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COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]  
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
Contingent Obligations:
As previously disclosed, the Company was the subject of an investigation by the Division of Enforcement of the SEC regarding the Company’s disclosures primarily concerning the operation of the Goderich mine, the former South American businesses, and related accounting and internal control matters including Salt interim inventory valuation methodology issues that were disclosed in the Company’s Form 10-K/A for the year ended December 31, 2020, and Form 10-Q/A for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, each filed with the SEC on September 3, 2021.
On September 23, 2022, the Company reached a settlement with the SEC, concluding and resolving the SEC investigation in its entirety. Under the terms of the settlement, the Company, without admitting or denying the findings in the administrative order issued by the SEC, agreed to pay a civil penalty of $12 million and to cease and desist from violations of specified provisions of the federal securities laws and rules promulgated thereunder, and to retain an independent compliance consultant for a period of approximately one year to review certain accounting practices and procedures. The Company accrued for the full amount of the penalty in fiscal 2022, of which $10 million was reflected in accrued expenses and other current liabilities on the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets as of September 30, 2023 and 2022.
The Company is also involved in legal and administrative proceedings and claims of various types from the ordinary course of the Company’s business.
Management cannot predict the outcome of legal claims and proceedings with certainty. Nevertheless, management believes that the outcome of legal proceeding and claims, which are pending or known to be threatened, even if determined adversely, will not, individually or in the aggregate, have a material adverse effect on the Company’s results of operations, cash flows or financial position, except as otherwise described in Note 11 and this Note 14.
Nearly 50% of the Company’s workforce is represented by collective bargaining agreements. Of the Company’s 12 collective bargaining agreements in effect on September 30, 2023, one will expire in fiscal 2024, six will expire in fiscal 2025 (including our Cote Blanche mine), four will expire in fiscal 2026 (including our Goderich mine), and one will expire in fiscal 2027.
The Company also has contingent consideration liabilities related to the Fortress acquisition. Refer to Note 3 for additional information.
Commitments:
Royalties: The Company has various private, state and Canadian provincial leases associated with the salt and SOP businesses, most of which are renewable by the Company. Many of these leases provide for a royalty payment to the lessor based on a specific amount per ton of mineral extracted or as a percentage of revenue. Royalty expense related to these leases was $18.7 million, $20.0 million and $13.6 million for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, and the nine months ended September 30, 2021, respectively.

Performance Bonds: The Company has various salt and other deicing product sales contracts that include performance provisions governing delivery and product quality. These sales contracts either require the Company to maintain performance bonds for stipulated amounts or contain contractual penalty provisions in the event of non-performance. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2023 and 2022, and the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company has had no material penalties related to these sales contracts. At September 30, 2023, the Company had $232.6 million of outstanding performance bonds, which includes bonds related to Ontario mining tax reassessments.

Purchase Commitments: In connection with the operations of the Company’s facilities, the Company purchases utilities, other raw materials and services from third parties under contracts extending, in some cases, for multiple years. Purchases under these contracts are generally based on prevailing market prices. The Company has minimum throughput contracts with some of its depots and warehouses. The purchase commitments for these contracts are estimated to be $8.8 million for 2024, $5.7 million in 2025, $5.0 million in 2026, $4.6 million in 2027, $4.5 million in 2028 and $6.7 million thereafter.