3.Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

Basis of presentation

 

These financial statements have been prepared by management in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“US GAAP”) and include all the assets, liabilities and expenses of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Ur-Energy USA Inc.; NFU Wyoming, LLC; Lost Creek ISR, LLC; The Bootheel Project, LLC; NFUR Bootheel, LLC; Hauber Project LLC; NFUR Hauber, LLC; and Pathfinder Mines Corporation. All inter-company balances and transactions have been eliminated upon consolidation. Ur‑Energy Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries are collectively referred to herein as the “Company.”

 

 Exploration Stage

The Company has established the existence of uranium resources for certain uranium projects, including the Lost Creek Property. The Company has not established proven or probable reserves, as defined by the SEC under Industry Guide 7, through the completion of a final or “bankable” feasibility study for any of its uranium projects, including the Lost Creek Property. Furthermore, the Company currently has no plans to establish proven or probable reserves for any of its uranium projects for which the Company plans on utilizing in situ recovery (“ISR”) mining, such as the Lost Creek Property or the Shirley Basin Project. As a result, and despite the fact that the Company commenced recovery of uranium at the Lost Creek Project in August 2013, the Company remains in the Exploration Stage as defined under Industry Guide 7, and will continue to remain in the Exploration Stage until such time proven or probable mineral reserves have been established.

Because the Company commenced recovery of uranium at the Lost Creek Project without having established proven and probable reserves, any uranium resources established or extracted from the Lost Creek Project should not be in any way associated with having established proven or probable mineral reserves. Accordingly, information concerning mineral deposits set forth herein may not be comparable to information made public by companies that have reserves in accordance with United States standards.

Use of estimates

 

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. The most significant estimates management makes in the preparation of these consolidated financial statements relate to the fair value of stock-based compensation using the factors associated with the Black-Scholes calculations, estimation of the amount of recoverable uranium included in the in-process inventory, estimation of factors surrounding asset retirement obligations such as interest rates, discount rates and inflation rates, total cost and the time until the asset retirement commences and the offset of future income taxes through deferred tax assets. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

 

Cash and cash equivalents

 

Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash balances and highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less that are considered to be cash equivalents. Cash equivalents are held for the purpose of meeting short-term cash commitments rather than for investment or other purposes. Restricted cash is excluded from cash and cash equivalents and is included in other long-term assets

 

Restricted cash

 

Cash which secures various instruments related to a state lease and surety bonds which secure reclamation obligations is shown as restricted cash.

 

Inventory

 

In-process inventory represents uranium that has been extracted from the wellfield and captured in the processing plant and is currently being transformed into a saleable product. Plant inventory is U₃O₈ that is contained in yellowcake, which has been dried and packaged in drums, but not yet shipped to the conversion facility. The amount of U₃O₈ in the plant inventory is determined by weighing and assaying the amount of U₃O₈ packaged into drums at the plant. Conversion facility inventory is U₃O₈ that has been shipped to the conversion facility. The amount of U₃O₈ in the conversion facility inventory includes the amount of U₃O₈ contained in drums shipped to the conversion facility plus or minus any final weighing and assay adjustments per the terms of the uranium supplier’s agreement with the conversion facility.

 

The Company’s inventories are measured at the lower of cost or net realizable value and reflect the U₃O₈ content in various stages of the production and sales process including in-process inventory, plant inventory and conversion facility inventory. Operating supplies are expensed when purchased.

 

Mineral properties

 

Acquisition costs of mineral properties are capitalized. When production is attained, amortization is calculated on a straight-line basis. The original estimated life for the Lost Creek Project was 10 years which is being used to amortize the mineral property acquisition costs.    

 

If properties are abandoned or sold, they are written off. If properties are considered to be impaired in value, the costs of the properties are written down to their estimated fair value at that time.

 

Exploration, evaluation and development costs

 

Exploration and evaluation expenses consist of labor, annual lease and maintenance fees and associated costs of the exploration geology department as well as exploration costs including drilling and analysis on properties which have not reached the permitting or operations stage.

 

Development expense relates to the Company’s Lost Creek, LC East and Shirley Basin projects, which are more advanced in terms of permitting and preliminary economic assessments. Development expenses include all costs associated with exploring, delineating and permitting within those projects, the costs associated with the construction and development of permitted mine units including wells, pumps, piping, header houses, roads and other infrastructure related to the preparation of a mine unit to begin extraction operations as well as the cost of drilling and completing disposal wells.

 

Capital assets

 

Property, plant and equipment assets, including machinery, processing equipment, enclosures, vehicles and expenditures that extend the life of such assets, are recorded at cost including acquisition and installation costs.  The enclosure costs include both the building housing and the processing equipment necessary for the extraction of uranium from impregnated water pumped in from the wellfield to the packaging of uranium yellowcake for delivery into sales.  These enclosure costs are combined as the equipment and related installation associated with the equipment is an integral part of the structure itself. The costs of self-constructed assets include direct construction costs, direct overhead and allocated interest during the construction phase. Depreciation is calculated using a declining balance method for most assets with the exception of the plant enclosure and related equipment. Depreciation on the plant enclosure and related equipment is calculated on a straight-line basis. Estimated lives for depreciation purposes range from three years for computer equipment and software to 20 years for the plant enclosure and the name plate life of the related equipment.

 

Impairment of long-lived assets

 

The Company assesses the possibility of impairment in the net carrying value of its long-lived assets when events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of the asset or asset group may not be recoverable. When potential impairment is indicated, management calculates the estimated undiscounted future net cash flows relating to the asset or asset group using estimated future prices, recoverable resources, and operating, capital and reclamation costs. When the carrying value of an asset exceeds the related undiscounted cash flows, the asset is written down to its estimated fair value, which is determined using discounted future cash flows or other measures of fair value.

 

Right of Use Assets and Liabilities

 

At January 1, 2019, we had two office equipment leases, and the office lease in Casper which expired in July 2019 and was extended for periods less than one year.  As a result of adoption of ASC 2016-02, we recognized a liability of $83 with a corresponding Right-Of-Use (“ROU”) assets of the same amount based on present value of the remaining minimum rental payments of the leases which are included in non-current assets and other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet. The discount rates used for leases are based on either the Company’s borrowing rate or the imputed interest rate based on the price of the equipment and the lease terms.

 

Asset retirement obligations

 

For mining properties, various federal and state mining laws and regulations require the Company to reclaim the surface areas and restore groundwater quality to the pre-existing quality or class of use after the completion of mining. The Company records the fair value of an asset retirement obligation as a liability in the period in which it incurs an obligation associated with the retirement of tangible long-lived assets that result from the acquisition, construction, development and/or normal use of the assets.

 

Asset retirement obligations consist of estimated final well closures, plant closure and removal and associated reclamation and restoration costs to be incurred by the Company in the future. The estimated fair value of the asset retirement obligation is based on the current cost escalated at an inflation rate and discounted at a credit adjusted risk-free rate. This liability is capitalized as part of the cost of the related asset and amortized over its remaining productive life. The liability accretes until the Company settles the obligation.

 

Revenue recognition

 

The Company adopted Topic 606 effective January 1, 2018. The Company purchases and produces U₃O₈ and recognizes revenue at the point of transfer of control, and revenue will continue to be recognized at that point under the new standard. The adoption of the new standard had no impact on either our recognition processes or reporting. We elected the modified retrospective basis for implementing the standard. As we had no contracts that were affected by the implementation, there were no changes to prior financial reports.  In addition, there is no change in our revenue recognition treatment in the current period.

 

Our revenues are primarily derived from the sale of U₃O₈ under either long-term (delivery in typically two to five years) or spot (immediate delivery) contracts with our customers. The contracts specify the quantity to be delivered, the price or specific calculation method of the price, payment terms and the year(s) of the delivery. There may be some variability in the dates of the delivery or the quantity to be delivered depending on the contract, but those issues are addressed before the delivery date. When a delivery is approved, the Company notifies the conversion facility with instructions for a title transfer to the customer. Revenue is recognized once a title transfer of the U₃O₈ is confirmed by the conversion facility. 

We also receive a small amount of revenue from disposal fees. We have contracts with our customers which specify the type and volume of material which can be disposed. Monthly, we invoice those customers based on deliveries of material to the disposal site by the customer. Materials are measured and categorized at the time of delivery and verified by the customer. We recognize the revenue at the end of the month in which the material was received.

Stock-based compensation

 

Stock-based compensation cost from the issuance of stock options and restricted share units (“RSUs”) is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is recognized over the related service period. Stock-based compensation cost is charged to mine operations, exploration and evaluation, development, and general and administrative expense on the same basis as other compensation costs.

 

Income taxes

 

The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method which requires the recognition of deferred income tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the carrying amounts and tax bases of assets and liabilities. The Company provides a valuation allowance on deferred tax assets unless it is more likely than not that such assets will be realized.

 

Earnings and loss per share calculations

 

Diluted earnings per common share are calculated by including all options which are in-the-money based on the average stock price for the period as well as RSUs which were outstanding at the end of the quarter. The treasury stock method was applied to determine the dilutive number of options.  Warrants are included only if the exercise price is less than the average stock price for the quarter. In periods of loss, the diluted loss per common share is equal to the basic loss per common share due to the anti-dilutive effect of all convertible securities.

 

Classification of financial instruments

 

The Company’s financial instruments consist of cash, short-term investments, accounts receivable, restricted cash, deposits, accounts payable and accrued liabilities, other liabilities and notes payable. The Company has made the following classifications for these financial instruments:

 

 

New accounting pronouncements which were implemented this year

 

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which requires lessees to recognize all leases on the balance sheet, including operating leases, unless the lease is a short-term lease. ASU 2016-02 also requires additional disclosures regarding leasing arrangements. ASU 2016-02 became effective for the Company as of January 1, 2019. At January 1, 2019, we had two office equipment leases, and the office lease in Casper which expired in July 2019 and was extended for less than one year.  As a result of adoption of ASC 2016-02, we recognized a liability of $83 with a corresponding Right-Of-Use (“ROU”) assets of the same amount based on present value of the remaining minimum rental payments of the leases which are included in non-current assets and other liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet.  The discount rates used for leases are based on either the Company’s borrowing rate or the imputed interest rate based on the price of the equipment and the lease terms.