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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2018
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

NOTE 14   COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

 

Reclamation Obligations

 

As part of its ongoing business and operations, the Company is required to provide bonding for its environmental reclamation obligations in the United States and Canada. Pursuant to the requirements imposed by United States Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”), the Company has Nevada bonding obligations of $19.9 million which primarily pertains to the Tonkin property and the Gold Bar property reclamation requirements. Under Canadian regulations, the Company has bonding obligations of $15.7 million (C$20.6 million) with respect to the Black Fox Complex. Furthermore, under Canadian regulations, the Company was required to deposit approximately $0.1 million with respect to its Timmins properties acquired from Lexam. Under current Mexican regulations, bonding of projected reclamation costs is not required.

 

Surety Bonds

 

The Company satisfies its reclamation bonding obligations in the United States and Canada through the use of surety bonds. These surety bonds are available for draw down by the beneficiary in the event the Company does not perform its reclamation obligations. If the specific reclamation requirements are met, the beneficiary of the surety bonds will release the instrument to the issuing entity. 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.

 

On June 23, 2017, the Company replaced its previous surety facility by entering into a new $20.0 million surety facility, carrying an annual financing fee of 2%, with no requirement for an initial deposit and the financing fee payable only on draw down amounts. Effective July 1, 2017 the Company drew down $3.6 million for the Tonkin project and $1.3 million for other exploration projects in Nevada.

 

On August 25, 2017, the BLM accepted the Company’s bond in the amount of $15.0 million to provide reclamation coverage for operations on the Gold Bar property. On August 25, 2017, the Company drew down $15.0 million on the existing surety to satisfy the bonding requirements for the Gold Bar project.

 

In connection with the Black Fox acquisition in 2017, as described in Note 17 Acquisitions, the Company extended its existing $20.0 million surety facility to include the necessary bonding to satisfy the Black Fox closure plan. The terms of the credit facility remain the same, with no requirement for an initial deposit and an annual financing fee of 2%. Black Fox has bonding requirements of $15.7 million (C$20.6 million).

 

Flow-Through Common Shares

 

The Company raised $10.0 million (C$12.9 million) during 2017 on a Canadian flow-through tax basis. The Company is required to spend this amount on Canadian Exploration Expenditures and renounce the associated tax benefit before December 31, 2018. The Company expects to meet this commitment. As at June 30, 2018, $6.4 million has been spent, with a total of $8.0 million incurred.

 

Streaming Agreement

 

As part of the acquisition of the Black Fox Complex in 2017, the Company assumed a gold purchase agreement (streaming contract) related to production, if any, from certain claims. The Company is obligated to sell 8% of gold production from the Black Fox mine and 6.3% from the adjoining Pike River property (Black Fox Extension) to Sandstorm Gold Ltd. at the lesser of market price or $539 per ounce (with inflation adjustments of up to 2% per year) until 2090. The Company records revenue on these shipments based on the contract price at the time of delivery to the customer. During the three and six months ended June 30, 2018, the Company recorded revenue of $0.6 million and $1.3 million respectively (June 30, 2017 - $nil).

 

Short-term Bank Indebtedness

 

As of June 30, 2018, the Company has no bank indebtedness (December 31, 2017 - $nil).  

 

On November 30, 2017, Compañia Minera Pangea, S.A. de C.V. (“CMP”), a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of the Company, executed a line of credit agreement with Banco Nacional de Comercio Exterior, S.N.C., a Mexican federal development banking institution (“Bancomext”). The line of credit allows CMP to borrow up to Mex$120,000,000 Mexican pesos (approximately $6.4 million based on a market exchange rate of 19.64 Mexican pesos to 1 US dollar, as published by Bloomberg on November 30, 2017). Borrowing under the Line of Credit will be available for one (1) year from November 30, 2017.  Additional details regarding the line of credit were disclosed within the Company’s Form 10-K filed on February 21, 2018. As of June 30, 2018, no funds had been drawn on the line of credit.