Wheaton Precious Metals™ Corp. is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Wheaton Precious Metals International Ltd. has entered into a definitive Precious Metals Purchase Agreement with Waterton Copper Corp., a subsidiary of Waterton Copper LP in respect to its 100% owned Mineral Park Mine located in Arizona, USA.

“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 in US$ unless otherwise noted)

• Upfront Consideration: WPMI will pay Waterton Copper total upfront cash consideration of $115 million in four payments during construction (three installments of $25 million and a final installment of $40 million).
• Streamed Metal: Under the Silver Stream, WPMI will purchase 100% of the payable silver from the Project for the life of the mine. Payable silver is calculated using a fixed payable factor of 90%.
• Production Profile¹: Attributable production is forecast to average over 0.69 million ounces (“Moz”) of silver per year for the first five years of production and over 0.74 Moz 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 ongoing payments for the silver ounces delivered equal to 18% of the spot price of silver (“Production Payment”) until the uncredited deposit is reduced to nil and 22% of the spot price of silver thereafter.
• Incremental Reserves and Resources¹: The addition of Mineral Park will increase Wheaton’s total estimated Proven and Probable Mineral silver reserves by 14.6 Moz, 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 matters.

Financing the Transactions

As at June 30, 2023, the Company had approximately $829 million of cash on hand, which we believe 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 fund 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

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 north-west 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 funded and is investing approximately $600 million to execute Phase 2 of its operating plan, which will bring the site to over one hundred million pounds of copper equivalent annually and fully modernize the operation.

Attributable Silver Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources – Mineral Park Mine

Neil Burns, P.Geo., Vice President, Technical Services for Wheaton Precious Metals and Ryan Ulansky, P.Eng., Vice President, Engineering, are a “qualified person” 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).