Exhibit 97
POLICY FOR THE RECOVERY OF ERRONEOUS COMPENSATION
A. | OVERVIEW |
In accordance with the applicable rules of The New York Stock Exchange Listed Company Manual (the “NYSE Rules”), Section 10D and Rule 10D-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) (“Rule 10D-1”), the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Southern Copper Corporation (the “Company”) has adopted this Policy (the “Policy”) to provide for the recovery of erroneously awarded Incentive-based Compensation from Executive Officers. All capitalized terms used and not otherwise defined herein shall have the meanings set forth in the “Definitions” section.
B. | RECOVERY OF ERRONEOUS COMPENSATION |
1. | In the event of an Accounting Restatement, the Company will reasonably promptly recover the Erroneous Compensation Received in accordance with NYSE Rules and Rule 10D-1 as follows: |
(i) | After an Accounting Restatement, a Committee composed by a majority of independent directors serving on the Board (the “Committee”) shall determine the amount of any Erroneous Compensation Received by each Executive Officer and shall promptly notify each Executive Officer with a written notice containing the amount of any Erroneous Compensation and a demand for repayment or return of such compensation, as applicable. |
(a) | For Incentive-based Compensation based on (or derived from) the Company’s stock price or total shareholder return, where the amount of Erroneous Compensation is not subject to mathematical recalculation directly from the information in the applicable Accounting Restatement: |
i. | The amount to be repaid or returned shall be determined by the Committee based on a reasonable estimate of the effect of the Accounting Restatement on the Company’s stock price or total shareholder return upon which the Incentive-based Compensation was Received; and |
ii. | The Company shall maintain documentation of the determination of such reasonable estimate and provide the relevant documentation as required to the NYSE. |
(ii) | The Committee shall have discretion to determine the appropriate means of recovering the Erroneous Compensation based on the particular facts and circumstances. Notwithstanding the foregoing, except as set forth in Section B (2) below, in no event may the Company accept an amount that is less than the amount of Erroneous Compensation in satisfaction of an Executive Officer’s obligations hereunder. |
(iii) | To the extent that the Executive Officer has already reimbursed the Company for any Erroneous Compensation Received under any duplicative recovery obligations established by the Company or applicable law, it shall be appropriate for any such reimbursed amount to be credited to the amount of Erroneous Compensation that is subject to recovery under this Policy. |
(iv) | To the extent that an Executive Officer fails to repay all Erroneous Compensation to the Company when due, the Company shall take all actions reasonable and appropriate to recover such Erroneous Compensation from the applicable Executive Officer. The applicable Executive Officer shall be required to reimburse the Company for any and all expenses reasonably incurred (including legal fees) by the Company in recovering such Erroneous Compensation in accordance with the immediately preceding sentence. |
2. | Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Company shall not be required to take the actions contemplated by Section B(1) above if the Committee determines that recovery would be impracticable and any of the following conditions are met: |
i. | The Committee has determined that the direct expenses paid to a third party to assist in enforcing the Policy would exceed the amount to be recovered. Before making this determination, the Company must make a reasonable attempt to recover the Erroneous Compensation, documented such |
attempt(s) and provided such documentation to the NYSE;
ii. | Recovery would violate home country law where that law was adopted prior to November 28, 2022, provided that, before determining that it would be impracticable to recover any amount of Erroneous Compensation based on violation of home country law, the Company has obtained an opinion of home country counsel, acceptable to the NYSE, that recovery would result in such a violation and a copy of the opinion is provided to NYSE; or |
iii. | Recovery would likely cause an otherwise tax-qualified retirement plan, under which benefits are broadly available to employees of the Company, to fail to meet the requirements of Section 401(a)(13) or Section 411(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and regulations thereunder. |
C. | DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS |
The Company shall file all disclosures with respect to this Policy required by applicable U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) filings and rules.
D. | PROHIBITION OF INDEMNIFICATION |
The Company shall not be permitted to insure or indemnify any Executive Officer against (i) the loss of any Erroneous Compensation that is repaid, returned or recovered pursuant to the terms of this Policy, or (ii) any claims relating to the Company’s enforcement of its rights under this Policy. Further, the Company shall not enter into any agreement that exempts any Incentive-based Compensation that is granted, paid or awarded to an Executive Officer from the application of this Policy or that waives the Company’s right to recovery of any Erroneous Compensation, and this Policy shall supersede any such agreement (whether entered into before, on or after the Effective Date of this Policy).
E. | ADMINISTRATION AND INTERPRETATION |
This Policy shall be administered by the Committee, and any determinations made by the Committee shall be final and binding on all affected individuals.
The Committee is authorized to interpret and construe this Policy and to make all determinations necessary, appropriate, or advisable for the administration of this Policy and for the Company’s compliance with NYSE Rules, Section 10D, Rule 10D-1 and any other applicable law, regulation, rule or interpretation of the SEC or NYSE promulgated or issued in connection therewith.
F. | AMENDMENT; TERMINATION |
The Committee may amend this Policy from time to time in its discretion and shall amend this Policy as it deems necessary. Notwithstanding anything in this Section F to the contrary, no amendment or termination of this Policy shall be effective if such amendment or termination would (after taking into account any actions taken by the Company contemporaneously with such amendment or termination) cause the Company to violate any federal securities laws, SEC rule or NYSE rule.
G. | OTHER RECOVERY RIGHTS |
This Policy shall be binding and enforceable against all Executive Officers and, to the extent required by applicable law or guidance from the SEC or NYSE, their beneficiaries, heirs, executors, administrators or other legal representatives. The Committee intends that this Policy will be applied to the fullest extent required by applicable law. Any employment agreement, equity award agreement, compensatory plan or any other agreement or arrangement with an Executive Officer shall be deemed to include, as a condition to the grant of any benefit thereunder, an agreement by the Executive Officer to abide by the terms of this Policy. Any right of recovery under this Policy is in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other remedies or rights of recovery that may be available to the Company under applicable law, regulation or rule or pursuant to the terms of any policy of the Company or any provision in any employment agreement, equity award agreement, compensatory plan, agreement or other arrangement.
Effective as of November 30, 2023
DEFINITIONS
For purposes of this Policy, the following capitalized terms shall have the meanings set forth below.