Coeur Mining (CDE) Risk Analysis

Environmental regulations mandate, among other things, the maintenance of air and water quality standards, land development and land reclamation, and set forth limitations on the generation, transportation, storage and disposal of solid and hazardous waste. Environmental legislation and environmental justice provisions are evolving in a manner that may require stricter standards and enforcement, increased fines and penalties for non-compliance, more stringent environmental assessments of proposed projects, and a heightened degree of responsibility for mining companies and their officers, directors and employees. We may incur environmental costs that could have a material adverse effect on financial condition and results of operations. Any failure to remedy an environmental problem could require us to suspend operations or enter into interim compliance measures pending completion of the required remedy. The environmental standards that ultimately may be imposed at a mine site affect the cost of remediation and could exceed the financial accruals that we have made for such remediation. The potential exposure may be significant and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Moreover, governmental authorities and private parties may bring lawsuits based upon damage to property and injury to persons resulting from the environmental, health and safety impacts of prior and current operations, including operations conducted by other mining companies many years ago at sites located on properties that we currently or previously owned. These lawsuits could lead to the imposition of substantial fines, remediation costs, penalties and other civil and criminal sanctions. Substantial costs and liabilities, including for restoring the environment after the closure of mines, are inherent in our operations. We cannot assure that any such law, regulation, enforcement or private claim would not have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, results of operations or cash flows. Some of the mining waste from our U.S. mines currently are exempt to a limited extent from the extensive set of EPA regulations governing hazardous waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ("RCRA"). If the EPA were to repeal this exemption and designate these mining wastes as hazardous under RCRA, we would be required to make significant expenditures to manage the waste and to construct hazardous waste storage or disposal facilities. Under the Mercury Export Ban Act of 2008 ("MEBA"), incidental elemental mercury generated at our Rochester mine as part of the processing of ore may not be exported outside of the United States and is required to be stored in a facility capable for long-term mercury management designated by the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE"). The DOE is undergoing processes to designate such a facility and to establish storage and handling fees, which is not yet final. The outcome could result in material cost being incurred to ship and store Coeur Rochester's mercury. In addition, if any of these wastes causes contamination in or damage to the environment at a U.S. mining facility, that facility could be designated as a "Superfund" site under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA"). Under CERCLA, any present owner or operator of a Superfund site or the owner or operator at the time of contamination may be held jointly and severally liable regardless of fault and may be forced to undertake extensive remedial cleanup action or to pay for the cleanup efforts. The owner or operator also may be liable to federal, state and tribal/indigenous governmental entities for the cost of damages to natural resources, which could be substantial. Additional regulations or requirements also are imposed on our tailings and waste disposal areas in Alaska under the federal Clean Water Act ("CWA"), in Nevada under the Nevada Water Pollution Control Law which implements the CWA, in South Dakota under the South Dakota Water Pollution Control Act and the Administrative Rules of the State of South Dakota, in British Columbia (Canada) under the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia, the British Columbia Environmental Management Act and the Canadian Metal and Diamond Mining Effluent Regulations, and in Mexico under the General Law of Ecological Balance and Protection of the Environment (the "GLEBPE") and the regulations under the GLEBPE related to environmental protection in impact assessment matters. Airborne emissions are subject to controls under air pollution statutes implementing the Clean Air Act in the U.S. and are regulated under the Environmental Management Act in British Columbia (Canada) and the GLEBPE and the regulations under GLEBPE related to prevention and control of the pollution of the atmosphere in Mexico. In addition, there are numerous legislative and regulatory initiatives related to climate change, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, or energy policy and adoption of these initiatives through legislative actions or administrative policy could have a material adverse effect on results of operations and cash flows. However, we are unable to predict the scope, nature and timing of any new or increased environmental laws and regulations and therefore cannot predict the ultimate impact of such laws and regulations on our business or financial results. We continue to monitor existing and proposed laws and regulations in the jurisdictions in which we operate to consider actions we may take to potentially mitigate any unfavorable impact of such laws or regulations. In addition, U.S. environmental conservation efforts could result in the withdrawal of certain federal lands from mineral entry under relevant mining law, which could have the effect of restricting our current or future planned activities involving our unpatented mining claims on the affected public lands.

We may experience labor disputes, work stoppages or other disruptions in production that could adversely affect our business and results of operations. Labor disruptions may be used to advocate labor, political or social goals, particularly at non-U.S. mines. For example, labor disruptions may occur in sympathy with strikes or labor unrest in other sectors of local economies. We cannot assure that work stoppages, union organizing activities or other disruptions will not occur in the future. Any such work stoppage or disruption could expose us to significant costs and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial condition. We compete with other mining companies to attract and retain key executives, skilled labor, contractors and other employees. We may be unable to continue to attract and retain skilled and experienced employees, which could have an adverse effect on our competitive position or adversely impact our results of operations or financial condition.

The Company may face supply chain disruptions as a result of matters outside of the Company's control or ability to mitigate, such as natural disasters, transportation disruptions, economic instability, geopolitical unrest, civil or international hostilities and global pandemics, among others. Recently, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas conflict have resulted in losses of life, displacement of people, and political and economic disruptions on a global scale. There may be unforeseen impacts from these events globally on commodity prices, liquidity and credit or supply chains, and the Company continues to monitor them closely.

A significant portion of our revenues is generated by operations outside the United States, particularly Mexico. Exploration, development, production and closure activities in many countries are potentially subject to heightened political and social risks that are beyond our control and could result in increased costs, capacity constraints and potential disruptions to our business. These risks include the possible unilateral cancellation or forced renegotiation of contracts in which we, directly or indirectly, may have an interest, unfavorable changes in foreign laws and regulations, royalty and tax increases (including taxes associated with the import or export of goods), risks associated with the value-added tax ("VAT") and income tax refund recovery and collection process, aggressive or punitive tax audits, policy-driven interference with or moratoriums on processing of permit applications or granting water or mineral concessions, erection of trade barriers, including tariffs and duties, claims by governmental entities or indigenous communities, changes to mining and related laws impacting current and future operations, expropriation or nationalization of property and other risks arising out of foreign sovereignty over areas in which our operations are conducted. As an example, as disclosed in Note 18 -- Commitments and Contingencies to the Consolidated Financial Statements, we are currently engaged in efforts to recover amounts unduly paid to the Mexican government that are owed to Coeur associated with Coeur Mexicana's prior royalty agreement, including through international arbitration. While the Company believes that it remains legally entitled to be refunded the full amount of the unduly paid VAT receivable and intends to rigorously continue its recovery efforts, based on the continued failure to recover the receivable and unfavorable Mexican court decisions, the Company determined to write down the carrying value of the receivable of $26.0 million at September 2021. In addition, recent amendments to mining, water and environmental laws in Mexico, and government actions intended to slow or halt the normal processing of permits and granting of water or mineral concessions, could impose additional restrictions on our ability to obtain and maintain mining and water rights and operate in Mexico, among other potentially adverse provisions. The right to import and export gold and silver may depend on obtaining certain licenses and quotas, which could be delayed or denied at the discretion of the relevant regulatory authorities, or could become subject to new taxes, tariffs or duties imposed by U.S. or foreign jurisdictions, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, or future prospects. In addition, our rights under local law may be less secure in countries where judicial systems are susceptible to manipulation and intimidation by government agencies, non-governmental organizations or civic groups. Any of these developments could require us to curtail or terminate operations at our mines, incur significant costs to renegotiate contracts, meet newly-imposed environmental or other standards, pay greater royalties or higher prices for labor or services and recognize higher taxes, address aggressive or punitive tax audit assessments including through litigation, or experience significant delays or obstacles in the recovery of VAT or income tax refunds owed, which could materially and adversely affect financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

An outbreak of infectious disease, pandemic or a similar public health threat, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and the response thereto, could adversely impact our business and operations. If a significant portion of our workforce becomes unable to work or travel to our operations due to illness or state or federal government restrictions (including travel restrictions and "shelter-in-place" and similar orders restricting certain activities that may be issued or extended by authorities), we may be forced to reduce or suspend operations at one or more of our mines, which could reduce production, limit exploration activities and development projects and impact liquidity and financial results. While we have implemented several initiatives to protect the health and safety of our employees, contractors and communities to date, some of which have and may result in additional costs to us, there can be no assurance that the Company will remain unaffected by potential future health crises. Illnesses or government restrictions, including potential closure of national borders, related to COVID-19 or a similar public health threat may disrupt the supply of raw goods, equipment, supplies and services upon which our operations rely. Third parties with whom we conduct business, including the refiners and smelters that process and, in some cases, purchase the doré and concentrate produced by our mines, are also subject to these risks and may be required to reduce or suspend operations, which could impact our ability to conduct our operations, advance exploration, development and expansion projects, sell our products and generate revenues. To the extent the COVID-19 or any other pandemic adversely affects our business and financial results, it may also have the effect of heightening many of the other risks described in this "Risk Factors" section, such as those relating to our operations and indebtedness and financing. Because of the highly uncertain and dynamic nature of events relating to the COVID-19 or similar pandemic, it is not currently possible to estimate the full impact of the pandemic on our business. However, these effects could have a material impact on our operations, and we will continue to monitor such situations closely.

The information technology and operational technology used in our business and operations are subject to disruption, damage or failure from a variety of sources, including, without limitation, computer viruses, security breaches, cyberattacks, natural disasters and defects in design. Cybersecurity incidents, in particular, are evolving and include, but are not limited to, malicious software, attempts to gain unauthorized access to data or machines and equipment, and other electronic security breaches that could lead to disruptions in systems, unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information, the corruption of data or the disabling, misuse or malfunction of machines and equipment. Various measures have been implemented to manage our risks related to information technology, operational technology and network disruptions. However, given the unpredictability of the timing, nature and scope of information or operational technology disruptions, we could potentially be subject to production downtimes, operational delays, operating accidents, the compromising of confidential or otherwise protected information, destruction or corruption of data, security breaches, other manipulation or improper use of our systems, equipment and networks or financial losses from remedial actions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on cash flows, financial condition or results of operations. We may also incur large expenditures to recover data, to repair or replace networks or information or to protect against similar future events. We could also be adversely affected by system or network disruptions if new or upgraded information technology systems are defective, not installed properly or not properly integrated into operations. Various measures have been implemented to manage the risks related to the system implementation and modification, but system modification failures could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial position and results of operations. Although the Company has not experienced any material loss to date relating to cybersecurity, there can be no assurance that the Company will not incur such loss in the future. We carry cybersecurity insurance; however, it may not be sufficient to cover losses arising from cybersecurity incidents that may occur. There has been heightened legislative and regulatory focus on data privacy and cybersecurity in the U.S and elsewhere. We may be required to comply with a fast-evolving set of legal requirements in this area, including substantive data privacy and cybersecurity standards. This regulatory environment may present material obligations and risks to our business, including significantly expanded compliance burdens, costs and enforcement risks.

We rely on refiners and smelters to refine and process and, in some cases, purchase the gold and silver doré and gold and silver concentrate produced by our mines. Access to refiners and smelters on economic terms is critical to our ability to sell our products to buyers and generate revenues. We have existing agreements with refiners and smelters, some of whom operate their refining or smelting facilities outside the United States. We believe we currently have contractual arrangements with a sufficient number of refiners and smelters so that the loss of any one refiner or smelter would not significantly or materially impact our operations or our ability to generate revenues. Nevertheless, services provided by a refiner or smelter may be disrupted by new or increased tariffs, duties or other cross-border trade barriers, shipping delays, the bankruptcy or insolvency of one or more refiners or smelters or the inability to agree on acceptable commercial or legal terms with a refiner or smelter. Such an event or events may disrupt an existing relationship with a refiner or smelter or result in the inability to create (or the necessity to terminate) a contractual relationship with a refiner or smelter, which may leave us with limited, uneconomic or no access to refining or smelting services for short or long periods of time. Epidemics, pandemics or natural disasters may also impact refiners, smelters or other third parties with whom we have contractual arrangements or have an indirect effect on our ability to obtain refining, smelting or other third-party services. Any delay or loss of access to refiners or smelters may significantly impact our ability to sell doré and concentrate products and generate revenues. A default by a refiner or smelter on its contractual obligations to us or an insolvency event or bankruptcy filing by a refiner or smelter may result in the loss of all or part of our doré or concentrate in the possession of the refiner or smelter, and such a loss likely would not be insured by our insurance policies. We cannot ensure that alternative refiners or smelters would be available, that they would offer comparable terms if the need for them were to arise, or that we would not experience delays or disruptions in sales that would materially and adversely affect results of operations.