Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements and Nature of Operations	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements and Nature of Operations
Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements and Nature of Operations	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 Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, and filed with the SEC on February 25, 2016. The Company is a mining company, holding a 100% interest in the Velardeña and Chicago precious metals mining properties and associated oxide and sulfide processing plants in Mexico (the “Velardeña Properties”). During November 2015 the Company suspended mining and sulfide processing activities at its Velardeña Properties in order to conserve the asset until the Company is able to develop mining and processing plans that at then current prices for silver and gold indicate a sustainable positive operating margin (defined as revenues less costs of sales) or the Company is able to locate, acquire and develop alternative mineral sources that could be economically mined and transported to the Velardeña Properties for processing. The Company has placed the mine and sulfide processing plant on care and maintenance to enable a re-start of either the mine or mill when mining and processing plans and metals prices support a cash positive outlook. The Company incurred approximately $1.2 million in related shutdown costs for employee severance, net working capital obligations, and other shutdown expenditures to place the property on care and maintenance in the fourth quarter 2015 and $1.6 million in shutdown and care and maintenance costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and expects to incur approximately $0.4 million in quarterly holding costs while mining and processing remain suspended. The Company has retained a core group of employees, most of whom have been assigned to operate the oxide plant, which is leased to a third party and not affected by the shutdown. The oxide plant began processing material for the third party in mid-December 2015, and the Company expects to receive net cash flow under the lease of approximately $4.5 million in 2016. The retained employees also include an exploration group and an operations and administrative group to continue to advance the Company’s plans in Mexico, oversee corporate compliance activities, and to maintain and safeguard the longer term value of the Velardeña assets. The Company remains focused on evaluating and searching for mining opportunities in North America (including Mexico) with near term prospects of mining, and particularly for properties within reasonable haulage distances of our Velardeña Properties. The Company is also reviewing strategic opportunities, focusing primarily on development or operating properties in North America, including Mexico. The Company is continuing its exploration efforts on selected properties in its portfolio of approximately 10 exploration properties located primarily in Mexico. It continues to hold its El Quevar advanced exploration property in Argentina on care and maintenance until it can find a partner to further advance the project. 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 mineral reserves, as defined by SEC Industry Guide 7, at the Velardeña Properties, or any of the Company’s other properties. As a result, and in accordance with GAAP for exploration stage companies, all expenditures for exploration and evaluation of the Company’s properties are expensed as incurred. As such the Company’s financial statements may not be comparable to the financial statements of mining companies that do have proven and probable mineral reserves. Such companies would typically capitalize certain development costs including infrastructure development and mining activities to access the ore. The capitalized costs would be amortized on a units-of-production basis as reserves are mined. The amortized costs are typically allocated to inventory and eventually to cost of sales as the inventories are sold. As the Company does not have proven and probable reserves, substantially all expenditures at the Company’s Velardeña Properties for mine construction activity, as well as costs associated with the mill facilities, and for items that do not have a readily identifiable market value apart from the mineralized material, have been expensed as incurred. Such costs are charged to cost of metals sold or project expense during the period depending on the nature of the costs. Certain of the costs may be reflected in inventories prior to the sale of the product. The term “mineralized material” as used herein, although permissible under SEC Industry Guide 7, does not indicate “reserves” by SEC standards. The Company cannot be certain that any deposits at the Velardeña Properties or any other exploration property will ever be confirmed or converted into SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant “reserves”.

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 Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, and filed with the SEC on February 25, 2016.

The Company is a mining company, holding a 100% interest in the Velardeña and Chicago precious metals mining properties and associated oxide and sulfide processing plants in Mexico (the “Velardeña Properties”). During November 2015 the Company suspended mining and sulfide processing activities at its Velardeña Properties in order to conserve the asset until the Company is able to develop mining and processing plans that at then current prices for silver and gold indicate a sustainable positive operating margin (defined as revenues less costs of sales) or the Company is able to locate, acquire and develop alternative mineral sources that could be economically mined and transported to the Velardeña Properties for processing. The Company has placed the mine and sulfide processing plant on care and maintenance to enable a re-start of either the mine or mill when mining and processing plans and metals prices support a cash positive outlook. The Company incurred approximately $1.2 million in related shutdown costs for employee severance, net working capital obligations, and other shutdown expenditures to place the property on care and maintenance in the fourth quarter 2015 and $1.6 million in shutdown and care and maintenance costs for the nine months ended September 30, 2016 and expects to incur approximately $0.4 million in quarterly holding costs while mining and processing remain suspended. The Company has retained a core group of employees, most of whom have been assigned to operate the oxide plant, which is leased to a third party and not affected by the shutdown. The oxide plant began processing material for the third party in mid-December 2015, and the Company expects to receive net cash flow under the lease of approximately $4.5 million in 2016. The retained employees also include an exploration group and an operations and administrative group to continue to advance the Company’s plans in Mexico, oversee corporate compliance activities, and to maintain and safeguard the longer term value of the Velardeña assets.

The Company remains focused on evaluating and searching for mining opportunities in North America (including Mexico) with near term prospects of mining, and particularly for properties within reasonable haulage distances of our Velardeña Properties. The Company is also reviewing strategic opportunities, focusing primarily on development or operating properties in North America, including Mexico. The Company is continuing its exploration efforts on selected properties in its portfolio of approximately 10 exploration properties located primarily in Mexico. It continues to hold its El Quevar advanced exploration property in Argentina on care and maintenance until it can find a partner to further advance the project.

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 mineral reserves, as defined by SEC Industry Guide 7, at the Velardeña Properties, or any of the Company’s other properties. As a result, and in accordance with GAAP for exploration stage companies, all expenditures for exploration and evaluation of the Company’s properties are expensed as incurred. As such the Company’s financial statements may not be comparable to the financial statements of mining companies that do have proven and probable mineral reserves. Such companies would typically capitalize certain development costs including infrastructure development and mining activities to access the ore. The capitalized costs would be amortized on a units-of-production basis as reserves are mined. The amortized costs are typically allocated to inventory and eventually to cost of sales as the inventories are sold. As the Company does not have proven and probable reserves, substantially all expenditures at the Company’s Velardeña Properties for mine construction activity, as well as costs associated with the mill facilities, and for items that do not have a readily identifiable market value apart from the mineralized material, have been expensed as incurred. Such costs are charged to cost of metals sold or project expense during the period depending on the nature of the costs. Certain of the costs may be reflected in inventories prior to the sale of the product. The term “mineralized material” as used herein, although permissible under SEC Industry Guide 7, does not indicate “reserves” by SEC standards. The Company cannot be certain that any deposits at the Velardeña Properties or any other exploration property will ever be confirmed or converted into SEC Industry Guide 7 compliant “reserves”.