Basis of Presentation (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2018

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In November 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows: Restricted Cash, which will require that a statement of cash flows explain the change during a period in the total of cash, cash equivalents and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. As a result, amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents should be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. The ASU applies to all entities and is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted. Upon adopting ASU 2016-18, the Company has included the restricted cash amount in its beginning-of-period and end-of-period reconciliations of cash on its statement of cash flows and has removed restricted cash releases of $23,000 from the investing activities section of the cash flow statement for the nine months ended September 30, 2017.

In January 2017, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2017-01 (ASU 2017-01), Business Combinations: Clarifying the Definition of a Business, which clarifies the definition of a business when determining whether a company has acquired or sold a business. The ASU applies to all entities and is effective for annual periods ending after December 15, 2017, and interim periods thereafter, with early adoption permitted under certain circumstances. The Company utilized the updated “Definition of a Business” in ASC 805 for the Alabama Graphite acquisition and determined that the transaction should be recorded as an asset acquisition under ASC 360.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which requires lessees to recognize all leases, including operating leases, unless the lease is a short-term lease or a land lease for mineral properties. ASU 2016-02 also requires additional disclosures regarding leasing arrangements. ASU 2016-02 is effective for interim periods and fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and early application is permitted. Currently, the only affected leases the Company holds are for equipment, office space and storage space. The Company has gathered the necessary information for proper disclosure of the leases once the ASU is effective. The Company will continue to monitor any new leases to ensure that it has all the information necessary to handle the transition to the new standard and properly report the transactions. The Company does not anticipate the new standard will affect its net income materially but will result in additional fixed assets and the related lease liabilities.

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash as reported within the consolidated balance sheet that sum to the total of the same such amounts shown in the statement of cash flows.

	As of September 30,
(thousands of dollars)		2018		2017
Cash and cash equivalents	$	1,366	$	7,496
Restricted cash - pledged deposits for performance bonds		3,668		3,668
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the statement of cash flows	$	5,034	$	11,164

Funds deposited by the Company for collateralization of performance obligations are not available for the payment of general corporate obligations and are not included in cash equivalents. Restricted cash consists of pledged certificates of deposit and money market accounts. The bonds are collateralized performance bonds required for future restoration and reclamation obligations related to the Company’s South Texas production properties.

Notes Receivable

Notes Receivable

These assets are non-derivative financial assets with fixed or determinable payments that are not quoted in an active market. Assets with lives beyond one year are carried at amortized cost using the effective interest method less any provision for impairment. Assets with lives under a year are undiscounted and carried at full cost. Management monitors these assets for credit quality and recoverability on a quarterly basis, including the value of any collateral. If the value of the collateral, less selling or recovery costs, exceeds the recorded investment in the asset, no impairment costs would be recorded.