Wheaton Precious Metals™ Corp. has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Wheaton Precious Metals International Ltd (WPMI) has entered into a definitive precious metals purchase agreement with a wholly-owned subsidiary of BHP Group Ltd for its 33.75% portion of the silver produced at the Antamina Mine located in Peru. Upon closing, Wheaton will receive a combined 67.5% of all the silver produced from Antamina, up from the 33.75% currently delivered under the existing Glencore silver stream.
“Wheaton has grown into the company we are today by entering into stream agreements on world class operations and adding exceptional assets to our portfolio, and Antamina has long stood as one of our true cornerstones”, said Haytham Hodaly, President of Wheaton Precious Metals. “Deepening our exposure to an asset of this scale, quality, and longevity is a unique and transformative opportunity for Wheaton, made even more meaningful through our collaboration with BHP. Antamina is a proven, long-life, low-cost operation that will deliver immediate production and operating cash flow, and we are confident it will continue to create lasting value for our stakeholders well into the future.”
“Quality silver production is becoming increasingly difficult to source while demand continues to rise for both critical industrial uses and for silver’s safe haven qualities in today’s economic environment”, said Randy Smallwood, CEO of Wheaton Precious Metals. “Our expanded stream on Antamina reinforces Wheaton’s role as one of the largest silver producers in the world and further adds to one of the strongest growth profiles in the mining sector. The largest mining company in the world has chosen streaming as a means to unlock value from silver, underscoring how compelling the streaming model has become. We are excited to continue building on this long-standing relationship with the exceptional consortium behind Antamina that shares our commitment to responsible development and long-term value creation.”