18:03:49 EDT Sat 18 May 2024
Enter Symbol
or Name
USA
CA



Wheaton Precious Metals Corp
Symbol WPM
Shares Issued 452,996,141
Close 2023-10-24 C$ 59.95
Market Cap C$ 27,157,118,653
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Wheaton Precious to buy new Ag stream on Mineral Park

2023-10-24 18:30 ET - News Release

Mr. Randy Smallwood reports

WHEATON PRECIOUS METALS ANNOUNCES THE ACQUISITION OF A NEW SILVER STREAM ON THE MINERAL PARK MINE

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.'s wholly owned subsidiary, Wheaton Precious Metals International Ltd. (WPMI), has entered into a definitive precious metals purchase agreement (the silver stream) with Waterton Copper Corp., a subsidiary of Waterton Copper LP, in respect to its 100-per-cent-owned Mineral Park mine located in Arizona, United States.

"Wheaton is excited to bring Mineral Park back into our portfolio given our long history with the mine, particularly given the work Waterton Copper has done to optimize the operation," said Randy Smallwood, Wheaton's president and chief executive officer. "Our unique understanding of Mineral Park, and its potential, positions us well to assist Waterton Copper in bringing the mine back into production in a sustainable manner. As global efforts to transition to a low-carbon economy accelerate, critical metals, such as copper, that are produced responsibly within politically stable jurisdictions, have never been more important.

"Waterton Copper is delighted to have Wheaton Precious Metals' support," said Isser Elishis, executive chairman of Waterton Copper. "Waterton is investing approximately $600-million to optimize Mineral Park including significant capital investments in new primary crushers, secondary and pebble crushing circuits, and new higher-power SAG mills, which are expected to result in decades of operational excellence."

Transaction details

(All values are in United States dollars unless otherwise noted.)

  • Upfront consideration: WPMI will pay Waterton Copper total upfront cash consideration of $115-million in four payments during construction (three instalments of $25-million and a final instalment of $40-million).
  • Streamed metal: Under the silver stream, WPMI will purchase 100 per cent of the payable silver from the project for the life of the mine. Payable silver is calculated using a fixed payable factor of 90 per cent.
  • Production profile: Attributable production is forecast to average over 690,000 ounces (Moz) of silver per year for the first five years of production and over 740,000 ounces of silver per year for the life of mine, with construction to be completed by the end of Q1 2025. Mineral Park is forecast to have a 12-year mine life, with the potential to expand the mine life to over 20 years.
  • Production payments: WPMI will make continuing payments for the silver ounces delivered equal to 18 per cent of the spot price of silver (production payment) until the uncredited deposit is reduced to nil and 22 per cent of the spot price of silver thereafter.
  • Incremental reserves and resources: The addition of Mineral Park will increase Wheaton's total estimated proven and probable mineral silver reserves by 14.6 million oz, measured and indicated mineral silver resources by 18.4 Moz, and inferred silver resources by 16.2 Moz.
  • Other considerations:
    • The silver stream will include a customary completion test.
    • WPMI will provide a secured debt facility of up to $25-million once the full upfront consideration has been paid.
    • WPMI has also obtained a right of first refusal on any future precious metals streams, royalty, prepay or similar transactions.
    • Waterton Copper and Origin Mining Company LLC (the direct owner of Mineral Park, Origin) will provide WPMI with corporate guarantees and certain other security over their assets.
    • Waterton Copper is expected to comply in all material respects with WPMI's Partner/Supplier Code of Conduct, which outlines Wheaton's expectations in regard to environmental, social and governance (ESG) matters.

Financing the transactions

As at June 30, 2023, the company had approximately $829-million of cash on hand, which the company believes when combined with the liquidity provided by the available credit under the $2-billion revolving term loan and ongoing operating cash flows, positions the company well to finance the acquisition of the silver stream as well as all outstanding commitments and known contingencies and provides flexibility to acquire additional accretive mineral stream interests.

About Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.

Wheaton is the world's premier precious metals streaming company with the highest-quality portfolio of long-life, low-cost assets. Its business model offers investors commodity price leverage and exploration upside but with a much lower risk profile than a traditional mining company. Wheaton delivers amongst the highest cash operating margins in the mining industry, allowing it to pay a competitive dividend and continue to grow through accretive acquisitions. As a result, Wheaton has consistently outperformed gold and silver, as well as other mining investments. Wheaton is committed to strong ESG practices and giving back to the communities where Wheaton and its mining partners operate. Wheaton creates sustainable value through streaming for all of its stakeholders.

About Waterton Copper and Mineral Park

Owned and operated by Origin, a subsidiary of Waterton Copper LP, Mineral Park is a polymetallic mine located in northwest Arizona, 18 miles north of Kingsman. A copper-molybdenum-silver porphyry deposit with a long mining history, Mineral Park is currently under phase 2 construction which is expected to be completed by the end of Q1 2025. Waterton Copper is fully financed and is investing approximately $600-million to execute phase 2 of its operating plan, which will bring the site to over 100 million pounds of copper equivalent annually and fully modernize the operation.

Neil Burns, PGeo, vice-president, technical services, for Wheaton Precious Metals and Ryan Ulansky, PEng, vice-president, engineering, are qualified persons as such term is defined under National Instrument 43-101, and have reviewed and approved the technical information disclosed in this news release (specifically Mr. Burns has reviewed mineral resource estimates and Mr. Ulansky has reviewed the mineral reserve estimates).

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