Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies

Legal Proceedings

The Company has been named as a defendant in four pro se actions that assert claims for breach of contract and declaratory judgment arising from or directly relating to Warrants purportedly held by the Pro Se Plaintiffs in the Delaware Chancery Court. In various forms, they allege that the Company or its predecessor entities breached the Warrant Agreement, dated October 22, 2015, and/or related Amendment Agreement, dated February 26, 2020. In sum, in all four actions, Plaintiffs allege, by or on behalf of “Warrant holders,” that the Company or its predecessor(s) breached these agreements by failing to make proper “Mechanical Adjustments” to the Warrants in accordance with terms of the Warrant Agreement upon the occurrence of certain business transactions and events, including the May 29, 2020, Business Combination. On January 10, 2024, in response to the Company’s motion to consolidate the four pro se actions, the Delaware Chancery Court ordered the parties to submit a proposed briefing schedule for the defendant’s preliminary motions to dismiss.

The Company expenses legal fees and other costs associated with legal proceedings as incurred. The Company assessed, in conjunction with its legal counsel, the need to record a liability related to the Complaint and determined that a loss was not probable nor reasonably estimable. Litigation accruals are recorded when, and if, it is determined that a loss related matter is both probable and reasonably estimable. Material loss contingencies that are reasonably possible of occurrence, if any, are subject to disclosure. No losses have been recorded during the year ended December 31, 2022 or 2021, respectively, with respect to litigation or loss contingencies.

Insurance

The Company has deductible-based insurance policies for certain losses related to general liability, workers’ compensation, and automobile coverage. The Company records accruals for contingencies related to its insurance policies when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount can be reasonably estimated. These accruals are adjusted periodically as assessments change or additional information becomes available. Insurance losses for claims filed and claims incurred but not reported are accrued based upon estimates of the aggregate liability for uninsured claims using historical loss development factors and actuarial assumptions followed in the insurance industry.

Royalties

As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company’s off-balance sheet arrangements consisted of a net profit royalty arrangement and a net smelter royalty arrangement.

Crofoot Royalty

Hycroft purchased patented claims and unpatented claims that are subject to a 4% net profit royalty be paid to the sellers (“Crofoot Royalty”). Every year that mining occurs on those claims, the agreement requires an annual advance payment of $120,000. All advance annual payments are credited against the future payments due under the 4% net profit royalty. An additional payment of $120,000 is required for each year total tons mined on the claims exceeds 5.0 million tons. As the Company ceased mining operations in November 2021, the Company was not required to pay the annual advance payment of $120,000 in 2023 or 2022. The total payments due under the mining lease are capped at $7.6 million, of which the Company has paid $3.3 million and included $0.6 million of advanced annual payments in Other assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022.

Net smelter royalty

Pursuant to the Sprott Royalty Agreement in which the Company received cash consideration in the amount of $30.0 million, the Company granted a perpetual royalty equal to 1.5% of the Net Smelter Returns from the Hycroft Mine, payable monthly. Net Smelter Returns for any given month are calculated as Monthly Production multiplied by the Monthly Average Gold Price and the Monthly Average Silver Price, minus Allowable Deductions, as such terms are defined in the Sprott Royalty Agreement. The Company is required to remit royalty payments to the payee free and clear and without any present or future deduction, withholding, charge or levy on account of taxes, except Excluded Taxes as such term is defined in the Sprott Royalty Agreement.

At both December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the estimated net present value of the Company’s net smelter royalty was $146.7 million. The net present value of the Company’s net smelter royalty was modeled using the following inputs: (i) market consensus inputs for future gold and silver prices; (ii) a precious metals industry consensus discount rate of 5.0%; and (iii) estimates of the Hycroft Mine’s life-of-mine gold and silver production volumes and timing.