Note 9 - Employee Benefits

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Notes to Financial Statements

Compensation and Employee Benefit Plans [Text Block]

(9)     EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

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

	2023		2022
Health benefits, including premiums	$	18,483	$	14,607
401(k) matching		2,910		2,549
Deferred bonus plan		687		809
Total	$	22,080	$	17,965

Of the amounts in the above table, $21.5 million and $17.4 million are recorded in operating expenses in the consolidated statements of operations for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, with the remainder in general and administrative.

Our mine employees are also covered by workers’ compensation and such costs were approximately $4.9 million for 2023 and 2022, and are recorded in operating expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. 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, its operations are protected from these perils through stop-loss insurance policies. Our maximum annual exposure is limited to $1.0 million per occurrence with a $4.0 million aggregate deductible.