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Note 1 - Organization and Business | 12 Months Ended
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Dec. 31, 2024
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract] |
Organization and Business | 1. Organization and Business Contango ORE, Inc. (“CORE” or the “Company”) was formed on September 1, 2010 as a Delaware corporation for the purpose of engaging in the exploration for and development of gold ore and associated minerals in the State of Alaska. On January 8, 2015, CORE Alaska, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (“CORE Alaska”), and a subsidiary of Royal Gold, Inc. (“Royal Gold”) formed Peak Gold, LLC (the “Peak Gold JV”). On September 30, 2020, CORE Alaska sold a 30.0% membership interest in the Peak Gold JV to KG Mining (Alaska), Inc. (“KG Mining”), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Kinross Gold Corporation (“Kinross”), a large gold producer with a diverse global portfolio and extensive operating experience in Alaska. The sale is referred to herein as the “CORE Transactions”. Concurrently with the CORE Transactions, KG Mining, in a separate transaction, acquired 100% of the equity of Royal Alaska, LLC from Royal Gold, which held Royal Gold’s 40.0% membership interest in the Peak Gold JV (the “Royal Gold Transactions” and, together with the CORE Transactions, the “Kinross Transactions”). After the consummation of the Kinross Transactions, CORE Alaska retained a 30.0% membership interest in the Peak Gold JV. KG Mining now holds a 70.0% membership interest in the Peak Gold JV and Kinross serves as the manager of the Peak Gold JV and operator of the Manh Choh (as defined below) mines. The Company conducts its business through the below primary means: • its 30.0% membership interest in Peak Gold JV, which leases approximately 675,000 acres from the Tetlin Tribal Council and holds approximately 13,000 additional acres of State of Alaska mining claims (such combined acreage, the “Peak Gold JV Property”) for exploration and development, including in connection with the Peak Gold JV’s production from the Main and North Manh Choh deposits within the Peak Gold JV Property (“Manh Choh” or the “Manh Choh Project”); • its wholly-owned subsidiary, Contango Mining Canada Inc., a corporation organized under the laws of British Columbia (“Contango Mining Canada”), which holds the Company’s 100% equity interest in HighGold Mining Inc., a corporation existing under the laws of the Province of British Columbia (“HighGold”). HighGold holds the Company’s 100% equity interest in JT Mining, Inc., which leases for exploration the mineral rights to approximately 21,000 acres (“Johnson Tract” or the “Johnson Tract Project”), located near tidewater, 125 miles southwest of Anchorage, Alaska, from Cook Inlet Region, Inc. (“CIRI”), one of 12 land-based Alaska Native regional corporations created by the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971; • its wholly-owned subsidiary, Contango Lucky Shot Alaska, LLC ("LSA") (formerly Alaska Gold Torrent, LLC), an Alaska limited liability company, which leases for exploration the mineral rights to approximately 8,600 acres of State of Alaska and patented mining claims ("Lucky Shot" or the "Lucky Shot Property"), located in the Willow Mining District about 75 miles north of Anchorage, Alaska, from Alaska Hard Rock, Inc.; • its wholly-owned subsidiary, Contango Minerals Alaska, LLC (“Contango Minerals”), which separately controls the mineral rights to approximately 145,280 acres of State of Alaska mining claims for exploration, including (i) approximately 69,780 acres located immediately northwest of the Peak Gold JV Property (the “Eagle/Hona Property”), (ii) approximately 14,800 acres located northeast of the Peak Gold JV Property (the “Triple Z Property”), (iii) approximately 52,700 acres of new property in the Richardson district of Alaska (the “Shamrock Property”) and (iv) approximately 8,000 acres located to the north and east of the Lucky Shot Property (the “Willow Property” and, together with the Eagle/Hona Property, the Triple Z Property, and the Shamrock Property, collectively the “Minerals Property”); and • its wholly-owned subsidiary, Avidian Gold Alaska Inc., an Alaskan corporation (“Avidian Alaska”), which separately controls the mineral rights to approximately 11,711 acres of State of Alaska mining claims and upland mining leases for exploration, including (i) approximately 1,021 (the "Amanita NE Property") acres located in the Fairbanks Mining District approximately three miles east of the Fort Knox Gold Mine and 20 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska, and (ii) approximately 10,690 acres (the "Golden Zone Property") located in the Valdez Creek Mining District on the eastern edge of the Alaska Range, located, approximately 150 miles southwest of Fairbanks, Alaska, along the George Parks Highway; and which leases for exploration the mineral rights to approximately 3,380 acres of State of Alaska mining claims, leasehold locations and an upland mining lease, located in the Fairbanks Mining District approximately five miles southwest of the Fort Knox Gold Mine and about 10 miles north of Fairbanks, Alaska (the “Amanita Property, and together with the Amanita NE Property and the Golden Zone Property, collectively the “Avidian Properties”). The Johnson Tract Project, Lucky Shot Property, Minerals Property and Avidian Properties are collectively referred to in these Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements as the “Contango Properties”. The Company’s Manh Choh Project is in the production stage, while all other projects are in the exploration stage. On November 14 2023, the Company’s board of directors approved a change in the Company’s fiscal year end from June 30 to December 31, effective as of December 31, 2023. This decision was made to better align the Company's reporting period with the Peak Gold JV and its peer companies. As a result, the Company issued a Form 10-K transition report which included financial information for the transition period from July 1, 2023, through December 31, 2023. In the Transition Report on Form 10-K (“Transition Report”), we included financial results for the six months ended December 31, 2023, which were audited, compared to the financial results for the six months ended December 31, 2022, which are unaudited. The Company has been involved, directly and through the Peak Gold JV, in exploration on the Manh Choh Project since 2010, which has resulted in identifying two mineral deposits (Main and North Manh Choh) and several other gold, silver, and copper prospects. The other 70.0% membership interest in the Peak Gold JV is owned by KG Mining. Kinross is a large gold producer with a diverse global portfolio and extensive operating experience in Alaska. The Peak Gold JV is mining ore from the Main and North Manh Choh deposits and processing the ore at the existing Fort Knox mining and milling complex located approximately 240 miles (400 kilometers) away. The Peak Gold JV has entered into an Ore Haul Agreement with Black Gold Transport, located in North Pole, Alaska to transport the run-of-mine ore from the Manh Choh Project to the Fort Knox facilities. Peak Gold JV has also entered into a contract with Kiewit Mining Group to provide contract mining and site preparation work at the Manh Choh Project. The Peak Gold JV is charged a toll for using the Fort Knox facilities pursuant to a toll milling agreement by and between the Peak Gold JV and Fairbanks Gold Mining, Inc., which was entered into and became effective on April 14, 2023. Kinross released a combined feasibility study for the Fort Knox mill and the Peak Gold JV in July 2022. Also, in July 2022, Kinross announced that its board of directors (the “Kinross Board”) made a decision to proceed with development of the Manh Choh Project. Effective December 31, 2022, CORE Alaska, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (“CORE Alaska”), KG Mining, and the Peak Gold JV executed the First Amendment to the Amended and Restated Limited Liability Company Agreement of the Peak Gold JV (as amended, the “A&R JV LLCA”). The First Amendment to the A&R JV LLCA provides that, beginning in 2023, the Company may fund its quarterly scheduled cash calls on a monthly basis. The Peak Gold JV management committee (the “JV Management Committee”) approved budgets for 2023 and 2024, with cash calls totaling approximately to $248.1 million, of which the Company’s share was approximately $74.5 million. In July 2024, the Company had to contribute an unbudgeted additional cash call for $4.1 million. As of December 31, 2024, the Company has funded $78.6 million towards the cash calls and no future cash calls are anticipated.

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