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REVENUE RECOGNITION
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2022
Revenue from Contract with Customer [Abstract]  
REVENUE RECOGNITION REVENUE RECOGNITION
Sales to Shenghe Under the Original Offtake Agreement: Beginning in July 2019 and through early June 2020, the Company and Shenghe periodically agreed on a cash sales price for each MT of rare earth concentrate delivered by the Company, which was recognized as revenue upon each sale. This sales price was intended to approximate the Company’s cash cost of production. Sales during this period were made under the Original Offtake Agreement and were impacted by the Shenghe Implied Discount, which is discussed in Note 3, “Relationship and Agreements with Shenghe.”
The Shenghe Implied Discount amounted to 36% of the difference between Shenghe’s realized price on its sales of rare earth products to its own customers (net of taxes, tariffs, and certain other adjustments, such as demurrage) and the agreed-upon cash cost for those products (i.e., its gross profit). In addition to the revenue the Company recognized from the cash sales prices, it also realized an amount of deferred revenue applicable to these sales equal to 64% of Shenghe’s gross profit. The full gross profit amount realized by Shenghe on such sales reduced the Prepaid Balance (and consequently, the Company’s contractual obligations to Shenghe), but the remaining 36% was not recognized as revenue.
In addition, sales to Shenghe under the Original Offtake Agreement typically provided Shenghe with a discount in the amount of between 3% and 6% of the initial cash price of the Company’s rare earth products sold in consideration of Shenghe’s sales efforts to resell such rare earth products (the “Shenghe Sales Discount”). The Shenghe Sales Discount was considered a reduction in the transaction price and thus was not recognized as revenue. Additionally, the Shenghe Sales Discount was not applied to reduce the Prepaid Balance; however, it was considered as part of Shenghe’s cost of acquiring the Company’s product in the calculation of Shenghe’s gross profit.
Sales to Shenghe Under the A&R Offtake Agreement: Beginning after the June 2020 Modification and through February 2022, the sales price (and other terms applicable to the quantity of products sold) were set forth in monthly purchase agreements with Shenghe. Furthermore, the June 2020 Modification provided that the sales price to be paid by Shenghe for the Company’s rare earth products would be based on market prices (net of taxes, tariffs and certain other agreed charges) less applicable discounts. A portion of the sales price was in the form of debt repayment, with the remainder paid in cash. See Note 8, “Debt Obligations,” for further information.
As a result of the June 2020 Modification, revenue recognized under the A&R Offtake Agreement did not include the Shenghe Implied Discount. In addition, rather than adjusting the sales price for the Shenghe Sales Discount, as was the case with sales made under the Original Offtake Agreement, revenue under the A&R Offtake Agreement was reduced by a fixed monthly sales charge (similarly accounted for as a reduction in the transaction price). The A&R Offtake Agreement was terminated in March 2022 when the Company entered into the Offtake Agreement.
Sales to Shenghe Under the Offtake Agreement: Beginning in March 2022, pursuant to the Offtake Agreement and similar to the A&R Offtake Agreement, the sales price of rare earth concentrate sold to Shenghe is based on an agreed-upon price per MT, subject to certain quality adjustments depending on the measured characteristics of the product, with an adjustment for the ultimate market price of the product realized by Shenghe upon sales to their customers. Under the Offtake Agreement, Shenghe is paid a variable commission on net proceeds to the Company, which is accounted for as a reduction in the transaction price. The sales price and other terms applicable to a quantity of offtake products are set forth in monthly purchase agreements between the Company and Shenghe.
Deferred Revenue: As mentioned in Note 3, “Relationship and Agreements with Shenghe,” the Original Offtake Agreement was accounted for as a deferred revenue arrangement and the June 2020 Modification effectively replaced this deferred revenue arrangement with a debt obligation (see Note 8, “Debt Obligations”). Prior to the June 2020 Modification, Offtake Advances received from Shenghe were accounted for as deferred revenue. Under the Original Offtake Agreement, Shenghe’s gross profit was retained by Shenghe and applied to reduce the Prepaid Balance.
Activity for the deferred revenue balance (including current portion) was as follows:
(in thousands)For the year ended December 31, 2020
Opening balance(1)
$35,543 
Prepayments received(2)
11,050 
Revenue recognized(3)
(9,117)
Effect of June 2020 Modification(4)
(37,476)
Ending balance$— 
(1)Of this amount, $6.6 million was classified as current based on when such amounts were expected to be realized.
(2)Related to the remaining contractual commitment for Shenghe to provide funds to the Company (the Initial Prepayment Amount).
(3)As discussed above, as a result of the Shenghe Implied Discount, the Company recognized an amount of deferred revenue applicable to sales made under the Original Offtake Agreement equal to 64% of the gross profit realized by Shenghe on sales of this product to its own customers. As discussed below, this amount included a tariff rebate of $1.4 million received in May 2020, but excluded the tariff rebate realized in August 2020.
(4)The remaining balance of deferred revenue was derecognized in connection with the June 2020 Modification.
Tariff-Related Rebates: In May 2020, the government of the People’s Republic of China suspended certain tariffs that had been charged to consignees of the Company’s product on imports, and provided such relief retroactive to March 2020. In addition, Shenghe began negotiating for tariff rebates from sales prior to March 2020, which affected Shenghe’s realized prices, and thus the contractual Prepaid Balance. These, in turn, affected the Company’s realized prices and, as a result, the deferred revenue and the Shenghe Implied Discount on the Company’s prior sales. The Company realized $1.4 million of revenue related to tariff rebates received in May 2020, which included amounts related to prior periods. While additional tariff rebates were possible, the Company did not have insight into Shenghe’s negotiations or their probability of success, and such negotiations were outside of the Company’s control. Thus, the Company fully constrained estimates of any future tariff rebates that may have been realized at that time.
In January 2021 and August 2020, the Company received additional information from Shenghe regarding its successful negotiation of additional tariff rebates. Consequently, the Company revised its estimates of variable consideration and recognized $2.0 million and $9.3 million of revenue for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, respectively, primarily related to additional tariff credits realized for sales from the pre-modification period. Since these rebates were recognized after the June 2020 Modification, the amounts were treated as a reduction to the principal balance of the debt obligation, partially offset by a proportionate reduction in the related debt discount, as discussed in Note 8, “Debt Obligations.”