Wheaton Precious Metals secures $530m in existing streams

Bruno Venditti | November 16, 2023 | 10:59 am News 
Ivanhoe Mines secures $300 million in stream financing for Platreef
Construction at Platreef’s shaft 1. (Image courtesy of Ivanhoe Mines.)

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp (LSE: WPM, TSX:WPM, NYSE:WPM) announced on Thursday agreements to acquire existing royalty streams on Ivanhoe Mines’ Platreef project in South Africa and BMC Minerals’ Kudz Ze Kayah project in the Yukon Territory.

Wheaton will pay $450 million to Orion on the closing of the acquisition of the Platreef Streams and Kudz Ze Kayah Streams, with an additional $5 million contingency payment in respect of the Kudz Ze Kayah Stream.

In addition, the company will pay $20 million to an affiliate of Dalradian Gold on an early deposit basis relative to the Curraghinalt Stream, with an additional $55 million being paid during construction of the Curraghinalt Project, subject to various customary conditions being satisfied.

“The acquisition of these diverse, high-quality streams fits seamlessly into our portfolio of high-margin, low-cost assets, with near-term production from Platreef significantly adding to our already robust growth profile,” Wheaton Precious Metals CEO Randy Smallwood said.

According to Ivanhoe, Platreef is the world’s largest undeveloped precious metals project. Attributable production at Platreef is forecast to average over 13,000 ounces of gold and 8,500 ounces of each of palladium and platinum per year for the first 10 years of production, increasing to over 24,000 ounces of gold and 13,500 ounces of each palladium and platinum per year for the following 10 years of production.

Commercial production is expected in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Shares of Wheaton Precious Metals rose 3% in late-morning trading on Thursday. The company has a $20.7 billion market capitalization.

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