Commitments and Contingencies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2023

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Mexico Litigation Matters

As of June 30, 2023, $30.9 million in principal 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 of the matter continued at the Mexican administrative, appeals court and supreme court levels for several years, most of which was determined unfavorably to Coeur 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 receivable and intends to rigorously continue its recovery efforts, based on the continued failure to recover the receivable and unfavorable Mexican court decisions, the Company determined to write down the carrying value of the receivable at September 30, 2021. Coeur has elected to initiate an arbitration proceeding under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, to resolve the matter. 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. Because there is no minimum obligation

associated with the deposit, it is not considered a financing, and each shipment is considered to be a separate performance obligation. The stream agreement represents a contract liability under ASC 606, which requires the Company to ratably recognize a portion of the deposit as revenue for each gold ounce delivered to Franco-Nevada. The remaining unamortized balance is included in Accrued liabilities and other and Other long-term liabilities on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. See Note 2 -- Summary of Significant Accounting Policies contained in the 2022 10-K for additional detail.

The following table presents a roll forward of the Franco-Nevada contract liability balance:


	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
In thousands	2023		2022		2023		2022
Opening Balance	$	7,296	$	7,835	$	7,411	$	8,150
Revenue Recognized	(100)		(93)		(215)		(408)
Closing Balance	$	7,196	$	7,742	$	7,196	$	7,742

Metal Sales Prepayments

In June 2019, Coeur amended its existing sales and purchase contract with a metal sales counterparty for gold concentrate from its Kensington mine (the “Amended Sales Contract”). From time to time thereafter, the Amended Sales Contract has been further amended to allow for additional prepayments. In December 2022, the Company received a $25.0 million prepayment, all of which was recognized as revenue in the first half of 2023. In June 2023, the Company exercised an option to receive the $25.0 million Kensington June 2023 Prepayment. Additionally, in June 2023, the Company entered into sales and purchase contracts with a metal sales counterparty to allow for the $10.0 million Wharf 2023 Prepayment for deliveries of gold concentrate from its Wharf mine and the $10.0 million Rochester 2023 Prepayment for deliveries of gold and silver doré from its Rochester mine.

The metal sales prepayments represent a contract liability under ASC 606, which requires the Company to recognize ratably a portion of the deposit as revenue for each gold and silver ounce delivered to the customer. The remaining contract liability is included in Accrued liabilities and other on the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet. See Note 2 -- Summary of Significant Accounting Policies contained in the 2022 10-K for additional detail.

The following table presents a roll forward of the prepayment contract liability balance:


	Three Months Ended June 30,				Six Months Ended June 30,
In thousands	2023		2022		2023		2022
Opening Balance	$	15,127	$	25,155	$	25,016	$	15,016
Additions	44,885		311		44,996		10,450
Revenue Recognized	(15,000)		(454)		(25,000)		(454)
Closing Balance	$	45,012	$	25,012	$	45,012	$	25,012

Rochester Expansion Project Update

Coeur expects to achieve mechanical completion of the crusher corridor in the third quarter, with ramp-up anticipated throughout the second half of 2023 and into early 2024.

The Company also updated its estimate for the expected ultimate cost to complete the expansion, which reflects additional contractor hours required to offset the loss of approximately thirty days due to extreme weather and lower than planned productivity rates driven by a lack of qualified skilled labor. Together with ongoing inflationary impacts and required construction re-work to address issues from previously completed engineering designs, the Company expects the total cost for the project to be approximately 6 - 9%, or $40 - $60 million above the high end of Coeur’s previous guidance range of $650 - $670 million.

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 and silver hedges and other general corporate purposes. As of June 30, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company had surety bonds totaling $314.2 million and $326.8 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.