Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements and Nature of Operations

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2023

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 accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The interim condensed consolidated financial statements do not include all disclosures required by GAAP for annual financial statements, but in the opinion of management, include all adjustments necessary for a fair presentation. Certain prior period amounts may have been reclassified to conform to current classifications. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year; accordingly, 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, 2022, and filed with the SEC on March 22, 2023.

The Company is a mining company, holding a 100% interest in the Rodeo property in Durango State, Mexico (the “Rodeo Property”), a 100% interest in the Velardeña and Chicago precious metals mining properties and associated oxide and sulfide processing plants in the state of Durango, Mexico (the “Velardeña Properties”), a 100% interest in the El Quevar advanced exploration silver property in the province of Salta, Argentina, which is subject to the terms of the April 9, 2020 earn-in agreement (the “Earn-in Agreement”) pursuant to which Barrick Gold Corporation (“Barrick”) has the option to earn a 70% interest in the El Quevar project (see Note 9), and a diversified portfolio of precious metals and other mineral exploration properties located primarily in or near historical precious metals producing regions of Mexico, Argentina and Nevada. The Rodeo Property, Velardeña Properties, the Yoquivo property and the El Quevar advanced exploration property are the Company’s only material properties.

We are concluding mining operations at the Rodeo Property, and we are engaged in further studies of a potential restart plan for Velardeña. We continue to evaluate and search 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. We are also focused on advancing our Yoquivo exploration property in Mexico, and through the Earn-In Agreement with Barrick, our El Quevar exploration property in Argentina. We are advancing additional selected properties in our portfolio of approximately 12 properties, located in Mexico, Nevada and Argentina. We are reviewing strategic opportunities, focusing primarily on development or operating properties in North America, including Mexico.

The Company is considered an exploration stage issuer under the criteria set forth by the SEC under Regulation S-K subpart 1300 (“S-K 1300”) as the Company has not yet demonstrated the existence of mineral reserves at any of the Company’s properties. As a result, and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles 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 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 mineral reserves, substantially all expenditures at the Company’s Rodeo Property and the Velardeña Properties for mine construction activity, as well as operating 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 costs may be reflected in inventories prior to the sale of the product. The Company cannot be certain that any deposits at any of its properties will ever be confirmed or converted into S-K 1300 compliant “reserves”.