MINERAL ASSETS EQUIPMENT, KINETIC SEPARATION INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, AND OTHER PROPERTY | NOTE 4 – MINERAL ASSETS equipment, Kinetic separation INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY, AND OTHER PROPERTY The Company’s mining properties acquired on August 18, 2014 that the Company retains as of September 30, 2022 include: The San Rafael Uranium Project located in Emery County, Utah; The Sunday Mine Complex located in western San Miguel County, Colorado; The Van 4 Mine located in western Montrose County, Colorado; The Sage Mine located in San Juan County, Utah, and San Miguel County, Colorado. These mining properties include leased land in the states of Colorado and Utah. None of these mining properties were operational at the date of acquisition. The Company’s mining properties acquired on September 16, 2015 that the Company retains as of September 30, 2022 include Hansen, North Hansen and Hansen Picnic Tree located in Fremont and Teller Counties, Colorado. The Company also acquired the Keota project located in Weld County, Colorado and the Ferris Haggerty project located in Carbon County Wyoming. These mining assets include both owned and leased land in the states of Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. All of the mining assets represent properties which have previously been mined, to different degrees, for uranium. As the Company has not formally established proven or probable reserves on any of its properties, there is inherent uncertainty as to whether or not any mineralized material can be economically extracted as originally planned and anticipated. The Company’s mineral properties and equipment and kinetic separation intellectual property are: As of As of Mineral properties and equipment $ 12,656,075 $ 11,780,142 Kinetic separation intellectual property $ 9,488,051 $ 9,488,051 Oil and Gas Lease and Easement The Company entered into an oil and gas lease that became effective with respect to minerals and mineral rights owned by the Company of approximately 160 surface acres of the Company’s property in Colorado. As consideration for entering into the lease, the lessee has agreed to pay the Company a royalty from the lessee’s revenue attributed to oil and gas produced, saved, and sold attributable to the net mineral interest. The Company has also received cash payments from the lessee related to the easement that the Company is recognizing incrementally over the eight year term of the easement. On June 23, 2020, the same entity, as discussed above, elected to extend the oil and gas lease easement for three additional years, commencing on the date the lease would have previously expired. During 2021, the operator completed all well development stages, and each of the eight (8) wells commenced oil and gas production by mid-August 2021. On January 31, 2022, the operator of the Weld County Colorado oil and gas pooled trust issued the first cumulative royalty payment check in the amount of $207,552 for August 2021 through December 2021 sales which was recognized as income in the fourth quarter of 2021. Royalty receipts were received monthly as earned during each of the months in 2022. During the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company recognized aggregate revenue of $108,547 and $16,155, respectively, and for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company recognized aggregate revenue of $387,810 and $48,465, respectively, under these oil and gas lease arrangements. Reclamation Liabilities The Company’s mines are subject to certain asset retirement obligations, which the Company has recorded as reclamation liabilities. The reclamation liabilities of the United States mines are subject to legal and regulatory requirements, and estimates of the costs of reclamation are reviewed periodically by the applicable regulatory authorities. The reclamation liability represents the Company’s best estimate of the present value of future reclamation costs in connection with the mineral properties. The Company determined the gross reclamation liabilities of the mineral properties to be $751,405 and $740,446 as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021, respectively. On March 2, 2020, the Colorado Mined Land Reclamation Board (“MLRB”) issued an order vacating the Van 4 Temporary Cessation, terminating mining operations and ordering commencement of final reclamation. The Company has begun the reclamation of the Van 4 Mine. The reclamation cost is fully covered by the reclamation bonds posted upon acquisition of the property. The Company adjusted the fair value of its reclamation obligation for the Van 4 Mine. The portion of the reclamation liability related to the Van 4 Mine and its related restricted cash are included in current liabilities and current assets, respectively, at a value of $75,057. The Company expects to begin incurring the reclamation liability after 2054 for all mines that are not in reclamation and accordingly, has discounted the gross liabilities over their remaining lives using a discount rate of 5.4%. The net discounted aggregated values as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 were $297,510 and $271,620, respectively. The gross reclamation liabilities as of September 30, 2022 and December 31, 2021 are secured by financial warranties in the amount of $751,405 and $740,446, respectively. Reclamation liability activity for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 consists of: For the Nine Months Ended 2022 2021 Beginning balance at January 1 $ 271,620 $ 309,940 Accretion 25,890 8,652 Discontinuation of reclamation liability - (2,669 ) Ending Balance at September 30 $ 297,510 $ 315,923 Sunday Mine Complex Permitting Status On February 4, 2020, the Colorado DRMS sent a Notice of Hearing to Declare Termination of Mining Operations related to the status of the mining permits issued by the state of Colorado for the Sunday Mine Complex. At issue was the application of an unchallenged Colorado Court of Appeals Opinion for a separate mine (Van 4) with very different facts that are retroactively modifying DRMS rules and regulations. The Company maintains that it was timely in meeting existing rules and regulations. The hearing was scheduled to be held during several monthly MLRB Board meetings, but this matter was delayed several times. The permit hearing was held during the MLRB Board monthly meeting on July 22, 2020. At issue was the status of the five existing permits which comprise the Sunday Mine Complex. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the hearing took place utilizing a virtual-only format. The Company prevailed in a 3 to 1 decision which acknowledged that the work completed at the Sunday Mine Complex under DRMS oversight was timely and sufficient for Western to maintain these permits. In a subsequent July 30, 2020 letter, the DRMS notified the Company that the status of the five permits (Sunday, West Sunday, St. Jude, Carnation, and Topaz) had been changed to “Active” status effective June 10, 2019, the original date on which the change of the status was approved. On August 23, 2020, the Company initiated a request for Temporary Cessation status for the Sunday Mine Complex as the mines had not been restarted within a 180-day window due to the direct and indirect impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, a permit hearing was scheduled for October 21, 2020 to determine Temporary Cessation status. In a unanimous vote, the MLRB approved Temporary Cessation status for each of the five Sunday Mine Complex permits (Sunday, West Sunday, St. Jude, Carnation, and Topaz). On October 9, 2020, the MLRB issued a board order which finalized the findings of the July 22, 2020 permit hearing. On November 10, 2020, the MLRB issued a board order which finalized the findings of the October 21, 2020 permit hearing. On November 6, 2020, the MLRB signed an order placing the five Sunday Mine Complex mine permits into Temporary Cessation. On November 12, 2020, a coalition of environmental groups (the “Plaintiffs”) filed a complaint against the MLRB seeking a partial appeal of the July 22, 2020 decision by requesting termination of the Topaz Mine permit. On December 15, 2020, the same coalition of environmental groups amended their complaint against the MLRB seeking a partial appeal of the October 21, 2020 decision requesting termination of the Topaz Mine permit. The Company has joined with the MLRB in defense of their July 22, 2020 and October 21, 2020 decisions. On May 5, 2021, the Plaintiffs in the Topaz Appeal filed an opening brief with the Denver District Court seeking to overturn the July 22, 2020 and October 21, 2020 MLRB permit hearing decisions on the Topaz Mine permit. The MLRB and the Company were to respond with an answer brief within 35 days on or before June 9, 2021, but instead sought a settlement. The judicial review process was delayed as extensions were put in place until August 20, 2021. A settlement was not reached, and the MLRB and the Company submitted answer briefs on August 20, 2021. The Plaintiff submitted a reply brief on September 10, 2021. On March 1, 2022, the Denver District Court reversed the MLRB’s orders regarding the Topaz Mine and remanded the case back to MLRB for further proceedings consistent with its order. The Company and the MLRB had until April 19, 2022 to appeal the Denver District Court’s ruling. Neither the Company nor the MLRB appealed the Denver District Court ruling. Western anticipates receiving an MLRB board order of reclamation for the Topaz Mine. The Company is continuing to work toward the completion of an updated Topaz Mine Plan of Operations which is a separate federal requirement of the BLM for the conduct of mining activities on the federal land at the Topaz Mine. Kinetic Separation Intellectual Property The Kinetic Separation intellectual property was acquired in Western’s acquisition of Black Range on September 16, 2015. Previously Black Range acquired its Kinetic Separation assets in the dissolution of a joint venture on March 17, 2015, through the acquisition of all the assets of the joint venture and received a 25-year license to utilize all of the patented and unpatented technology owned by the joint venture. The technology license agreement for patents and unpatented technology became effective as of March 17, 2015, for a period of 25 years, until March 16, 2040. There are no remaining license fee obligations, and there are no future royalties due under the agreement. The Company has the right to sub-license the technology to third parties. The Company may not sell or assign the Kinetic Separation license; however, the license could be transferred in the case of a sale of the Company. The Company has developed improvements to Kinetic Separation during the term of the license agreement and retains ownership of, and may obtain patent protection on, any such improvements developed by the Company. The Kinetic Separation patent was filed on September 13, 2012 and granted on February 14, 2014 by the United States Patent Office. The patent is effective for a period of 20 years until September 13, 2032. This patent is supported by two provisional patent applications. The provisional patent applications expired after one year but were incorporated in the U.S. Patent by reference and claimed benefit prior to their expirations. The status of the patent and two provisional patent applications has not changed subsequent to the 2014 patent grant. The Company has the continued right to use any patented portion of the Kinetic Separation technology that enters the public domain subsequent to the patent expiration. The Company anticipates Kinetic Separation will improve the efficiency of the mining and processing of the sandstone-hosted ore from Western’s conventional mines through the separation of waste from mineral bearing-ore, potentially reducing transportation, mill processing, and mill tailings costs. Kinetic Separation is not currently in use or being applied at any Company mines. The Company views Kinetic Separation as a cost saving technology, which it will seek to incorporate into ore production subsequent to commencing scaled production levels. There are also alternative applications, which the Company has explored. Mining Equipment Purchases During the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, Western purchased $895,400 and $65,000, respectively, in mining equipment and vehicles. |