FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2015

Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. See Notes 5, 10 and 11 for additional disclosures related to fair value measurements.

The fair value hierarchy prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy, as defined below, gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs.


•	Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets.


•	Level 2, defined as observable inputs other than Level 1 prices. These include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in an active market, quoted prices for identical assets and liabilities in markets that are not active, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.


•	Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs in which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions.

The table below sets forth, by level, the Company’s financial assets that are accounted for at fair value at September 30, 2015:



	Level 1
	(In thousands)
Assets:
Available-for-sale investments included in Restricted investments and bond collateral	$	34,854
Available-for-sale investments included in Reclamation deposits	30,881
Total assets	$	65,735

Long-term debt fair value estimates are based on observed prices for securities with an active trading market when available (Level 2) and otherwise using discount rate estimates based on interest rates (Level 3). As of September 30, 2015, the Company had no long-term debt with Level 3 fair values. The estimated fair values of the Company’s debt with fixed and variable interest rates are as follows:



	Fixed Interest Rate				Variable Interest Rate
	Carrying Value		Fair Value		Carrying Value		Fair Value
	(In thousands)				(In thousands)
December 31, 2014	$	345,498	$	348,250	$	341,300	$	344,750
September 30, 2015	$	345,860	$	305,375	$	320,615	$	264,507

The Company uses derivative financial instruments, primarily foreign exchange contracts and forward contracts to purchase power, to reduce its exposure to market risks from changes in foreign exchange rates and changes in prices for power, respectively. The foreign exchange contracts are measured at fair value using quoted forward foreign exchange prices from counterparties corroborated by market-based pricing (Level 2). The contracts to purchase power are measured at fair value using forward pricing curves for power from counterparties corroborated by market-based pricing (Level 2). Additional information related to the Company’s derivative financial instruments is disclosed in Note 11 to the unaudited consolidated financial statements.

The Company’s non-recurring fair value measurements include asset retirement obligations (refer to Note 10).

The Company determines the estimated fair value of its asset retirement obligations by calculating the present value of estimated cash flows related to reclamation liabilities using Level 3 inputs. The significant inputs used to calculate such liabilities includes estimates of costs to be incurred, the Company’s credit adjusted discount rate, inflation rates and estimated dates of reclamation. The asset retirement liability is accreted to its present value each period and the capitalized asset retirement cost is depleted using the units-of-production method.

The fair value of assets and liabilities acquired through business combinations is calculated using a discounted-cash flow approach using Level 3 inputs. Cash flow estimates require forecasts and assumptions for many years into the future for a variety of factors.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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