option means an Incentive Stock Option or a Nonqualified Stock Option granted pursuant to the Plan.
(u) Option Agreement means a written agreement between the Company and an Optionholder evidencing the terms and conditions of an individual Option grant.
(v) Optionholder means a person to whom an Option is granted pursuant to the Plan or, if applicable, such other person who holds an outstanding Option.
(w) Participant means a person to whom a Stock Award is granted pursuant to the Plan or, if applicable, such other person who holds an outstanding Stock Award.
(x) Plan means this Amended and Restated Golden Minerals Company 2009 Equity Incentive Plan.
(y) Retirement means the Employees termination of employment from the Company and its Affiliates and a cessation of work in the Employees profession, as determined by the Committee after considering all of the facts and circumstances that it deems pertinent, (i) on or after attaining age 55 and completing at least ten (10) years of service; or (ii) on or after attaining age 62.
(z) Rule 16b-3 means Rule 16b-3 promulgated under the Exchange Act or any successor to Rule 16b-3, as in effect from time to time.
(aa) Securities Act means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
(bb) Stock Award means any right granted under the Plan in the form of an Option, restricted Common Stock, unrestricted Common Stock, a stock appreciation right, restricted stock unit, or other stock award.
(cc) Stock Award Agreement means a written agreement between the Company and a holder of a Stock Award (other than an Option) evidencing the terms and conditions of an individual Stock Award grant.
(dd) Ten Percent Stockholder means a person who owns (or is deemed to own pursuant to Section 424(d) of the Code) stock possessing more than ten percent (10%) of the total combined voting power of all classes of stock of the Company or any parent corporation or any subsidiary corporation, both as defined in Section 424 of the Code.
3. ADMINISTRATION.
(a) Administration by Board. The Board shall administer the Plan unless and until the Board delegates administration to a Committee, as provided in subsection 3(c). The Board may, at any time and for any reason in its sole discretion, rescind some or all of such delegation.
(b) Powers of Board. The Board shall have the power, subject to, and within the limitations of, the express provisions of the Plan:
(i) To determine from time to time which of the persons eligible under the Plan shall be granted Stock Awards; when and how each Stock Award shall be granted; what type or combination of types of Stock Award shall be granted; the provisions of each Stock Award granted (which need not be identical), including the time or times when a person shall be permitted to receive Common Stock pursuant to a Stock Award; and the number of shares of Common Stock with respect to which a Stock Award shall be granted to each such person.
(ii) To construe and interpret the Plan, Stock Awards granted under it, Option Agreements and Stock Award Agreements, and to establish, amend and revoke rules and regulations for their administration. The Board, in the exercise of this power, may correct any defect, omission or inconsistency in the Plan or in any Option Agreement or Stock Award Agreement, in a manner and to the extent it shall deem necessary or expedient to make the Plan fully effective.
(iii) To amend the Plan, a Stock Award, a Stock Award Agreement or an Option Agreement as provided in Section 12.
(iv) Generally, to exercise such powers and to perform such acts as the Board deems necessary or expedient to promote the best interests of the Company which are not in conflict with the provisions of the Plan.
(c) Delegation to Committee.
(i) General. The Board may delegate administration of the Plan and its powers and duties thereunder, or any portion thereof, to a Committee or Committees, and the term Committee shall apply to any person or persons to whom such authority has been delegated. Upon such delegation, the Committee shall have
the powers theretofore possessed by the Board, including the power to delegate to a subcommittee any of the administrative powers the Committee is authorized to exercise (and references in this Plan to the Board shall thereafter be deemed to include the Committee or subcommittee), subject, however, to such resolutions, not inconsistent with the provisions of the Plan, as may be adopted from time to time by the Board. In its absolute discretion, the Board may at any time and from time to time exercise any and all rights and duties of the Committee under this Plan, except respecting matters under Rule 16b-3 of the Exchange Act or Section 162(m) of the Code, or any rules or regulations issued thereunder, which are required to be determined in the sole discretion of the Committee.
(ii) Committee Composition. A Committee shall consist solely of two or more Independent Directors. Within the scope of its authority, the Board or the Committee may (1) delegate to a committee of one or more members of the Board who are not Independent Directors, the authority to grant Stock Awards to eligible persons who are either (a) not then Covered Employees and are not expected to be Covered Employees at the time of recognition of income resulting from such Stock Award or (b) not persons with respect to whom the Company wishes to comply with Section 162(m) of the Code, and/or (2) delegate to a committee of one or more members of the Board who are not Independent Directors or to the Companys Chief Executive Officer the authority to grant Stock Awards to eligible persons who are not then subject to Section 16 of the Exchange Act.
(d) Effect of Boards Decision; No Liability. All determinations, interpretations and constructions relating to this Plan made by the Board in good faith shall not be subject to review by any person and shall be final, binding and conclusive on all persons. No member of the Board or any Committee or any person to whom duties hereunder have been delegated, including any member of any committee or subcommittee, shall be liable for any action, interpretation or determination made in good faith, and such persons shall be entitled to full indemnification and reimbursement consistent with applicable law and in the manner provided in the Companys Memorandum and Articles of Association, as the same may be amended from time to time, or as otherwise provided in any agreement between any such member and the Company.
4. STOCK SUBJECT TO THE PLAN.
(a) Stock Reserve. Subject to the provisions of Section 11 relating to adjustments upon changes in Common Stock, the Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to Stock Awards shall not exceed in the aggregate ten percent (10%) of the Companys outstanding shares of Common Stock, as of the grant date, including without limitation, Common Stock issuable upon exercise of conversion of outstanding warrants, rights, or other exercisable or convertible securities (other than Stock Awards). Stock appreciation rights provided for in Section 7(b) hereof that are payable only in cash will not reduce the number of Common Stock available for Stock Awards granted under the Plan. The Common Stock that may be issued pursuant to Incentive Stock Options shall not exceed in the aggregate ten percent (10%) of the Companys outstanding Common Stock, as of the Restatement Date, including without limitation , Common Stock issuable upon exercise of conversion of outstanding warrants, rights, or other exercisable or convertible securities (other than Stock Awards).
(b) Reversion of Stock to the Stock Reserve. If any Stock Award shall for any reason expire or otherwise terminate, in whole or in part, without having been exercised in full, the Common Stock not acquired under such Stock Award shall revert to and again become available for issuance under the Plan. The Committee may adopt reasonable counting procedures to ensure appropriate counting for purposes of determining the number of shares of Common Stock remaining in the stock reserve.
(c) Source of Stock. The Common Stock subject to the Plan may be either authorized and unissued stock or reacquired stock, bought on the market or otherwise, in the discretion of the Board.
5. ELIGIBILITY.
(a) Eligibility for Specific Stock Awards. Incentive Stock Options may be granted only to Employees. Stock Awards other than Incentive Stock Options may be granted to Employees, Directors, Officers and Consultants; provided, however, that Options may only be granted to individuals with respect to whom the Common Stock qualifies as service-recipient stock for purposes of Section 409A of the Code.
(b) Ten Percent Stockholders. A Ten Percent Stockholder shall not be granted an Incentive Stock Option unless the exercise price of such Option is at least one hundred ten percent (110%) of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock at the date of grant and the Option is not exercisable after the expiration of five (5) years from the date of grant.
(c) Limitations on Options and Stock Appreciation Rights. No Participant that is or is expected to be a Covered Employee shall be eligible to be granted Options or stock appreciation rights covering more than 2,000,000 shares of Common Stock during any calendar year.
(d) Consultants.
(i) A Consultant shall not be eligible for the grant of a Stock Award if, at the time of grant, a Form S-8 Registration Statement under the Securities Act ( Form S-8 ) is not available to register a resale of the Companys securities issued to such Consultant because of the nature of the services that the Consultant is providing to the Company, or because the Consultant is not a natural person, or as otherwise provided by the rules governing the use of Form S-8, unless the Board determines both (i) that such grant (A) shall be registered in another manner under the Securities Act ( e.g., on a Form S-3 Registration Statement) or (B) does not require registration under the Securities Act in order to comply with the requirements of the Securities Act, if applicable, and (ii) that such grant complies with the securities laws of all other relevant jurisdictions.
(ii) Form S-8 generally is available to consultants and advisors only if (i) they are natural persons; (ii) they provide bona fide services to the issuer, its parents, its majority-owned subsidiaries or majority-owned subsidiaries of the issuers parent; and (iii) the services are not in connection with the offer or sale of securities in a capital-raising transaction, and do not directly or indirectly promote or maintain a market for the issuers securities.
6. OPTION PROVISIONS.
Each Option Agreement shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Plan. Each Option and Option Agreement shall be in such form and shall contain such terms and conditions as the Board shall deem appropriate. All Options shall be separately designated Incentive Stock Options or Nonqualified Stock Options at the time of grant, and, if certificates are issued, a separate certificate or certificates will be issued for Common Stock purchased on exercise of each type of Option. The provisions of separate Options need not be identical.
(a) Provisions Applicable to All Options.
(i) Exercise Price. Subject to the provisions of Section 5(b) regarding Ten Percent Shareholders, the exercise price of each Option shall be not less than one hundred percent (100%) of the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock subject to the Option on the date the Option is granted.
(ii) Exercise. The exercise price of Common Stock acquired pursuant to an Option shall be paid in by such methods and procedures as the Board determines from time to time, including without limitation through net physical settlement or other method of cashless exercise.
(iii) Vesting Generally. In the discretion of the Board, the total number of shares of Common Stock subject to an Option may (A) vest, and therefore become exercisable, in periodic installments that may, but need not, be equal, or (B) be fully vested at the time of grant. The Option may be subject to such other terms and conditions on the time or times when it may be exercised (which may be based on performance or other criteria) as the Board may deem appropriate. The vesting provisions, if any, of individual Options may vary and shall be set forth in the applicable Option Agreement. The provisions of this subsection 6(a)(iii) are subject to any Option Agreement provisions governing the minimum number of Common Stock as to which an Option may be exercised.
(iv) Termination of Continuous Service. Unless otherwise provided in the Option Agreement, (i) effective for Options granted prior to the Restatement Date, in the event an Optionholders Continuous Service terminates (other than upon the Optionholders death, Disability, Retirement or as a result of a Change of Control), all Options held by the Optionholder shall immediately terminate; provided , however , if an Optionholders Continuous Service is terminated for reasons other than for cause, as determined by the Board in its discretion, all vested Options held by such person shall continue to be exercisable until the earlier of the expiration date of such Option or 180 days after the date of such termination, and (ii) effective for Options granted on or after the Restatement Date, in the event an Optionholders Continuous Service terminates (other than upon the Optionholders death, Disability, Retirement or as a result of a Change of Control), all Options held by the Optionholder shall immediately terminate; provided , however, if an Optionholders Continuous Service is terminated voluntarily by the Participant, all vested Options held by such person shall continue to be exercisable
until the earlier of the expiration date of such Option or 90 days after the date of such termination, and if an Optionholders Continuous Service is terminated by the Company for reasons other than for cause, as determined by the Board in its discretion, all vested Options held by such person shall continue to be exercisable until the earlier of the expiration date of such Option or 180 days after the date of such termination. All such vested Options not exercised within the period described in the preceding sentence shall terminate. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, in the event an Incentive Stock Option is exercised after the date which is three months following the date the Optionholders employment with the Company is terminated, other than as a result of Disability or death, such Incentive Stock Option shall be treated as a Nonqualified Stock Option, but all other terms and provisions of such Option shall remain the same.
(v) Disability or Death of Optionholder. Unless otherwise provided in the Option Agreement, in the event that an Optionholders Disability or death, all unvested Options shall immediately terminate, and all vested Options held by such person shall continue to be exercisable until the earlier of 12 months after the date of such Disability or death or the expiration date of such Options. All such vested Options not exercised within such 12-month period shall terminate.
(vi) Retirement. Unless otherwise provided in the Option Agreement, in the event of the Optionholders Retirement, all unvested Options shall automatically vest on the date of such Retirement and all Options shall be exercisable until the earlier of 24 months after such Retirement date or the expiration date of such Options. All such Options not exercised within the period described in the preceding sentence shall terminate. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, in the event an Incentive Stock Option is exercised after the date which is three months following the date the Optionholders employment with the Company is terminated, other than as a result of Disability or death, such Incentive Stock Option shall be treated as a Nonqualified Stock Option, but all other terms and provisions of such Option shall remain the same.
(b) Provisions Applicable to Incentive Stock Options.
(i) Term. Subject to the provisions of subsection 5(b) regarding Ten Percent Stockholders, no Incentive Stock Option shall be exercisable after the expiration of ten (10) years from the date it was granted. Further, no grant of an Incentive Stock Option shall be made under this Plan more than ten (10) years after the date of the satisfaction of the stockholder approval provisions of Section 422(b)(1) of the Code.
(ii) Transferability of an Incentive Stock Option. An Incentive Stock Option shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Optionholder only by the Optionholder.
(iii) Incentive Stock Option $100,000 Limitation. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan or an Option Agreement, the aggregate Fair Market Value of the Common Stock with respect to which Incentive Stock Options are exercisable for the first time by an Optionholder in any calendar year, under the Plan or any other option plan of the Company or its Affiliates, shall not exceed $100,000. For this purpose, the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock shall be determined as of the time an Option is granted. The Options or portions thereof which exceed such limit (according to the order in which they were granted) shall be treated as Nonqualified Stock Options but all other terms and provisions of such Options shall remain the same.
(iv) Disposition During the Holding Period. Any participant who disposes of Common Stock acquired upon the exercise of an Incentive Stock Option either (i) within two years after the date of grant of such Incentive Stock Option, or (ii) within one year after the transfer of such shares to the Participant, shall notify the Company of such disposition and of the amount realized upon such disposition.
(c) Provisions Applicable to Nonqualified Stock Options.
(i) Transferability of a Nonqualified Stock Option. A Nonqualified Stock Option shall be transferable, if at all, to the extent provided in the Option Agreement. If the Option Agreement does not provide for transferability, then the Nonqualified Stock Option shall not be transferable except by will or by the laws of descent and distribution and shall be exercisable during the lifetime of the Optionholder only by the Optionholder.
7. PROVISIONS OF STOCK AWARDS OTHER THAN OPTIONS.
(a) Restricted and Unrestricted Common Stock Awards. Each Stock Award Agreement evidencing a grant of restricted or unrestricted Common Stock shall be in such form and shall contain such restrictions, terms and conditions, if any, as the Board shall deem appropriate and shall be subject to the terms and conditions of this Plan. The terms and conditions of restricted Common Stock awards may change from time to time, and the terms and conditions of separate restricted Common Stock awards need not be identical, but each Stock Award Agreement evidencing a grant of restricted or unrestricted Common Stock shall include (through incorporation of provisions hereof by reference in the agreement or otherwise) the substance of each of the following provisions:
(i) Consideration. A restricted or unrestricted Common Stock award may be awarded in consideration for past services actually rendered, or for future services to be rendered, to the Company or an Affiliate for its benefit.
(ii) Vesting. Common Stock awarded under the Stock Award Agreement may (A) be subject to a vesting schedule to be determined by the Board (i.e. restricted Common Stock), or (B) be fully vested at the time of grant (i.e. unrestricted Common Stock).
(iii) Termination of Participants Continuous Service. Unless otherwise provided in the Stock Award Agreement, in the event a Participants Continuous Service terminates prior to a vesting date set forth in the Stock Award Agreement, any unvested restricted Common Stock shall be forfeited and automatically transferred to and reacquired by the Company at no cost to the Company, and neither the Participant nor his or her heirs, executors, administrators or successors shall have any right or interest in such restricted Common Stock. Notwithstanding the foregoing, unless otherwise provided in the Stock Award Agreement, in the event a Participants Continuous Service terminates as a result of (A) being terminated by the Company for reasons other than for cause, (B) death, (C) Disability, (D) Retirement, or (E) a Change of Control (subject to the provisions of Section 11(c) hereof), then any unvested restricted Common Stock shall vest immediately upon such date.
(iv) Transferability. Rights to acquire Common Stock under the Stock Award Agreement shall be transferable by the Participant only upon such terms and conditions as are set forth in the Stock Award Agreement, as the Board shall determine in its discretion, so long as Common Stock awarded under the Stock Award Agreement remains subject to the terms of the Stock Award Agreement.
(b) Grant of Stock Appreciation Rights. Stock appreciation rights to receive in cash (or its equivalent in Common Stock) the excess of the Fair Market Value of Common Stock on the date the rights are surrendered over the Fair Market Value of Common Stock on the date of grant may be granted to any Employee, Director, Officer or Consultant selected by the Board. A stock appreciation right may be granted (i) in connection and simultaneously with the grant of another Stock Award, (ii) with respect to a previously granted Stock Award, or (iii) independent of another Stock Award. A stock appreciation right shall be subject to such terms and conditions not inconsistent with this Plan as the Board shall impose and shall be evidenced by a written Stock Award Agreement, which shall be executed by the Participant and an authorized officer of the Company. The Board, in its discretion, may determine whether a stock appreciation right is to qualify as performance-based compensation as described in Section 162(m)(4)(C) of the Code and Stock Award Agreements evidencing stock appreciation rights intended to so qualify shall contain such terms and conditions as may be necessary to meet the applicable provisions of Section 162(m) of the Code. The Board may, in its discretion and on such terms as it deems appropriate, require as a condition of the grant of a stock appreciation right that the Participant surrender for cancellation some or all of the Stock Awards previously granted to such person under this Plan or otherwise, provided that such action does not result in a violation of Section 409A of the Code. A stock appreciation right, the grant of which is conditioned upon such surrender, may have an exercise price lower (or higher) than the exercise price of the surrendered Stock Award, may contain such other terms as the Board deems appropriate, and shall be exercisable in accordance with its terms, without regard to the number of shares, price, exercise period or any other term or condition of such surrendered Stock Award.
(c) Restricted Stock Units. A restricted stock unit, or RSU , represents the right to receive from the Company on the respective scheduled vesting or payment date for such RSU, one share of Common Stock. At the time an award of RSUs is made, the Committee shall establish a period of time during which the restricted stock units shall vest. An award of RSUs may vest based on the Continued Service of the Participant, the attainment of specified performance goals or targets, or both, and may contain such other terms and conditions (such as delayed or deferred payment dates) as the Committee may determine, subject to the provisions of this Plan. If (and only if) required by the applicable award agreement, the Company shall pay dividend equivalent rights with respect to RSUs, in which case the Company shall establish an account for the participant and reflect in that account any securities, cash or other property comprising any dividend or property distribution with respect to the share of Common Stock underlying each RSU. Each amount or other
property credited to any such account shall be subject to the same vesting conditions as the RSU to which it relates. The participant shall be paid the amounts or other property credited to such account upon vesting of the RSU.
(d) Other Stock Awards. The other types of awards that may be granted under this Plan include: (a) performance stock, performance stock units, phantom stock, dividend equivalents, or similar rights to purchase or acquire shares, whether at a fixed or variable price or ratio related to the Common Stock, upon the passage of time, the occurrence of one or more events, or the satisfaction of performance criteria or other conditions, or any combination thereof; and (b) any similar securities or awards with a value derived from the value of or related to the Common Stock and/or returns thereon.
8. AVAILABILITY OF STOCK.
During the terms of the Stock Awards, the Company shall keep available at all times the number of Common Stock required to satisfy such Stock Awards.
9. USE OF PROCEEDS FROM STOCK.
Proceeds from the sale of Common Stock pursuant to Stock Awards shall constitute general funds of the Company.
10. MISCELLANEOUS.
(a) Exercise of Awards. Stock Awards shall be exercisable (to the extent applicable) at such times, or upon the occurrence of such event or events as the Board shall determine at or subsequent to grant. Stock Awards may be exercised (to the extent applicable) in whole or in part. Common Stock purchased upon the exercise of a Stock Award shall be paid for in full at the time of such purchase.
(b) Acceleration of Exercisability and Vesting. The Board shall have the power to accelerate the time at which a Stock Award may first be exercised or the time during which a Stock Award or any part thereof will vest in accordance with the Plan, notwithstanding the provisions in the Stock Award stating the time at which it may first be exercised or the time during which it will vest.
(c) Stockholder Rights.
(i) Options. Unless otherwise provided in and upon the terms and conditions in the Option Agreement, no Participant shall be deemed to be the holder of, or to have any of the rights of a holder with respect to, any Common Stock subject to an Option unless and until such Participant has satisfied all requirements for exercise of, and has exercised, the Option pursuant to its terms.
(ii) Restricted Common Stock. Unless otherwise provided in and upon the terms and conditions in the Stock Award Agreement, a Participant shall have the right to receive all dividends and other distributions paid or made respecting such restricted Common Stock, provided, however, no unvested restricted Common Stock shall have any voting rights of a stockholder respecting such unvested restricted Common Stock unless and until such unvested restricted Common Stock becomes vested.
(iii) Other Stock Awards. Unless otherwise provided in and upon the terms and conditions in the Stock Award Agreement, no Participant shall be deemed to be the holder of, or to have any of the rights of a holder with respect to, any Common Stock subject to any other Stock Award unless and until such Participant has satisfied all requirements for receiving, and has received, such Common Stock in accordance with such Stock Award. In the event the Common Stock received is not fully vested, the Participant shall have the rights of a stockholder with respect to such shares of Common Stock as set forth in Section 10(c)(ii), above.
(d) No Employment or other Service Rights. Nothing in the Plan or any instrument executed or Stock Award granted pursuant thereto shall confer upon any Participant any right to continue to serve the Company or an Affiliate in the capacity in effect at the time the Stock Award was granted, or any other capacity, or shall affect the right of the Company or an Affiliate to terminate with or without notice and with or without cause (i) the employment of an Employee, (ii) the service of a Consultant to the Company or an Affiliate or (iii) the service of a Director of the Company or an Affiliate.
(e) Withholding Obligations. If the Company has or will have a legal obligation to withhold the taxes related to the grant, vesting or exercise of the Stock Award, such Award may not be granted, vested or exercised in whole or in part, unless such tax obligation is first satisfied in a manner satisfactory to the Company. To the extent provided by the terms of a Stock Award Agreement or Option Agreement, the Participant may satisfy any federal, state or local tax withholding obligation relating to the exercise or acquisition of Common Stock under a Stock Award by any of the following means (in addition to the Companys right to withhold from any compensation paid to the Participant by the Company) or by a combination of such means: (i) tendering a cash payment in Dollars; (ii) authorizing the Company to withhold Common Stock from the Common Stock otherwise issuable to the Participant as a result of the exercise or acquisition of Common Stock under the Stock Award, provided, however, that no Common Stock is withheld with a value exceeding the minimum amount of tax required to be withheld by law; or (iii) delivering to the Company owned and unencumbered Common Stock.
(f) Substitutions and Repricings. The Board may, in its discretion, issue new Stock Awards in substitution for outstanding Stock Awards previously granted to Participants, or approve a repricing (within the meaning of U.S. generally accepted accounting practices or any applicable stock exchange rule) of Stock Awards issued under this Plan, provided, however, than no repricing shall be effectuated without the stockholders of the Company expressly approving in advance such repricing.
(g) Listing and Qualification of Stock. This Plan and the grant and exercise of Stock Awards hereunder, and the obligation of the Company to sell and deliver Common Stock under such Stock Awards, shall be subject to all applicable United States federal and state laws, rules and regulations and to such approvals by any government or regulatory agency as may be required. The Company, in its discretion, may postpone the issuance or delivery of Common Stock upon any exercise of a Stock Award until completion of any stock exchange listing, or other qualification of such Common Stock under any United States federal or state law rule or regulation as the Company may consider appropriate, and may require any individual to whom a Stock Award is granted, such individuals beneficiary or legal representative, as applicable, to make such representations and furnish such information as the Board may consider necessary, desirable or advisable in connection with the issuance or delivery of the Common Stock in compliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations.
(h) Non-Uniform Determinations. The Boards determinations under this Plan (including, without limitation, determinations of the persons to receive Stock Awards, the form, term, provisions, amount and timing of the grant of such Stock Awards and of the agreements evidencing the same) need not be uniform and may be made by it selectively among persons who receive, or are eligible to receive, Stock Awards under this Plan, whether or not such persons are similarly situated.
(i) 409A. The Board intends that, except as may be otherwise determined by the Committee, any awards under the Plan are either exempt from or satisfy the requirements of Section 409A of the Code and related regulations and Treasury pronouncements (Section 409A) in order to avoid the imposition of any taxes, including additional income or penalty taxes, thereunder, and this Plan and all award agreements hereunder shall be interpreted accordingly. If the Committee or a Participant determines that an award, award agreement, acceleration, adjustment to the terms of an award, payment, distribution, deferral election, transaction or any other action or arrangement contemplated by the provisions of the Plan would, if undertaken, cause the Participants award to become subject to Section 409A, then the Committee and the Participant shall work together in good faith to amend the award or award agreement and to take such other action as may be necessary or desirable to comply with the requirements of Section 409A and to preserve the benefits intended to be delivered to the Participant. Although the Company intends that awards under the Plan will be exempt from, or will comply with, the requirements of Section 409A of the Code, the Company does not warrant that any award under the Plan will qualify for favorable tax treatment under Section 409A of the Code or any other provision of federal, state, local or foreign law. The Company shall not be liable to any Participant for any tax, interest or penalties the Participant might owe as a result of the grant, holding, vesting, exercise or payment of any award under the Plan
(j) No Restriction on Corporate Action. The existence of this Plan, the Stock or Option Award Agreements and the Stock Awards granted hereunder shall not limit, affect or restrict in any way the right or power of the Board or the stockholders of the Company to make or authorize: (a) any adjustment, recapitalization, reorganization or other change in the capital structure or business of the Company or any Affiliate, (b) any merger, amalgamation, consolidation or change in the ownership of the Company or any Affiliate, (c) any issue of bonds, debentures, capital, preferred or prior preference stock ahead of or affecting the capital stock (or the rights thereof) of the Company or any Affiliate, (d) any dissolution or liquidation of the Company or any Affiliate, (e) any sale or transfer of all or any part of the assets or business of the Company or any Affiliate, or (f) any other corporate act or proceeding by the Company or any Affiliate. No Participant, beneficiary or any other person shall have any claim under any Stock Award or Stock or Option
Award Agreement against any member of the Board or the Committee, or the Company or any employees, officers or agents of the Company or any Affiliate, as a result of any such action.
(k) Other Company Benefit and Compensation Programs. Payments and other benefits received by a Participant under a Stock Award made pursuant to this Plan shall not be deemed a part of a Participants compensation for purposes of the determination of benefits under any other employee welfare or benefit plans or arrangements, if any, provided by the Company or any Affiliate, except where the Committee expressly otherwise provides or authorizes in writing or except as otherwise specifically set forth in the terms and conditions of such other employee welfare or benefit plan or arrangement. Stock Awards under this Plan may be made in addition to, in combination with, as alternatives to or in payment of grants, awards or commitments under any other plans or arrangements of the Company or any Affiliate.
(l) Severability. If a court of competent jurisdiction holds any provision invalid and unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this Plan shall continue in effect.
(m) General Obligation of the Company. Stock Awards payable under this Plan shall be payable in shares or from the general assets of the Company, and no special or separate reserve, fund or deposit shall be made to assure payment of such Stock Awards. No Participant, beneficiary or other person shall have any right, title or interest in any fund or in any specific asset (including shares of Common Stock, except as expressly otherwise provided) of the Company or one of its Affiliates by reason of any Stock Award hereunder. Neither the provisions of this Plan (or of any related documents), nor the creation or adoption of this Plan, nor any action taken pursuant to the provisions of this Plan shall create, or be construed to create, a trust of any kind or a fiduciary relationship between the Company or any Affiliate and any Participant, beneficiary or other person. To the extent that a Participant, beneficiary or other person acquires a right to receive payment pursuant to any Stock Award hereunder, such right shall be no greater than the right of any unsecured general creditor of the Company.
11. ADJUSTMENTS UPON CHANGES IN STOCK.
(a) Capitalization Adjustments. If any change is made in the Common Stock subject to the Plan, or subject to any Stock Award, without the receipt of consideration by the Company (through merger, consolidation, reorganization, recapitalization, reincorporation, stock dividend, dividend in property other than cash, stock split, liquidating dividend, combination of shares, exchange of shares, change in corporate structure or other transaction), the Plan will be appropriately adjusted in the class(es) and maximum number of securities subject to the Plan pursuant to subsection 4(a) and the maximum number of securities subject to award to any person pursuant to subsection 5(c), and the outstanding Stock Awards will be appropriately adjusted in the class(es) and number of securities and price per share of Common Stock subject to such outstanding Stock Awards. The Board shall make such adjustments, and its determination shall be final, binding and conclusive. The conversion of any convertible securities of the Company shall not be treated as a transaction without receipt of consideration by the Company.
(b) Asset Sale, Merger, Consolidation or Reverse Merger. In the event of (i) a sale, lease or other disposition of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company, (ii) a merger or consolidation of the Company with or into any other corporation or entity or person, or any other corporate reorganization, in which the stockholders of the Company immediately prior to such consolidation, merger or reorganization, own less than 50% of the Companys outstanding voting power of the surviving entity (or its parent) following the consolidation, merger, or reorganization or (iii) any transaction (or series of related transactions involving a person or entity, or a group of affiliated persons or entities) in which in excess of fifty percent (50%) of the Companys outstanding voting power is transferred (individually, a Change of Control), then any unvested Stock Awards shall vest immediately prior to the closing of the Change of Control, and the Board shall have the power and discretion to provide for the Participants election alternatives regarding the terms and conditions for the exercise of, or modification of, any outstanding Stock Awards granted hereunder, provided, however, such alternatives shall not affect the then current exercise provisions without such Participants consent. The Board may provide that Stock Awards granted hereunder must be exercised in connection with the closing of such transaction, and that if not so exercised such Stock Awards will expire. The Board may also provide for the payment of cash or property (or combination thereof) in settlement of any Stock Awards upon a Change of Control. Any such determinations by the Board may be made generally with respect to all Participants, or may be made on a case-by-case basis with respect to particular Participants. The provisions of this Section 11(b) shall not apply to any transaction undertaken for the purpose of reincorporating the Company under the laws of another jurisdiction, if such transaction does not materially affect the beneficial ownership of the Companys capital stock.
12. AMENDMENT OF THE PLAN AND STOCK AWARDS.
(a) Amendment of Plan. The Board at any time, and from time to time, may amend the Plan, provided that such amendment does not result in a violation of Section 409A of the Code. However, except as provided in Section 11
relating to adjustments upon changes in Common Stock, no amendment shall be effective unless approved by the stockholders of the Company to the extent stockholder approval is necessary to satisfy the requirements of applicable law (including, without limitation, Section 422 of the Code or Rule 16b-3) or any applicable securities exchange listing requirements.
(b) Stockholder Approval. The Board may, in its sole discretion, submit any other amendment to the Plan for stockholder approval, including, but not limited to, amendments to the Plan intended to satisfy the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Code and the regulations thereunder regarding the exclusion of performance-based compensation from the limit on corporate deductibility of compensation paid to certain executive officers.
(c) Contemplated Amendments. It is expressly contemplated that the Board may amend the Plan in any respect the Board deems necessary or advisable to provide eligible Employees with the maximum benefits provided or to be provided under the provisions of the Code and the regulations promulgated thereunder relating to Incentive Stock Options and/or to bring the Plan and/or Incentive Stock Options granted under it into compliance therewith.
(d) No Impairment of Rights. Rights under any Stock Award granted before amendment of the Plan shall not be materially impaired by any amendment of the Plan unless the Participant consents in writing.
(e) Amendment of Stock Awards. The Board at any time, and from time to time, may amend the terms of any one or more Stock Awards; provided, however, that the rights under any Stock Award shall not be materially impaired by any such amendment unless the applicable Participant consents in writing and provided further that such amendment does not result in a violation of Section 409A of the Code.
13. TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION OF THE PLAN.
(a) Plan Term. The Board may suspend or terminate the Plan at any time. Unless sooner terminated, the Plan shall terminate on the tenth anniversary of the Restatement Date, after which no grants of Stock Awards may be made; provided, that administration of the Plan shall continue in effect until all matters relating to Stock Awards previously granted have been settled.
(b) No Impairment of Rights. Suspension or termination of the Plan shall not materially impair rights and obligations under any Stock Award granted while the Plan is in effect except with the written consent of the Participant.
(c) Savings Clause. This Plan is intended to comply in all aspects with applicable laws and regulations. In case any one more of the provisions of this Plan shall be held invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect under applicable law or regulation, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby and the invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision shall be deemed null and void; however, to the extent permissible by law, any provision which could be deemed null and void shall first be construed, interpreted or revised retroactively to permit this Plan to be construed in compliance with all applicable laws so as to foster the intent of this Plan.
14. CHOICE OF LAW.
The law of the Delaware shall govern all questions concerning the construction, validity and interpretation of this Plan, without regard to such states conflict of laws rules.
15. PERFORMANCE -BASED COMPENSATION UNDER SECTION 162(m).
Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the performance criteria for any Stock Award that is intended to satisfy the requirements for performance-based compensation under Section 162(m) of the Code (other than Options or stock appreciation rights) shall be established by the Committee based on one or more Qualifying Performance Criteria selected by the Committee and specified in writing during the first 90 days of the performance period (and, in the case of performance periods of less than one year, in no event after 25% or more of the performance period has elapsed) and while performance relating to such target(s) remains substantially uncertain within the meaning of Section 162(m) of the Code. Performance criteria shall be adjusted to mitigate the unbudgeted impact of material, unusual or nonrecurring gains and losses, accounting changes or other extraordinary events not foreseen at the time the targets were set unless the Committee provides otherwise at the time of establishing the targets; provided that the Committee may not make any adjustment to the extent it would adversely affect the qualification of any compensation payable under such performance targets as performance-based compensation under Section 162(m). The applicable performance measurement period may not be less than 3 months nor more than 10 years.
(a) Qualifying Performance Criteria. For purposes of this Plan, the term Qualifying Performance Criteria shall mean any one or more of the following performance criteria, applied to either the Company as a whole or to a business segment, subsidiary or Affiliate, and measured either annually or cumulatively over a period of years, on an absolute basis or relative to a pre-established target, to previous years results or to a designated comparison group, in each case as specified by the Committee in the applicable Option Agreement or Stock Award Agreement: revenue; revenue growth; operating income (before or after taxes); pre- or after-tax income (before or after allocation of corporate overhead and bonus); earnings per share; return on equity; total stockholder return; return on assets or net assets; appreciation in and/or maintenance of the price of the Common Stock or any other publicly-traded securities of the Company; gross profits; earnings (including earnings before taxes, earnings before interest and taxes or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization); economic value-added models or equivalent metrics; comparisons with various stock market indices; reductions in costs; cash flow, cash flow per share or cash flow from operations; return on capital; improvement in or attainment of expense levels or working capital levels; operating margins, gross margins or cash margin; year-end cash; debt reductions; stockholder equity; regulatory achievements (including submitting or filing applications or other documents with regulatory authorities or receiving approval of any such applications or other documents); financing and other capital raising transactions (including sales of the Companys equity or debt securities); implementation, completion or attainment of objectives with respect to exploration, development, production or costs, acquisitions and divestitures, operational objectives, including those relating to environmental, health and safety requirements, recruiting and maintaining personnel, and joint venture or similar arrangements.
(b) Certification. Before payment of any compensation under a Stock Award (other than an Option or stock appreciation right) intended to qualify as performance-based compensation under Section 162(m) of the Code, the Committee shall certify, in writing, the extent to which any Qualifying Performance Criteria and any other material terms under such Stock Award have been satisfied (other than in cases where such relate solely to the price of Common Stock).
(c) Discretionary Adjustments Pursuant to Section 162(m). Notwithstanding satisfaction or completion of any Qualifying Performance Criteria, to the extent specified at the time of grant of a Stock Award to Covered Employees, the number of shares of Common Stock or other benefits granted, issued, retained, or vested under a Stock Award on account of satisfaction of such Qualifying Performance Criteria may be reduced by the Committee on the basis of such further considerations as the Committee in its sole discretion shall determine. In addition, in the event that the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Code and the regulations thereunder change to permit the Committee discretion to alter the Qualifying Performance Criteria without obtaining shareholder approval of such changes, the Committee shall have sole discretion to make such changes without obtaining shareholder approval. Furthermore, in the event that the Committee determines that it is advisable to grant Stock Awards that shall not qualify as performance-based compensation and/or to amend previously granted Stock Awards in a way that would disqualify them as performance-based compensation, the Committee may make such grants without satisfying the requirements of Section 162(m) of the Code and may base vesting on performance measures other than those set forth above and/or make such amendments.
(d) Compensation Limitations. The maximum aggregate number of shares of Common Stock that may be issued to any Participant pursuant to Stock Awards (other than Options or stock appreciation rights) intended to qualify as performance based compensation under Section 162(m) of the Code shall not exceed 500,000 shares.
EXHIBIT 31.1
CERTIFICATIONS
I, Jeffrey G. Clevenger, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Golden Minerals Company;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrants other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
a. Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
b. Designed such internal controls over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
c. Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrants disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
d. Disclosed in this report any change in the registrants internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrants most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrants internal control over financial reporting; and
5. The registrants other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrants auditors and the audit committee of registrants board of directors:
a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrants ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrants internal control over financial reporting.
Date: August 6, 2014 |
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/s/ Jeffrey G. Clevenger |
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Jeffrey G. Clevenger |
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President and Chief Executive Officer |
EXHIBIT 31.2
I, Robert P. Vogels, certify that:
1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Golden Minerals Company;
2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;
3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;
4. The registrants other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:
a. Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;
b. Designed such internal controls over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;
c. Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrants disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and
d. Disclosed in this report any change in the registrants internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrants most recent fiscal quarter that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrants internal control over financial reporting; and
5. The registrants other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrants auditors and the audit committee of registrants board of directors:
a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrants ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and
b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrants internal control over financial reporting.
Date: August 6, 2014 |
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/s/ Robert P. Vogels |
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Robert P. Vogels |
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Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
EXHIBIT 32
CERTIFICATION PURSUANT TO
18 U.S.C. SECTION 1350,
AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO
SECTION 906 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002
In connection with the Quarterly Report of Golden Minerals Company (the Company) on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2014 as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on the date hereof (the Report), the undersigned hereby certifies, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §1350, as adopted pursuant to § 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, that:
(1) The Report fully complies with the requirements of section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; and
(2) The information contained in the Report fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and result of operations of the Company.
/s/ Jeffrey G. Clevenger |
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Jeffrey G. Clevenger |
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President and Chief Executive Officer |
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August 6, 2014 |
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/s/ Robert P. Vogels |
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Robert P. Vogels |
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Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer |
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August 6, 2014 |
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