NOTE 2 - Summary of Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("U.S. GAAP").

Basis of Consolidation

As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, these consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and the following wholly owned subsidiaries: DTRC, LLC (formed in the U.S.), JR Resources (Canada) Services Corp. (incorporated in Canada), Dakota Gold Holdings LLC (formed in the U.S.) and Dakota Gold (Canada) Services Corp. (incorporated in Canada).

All intercompany accounts and transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries have been eliminated upon consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Significant items subject to such estimates include valuation of performance share units. The Company bases its estimates and assumptions on current facts, historical experience and various other factors that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments. The actual results experienced by the Company may differ materially and adversely from the Company’s estimates. To the extent there are material differences between estimates and the actual results, future results of operations will be affected.

Functional Currency

The financial position and results of operations of the Company's Canadian subsidiaries are measured using the U.S. dollar as the functional currency. Accordingly, there is no translation gain or loss associated with these operations. Transaction gains and losses related to foreign currency monetary assets and liabilities where the functional currency is the U.S. dollar are remeasured at current exchange rates and the resulting adjustments are included in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less, when purchased, to be cash and cash equivalents. Cash equivalents consist of U.S. treasury bills. The Company is exposed to credit risk from its deposits of cash and cash equivalents in excess of amounts insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The Company has not experienced any losses on its deposits of cash and cash equivalents.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment consist primarily of land, buildings, office furniture and equipment, and are recorded at cost less depreciation and depletion and accumulated impairment losses, if any. Expenditures related to acquiring or extending the useful life of property and equipment are capitalized. Expenditures for repair and maintenance are charged to operations as incurred. The cost of self-constructed assets includes the cost of materials and direct labor. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over an asset's estimated useful life as follows:

Category	Useful Life
Building	39 years
Furniture and equipment	3 to 5 years
Right-of-use assets	2 to 5 years

Leases

The Company determines if a contractual arrangement represents or contains a lease at inception. Right-of-use ("ROU") assets associated with operating leases are grouped with property and equipment on the consolidated balance sheet. The Company currently has no finance leases.

ROU assets and lease liabilities that extend beyond one year at inception are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the present value of the future lease payments over the lease term. When the rate implicit to the lease cannot be readily determined, an incremental borrowing rate is estimated in determining the present value of the future lease payments. The incremental borrowing rate is derived from information available at the lease commencement date and represents the rate of interest that a lessee would have to pay to borrow an amount equal to the lease payments on a collateralized basis over a similar term in a similar economic environment. Operating lease ROU assets and liabilities also include any cumulative prepaid or accrued rent when the lease payments are uneven throughout the lease term. The ROU assets and lease liabilities may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that we will exercise that option. We have elected not to recognize ROU assets and lease liabilities for short-term leases that have a lease term of 12 months or less.

Mineral Rights and Properties

All exploration expenditures are expensed as incurred. Costs of acquisition and option costs of mineral rights are capitalized upon acquisition. Mine development costs incurred to develop new ore deposits, to expand the capacity of mines, or to develop mine areas substantially in advance of current production will be capitalized once proven and probable reserves exist and the property is a commercially mineable property. There has been no mine development to date.

The Company assesses the possibility of impairment of the carrying value of its long-lived assets (property and equipment and mineral rights and properties) whenever events or circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of the asset or assets group may not be recoverable. There were no indicators of impairment identified during the years ended December 31, 2024 or 2023.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value accounting establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements).

The three levels of inputs used to measure fair value are described below:

Level 1: Observable inputs that reflect unadjusted quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities traded in active markets.
Level 2: Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly.
Level 3: Inputs that are generally unobservable. These inputs may be used with internally developed methodologies that result in management's best estimate of fair value.

The Company's financial instruments consist principally of cash and cash equivalents and accounts payable. The carrying amounts of such financial instruments in the accompanying consolidated financial statements approximate their fair values due to their relatively short-term nature, or the underlying terms are consistent with market terms.

Concentration of Credit Risk

The financial instrument which potentially subjects the Company to credit risk is cash and cash equivalents. The Company holds its cash in U.S. and Canadian banks and United States treasury bills with a Canadian financial institution, and the risk of default is considered to be remote. As part of its cash management process, the Company regularly monitors the relative credit standing of this institution.

Environmental Costs

Environmental expenditures that relate to current operations are expensed as incurred. Expenditures that relate to an existing condition caused by past operations, and which do not contribute to current or future revenue, generally are expensed. Liabilities are recorded when environmental assessments and/or remedial efforts are probable and the cost can be reasonably estimated. Generally, the timing of these accruals coincides with the earlier of the completion of a feasibility study or the Company's commitment to a plan of action based on the then known facts.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are computed using the liability method. Under this method, deferred income tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between the financial reporting and tax basis of assets and liabilities and are measured using the currently enacted tax rates and laws. A valuation allowance is provided for the amount of deferred tax assets that, based on available evidence, are not expected to be realized.

The Company recognizes and measures a tax benefit from uncertain tax positions when it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The Company recognizes a liability for unrecognized tax benefits resulting from uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. The Company adjusts these liabilities when its judgment changes as a result of the evaluation of new information not previously available. Due to the complexity of some of these uncertainties, the ultimate resolution may result in a payment that is materially different from the current estimate or future recognition of an unrecognized tax benefit. These differences will be reflected as increases or decreases to income tax expense in the period in which they are determined.

The Company recognizes interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax positions within the income tax expense line in the statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Basic and Diluted Earnings (Loss) Per Share

Basic earnings (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) available to common stockholders, by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period, excluding the effects of any potentially dilutive securities. Diluted earnings (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) available to common stockholders by the diluted weighted average number of shares of common stock during the period. The diluted weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding is the basic weighted number of shares adjusted for the dilutive effect of potential future issuances of common stock related to outstanding options and warrants, if any.

The dilutive effect of outstanding options and warrants is reflected in diluted earnings per share by application of the treasury stock method. The effect of the Company's outstanding options and warrants were excluded for both the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, because they were anti-dilutive.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company estimates the fair value of stock-based compensation using Black-Scholes and Monte Carlo valuation models. Key inputs and assumptions used to estimate the fair value of stock options include the grant price of the award, the expected option term, volatility of our stock, the risk-free rate, and dividend yield. Estimates of fair value are not intended to predict actual future events, or the value ultimately realized by the option holders, and subsequent events are not indicative of the reasonableness of the original estimates of fair value made by the Company. The Company recognizes forfeitures when incurred. The Company estimates the expected term for all options using the simplified method permitted. This method was used as the Company does not have sufficient historical share option exercise experience to provide a more reliable estimate of expected term. The simplified method calculates the expected term as the average of the vesting period and the original contractual term.

Deferred Offering Costs

The Company capitalizes costs directly associated with equity financings until such financings are consummated, at which time such costs are recorded in additional paid-in capital against the gross proceeds of the equity financings. Costs associated with the prospectus supplement to the shelf registration statement on Form S-3 filed for the ATM Program with the SEC on July 15, 2022 and renewed on December 10, 2024, have been capitalized and will be reclassified to additional paid-in capital on a pro rata basis when the Company completes offerings under the shelf registration. Any remaining unamortized costs will be expensed immediately should the Company terminate the ATM Program prior to raising the full $50 million.

During the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, ATM Program-related legal and consulting fees totaling approximately $0.25 million and $0.07 million, respectively, had been incurred. During the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, ATM Program-related legal and consulting fees totaling approximately $0.25 million and $0.18 million, respectively, were offset against proceeds from the ATM Program in additional paid-in capital. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, there was approximately $0.25 million and $0.25 million, respectively, of such costs deferred and included in other assets on the consolidated balance sheets.

Royalty Liability

The Company’s royalty agreements represent the sale of future revenues and management further assesses whether they should be accounted for as debt or deferred revenue. For royalty agreements accounted for as debt, the Company initially records the debt at fair value and subsequently records the debt at amortized cost. The Company accrues interest on the debt using the effective interest method, using the estimated expected future payments.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In November 2024, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standard Update ("ASU") No. 2024-03, Income Statement Reporting Comprehensive Income - Expense Disaggregation Disclosures (Subtopic 220-40): Disaggregation of Income Statement Expenses. This ASU requires an entity to disclose the amounts of purchases of inventory, employee compensation, depreciation, and intangible asset amortization included in each relevant expense caption. It also requires an entity to include certain amounts that are already required to be disclosed under current GAAP in the same disclosure. Additionally, it requires an entity to disclose a qualitative description of the amounts remaining in relevant expense captions that are not separately disaggregated quantitatively, and to disclose the total amount of selling expenses and, in annual reporting periods, an entity's definition of selling expenses. The amendments in the ASU are effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2026 and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2027, with early adoption permitted. We are currently evaluating the potential effect that the updated standard will have on our financial statement disclosures.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures to expand the disclosure requirements for income taxes, specifically related to the rate reconciliation and income taxes paid. ASU 2023-09 is effective for our annual periods beginning January 1, 2025, with early adoption permitted. We will adopt this ASU prospectively for the period ending December 31, 2025, and are still evaluating impacts to our disclosures.

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures which expands annual and interim disclosure requirements for reportable segments, primarily through enhanced disclosures about significant segment expenses. ASU 2023-07 is effective for our annual periods beginning January 1, 2024, and for interim periods beginning January 1, 2025, with early adoption permitted. We adopted this standard in the current year.