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STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Share-based Payment Arrangement [Abstract]  
STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION
Stock Incentive Plans
In March 2021, our Board adopted, in connection with the planned Redomiciliation, the Piedmont Lithium Inc. Stock Incentive Plan (“Incentive Plan”). A total of 3,000,000 shares of common stock are reserved for issuance under the Incentive Plan. The Incentive Plan authorized the grant of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units and restricted stock, any of which may be performance-based. Our Compensation Committee determines the exercise price for stock options and the base price of stock appreciation rights, which may not be less than the fair market value of our common stock on the date of grant. Generally, stock options or stock appreciation rights vest after three years of service and expire at the end of ten years. Performance rights awards (“PRAs”) vest if we achieve certain pre-established performance targets that are based on specified performance criteria over a performance period. As of December 31, 2021, 2,702,507 shares of common stock were available for issuance under our Incentive Plan.
We include the expense related to stock-based compensation in the same financial statement line item as cash compensation paid to the same employee. Stock-based compensation expense related to all stock-based incentive plans is included in our consolidated statements of operations as follows:
Six Months Ended
December 31, 2021		Years Ended June 30,
202120202019
Exploration and mine development costs$687,695 $495,031 $171,151 $85,450 
General and administrative expenses1,315,421 824,341 299,788 352,925 
Total stock-based compensation expense(1)
$2,003,116 $1,319,372 $470,939 $438,375 
__________________________
(1)For the six months ended December 31, 2021 and the years ended June 30, 2021, 2020 and 2019, we did not reflect a tax benefit associated with stock-based compensation expense in the consolidated statements of operations because we had a full tax valuation allowance during these periods. As such, the table above does not reflect the tax impacts of stock-based compensation expense.

Stock Option Awards

Stock options may be granted to employees, officers, non-employee directors and other service providers. Stock Options granted are equal to the market value of the underlying common stock on the date of grant. We use the Black-Scholes valuation model to measure stock-based compensation expense associated with stock options as of each respective grant date. As of December 31, 2021, we had remaining unvested stock-based compensation expense of $2,458,487 to be recognized through June 2024.
Stock option award activity is presented in the following table:
SharesWeighted-Average Exercise Price
(per share)		Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Term
(in years)		Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding at June 30, 2018797,000 $9.47 
Options granted49,500 16.45 
Outstanding at June 30, 2019846,500 13.77 
Options granted259,500 16.15 
Options exercised or surrendered(315,000)7.71 
Options expired(254,750)17.13 
Outstanding at June 30, 2020536,250 16.88 
Options granted135,004 35.14 
Options exercised or surrendered(15,000)12.38 
Options expired(263,750)15.97 
Outstanding at June 30, 2021392,504 21.16 
Options exercised or surrendered(120,000)13.93 
Outstanding at December 31, 2021272,504 24.34 2.2$28.12 
Vested at December 31, 2021175,501 18.01 1.534.45 
The following assumptions were used to estimate the fair value of stock options granted during the periods presented below:
Years Ended June 30,
202120202019
Expected life of options (in years)
5.3 - 6.3
2.7 - 2.8
1.2 - 3.2
Risk-free interest rate
0.9% - 1.2%
0.3% - 0.5%
1.4% - 2.0%
Assumed volatility50%70%
75% - 85%
Expected dividend rate0%0%0%

There were no stock options granted during the six months ended December 31, 2021.

Restricted Stock Unit Awards
Restricted stock units (“RSUs”) are granted to employees and non-employee directors based on the market price of our common stock on the grant date and recognized in stock-based compensation expense over the vesting period, subject to the passage of time and continued service during the vesting period. In some instances, awards may vest concurrently with or following an employee’s termination.
RSUs were first granted to employees and non-employee directors in May 2021. A summary of our RSU activity is presented in the following table:
SharesWeighted-Average
Grant-Date Fair Value
(per share)
Unvested at June 30, 2020— $— 
RSUs granted36,745 64.08 
Unvested at June 30, 202136,745 64.08 
RSUs granted14,532 59.17 
Unvested at December 31, 202151,277 62.69 
Performance Rights Awards
The fair value of PRAs is estimated at the date of grant based on the underlying share price (being the seven-day volume weighted-average share price prior to issuance). PRAs are subject to milestones and the performance conditions must be satisfied in order for the PRAs to vest. Each performance right automatically converts into one share of common stock upon vesting of the performance right. Upon vesting of PRAs, common stock is automatically issued for no consideration. The performance right will expire if a performance condition of a performance right is not achieved by the expiry date.
The activity under our PRAs is reflected in the following table:
SharesWeighted-Average
Grant-Date Fair Value
(per share)
Unvested at June 30, 201815,000 $5.41 
PRAs vested(3,500)5.41 
PRAs forfeited(11,000)5.41 
Unvested at June 30, 2019500 5.41 
PRAs granted75,000 4.51 
PRAs vested(25,000)4.51 
PRAs forfeited(500)5.41 
Unvested at June 30, 202050,000 5.20 
PRAs granted10,000 6.50 
Unvested at June 30, 202160,000 5.42 
PRAs vested(25,000)5.20 
PRAs forfeited(5,000)6.50 
Unvested at December 31, 202130,000 5.42 
As of December 31, 2021, the remaining 30,000 outstanding PRAs were subject to completing certain construction milestones which expire December 31, 2022.