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Significant accounting policies and change in accounting policy
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2012
Significant accounting policies and change in accounting policy
2. Significant accounting policies and change in accounting policy

 

The interim consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared by the Company, without audit, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) pursuant to Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“US GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such SEC rules and regulations, although the Company believes that the disclosures included are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. Certain reclassifications have been made to prior period financial statements to conform to the current period presentation.

 

In management’s opinion, the unaudited consolidated financial statements contained herein reflect all adjustments, consisting primarily of normal recurring items, which are necessary for the fair presentation of our financial position, results of operations, and cash flows on a basis consistent with that of our prior audited consolidated financial statements. However, the results of operations for interim periods may not be indicative of results to be expected for the full fiscal year. Therefore, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements including the notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2011 which may be found under the Company’s profile on SEDAR and EDGAR.

 

The accounting policies followed by the Company are set out in note 2 to the audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2011 and have been consistently followed in the preparation of these consolidated interim financial statements, with the exception of those policies outlined below:

 

Foreign Currency Transactions

 

Effective January 1, 2012, the Company changed the functional currency for its U.S. operations to the United States dollar and its reporting currency is the Canadian dollar.

 

The Company’s financial statements are translated from its U.S. functional currency, the United States dollars, to the reporting currency, Canadian dollars, using the current rate method. Assets and liabilities are translated using the current rate in effect at the balance sheet date and revenues and expenses are translated at the average rate for the period. Adjustments resulting from the translation, if any, are included in cumulative other comprehensive income (loss) in stockholders’ equity.  

 

Mineral Properties

 

The Company expenses all costs related to the maintenance and exploration of mineral properties in which it has secured rights prior to establishment of commercial feasibility. Mineral property acquisition costs are initially capitalized when incurred. The Company assesses the carrying cost for impairment under ASC 360-10 “Accounting for Impairment or Disposal of Long Lived Assets”. When it has been determined that a mineral property has been deemed economically feasible, the costs then incurred to develop such property and construct a mine are capitalized. The costs of construction and development will be amortized using either straight-line or the units-of-production method over the estimated life of the mine. If mineral properties are subsequently abandoned or impaired, any capitalized costs will be charged to operations.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

We evaluate the pronouncements of various authoritative accounting organizations, primarily the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), the SEC, and the Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”), to determine the impact of new pronouncements on US GAAP and the impact on the Company.

 

Recently Adopted Accounting Policies

 

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-04, which updated the guidance in ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement. The amendments in this update generally represent clarifications of Topic 820, but also include some instances where a particular principle or requirement for measuring fair value or disclosing information about fair value measurements has changed. This update results in common principles and requirements for measuring fair value and for disclosing information about fair value measurements in accordance with U.S. GAAP and IFRS. The amendments in this update are to be applied prospectively. This guidance became effective for the Company as of January 1, 2012. The adoption of this guidance did not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

 

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, which updated the guidance in ASC Topic 220, Comprehensive Income. Under the amendments in this update, an entity has the option to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. In both choices, an entity is required to present each component of net income along with total net income, each component of other comprehensive income along with a total for other comprehensive income, and a total amount for comprehensive income. This update eliminates the option to present the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in stockholders' equity. The amendments in this update do not change the items that must be reported in other comprehensive income or when an item of other comprehensive income must be reclassified to net income. This guidance became effective for the Company as of January 1, 2012.

 

In December of 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-12, which defers only those provisions within ASU 2011-05 pertaining to reclassification adjustments out of accumulated other comprehensive income. This guidance, except for those provisions deferred by ASU 2011-12, became effective for the Company as of the beginning January 1, 2012. The adoption of this guidance did not have an impact on our financial position or results of operations.