Wheaton Precious Metals and Vale Base Metals Announce Achievement of First Phase Completion Test at Salobo
November 21, 2023
Vancouver, British Columbia
Wheaton Precious Metals and Vale Base Metals Announce Achievement of First Phase
Completion Test at Salobo
Vancouver, British Columbia/Toronto, Ontario – Wheaton Precious Metals™ Corp. (“Wheaton” or
the “Company”) (TSX | NYSE | LSE: WPM ), Wheaton Precious Metals International Ltd.
(“Wheaton International”) and Vale Base Metals Limited (“VBM”) (NYSE:VALE) are pleased to
announce the successful completion of the throughput test for the first phase of the Salobo III
expansion project, a significant milestone that demonstrates increased reliability and continued
strong performance at VBM’s flagship copper project in Brazil. The test required VBM’s Salobo
complex to run at an average annualized throughput of 32 million tonnes per annum (“Mtpa”) for
a period of 90 days. VBM confirmed completion of the test on November 17, 2023, with an
average throughput of 32.3 Mtpa.
“As a cornerstone asset in Wheaton’s portfolio, Salobo is once again proving itself to be a top-tier
operation. The ramp-up of the expansion at the Salobo Mine has not only met but surpassed our
expectations, and we extend our sincere congratulations to the Vale Base Metals team in
achieving this significant milestone ,” said Randy Smallwood, President and Chief Executive
Officer of Wheaton. “An accomplishment of this magnitude is made possible by the dedication of
the on-site team and their commitment to operational excellence. These efforts have resulted in
significant enhancements to both Salobo ’s reliability and operational performance, and w e
continue to forecast meaningful production from Salobo over the next several years. As the
expansion project advances, we look forward to our continued partnership with Vale Base Metals
as they embark on this exciting next phase of growth.”
“This is a great accomplishment for the Salobo teams and our entire organization,” said VBM
Chief Executive Officer Deshnee Naidoo. “The consistent performance at Salobo shows we are
taking the right actions to unlock value across the portfolio with a focus on driving effi ciency and
operational excellence. Salobo III is a US$1.1 billion investment in our future that leverages our
unique exposure to a Tier 1 copper hub in the Carajás region – a distinct competitive advantage
and growth engine as we look to accelerate copper production and deliver critical minerals the
world needs.”
Salobo – Mill Throughput Expansion
The Salobo mine historically had a mill throughput capacity of 24 Mtpa, and having now exceeded
throughput capacity of 32 Mtpa, is currently ramping up to full capacity of 36 Mtpa, expected in
the fourth quarter of 2024. Under the terms of the Salobo preci ous metals purchase agreement
(“PMPA”), Wheaton International will make a payment to Vale Base Metals totalling $370 million
for completion of the first phase of the Salobo III expansion project. The remaining balance of the
expansion payment is dependent on the timing of completion and will be triggered once Vale Base
Metals expands actual throughput above 35 Mtpa for a period of 90 days. In addition, Wheaton
International will be required to make annual payments of between $5.1 million to $8.5 million for
a 10-year period following payment of the expansion payments if the Salobo mine implements a
high-grade mine plan.
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Financing the Expansion Payment
As at September 30, 2023, the Company had approximately $834 million of cash on hand, which
when combined with the liquidity provided by the available credit under the $2 billion revolving
term loan and the strength of our ongoing operating cash flows, pos itions the Company well to
fund the Salobo expansion payment in addition to the recently announced acquisition of the
Platreef, Kudz Ze Kayah and Curraghinalt streams, 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 traditi onal 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 outperform ed 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 Vale Base Metals
Vale Base Metals, the holding entity for Vale’s energy transition metals business, is one of the
world’s largest producers of high -quality nickel and an important producer of copper and
responsibly sourced cobalt. With a corporate presence in Toronto, Canada, and operations in
Newfoundland & Labrador, Ontario, Manitoba, Indonesia, Brazil, the UK and Japan, the business
delivers critical building blocks for a cleaner, greener future.
For further information:
Investor Contact
Emma Murray
Vice President, Investor Relations
Tel: 1-844-288-9878
Email: [email protected]
Media Contact
Simona Antolak
Vice President, Communications & Corporate Affairs
Tel: 604-639-9870
Email: [email protected]
Vale Media
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CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward -looking information" within the
meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation concerning the business, operations and
financial performance of Wheaton and, in some instances, the business, mining operations and
performance of Wheaton’s PMPA counterparties. Forward -looking statements, which are all
statements other than statements of historical fact, include, but are not limited to, statements with
respect to payments to Vale Base Metals in connection with the Salobo III expansion, the
satisfaction of each party's obligations in accordance with the Salobo PMPA and the receipt of
additional gold production in respect of the Salobo III expansion, the future price of commodities,
the estimation of future production from Mining Operations (including in the estimation of
production, mill throughput, grades, recoveries and exploration potential), the estimation of
mineral reserves and mineral resources (including the estimation of reserve conversion rates) and
the realization of such estimations, the commencement, timing and achievement of construction,
expansion or improvement projects by Wheaton’s PM PA counterparties at mineral stream
interests owned by Wheaton (the “Mining Operations”), the payment of upfront cash consideration
to counterparties under PMPAs, the satisfaction of each party's obligations in accordance with
PMPAs and royalty arrangements and the receipt by the Company of precious metals and cobalt
production in respect of the applicable Mining Operations under PMPAs or other payments under
royalty arrangements, the ability of Wheaton’s PMPA counterparties to comply with the terms of
a PMPA (including as a result of the business, mining operations and performance of Wheaton’s
PMPA counterparties) and the potential impacts of such on Wheaton, future payments by the
Company in accordance with PMPAs, the costs of future production, the estima tion of produced
but not yet delivered ounces, the impact of epidemics (including the COVID -19 virus pandemic),
including the potential heightening of other risks, future sales of common shares under the ATM
program, continued listing of the Company’s comm on shares, any statements as to future
dividends, the ability to fund outstanding commitments and the ability to continue to acquire
accretive PMPAs, including any acceleration of payments, projected increases to Wheaton's
production and cash flow profile, projected changes to Wheaton's production mix, the ability of
Wheaton’s PMPA counterparties to comply with the terms of any other obligations under
agreements with the Company, the ability to sell precious metals and cobalt production,
confidence in the C ompany's business structure, the Company's assessment of taxes payable
and the impact of the CRA Settlement, possible domestic audits for taxation years subsequent to
2016 and international audits, the Company’s assessment of the impact of any tax
reassessments, the Company's intention to file future tax returns in a manner consistent with the
CRA Settlement, the Company’s climate change and environmental commitments, and
assessments of the impact and resolution of various legal and tax matters, including but not limited
to audits. Generally, these forward -looking statements can be identified by the use of forward -
looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget",
"scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "projects", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate",
or "believes", "potential", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain
actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be
achieved". Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties
and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements
of Wheaton to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such fo rward-looking
statements, including but not limited to risks related to the satisfaction of each party's obligations
in accordance with the terms of the Salobo PMPA, the satisfaction of each party's obligations in
accordance with the terms of the Company’s PMPAs or royalty arrangements, risks associated
with fluctuations in the price of commodities (including Wheaton’s ability to sell its precious metals
or cobalt production at acceptable prices or at all), risks related to the Mining Operations (including
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fluctuations in the price of the primary or other commodities mined at such operations, regulatory,
political and other risks of the jurisdictions in which the Mining Operations are located, actual
results of mining, risks associated with the exploration, development, operating, expansion and
improvement of the Mining Operations, environmental and economic risks of the Mining
Operations, and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined), the absence of
control over the Mining Operations and having to rely on the accuracy of the public disclosure and
other information Wheaton receives from the Mining Operations, uncertainty in the estimation of
production from Mining Operations, uncertainty in the accuracy of mineral reserve and mineral
resource estimation, risks of significant impacts on Wheaton or the Mining Operations as a result
of an epidemic (including the COVID-19 virus pandemic), the ability of each party to satisfy their
obligations in accordance with the terms of the PMPAs, the estim ation of future production from
Mining Operations, Wheaton's interpretation of, compliance with or application of, tax laws and
regulations or accounting policies and rules being found to be incorrect, any challenge or
reassessment by the CRA of the Company's tax filings being successful and the potential negative
impact to the Company's previous and future tax filings, assessing the impact of the CRA
Settlement (including whether there will be any material change in the Company's facts or change
in law or jurisprudence), potential amendments to Canada’s transfer pricing rules under the
Income Tax Act (Canada) that may result from the Department of Finance’s consultation paper
released June 6, 2023, potential implementation of a 15% global minimum tax, including the draft
legislation issued for consultation by the Canadian Federal Government on August 4, 2023 that
would apply to the income of the Company’s non-Canadian subsidiaries; counterparty credit and
liquidity, mine operator concentration, indebtedness and guarantees, hedging, competition, claims
and legal proceedings against Wheaton or the Mining Operations, security over underlying assets,
governmental regulations, international operations of Wheaton and the Mining Operations,
exploration, development, operations, expansions and improvements at the Mining Operations,
environmental regulations, climate change, Wheaton and the Mining Operations ability to obtain
and maintain necessary licenses, permits, approvals and rulings, Wheaton and the Mining
Operations ability to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permitting requirements, lack of
suitable supplies, infrastructure and employees to support the Mining Operations, inability to
replace and expand mineral reserves, including anticipated timing of the commencement of
production by certain Mining Operations (including increases in production, estimated grades and
recoveries), uncertainties of title and indigenous rights with respect to the Mining Operations,
environmental, social and governance ma tters, Wheaton and the Mining Operations ability to
obtain adequate financing, the Mining Operations ability to complete permitting, construction,
development and expansion, global financial conditions, Wheaton’s acquisition strategy and other
risks discussed in the section entitled "Description of the Business – Risk Factors" in Wheaton's
Annual Information Form available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and Wheaton's Form 40 -F
for the year ended December 31, 2022 on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
on EDGAR (the "Disclosure”). Forward -looking statements are based on assumptions
management currently believes to be reasonable, including (without limitation): the payments to
Vale Base Metals and the satisfaction of each party's obligations in accordance with the terms of
the Salobo PMPA, that there will be no material adverse change in the market price of
commodities, that the Mining Operations will continue to operate and the mining projects will be
completed in accordance with public statem ents and achieve their stated production estimates,
that the mineral reserves and mineral resource estimates from Mining Operations (including
reserve conversion rates) are accurate, that each party will satisfy their obligations in accordance
with the PMPAs, that Wheaton will continue to be able to fund or obtain funding for outstanding
commitments, that Wheaton will be able to source and obtain accretive PMPAs, that neither
Wheaton nor the Mining Operations will suffer significant impacts as a result of a n epidemic
(including the COVID-19 virus pandemic), that any outbreak or threat of an outbreak of a virus or
other contagions or epidemic disease will be adequately responded to locally, nationally,
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regionally and internationally, without such response requiring any prolonged closure of the Mining
Operations or having other material adverse effects on the Company and counterparties to its
PMPAs, that the trading of the Company’s common shares will not be adversely affected by the
differences in liquidity, settlement and clearing systems as a result of multiple listings of the
Common Shares on the LSE, the TSX and the NYSE, that the trading of the Company’s common
shares will not be suspended, and that the net proceeds of sales of common shares, if any, will
be used as anticipated, that expectations regarding the resolution of legal and tax matters will be
achieved (including ongoing CRA audits involving the Company), that Wheaton has properly
considered the interpretation and application of Canadian tax law to its structure and operations,
that Wheaton has filed its tax returns and paid applicable taxes in compliance with Canadian tax
law, that Wheaton's application of the CRA Settlement is accurate (inc luding the Company's
assessment that there will be no material change in the Company's facts or change in law or
jurisprudence), and such other assumptions and factors as set out in the Disclosure. There can
be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and even if events or
results described in the forward -looking statements are realized or substantially realized, there
can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences to, or effects on, Wheaton.
Readers should not place undue reliance on forward -looking statements and are cautioned that
actual outcomes may vary. The forward -looking statements included herein are for the purpose
of providing readers with information to assist them in understanding Wheaton's expect ed
financial and operational performance and may not be appropriate for other purposes. Any
forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made, reflects Wheaton’s
management’s current beliefs based on current information and will not be updated except in
accordance with applicable securities laws. Although Wheaton has attempted to identify important
factors that could cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to differ
materially from those contained in forwa rd looking statements, there may be other factors that
cause results, level of activity, performance or achievements not to be as anticipated, estimated
or intended.