Note 10 - Employee Benefits

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2022

Notes to Financial Statements

Compensation and Employee Benefit Plans [Text Block]

(10)     EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Our employee benefit expenses for the years ended December 31 are below (in thousands):

	2022		2021
Health benefits, including premiums	$	14,607	$	13,084
401(k) matching		2,549		1,946
Deferred bonus plan		809		698
Total	$	17,965	$	15,728

Of the amounts in the above table, $17.4 million and $15.2 million are recorded in operating expenses for 2022 and 2021, respectively with the remainder in general and administrative.

Our mine employees are also covered by workers’ compensation and such costs for 2022 and 2021, were approximately $4.9 million and $2.9 million, respectively, and are recorded in operating expenses. Workers’ compensation is a no-fault system by which individuals who sustain work-related injuries or occupational diseases are compensated. Benefits and coverage are mandated by each state which includes disability ratings, medical claims, rehabilitation services, and death and survivor benefits. We are partially self-insured for such claims, however, our operations are protected from these perils through stop-loss insurance policies. Our maximum annual exposure is limited to $1 million per occurrence with a $4 million aggregate deductible.