Lucky Strike Mine (LLC) purchased a silver deposit for $1,500,000. It estimated it would extract 500,000 ounces of silver from the deposit. Lucky Strike mined the silver and sold it reporting gross receipts of $1.8 million, $2.5 million, and $2 million for years 1 through 3, respectively. During years 1 - 3, Lucky Strike reported net income (loss) from the silver deposit activity in the amount of ($100,000), $400,000, and $100,000, respectively. In years 1 - 3, Lucky Strike actually extracted 300,000 ounces of silver as follows:
What is Lucky Strike's depletion expense for year 2 if the applicable percentage depletion for silver is 15 percent?
A. $200,000
B. $375,000
C. $400,000
D. $450,000
E. None of these
Answer: D. $450,000