Dakota Gold Corp (DC) Risk Analysis

Our exploration and development activities depend upon adequate infrastructure. Reliable roads, bridges, power sources and water supply are important factors which affect capital and operating costs. Climate change or unusual or infrequent weather phenomena, sabotage, government or other interference in the maintenance or provision of such infrastructure could adversely affect our exploration activities and financial condition.

Natural resource exploration and exploring for gold and silver, in particular, is a business that by its nature is very speculative. Although the properties on which we have the right to explore for minerals are known to have historic deposits of gold or silver, there can be no assurance such deposits can be mined at a profit. Whether a gold or silver deposit can be mined at a profit depends upon many factors. Some but not all of these factors include: the particular attributes of the deposit, such as size, grade and proximity to infrastructure; operating costs including labor and technology costs and capital expenditures required to start mining a deposit; the availability and cost of financing; the price of gold and silver, which is highly volatile and cyclical; and government regulations, including regulations relating to prices, taxes, royalties, land use, importing and exporting of minerals and environmental protection.

The business of exploring for and extracting minerals and metals involves a high degree of risk. Few properties are ultimately developed into producing mines. Whether a mineral deposit can be commercially viable depends upon a number of factors, including the particular attributes of the deposit, including size, grade and proximity to infrastructure, metal prices, which can be highly variable, and government regulation, including environmental and reclamation obligations. These factors are not within our control. Uncertainties as to the metallurgical amenability of any minerals discovered may not warrant the mining of these metals or minerals using available technology. Our operations are, and any future mining operations or construction we may conduct will be, subject to all the operating hazards and risks normally incident to exploring for and developing mineral or metal properties, such as, but not limited to: - fluctuation in production costs that make mining uneconomic,- social, community or labor disputes resulting in work stoppages or delays, or related loss of social acceptance of community support,- changes to legal and regulatory requirements,- encountering unusual or unexpected formations,- environmental hazards, noxious fumes and gases,- ground and water conditions,- difficult surface or underground conditions,- industrial accidents,- security incidents,- failure of unproven or evolving technologies or loss of information integrity or data,- metallurgical and other processing problems,- mechanical and equipment performance problems,- failure of pit walls, dams, declines, drifts and shafts,- personal injury,- fire, cave-ins, seismic activity, flooding, landslides or other inclement weather conditions, including those impacting operations or the ability to access and supply sites,- unanticipated variations in grades of minerals or metals and other geologic problems, and - decrease in the value of mineralized material due to lower gold, silver and metal prices. If we determine that capitalized costs associated with any of our mineral interests are not likely to be recovered, we will incur a write-down on our investment in such property interests. All these factors may result in losses in relation to amounts spent which are not recoverable. The payment of any liabilities that arise from any such occurrence would have a material, adverse impact on our Company.

While we believe there are positive indicators that our properties may contain commercially exploitable minerals, such belief has been based solely on preliminary tests that we have conducted, and data provided by third parties. Item 2 Properties contains a description of our Quality Assurance program over our testing and use of data. There can be no assurance that the tests and data upon which we have relied is correct or accurate. Moreover, mineral exploration is highly speculative in nature, involves many risks and is frequently non-productive. Unusual or unexpected geologic formations and the inability to obtain suitable or adequate machinery, equipment or labor are risks involved in the conduct of exploration programs.

The Company has not established that any of its projects or properties contain mineral reserves as defined by S-K 1300. There is no assurance that we will establish the existence of any mineral reserves on those projects in commercially exploitable quantities. If we do not establish the existence of mineral reserves on those projects, we may lose all of the funds that we expend on exploration. The commercial viability of an established mineral deposit will depend on a number of factors including, by way of example, the size, grade and other attributes of the mineral or metal deposit, the proximity of the resource to infrastructure, roads and a point for shipping, government regulation and market prices. Most of these factors will be beyond our control, and any of them could increase costs and make extraction of any identified mineral resource unprofitable.

Both mineral exploration and extraction require permits from various federal, state, provincial and local governmental authorities and are governed by laws and regulations, including those with respect to prospecting, mine development, mineral production, transport, export, taxation, labor standards, occupational health, waste disposal, toxic substances, land use, environmental protection, mine safety and other matters. Our ability to conduct exploration, and related activities may also be impacted by administrative actions taken by federal agencies. Companies such as ours that plan to engage in exploration and extraction activities often experience increased costs and delays in production and other schedules as a result of the need to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permits. Amendments to current laws, regulations and permits governing operations and activities of exploration companies, or more stringent implementation thereof, could have a material adverse impact on our operations and cause increases in capital expenditures or production costs or reduction in levels of exploration activities at our properties or require abandonment or delays in future activities. Issuance of permits for our activities is subject to the discretion of government authorities, and we may be unable to obtain or maintain such permits. Permits required for future exploration or development may not be obtainable on reasonable terms or on a timely basis. There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain or maintain any of the permits required for the continued exploration or development of our mineral properties or for the construction and operation of a mine on our properties at economically viable costs. If we cannot accomplish these objectives, our business could face difficulty and/or fail. In South Dakota, each new mine permit is limited to a maximum new disturbance of 320 acres for each mining permit. However, authorized disturbance from pre-existing permits can be added to the total. Richmond Hill Permit No. 445 currently authorizes disturbance of 260 acres at Richmond Hill. Accordingly, we expect that an initial permit for Richmond Hill will authorize 580 acres of disturbance. The Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources ("DANR") has also advised that a company can submit multiple permits to be contiguous and increase the overall disturbance area if needed for a potential new mining operation. Our current permitting strategy is to submit an initial permit application based on a first stage of mine plan and utilize the existing mining permit at the location. We may seek additional mine permits if necessary. We can give no assurance that these efforts will succeed. Once in operations, reclaimed acres can be transferred to new areas for disturbance with DANR approval. If we are unable to obtain these permits, our business could face difficulty and/or fail. There also can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with all laws and regulations that apply to our activities on an ongoing basis. Current laws and regulations could be amended, and we might not be able to comply with them, as amended. Further, there can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain or maintain all permits necessary for our future operations, or that we will be able to obtain them on reasonable terms. To the extent such approvals are required and are not obtained, we may be delayed or prohibited from proceeding with planned exploration or development of our mineral properties. Environmental hazards unknown to us, which may have been caused by previous or current owners or operators of the properties, may exist on the properties in which we hold an interest. It is possible that our properties could be located on or near the site of a Federal Superfund cleanup project. Although we have thus far avoided such sites, it is possible that environmental cleanup or other environmental restoration procedures could remain to be completed or mandated by law, causing unpredictable and unexpected liabilities to arise. We are not currently aware of any environmental issues or litigation relating to any of our current properties. Neighboring landowners and other third parties could file claims based on environmental statutes and common law for personal injury and property damage allegedly caused by the release of hazardous substances or other waste material into the environment on or around our properties. There can be no assurance that our defense of such claims will be successful. A successful claim against us could have an adverse effect on our business prospects, financial condition and results of operation. The exploration, possible future development and any production phases of our business will be subject to federal, state and local environmental regulation. These regulations mandate, among other things, the maintenance of air and water quality standards and land reclamation and set out limitations on the generation, transportation, storage and disposal of solid and hazardous waste. Environmental legislation is evolving in a manner which will require stricter standards and enforcement, increased fines and penalties for non-compliance, more stringent environmental assessments, and a heightened degree of responsibility for companies and their officers, directors and employees. Future changes in environmental regulations, if any, may adversely affect our operations. If we fail to comply with any of the applicable environmental laws, regulations or permit requirements, we could face regulatory or judicial sanctions. Penalties imposed by either the courts or administrative bodies could delay or stop our operations or require a considerable capital expenditure.

Our current and future operations, including additional exploration activities, require permits from governmental authorities and such operations are and will be governed by laws and regulations governing prospecting, exploration, taxes, labor standards, occupational health, waste disposal, toxic substances, land use, environmental protection, mine safety and other matters. Companies engaged in mineral property exploration generally experience increased costs, and delays in exploration and other schedules as a result of the need to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permits. We cannot predict if all permits which we may require for continued exploration and development activities, will be obtainable on reasonable terms, if at all. Costs related to applying for and obtaining permits and licenses may be prohibitive and could delay our planned exploration activities. Failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permitting requirements may result in enforcement actions, including orders issued by regulatory or judicial authorities causing exploration operations to cease or be curtailed, and may include corrective measures requiring capital expenditures, installation of additional equipment, or remedial actions.