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Property, plant and equipment
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018
Disclosure of detailed information about property, plant and equipment [abstract]  
Property, plant and equipment
7.   Property, plant and equipment
 
 
 
Mining
   
Non-producing
   
Plant and
   
Corporate office
       
 
 
interests
   
properties
   
equipment
   
equipment
   
Total
 
Cost
                             
Balance at January 1, 2017
 
$
67,571
   
$
77,390
   
$
40,013
   
$
81
   
$
185,055
 
Asset additions
   
5,233
     
5,526
     
8,795
     
3
     
19,557
 
Property purchase option acquired
   
-
     
7,108
     
-
     
-
     
7,108
 
Change in decommissioning provision
   
(37
)
   
38
     
-
     
-
     
1
 
Reclassification
   
31,595
     
(31,595
)
   
-
     
-
     
-
 
Balance at December 31, 2017
   
104,362
     
58,467
     
48,808
     
84
     
211,721
 
Asset additions
   
6,489
     
-
     
4,467
     
10
     
10,966
 
Property purchase option acquired
   
-
     
2,000
     
-
     
-
     
2,000
 
Change in decommissioning provision
   
(110
)
   
-
     
-
     
-
     
(110
)
Balance at September 30, 2018
 
$
110,741
   
$
60,467
   
$
53,275
   
$
94
   
$
224,577
 
 
                                       
Accumulated depreciation and depletion
                                       
Balance at January 1, 2017
 
$
31,410
   
$
50,502
   
$
22,566
   
$
29
   
$
104,507
 
Depreciation/depletion for the year
   
3,438
     
-
     
3,261
     
10
     
6,709
 
Write-down of equipment
   
-
     
-
     
204
     
-
     
204
 
Balance at December 31, 2017
   
34,848
     
50,502
     
26,031
     
39
     
111,420
 
Depreciation/depletion for the period
   
4,439
     
-
     
2,599
     
6
     
7,044
 
Write-down of equipment
   
-
     
-
     
65
     
-
     
65
 
Balance at September 30, 2018
 
$
39,287
   
$
50,502
   
$
28,695
   
$
45
   
$
118,529
 
 
                                       
Carrying value
                                       
   at December 31, 2017
 
$
69,514
   
$
7,965
   
$
22,777
   
$
45
   
$
100,301
 
   at September 30, 2018
 
$
71,454
   
$
9,965
   
$
24,580
   
$
49
   
$
106,048
 


On March 2, 2017, the Company entered into an option acquisition agreement with Impulsora Minera Santacruz S.A. de C.V., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. (“Santacruz”), to acquire an existing option with Minera Hochschild Mexico S.A. de C.V. (“Hochschild”) for the right to acquire a 100% interest of the San Felipe property located in Sonora, Mexico for total consideration of $15 million in cash, payable in two installments. The purchase of the option of $5 million to Santacruz plus an initial option payment of $2 million to Hochschild, plus applicable VAT, was paid with cash on hand by the Company in March while the final option payment of $8 million, plus applicable VAT, was payable to Hochschild on or before December 15, 2017. On December 1, 2017, the final option payment of $8 million plus applicable VAT was amended to become option payments of $0.5 million paid on January 1, 2018, $0.5 million paid on April 1, 2018, $1.0 million paid on July 1, 2018, with the remaining balance of $6.0 million payable on or before December 31, 2018.

Effective December 19, 2017, the San Rafael mine declared commercial production which the Company defined as operating at an average of 80% designed production capacity with saleable concentrate recoveries within 5% of its mining feasibility study over a two-week period. The Company transferred $31.6 million in net book value from non-producing properties to mining interests including the historical carrying value of $25.2 million, net of pre-commercial production revenue of $4.0 million.

Non-current assets are tested for impairment or impairment reversals when events or changes in circumstances suggest that the carrying amount may not be recoverable. A write-down of $0.2 million related to the U.S. operations was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2017 as a result of writing down carrying amounts of equipment to recoverable amounts. No other impairment or impairment reversal indicators were identified for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2018.

The Company recognized a gain of $0.8 million in the second quarter of 2018 related to proceeds received through an insurance claim for equipment damaged from mining operations during fiscal 2017.

The amount of borrowing costs capitalized as property, plant and equipment was nil during the three-month period ended September 30, 2018 (2017: $0.2 million) and nil during the nine-month period ended September 30, 2018 (2017: $0.5 million).