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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

NOTE 17 COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Commitments

In addition to commitments for payments on operating and finance leases (Note 10) and the repayment of long-term debt (Note 11), the following are minimum commitments as at December 31, 2019, and related payments due over the following five years:

Payments due by period

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

Thereafter

Total

Mining and surface rights

 

2,926

 

465

 

470

 

366

 

335

 

4,562

Reclamation costs(1)

2,548

4,115

4,637

2,279

549

27,637

41,765

Other plant and equipment

1,249

1,249

Exploration

219

219

Total

$

6,942

$

4,580

$

5,107

$

2,645

$

884

$

27,637

$

47,795

(1)Amounts presented represent the undiscounted uninflated future payments.

Reclamation Bonds

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. These bonding obligations are satisfied by surety bonds, as discussed below. Pursuant to the requirements imposed by the United States Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”), the Company has Nevada obligations of $20.1 million which primarily pertains to the Tonkin and Gold Bar properties. Under Canadian regulations, the Company has bonding obligations of $11.5 million (C$14.9 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; the $0.1 million is recorded as restricted cash in Other assets (Note 18).

Surety Bonds

As at December 31, 2019, the Company has a surety facility in place to cover all its bonding obligations, which include $20.1 million of bonding in Nevada and $11.5 million (C$14.9 million) of bonding in Canada. The terms of the facility carry an annual financing fee of 2% and no deposit requirements. The 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.

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% at the adjoining Pike River property (Black Fox Extension) to Sandstorm Gold Ltd. at the lesser of market price or $551 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 year December 31, 2019, the Company recorded revenue of $1.5 million (2018 – $2.2 million) related to the gold stream sales.

Other potential contingencies

The Company’s mining and exploration activities are subject to various laws and regulations governing the protection of the environment.  These laws and regulations are continually changing and generally becoming more restrictive.  The Company conducts its operations so as to protect public health and the environment, and believes its operations are materially in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.  The Company has made, and expects to make in the future, expenditures to comply with such laws and regulations.

The Company and its predecessors have transferred their interest in several mining properties to third parties throughout its history.  The Company could remain potentially liable for environmental enforcement actions related to its prior ownership of such properties.  However, the Company has no reasonable belief that any violation of relevant environmental laws or regulations has occurred regarding these transferred properties.