LEASE LIABILITIES
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Lease liabilities [abstract]  
LEASE LIABILITIES (Text Block)

13. LEASE LIABILITIES

The Company leases office space and the El Compas plant. These leases are for periods of five to ten years. Certain leases include an option to renew the lease after the end of the contract term and/ or provide for payments that are indexed to local inflation rates.

The following table presents the lease obligations of the Company:

    December 31,     December 31,  
    2021     2020  
             
Balance at the beginning of the year $ 1,094   $ 1,238  
Additions   89     31  
Interest   73     84  
Payments   (251 )   (267 )
Effects of movement in exchange rates   (4 )   8  
Balance at the end of the year   1,001     1,094  
Less: Current portion   (207 )   (173 )
Non-Current Lease Liabilities $ 794   $ 921  

The following table presents lease liability maturity - contractual undiscounted cash flows for the Company:

    December 31,     December 31,  
    2021     2020  
             
Less than one year $ 263   $ 238  
One to five years   637     653  
More than five years   262     425  
Total at the end of the year $ 1,162   $ 1,316  

The following amounts have been recognized in Earnings or Loss:

    Years ended  
    December 31,     December 31,  
    2021     2020  
             
Interest on lease liabilities $ (73 ) $ (84 )
Expenses related to short-term leases $ (649 ) $ (388 )

As at December 31, 2021, the lease liabilities have a weighted-average interest rate of 7.32%. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company recognized $73 in interest expense on the lease liabilities (December 31, 2020 - $84) and $649 related to short term rentals, primarily for rented mining equipment and employee housing (December 31, 2020 - $388).