Cash and Cash Equivalents and Short-term Investments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Cash and Cash Equivalents and Short-term Investments

Cash and Cash Equivalents and Short-term Investments

5.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 acquisition 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 following tables summarize the Company’s short-term investments at September 30, 2015:

September 30, 2015	Cost		Estimated Fair Value		Carrying Value
			(in thousands)
Investments:
Short-term:
Available for sale common stock	$	199	$	75	$	75
Total available for sale	199		75		75
Total short term	$	199	$	75	$	75

The available for sale common stock consists of 5,000,000 shares of a junior mining company received during the first quarter 2015 in a transaction involving the Company’s 50% interest in the San Diego exploration property in Mexico.  The Company received shares in the junior mining company that holds the other 50% interest in the property in exchange for extending by two years from March 24, 2015 the period of time in which the junior mining company can earn an additional 10% interest in the property by completing an additional $0.8 million of exploration work. The shares were issued with a restriction requiring the Company to hold the shares for a minimum of four months.  Following the receipt of the shares the Company owns approximately 9% of the outstanding shares of the junior mining company.   The extension agreement was executed on March 23, 2015 and the value of shares on that date was recorded by the Company as a short-term investment using quoted market prices.  See Note 13 for further discussion on the fair value measurement techniques used by the Company to value the above investments.

The Company had no short-term investments at December 31, 2014.