SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Revenue Recognition

On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted the updated revenue guidance applicable under ASC 606, - “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”. The new guidance creates a five-step framework to determine revenue recognition:


1.	Identify the contract with the customer


2.	Identify the performance obligations


3.	Determine the transaction price


4.	Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations


5.	Recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation

The Company produces doré and concentrate that is shipped to third-party refiners and smelters, respectively, for processing. The Company enters into contracts to sell its metal to various third-party customers which may include the refiners and smelters that process the doré and concentrate. The Company’s performance obligation in these transactions is generally the transfer of metal to the customer.

In the case of doré shipments, the Company generally sells refined metal at market prices agreed upon by both parties. The Company also has the right, but not the obligation, to sell a portion of the anticipated refined metal in advance of being fully refined. When the Company sells refined metal or advanced metal, the performance obligation is satisfied when the metal is delivered to the customer. Revenue and Costs Applicable to Sales are recorded on a gross basis under these contracts at the time the performance obligation is satisfied.

Under the Company’s concentrate sales contracts with third-party smelters, metal prices are set on a specified future quotational period, typically one to three months, after the shipment date based on market prices. When the Company sells gold concentrate to the third-party smelters, the performance obligation is satisfied when the concentrate is loaded onto the third-party shipping vessel. The contracts, in general, provide for provisional payment based upon provisional assays and historical metal prices. Final settlement is based on the applicable price for the specified future quotational period and generally occurs three to six months after shipment. The Company’s provisionally priced sales contain an embedded derivative that is required to be separated from the host contract for accounting purposes. The host contract is the receivable from the sale of concentrates measured at the forward price at the time of sale. The embedded derivative does not qualify for hedge accounting and is adjusted to fair value through revenue each period until the date of final metal settlement.

The Company also sells concentrate under off-take agreements to third-party customers that are responsible for arranging the smelting of the concentrate. Prices are can either be fixed or based on a quotational period. The quotational period varies by contract, but is generally a one-month period following the shipment of the concentrate. The performance obligation is satisfied when the concentrate is loaded onto the third-party shipping vessel. The off-take agreement allows for the Company to sell concentrate in advance of shipment and results in the customer taking ownership of the concentrate prior to shipment.

The Company recognizes revenue from concentrate sales, net of treatment and refining charges, when it satisfies the performance obligation of transferring control of the concentrate to the customer.

For doré and off-take sales, the Company may incur a finance charge related to advance sales that is not considered significant and, as such, is not considered a separate performance obligation. In addition, the Company has elected to treat freight costs as a fulfillment cost under ASC 606 and not as a separate performance obligation.

The Company’s streaming agreement with a subsidiary of Franco-Nevada Corporation (“Franco-Nevada”) provided for a $20.0 million deposit paid by Franco-Nevada in exchange for the right and obligation, commencing in 2016, to purchase 50% of a portion of Palmarejo gold production at the lesser of $800 or market price per ounce. Because there is no minimum obligation associated with the deposit, it is not considered financing, and each shipment is considered to be a separate performance obligation. The streaming 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 following table presents a rollforward of the Franco-Nevada contract liability balance:



	Three months ended June 30,						Six months ended June 30,
In thousands	2018			2017			2018			2017
Opening Balance	$	14,340		$	17,652		$	14,883		$	19,281
Revenue Recognized	(541		)	$	(817	)	$	(1,084	)	$	(2,446	)
Closing Balance	$	13,799		$	16,835		$	13,799		$	16,835

Recent Accounting Standards

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-01, “Business Combinations (Topic 805) - Clarifying the Definition of a Business,” which clarifies the definition of a business to assist entities in the evaluation of acquisitions and disposals of assets or businesses. These changes became effective for the Company’s fiscal year beginning January 1, 2018 and did not materially impact the Company’s consolidated net income, financial position or cash flows.

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, “Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) - Restricted Cash,” which will require entities to show the changes in the total of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. These changes became effective for the Company’s fiscal year beginning January 1, 2018 and resulted in the inclusion of restricted cash equivalents on the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows of $12.5 million at June 30, 2018 and $9.8 million at June 30, 2017.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-15, “Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230) - Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments,” which provides guidance on presentation and classification of certain cash receipts and payments in the statement of cash flows. These changes became effective for the Company’s fiscal year beginning January 1, 2018 and did not materially impact the Company’s consolidated net income, financial position or cash flows.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, “Leases,” which will require lessees to recognize assets and liabilities for the rights and obligations created by most leases on the balance sheet. These changes become effective for the Company’s fiscal year beginning January 1, 2019. Modified retrospective adoption for all leases existing at, or entered into after, the date of initial application, is required with an option to use certain transition relief. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact of implementing these changes on the Company’s consolidated financial position, results of operations, and cash flows.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-01, “Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities,” which requires entities to measure equity investments that do not result in consolidation and are not accounted for under the equity method at fair value and recognize any changes in fair value in net income. This new guidance also updates certain disclosure requirements for these investments. These changes became effective for the Company’s fiscal year beginning January 1, 2018, and resulted in a reclassification of $2.6 million of unrealized holding gains and losses and deferred income taxes related to investments in equity securities from Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to Accumulated deficit in the Consolidated Balance Sheets on that date. Unrealized holding gains and losses related to investments in equity securities are now recognized in Fair value adjustments, net in the Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (Loss).

In July 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-11, “Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory,” which provides a revised, simpler measurement for inventory to be measured at the lower of cost and net realizable value. These changes became effective for the Company’s fiscal year beginning January 1, 2018 and did not materially impact the Company’s consolidated net income, financial position or cash flows.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”, which has subsequently been amended several times, to update revenue guidance under the newly-created ASC 606. The new standard provides a five-step approach to be applied to all contracts with customers and also requires expanded disclosures about revenue recognition. These changes became effective under the modified retrospective method of adoption for the Company’s fiscal year beginning January 1, 2018 and did not materially impact the Company’s consolidated net income, financial position or cash flows.