SEC Company Response from Comstock Inc. (LODE) (CIK 0001120970) (LODE) — Nov 21, 2008
Comstock Inc. (LODE) (CIK 0001120970)
Date: Nov. 21, 2008 · CIK: 0001120970 · Accession: 0001144204-08-066237
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File numbers found in text: 000-32429
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CORRESP
1
filename1.htm
Unassociated Document
November
21, 2008
VIA
EDGAR
AND TELEFAX
(202)
772-9210
Jill
S.
Davis
Branch
Chief
United
States Securities and Exchange Commission
Washington,
D.C. 20549
Mailstop
7010
Re:
Goldspring,
Inc.
Form
10-KSB for Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2007
Filed
April 11, 2008
Form
10-Q
for Fiscal Quarter Ended June 30, 2008
Filed
August 8, 2008
File
No.
000-32429
Dear
Ms.
Davis:
We
are in
receipt of your letter to us, dated September 30, 2008, regarding the Form
10-KSB we filed on April 11, 2008 (the “10-KSB”) and the Form 10-Q we filed on
August 8, 2008. We thank you for taking the time to review the filing and
providing your comments. Your input is invaluable to us in our efforts to fully
comply with SEC regulations and also to improve the quality of our disclosure
documents.
In
order
to fully respond to your letter, we have repeated your comments (bolded) below
followed by our responses.
Form
10-KSB for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2007
Management’s
Discussion and Analysis, page 17
1. Please
tell us and expand your disclosure to explain why the line item titled
“Reclamation, exploration and test mining expenses” reflected a negative balance
of $197,356 for the quarter ended December 31, 2007, as required by Item 307
of
Regulation S-B, or otherwise advise. Please expand your disclosure to include
the required disclosure under Item 307 of Regulation S-B.
On
April
11, 2006, in the First Judicial District Court, Storey County, Nevada, wherein
N.A. Degerstrom, Inc. (“Degerstrom”) sued the Company on various counts,
including breach of contract, quantum
merit,
foreclosure of mechanic's lien, and assertion that the Degerstrom lien has
priority over all other liens on the Plum Mine property. The plaintiff claimed
damages in excess of $806,000 plus interest. The litigation was settled in
early
December 2007. Under the settlement agreement, GoldSpring paid Degerstrom
$250,000 and both parties agree to dismiss their claims against the other.
The
agreement was subject to GoldSpring remitting $100,000 by December 11, 2007
and
the balance of $150,000 by January 31, 2008. The Company made the final payment
on January 31, 2008. In December 2007, obligations to N.A. Degerstrom were
adjusted to reflect the settlement amount resulting in a reduction in accrued
contract mining liabilities of approximately $500,000.
GoldSpring,
Inc P.O. Box 1118 ~ Virginia City, NV 89440 ~ T: 775.847.5272 F:
775.847.4762
www.goldspring.us
We
have
expanded our disclosure to comply with Item 307 of Regulation S-B.
Controls
and Procedures, page 26
2.
Please confirm, if true, that you inadvertently excluded your management’s
conclusion as to the effectiveness of your disclosure controls and procedures
as
of December 31, 2007, as required by Item 307 of Regulation S-B, or otherwise
advise. Please expand your disclosure to include the required disclosure under
Item 307 of Regulation S-B.
I
confirm
that the exclusion was inadvertent. The disclosure is accordingly expanded
in
the Amendment No. 1 to Form 10-KSB being filed in connection
herewith.
Management’s
Annual Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting, page
26
3.
Please include a statement identifying the framework used by management to
evaluate the effectiveness of your internal control over financial reporting
as
required by Item 308(a)(2) of Regulation S-B.
The
framework used was the
criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway
Commission (COSO) in Internal
Control - Integrated Framework and
Internal
Control over Financial Reporting-Guidance for Smaller Public Companies.
This
has
been so disclosed in the Amendment No. 1 to Form 10-KSB being filed in
connection herewith.
4.
Please tell us what you mean by the following statement, “Except as stated
below, Management’s assessment of the effectiveness of the small business
issuer’s internal control over financial reporting is as of the year ended
December 31, 2007.” In this regard and in accordance with Item 308(a)(3) of
Regulation S-B, management is required to include a statement as to whether
or
not internal control over financial reporting is effective as of the end of
the
most recent fiscal year. Please confirm, if true, that your assessment under
Item 308(a)(3) of Regulation S-B was made as of December 31, 2007 or otherwise
advise. In addition, please modify your disclosure to comply with the referenced
guidance, as appropriate.
The
“except as stated below” reference is inadvertent. I confirm that our assessment
under Item 308(a)(3) of Regulation S-B was made as of December 31,
2007.
5. We
note your disclosure regarding the remedial measures you initiated and planned
to undertake to address the significant deficiencies in your internal control
over financial reporting. Please expand your disclosure here and in your
quarterly report for the quarter ended June 30, 2008 to address whether there
is
an established timeline for implementing such remedial measures. In addition,
please expand your disclosure in your annual report and quarterly report to
provide quantitative information regarding the cost of the remedial actions
you
have identified.
During
the quarter ended September 30, 2008, we authorized the establishment of an
audit committee which we expect to occur on or about January 1, 2009. The
proposed committee will be composed of three board members, two of which can
be
considered independent board members and a “financial
expert”.
The audit
committee intends to develop an audit committee charter, within the next six
months. To further enhance the effectiveness of our financial reporting,
we have engaged the services of ProLianze Group, LLC to assist management in
the
preparation and review of its quarterly and annual public filings.
ProLianze Group provides consulting services to supplement the accounting and
financial capabilities of smaller public companies. We estimate the annual
cost of these remedial actions which include compensation, fees, additional
insurance, board meetings, travel and record keeping costs to be approximately
$60,000.
Executive
Compensation, page 28
Stock
Options, page 28
6.
Please update the disclosure under this heading to indicate whether you issued
any stock options during fiscal year 2007.
The
disclosure was updated to read: We
granted stock options to an officer in 2007. There were shares of common stock
underlying unexercised stock options at December 31, 2007. This information
is
summarized herein below.
.
7.
Based upon your disclosure on page 30, we note that Mr. Faber has outstanding
vested stock options. However, we are unable to locate any of the required
disclosures under paragraphs 64 and A240 and 241 of FAS 123R. Please expand
your
footnotes to the financial statements accordingly or otherwise advise how you
have complied with the disclosure requirements under FAS
123R.
Although
Mr. Faber’s Employment Agreement calls for a stock option grant of 80,000,000,
it does not specify the date the Company would make the grant. The Company
granted Mr. Faber the 80,000,000 share options in January 2008 and thus the
footnotes are accurate. Furthermore, we deemed the grant not to be material
and
thus did not include it as a subsequent event.
Consolidated
Balance Sheet, pages F-3 and F-4
8.
Please
tell us and include disclosure within your footnotes and your management’s
discussion and analysis to explain the nature of the line items “Other -
embedded derivative” totaling $906,989 and “Derivative liability” totaling
$776,385 as of December 31, 2007 and the accounting guidance your
are
relying on in support of your
presentation.
We
will
add the following comments to our MD&A discussion:
“Other
-
embedded derivatives” totaling $906,989 at December 31, 2007 represents the net
debt discount resulting from the original determination of the fair value of
the
conversion feature (embedded derivative) included in the debt, net of periodic
amortizations of interest expense.
“Derivative
liability” totaling $776,385 at December 31, 2007 represents the fair value of
warrants and the conversion features (embedded derivatives).
Consolidated
Statements of Operations, page F-5
9.
Please
explain to us why you have not reflected the change in the fair value
of
your derivatives in your determination of net loss for the year ended
December 31, 2007.
We
are
aware that derivatives, by their nature, are estimates of the Company’s
potential liability for the issuance of common shares in the future. During
the
end of 2007, we were engaged in financing negotiations that would essentially
establish a fixed conversation price for the convertible notes. The results
of
the financing negotiations occurred in the first quarter of 2008 and were
recorded in the second quarter of 2008. In negotiating additional financing,
a
favorable conversion rate was established. That favorable rate with a new lender
triggered “favored nations” clauses in all our convertible debentures, which
ultimately resulted in the elimination of all legacy amounts reflected as “Other
- embedded derivatives” and “Derivative liability” as of June 30, 2008.
We
evaluated the fair value of the “Derivative liability” at December 31, 2007 and
concluded, based in part on our estimates of their changes in fair value and
in
part on our knowledge that the completion of the financing negotiations in
progress regarding conversion pricing would most likely change the nature and
the character of the amounts recorded. We further concluded that to record
any
changes in fair value in 2007 would not be meaningful when considering the
upcoming changes and when compared to our $17.2 million stockholders’ deficit at
December 31, 2007 and our $4.1 million net loss for the year then ended.
Note
3 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, page
F-8
Revenue
recognition, page F-9
10.
It
appears from your disclosure that you have sales contracts that include
provisional pricing mechanisms. Please confirm, if true, that these contracts
are accounted for as embedded derivative instruments under FAS 133 or otherwise
advise. If applicable, please expand your disclosure to provide further detail
as to the nature of the pricing arrangements and your accounting for the
arrangements as embedded derivatives. Refer to Topic VII of the September 25,
2002 AICPA SEC Regulations Committee meeting highlights, at the following
website address:
Our
sales
contract with the refiner, Johnson-Matthey, does not include pricing mechanisms.
All sales are based on the quantity of metals delivered and the value of the
metals at the time of sale.
Reclamation
Liabilities and Asset Retirement Obligations, page
F-11
11.
We note your statement that “Since we do not yet have proven or probable
reserves as defined by Industry Guide 7, and in accordance with SFAS No. 143
our
asset retirement obligation was expensed directly as a reclamation expense.”
Please confirm, if true, that the fair value of the liability of your asset
retirement obligations, determined in accordance with 8 of FAS 143, are reported
in your balance sheet as of December 31, 2007, or otherwise advise, In this
regard, we note your statement on page F-15 that you have recorded a liability
to reflect your obligation to reclaim the Plum Mine facility and that “Costs of
future expenditures for environmental remediation are not discounted to their
present value unless subject to a contractually obligated fixed payment
schedule;” and that such “costs are based on management’s current estimate of
amounts expected to be incurred when the remediation work in performed within
current laws and regulations.”
It
is
true, that the fair value of the liability of our asset retirement obligations,
determined in accordance FAS 143, are reported on our balance sheet as of
December 31, 2007.
Earnings
per Common Share, page F-11
12.
We note your disclosure that “For the years ended December 31, 2007 and 2006, we
had net losses for which the affect of common stock equivalents would be
anti-dilutive. Accordingly on basis and dilutive loss per share is presented.”
Please expand your disclosure to include the number of shares that were
considered anti-dilutive for purposes of calculating diluted EPS, in accordance
with paragraph 40(c) of FAS 128.
Our
disclosure has been updated to include a summary of all securities that could
potentially dilute basic EPS in the future that were not included in the
computation of diluted EPS because to do so would have been anti-dilutive for
the periods presented.
Note
8 - Convertible Debentures and Notes Payable, page
F-16
General
13.
It appears from your disclosure of the terms of the various outstanding
convertible debentures and notes payable that certain of these instruments
may
contain embedded conversion features requiring bifurcation from the host
contract. Please tell us and disclose how you have considered and applied the
accounting guidance of FAS 133 and EITF 00-19, as applicable, for each of your
outstanding convertible debentures and notes payable with embedded conversion
features. As part of your response, please provide a detailed summary schedule,
by outstanding instrument, to aid our understanding of your accounting and
disclosure for the periods ended as of December 31, 2007 and June 30, 2008.
For
further guidance on this topic, please refer to Item II.B. of the Current
Accounting and Disclosure Issues in the division of Corporation Financing
concerning the classification and measurement of warrants and embedded
conversion features, located on our website at the following address:
http://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/dfacctdisclosureissues.pdf
We
are
providing the following information in response to your request.
Goldspring
, Inc.
Schedule
of Convertible Debentures
December