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Note 11 - Income Taxes
 12 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2021
Notes to Financial Statements  
Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]
11.
Income Taxes 
 
   
Year Ended June
30,
  
   
2021
    
2020
  
Income tax benefit at statutory tax rate   $
5,285,909
     $
(1,940,409
)
State tax benefit
    
2,829,625
      
(616,995
)
Return to provision    
(161,474
 )    
—
  
Permanent differences
    
472
      
(6,811
 )
Transaction costs    
73,182
      
 
  
Stock based compensation
    
77,910
      
(202,421
 )
Restricted stock shortfall    
162,750
      
—
  
Other valuation allowance
    
(6,966,500
 )    
2,361,794
  
Income tax provision/(benefit)
   $
1,301,874
     $
—
  
 
 
   
The provision for income taxes for the periods indicated below are comprised of the following:
 
   
Year
Ended June 30,
  
   
2021
    
2020
  
Current:
                
Federal
   $
915,234
     $
—
  
State
    
386,640
      
—
  
Total current income tax expense   $
1,301,874
     $
—
  
                 
Deferred:
                
Federal
   $
—
     $
—
  
State
    
—
      
—
  
Total deferred income tax expense   $
—
     $
—
  
 
The net deferred tax asset is comprised of the following:
 
   
Year Ended June
30,
  
   
2021
    
2020
  
Deferred tax asset:
                
Investment in the Joint Venture Company
   $
6,016,386
     $
7,143,550
  
State deferred tax assets
    
1,846,393
      
4,370,574
  
Stock option expenses
    
1,900,850
      
1,161,254
  
Net operating losses
    
—
      
4,054,750
  
Valuation allowance
    
(9,763,629
 )    
(16,730,128
)
Net deferred tax assets
   $
—
     $
—
  
 
 
On
December 22, 2017,
the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Act”) was enacted. Further guidance and clarifications continue to be issued regarding the regulations and provisions of the Act. The Company will continue to monitor these new regulations and analyze their applicability and impact on the Company.
 
On
March 27, 2020,
the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES” Act) was enacted which is aimed at providing emergency assistance due to the impact of the COVID-
19
pandemic. The CARES Act includes provisions related to refundable payroll tax credits, deferment of employer side social security payments, net operating loss carryback periods, alternative minimum tax credit refunds, modifications to the net interest deduction limitations and technical corrections to tax deprecation methods for qualified improvement property. The Company does
not
expect to be materially impacted by the CARES Act and does
not
anticipate the CARES Act to have a material effect on its ability to realize deferred tax assets with the exception of the relief from the
80%
limitation on some of its NOLs available to be utilized this year.
 
At each reporting period, we weigh all positive and negative evidence to determine whether our deferred tax assets are more likely than
not
to be realized. As a result of this analysis at
June 30, 2021,
we have determined a valuation allowance is necessary as we have a history of book and tax losses with the exception of
June 30, 2021,
we have
not
generated any revenue from mineral sales or operations and do
not
have any recurring sources of revenue. During fiscal year
2021,
we had a decrease in our valuation allowance of approximately
$7
million due to utilization of federal and Alaskan NOLs.
 
At the beginning of the tax year ending
June 30, 2021
we had U.S. federal NOLs of
$16.8
million and Alaskan NOLs of
$10.1
million. We estimate we will fully utilize all U.S. federal and Alaskan tax loss carry-forwards for the tax year ended
June 30, 2021
as a result of the income driven by the gain on the sale of the CORE JV Interest in connection with the Kinross Transactions.
 
Use of future NOLs
may
be limited if we undergo an ownership change. Generally, an ownership change occurs if certain persons or groups, increase their aggregate ownership in us by more than
50
percentage points looking back over a rolling
three
-year period. If an ownership change occurs, our ability to use our NOLs to reduce income taxes is limited to an annual amount, or the Section
382
limitation, equal to the fair market value of our common stock immediately prior to the ownership change multiplied by the long term tax-exempt interest rate, which is published monthly by the Internal Revenue Service. In the event of an ownership change, NOLs can be used to offset taxable income for years within a carry-forward period subject to the Section
382
limitation. The Company performed an evaluation as of
June 30, 2021.
From
June 30, 2020
to
June 30, 2021
there were
no
ownership changes under the meaning of Section
382.
  The Company experienced an ownership change on
March 22, 2013. 
Based upon the Company's determination of its annual limitation related to this ownership change, management believes that Section
382
should
not
otherwise limit the Company's ability to utilize its federal or state NOLs during their applicable carryforward periods.
 
We did
not
have any unrecognized tax benefits as of
June 30, 2021. 
The amount of unrecognized tax benefits
may
change in the next
twelve
months; however we do
not
expect the change to have a significant impact on our results of operations or our financial position. The Company's tax returns are subject to periodic audits by the various jurisdictions in which the Company operates.  These audits can result in adjustments of taxes due or adjustments of the NOL carryforwards that are available to offset future taxable income.  The Company's policy is to recognize estimated interest and penalties related to potential underpayment on any unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense in the Consolidated Statement of Operations.  The Company does
not
anticipate that the total unrecognized benefits will significantly change due to the settlement of audits and the expiration of the statute of limitations before
June 30, 2021.