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Note 11 - Derivative Instruments
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
Notes to Financial Statements  
Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities Disclosure [Text Block]
Note
11.
    Derivative Instruments
 
Foreign Currency
 
Our wholly-owned subsidiaries owning the Casa Berardi and San Sebastian mines are U.S. dollar ("USD")-functional entities which routinely incur expenses denominated in Canadian dollar ("CAD") and Mexican peso ("MXN"), respectively, and such expenses expose us to exchange rate fluctuations between the USD and CAD and MXN. In
April 2016,
we initiated a program to manage our exposure to fluctuations in the exchange rate between the USD and CAD and the impact on our future operating costs denominated in CAD. In
October 2016,
we also initiated a program to manage our exposure to the impact of fluctuations in the exchange rate between the USD and MXN on our future operating costs denominated in MXN. The programs utilize forward contracts to buy CAD and MXN, and each contract is designated as a cash flow hedge. As of
March 
31,
2019,
we have
130
forward contracts outstanding to buy
CAD$284.1
million having a notional amount of
USD$219.6
million, and
19
forward contracts outstanding to buy
MXN$99.5
million having a notional amount of
USD$4.9
million. The CAD contracts are related to forecasted cash operating costs at Casa Berardi to be incurred from
2019
through
2022
and have CAD-to-USD exchange rates ranging between
1.2702
and
1.3306.
The MXN contracts are related to forecasted cash operating costs at San Sebastian to be incurred from
2019
through
2020
and have MXN-to-USD exchange rates ranging between
19.9400
and
20.8550.
Our risk management policy provides that up to
75%
of our planned cost exposure for
five
years into the future
may
be hedged under such programs, and for potential additional programs to manage other foreign currency-related exposure areas.
 
As of
March 
31,
2019,
we recorded the following balances for the fair value of the contracts:
 
 
a current asset of
$0.2
million, which is included in other current assets;
 
a current liability of
$2.0
million, which is included in other current liabilities; and
 
a non-current liability of
$2.7
million, which is included in other non-current liabilities.
 
Net unrealized losses of approximately
$4.5
million related to the effective portion of the hedges were included in accumulated other comprehensive loss as of
March 
31,
2019.
Unrealized gains and losses will be transferred from accumulated other comprehensive loss to current earnings as the underlying operating expenses are recognized. We estimate approximately
$1.7
million in net unrealized gains included in accumulated other comprehensive loss as of
March 
31,
2019
would be reclassified to current earnings in the next
twelve
months. Net realized losses of approximately
$0.5
million on contracts related to underlying expenses which have been recognized were transferred from accumulated other comprehensive loss and included in cost of sales and other direct production costs for the
three
months ended
March 
31,
2019.
 
Metals Prices
 
We
may
at times use commodity forward sales commitments, commodity swap contracts and commodity put and call option contracts to manage our exposure to fluctuation in the prices of certain metals we produce. Contract positions are designed to ensure that we will receive a defined minimum price for certain quantities of our production, thereby partially offsetting our exposure to fluctuations in market prices. Our risk management policy allows for up to
75%
of our planned metals price exposure for
five
years into the future, with certain other limitations, to be hedged under such programs. These instruments do, however, expose us to (i) credit risk in the form of non-performance by counterparties for contracts in which the contract price exceeds the spot price of a commodity and (ii) price risk to the extent that the spot price exceeds the contract price for quantities of our production covered under contract positions.
 
We are currently using financially-settled forward contracts to manage the exposure to changes in prices of silver, gold, zinc and lead contained in our concentrate shipments between the time of shipment and final settlement. In addition, we currently use financially-settled forward contracts to manage the exposure to changes in prices of zinc and lead (but
not
silver and gold) contained in our forecasted future concentrate shipments. These contracts are
not
designated as hedges and are marked-to-market through earnings each period.
 
As of
March 
31,
2019,
we recorded the following balances for the fair value of the contracts:
 
 
a current asset of
$0.2
million, which is included in other current assets and is net of
$0.1
million for contracts in a fair value liability position;
 
a non-current asset of
$45
thousand, which is included in other non-current assets;
 
a current liability of
$4.0
million, which is included in other current liabilities and is net of
$0.1
million for contracts in a fair value current asset position; and
 
a non-current liability of
$13
thousand, which is included in other non-current liabilities.
 
We recognized a
$2.5
million net loss during the
first
quarter of
2019
on the contracts utilized to manage exposure to prices of metals in our concentrate shipments, which is included in sales of products.  The net loss recognized on the contracts offsets gains related to price adjustments on our provisional concentrate sales due to changes to silver, gold, lead and zinc prices between the time of sale and final settlement.
 
We recognized a
$1.8
million net loss during the
first
quarter of
2019
on the contracts utilized to manage exposure to prices for forecasted future concentrate shipments. The net loss on these contracts is included as a separate line item under other income (expense), as they relate to forecasted future shipments, as opposed to sales that have already taken place but are subject to final pricing as discussed in the preceding paragraph.  The net loss for the
first
quarter of
2019
is the result of an increase in zinc and lead prices. This program, when utilized, is designed to mitigate the impact of potential future declines in lead and zinc prices from the price levels established in the contracts (see average price information below). When those prices increase compared to the contract prices, we incur losses on the contracts.
 
The following tables summarize the quantities of metals committed under forward sales contracts at
March 
31,
2019
and
December 
31,
2018:
 
March 31, 2019
 
Ounces/pounds under contract (in 000's)
   
Average price per ounce/pound
 
   
Silver
   
Gold
   
Zinc
   
Lead
   
Silver
   
Gold
   
Zinc
   
Lead
 
   
(ounces)
   
(ounces)
   
(pounds)
   
(pounds)
   
(ounces)
   
(ounces)
   
(pounds)
   
(pounds)
 
Contracts on provisional sales
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2019 settlements
   
710
     
3
     
19,952
     
2,646
    $
15.46
    $
1,316
    $
1.22
    $
0.92
 
Contracts on forecasted sales
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2019 settlements
   
     
     
26,180
     
1,653
     
N/A
     
N/A
    $
1.25
    $
0.96
 
2020 settlements
   
     
     
276
     
551
     
N/A
     
N/A
    $
1.26
    $
0.96
 
 
 
December 31, 2018
 
Ounces/pounds under contract (in 000's)
   
Average price per ounce/pound
 
   
Silver
   
Gold
   
Zinc
   
Lead
   
Silver
   
Gold
   
Zinc
   
Lead
 
   
(ounces)
   
(ounces)
   
(pounds)
   
(pounds)
   
(ounces)
   
(ounces)
   
(pounds)
   
(pounds)
 
Contracts on provisional sales
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2019 settlements
   
842
     
4
     
18,450
     
2,700
    $
14.69
    $
1,260
    $
1.15
    $
0.89
 
 
Credit-risk-related Contingent Features
 
Certain of our derivative contracts contain cross default provisions which provide that a default under our revolving credit agreement would cause a default under the derivative contract. As of
March 
31,
2019,
we have
not
posted any collateral related to these contracts. The fair value of derivatives in a net liability position related to these agreements was
$9.0
million as of
March 
31,
2019,
which includes accrued interest but excludes any adjustment for nonperformance risk. If we were in breach of any of these provisions at
March 
31,
2019,
we could have been required to settle our obligations under the agreements at their termination value of
$9.0
million.