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Commitments and Contingencies
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2021
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Mexico Litigation Matters
As of September 30, 2021, $26.0 million is due from the Mexican government associated with VAT that was paid under Coeur Mexicana, S.A. de C.V.’s (“Coeur Mexicana’s”) prior royalty agreement with a subsidiary of Franco-Nevada Corporation, which was terminated in 2016. Coeur Mexicana applied for and initially received VAT refunds associated with the royalty payments in the normal course; however, in 2011 the Mexican tax authorities began denying Coeur Mexicana’s VAT refunds based on the argument that VAT was not legally due on the royalty payments. Accordingly, Coeur Mexicana began to request refunds of the VAT as undue payments, which the Mexican tax authorities also denied. The Company has since been engaged in ongoing efforts to recover the VAT from the Mexican government (including through litigation and potential arbitration as well as refiling VAT refund requests). Despite a favorable ruling from Mexican tax courts in this matter in 2018, litigation has continued at the administrative, appeals court and supreme court levels, most of which has been determined unfavorably to Coeur (including as recently as the third quarter of 2021) based on interpretations of applicable law and prior court decisions which the Company and its counsel believe are contrary to legal precedent, conflicting and erroneous. While the Company believes that it remains legally entitled to be refunded the full amount of the VAT receivable and intends to rigorously continue its VAT recovery efforts, based on the continued failure to recover the VAT receivable and recent unfavorable Mexican court decisions, the Company determined to write down the carrying value of the VAT receivable at September 30, 2021. The write down of $26.0 million is presented in Other, net on the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Comprehensive Income (Loss). Coeur Mexicana may still elect to initiate an arbitration proceeding under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. Outcomes in NAFTA arbitration and the process for recovering funds even if there is a successful outcome in NAFTA arbitration can be lengthy and unpredictable.
In addition, ongoing litigation with the Mexican government associated with enforcement of water rights in Mexico, if unsuccessful, may impact Coeur Mexicana’s ability to access new sources of water to provide sufficient supply for its operations at Palmarejo and, if material, may have a material adverse impact on the Company’s operations and financial results.
Palmarejo Gold Stream
Coeur Mexicana sells 50% of Palmarejo gold production (excluding production from certain properties acquired in 2015) to a subsidiary of Franco-Nevada Corporation (“Franco-Nevada”) under a gold stream agreement for the lesser of $800 or spot price per ounce. In 2016, Coeur Mexicana received a $22.0 million deposit toward future deliveries under the gold stream agreement. In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, although Coeur Mexicana has satisfied its contractual obligation to repay the deposit to Franco-Nevada, the deposit is accounted for as deferred revenue and is recognized as revenue on a units-of-production basis as ounces are sold to Franco-Nevada. At September 30, 2021 the remaining unamortized balance was $8.5 million, which is included in Accrued liabilities and other and Other long-term liabilities on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.
Kensington Prepayment
In June 2019, Coeur entered into a transaction with an existing metal sales counterparty whereby it amended its existing sales and purchase contract for gold concentrate from its Kensington mine (the “Amended Sales Contract”). From time to time, the Amended Sales Contract has been further amended to allow for additional prepayments, the latest occurring in July 2021, with an effective date as of June 28, 2021, to include options for Coeur to receive up to two additional prepayments of up to $15.0 million. In December 2020, Coeur exercised an option to receive the $15.0 million December 2020 Prepayment. In the first half of 2021, the Kensington mine delivered $15.0 million in satisfaction of the December 2020 Prepayment. In June 2021, Coeur exercised an option to receive the $15.0 million June 2021 Prepayment, and delivered $7.5 million against that $15.0 million in the third quarter of 2021. The remaining deliveries of $7.6 million under the June 2021 Prepayment are recognized as a deferred revenue liability and are presented in Accrued liabilities and other on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. Under the relevant terms of the Amended Sales Contract, Coeur maintains its exposure to the price of gold and expects to recognize the remaining value of the accrued liability by December 31, 2021.
Other Commitments and Contingencies
As part of its ongoing business and operations, the Company and its affiliates are required to provide surety bonds, bank letters of credit, bank guarantees and, in some cases, cash as financial support for various purposes, including environmental remediation, reclamation, collateral for gold hedges and other general corporate purposes. As of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, the Company had surety bonds totaling $314.5 million and $311.9 million, respectively, in place as financial support for future reclamation and closure costs. The obligations associated with these instruments are generally related to performance requirements that the Company addresses through its ongoing operations and from time-to-time, the Company may be required to post collateral, including cash or letters of credit which reduce availability under its revolving credit facility, to support these instruments. As the specific requirements are met, the beneficiary of the associated instrument
cancels and/or returns the instrument to the issuing entity. Certain of these instruments are associated with operating sites with long-lived assets and will remain outstanding until closure. The Company believes it is in compliance with all applicable bonding obligations and will be able to satisfy future bonding requirements through existing or alternative means, as they arise.