Q3 2025 Wheaton Precious Metals Corp Earnings Call
Speaker #3: Good morning , ladies and gentlemen . Thank you for standing by . Welcome to Wheaton Precious Metals , 2025 , third Quarter Results conference call .
Speaker #3: All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise after the speakers remarks , there will be a question and answer session .
Speaker #3: If you would like to ask a question during this time , simply press star . Then the number one on your telephone keypad .
Speaker #3: Or type your answer in the Q&A box of the webinar . If you would like to withdraw your question , please press star two .
Speaker #3: Thank you . I would like to remind everyone that this conference call is being recorded on Friday , November seven , 2025 at 11 a.m.
Speaker #3: Eastern Time . I will now turn the conference over to Emma Murray Vice President of Investor Relations . Please go ahead .
Speaker #4: Thank you . Operator . Good morning , ladies and gentlemen , and thank you for participating in today's call . I'm joined today by Randy Smallwood Wheaton's , chief Executive Officer , Haytham Hodaly president Kurt Bernardy , EVP , strategy and General Counsel , Vincent Lau Chief Financial Officer Wes Carson , VP , mining operations .
Speaker #4: And Neil Burns , VP , corporate Development . For those not currently viewing the webcast , please note that a PDF version of the slide presentation is available on the presentations page of our website .
Speaker #4: Some of the comments on today's call may include forward looking statements . Please refer to slide two for important cautionary information and disclosures .
Speaker #4: It should be noted that all figures referred to on today's call are in US dollars , unless otherwise noted . With that , I'll turn the call over to Randy Smallwood .
Speaker #5: Thank you , Emma , and good morning , everyone . Thank you for joining us today to discuss Wheaton's third quarter results of 2025 .
Speaker #5: We are pleased to announce that our portfolio of long life , low cost assets has once again delivered strong results this quarter , enabling us to achieve record revenue , earnings and operating cash flow for the first nine months of 2025 .
Speaker #5: This performance underscores the streaming model's unique ability to generate predictable levered cash flows, while maintaining a deferred payment schedule and advantages not offered by the traditional royalty model, which requires full upfront payments and lacks embedded leverage.
Speaker #5: And of course , 100% of Wheaton's revenue comes from streams providing a competitive advantage , amongst others , in the space . As a result of strong performances by key assets , including Sihlobo and Antamina , coupled with the ramp up of production at Blackwater and Goose , we recorded production of 173,000 gold equivalent ounces this quarter and are firmly on track to achieve our 2025 production guidance of 600 to 670,000 gold equivalent ounces .
Speaker #5: And with over $1.2 billion in cash and an undrawn $2.5 billion revolving credit facility in accordion, along with strong growing projected cash flows, the company remains well positioned to meet all funding commitments and pursue new creative opportunities.
Speaker #5: Continuing to grow our . And continuing to grow our competitive dividend based on this strong financial foundation . Wheaton also continues to invest in innovation mining sector , as well as community initiatives alongside our mining partners .
Speaker #5: During the quarter , Wheaton launched its second annual Future of Mining Challenge , which this year focuses on advancing sustainable water management technologies .
Speaker #5: Following the close of Expressions of Interest phase 17 proposals have been selected to advance , with the winner to be announced at the Pdac Conference in March of 2026 .
Speaker #5: And with that , it is my pleasure to now turn the call over to our president Haytham Hodaly . Thank you Randy .
Speaker #6: Good across the everyone . Alongside strong performances from our producing assets , Wheaton's growth profile was further de-risked through continued progress across six key development projects scheduled to come online over the next 24 months .
Speaker #6: Notably, several of these projects have announced accelerated timelines or expansions, reinforcing confidence in our previously forecasted 40% production growth by 2029.
Speaker #6: Furthermore , recent joint venture announcements marked significant progress for Copper World and Santo Domingo . Further de-risking both projects . We are pleased to have announced two new streaming transactions over the past two months , one with Carcetti on the Hemlo mine and another with Waterton Gold on the Spring Valley project , for which Neil Burns will share more details later in this call .
Speaker #6: These announcements reinforce our disciplined approach to capital deployment as we remain focused on identifying accretive opportunities that are thoughtfully structured to deliver meaningful and lasting value for all stakeholders.
Speaker #6: With a solid foundation of organic growth that continues to strengthen , the company is well positioned to pursue opportunities that align with our long term strategy and uphold our commitment to quality as we have demonstrated with our most recent transactions .
Speaker #6: And with that, I would like to turn the call over to Wes Carson, who will provide more details on our operating results.
Speaker #6: to now
Speaker #6: Wes .
Speaker #7: Thanks, Ethan. Good morning, everyone.
Speaker #7: Overall production in the third quarter was 173,000oz , a 22% increase from the prior year , primarily due to strong production at soluble and anti-mena coupled with the commencement of production at Blackwater in Q3 , soluble produced 67,000oz of attributable gold , 7% increase from last year , driven by higher throughput grades and recovery .
Speaker #7: Ballet reported by the end of July . He had fully ramped up and the entire complex is now operating at full capacity , consistently delivering strong operational performance .
Speaker #7: Valley continues to advance a series of growth focused initiatives to enhance efficiencies and support long and medium term production growth across the global complex .
Speaker #7: Constancia produced 19,500oz of attributable GEOs in . 9% improvement from last year , primarily driven by 19% higher gold production resulting from higher grades , partially offset by an 11% decline in silver output due to lower throughput .
Speaker #7: On September 23rd , 2025 , Hudbay minerals commented on the ongoing social unrest in Peru , where Constancio has was impacted by local protests and a blockades .
Speaker #7: The mill was temporarily shut down as a safety precaution , while authorities addressed the situation . On October 7th , 2025 , Hudbay announced that operations had resumed and throughput has since returned to normal levels .
Speaker #7: Penasquito produced 2.1 million ounces of attributable silver in Q3, up 17% from last year, primarily driven by higher throughput and partially offset by lower grades.
Speaker #7: As mining transitioned back into the pit , which contains lower silver grades relative to Chile , Colorado in the third quarter . Blackwater produced 6400oz of attributable GEOs , supported by higher than expected throughput and grades .
Speaker #7: Production for the year is expected to be weighted to the fourth quarter , with higher mill throughput rates and feed grades expected compared to Q3 2025 .
Speaker #7: Artemis has also announced a 33% increase to phase one processing plant capacity , raising the nameplate from 6 million tonnes per annum to 8 million tonnes per annum , with a targeted completion date by the end of 2026 .
Speaker #7: In addition , Artemis is nearing completion of front end engineering and design work for an optimized and accelerated phase two expansion , with an investment decision expected before year end in Q3 .
Speaker #7: Almeida restarted production of zinc and lead concentrates at the Aljustrel mine, resulting in the resumption of attributable silver production to the company during the quarter.
Speaker #7: Goose transitioned from commissioning to commercial production , which was announced on October 6th . As reported by B2 gold Open Pit and underground mining rates at the deposit have continued to meet or exceed expectations during the 30 day commercial production period .
Speaker #7: B2 gold has also reported that gold recoveries have been in line with expectations , and are expected to average higher than 90% through Q4 of 2025 .
Speaker #7: Wheaton's production outlook for 2025 remains unchanged , with and we continue to believe that we are well on track to achieve our annual production guidance of 600,000 to 670,000 GEOs at the Lobo .
Speaker #7: Attributable production is expected to remain steady through the remainder of the year , supported by solid mining rates and consistent plant performance thru one , two and three at penasquito , production is forecast to be in line with budget and slightly down from Q3 due to steady mill performance and planned mine sequencing within the Pinasco pit at Antimena .
Speaker #7: Attributable productions anticipated to strengthen in Q4 as the mine continues processing a higher portion of copper zinc over . As mentioned by Randy , we remain confident that our catalyst Rich year is progressing as expected with initial contributions from Mineral Park , Plat Reef and Hemlo .
Speaker #7: Still forecast by the end of 2025. That concludes the operations overview. And with that, I will turn the call over to Vincent.
Speaker #7: Thank you .
Speaker #6: As detailed by West .
Speaker #5: , production in Q3 . was 173,000 .
Speaker #6: GEOs , a .
Speaker #8: 22% increase from last year , due mainly to stronger production from Lobo and Antamina , coupled with the commencement of production at Blackwater .
Speaker #8: Sales volumes were 138,000 GEOs , an increase of 13% from last year , driven by strong production from the second quarter . Partially offset by a build up of produced but not yet delivered or planned due to timing differences between production and sales .
Speaker #8: At the end of Q3 . The Pbd balance was approximately 152,000 GEOs , which is about 2.9 months of payable production . We expect Pbd levels to stay at the higher end of our forecasted range of 2 to 3 months for the remainder of 2025 , partly due to the ramp up of new mines , forecast in Q4 .
Speaker #8: Strong commodity prices, coupled with solid production, led to record quarterly revenue of $476 million, an increase of 55% compared to last year.
Speaker #8: This increase was driven mainly by a 37% increase in commodity prices and a 13% increase in sales volumes , 58% of this revenue came from gold , 39% from silver , and the rest from palladium and cobalt with silver .
Speaker #8: Recently outpacing gold and reaching record highs . Our substantial silver exposure sets us apart from our peers and positions us well to benefit from the current pricing momentum .
Speaker #8: Net earnings increased by 138% from the prior year to $367 million , while adjusted net earnings increased by 84% to $281 million . Operating cash flow increased to $383 million , a 51% increase from last year .
Speaker #8: These gains outpaced the increase in gold and silver prices during the same period , highlighting the leverage from fixed per ounce production payments , which made up 76% of our revenue during the quarter .
Speaker #8: We made total upfront cash payments for streams of $250 million , including $156 million for Kony , 50 million for Phoenix and 44 million for Chromebook .
Speaker #8: As our portfolio of development assets continued to advance toward production during the quarter , Cimoc exercised its one third buyback option under the Pampa in exchange for 102 million cash payment , resulting in a gain of 86 million and delivering an impressive pretax IRR of 185% to Wheaton .
Speaker #8: Overall net cash inflows amounted to $151 million in the quarter , resulting in a cash balance of approximately 1.2 billion at September 30th .
Speaker #8: For the Hemlo stream, we expect to make the entire $300 million upfront payment at deal close in Q4 2025 and begin recording production immediately thereafter for the Spring Valley stream.
Speaker #8: The total upfront payment of 670 million will be paid in installments , as various conditions are satisfied . This structure reflects our disciplined approach to providing funding throughout construction .
Speaker #8: While ensuring the project remains adequately financed and on track at each stage . When these two streams are added to our existing stream , funding commitments , we expect to disburse approximately $2.5 billion in upfront payments by the end of 2029 .
Speaker #8: This reflects growth that we have ceded , but not yet funded , and demonstrates a highly efficient use of our capital . With $1.2 billion in cash and expected annual operating cash flows of 2.5 billion over the next five years .
Speaker #8: We currently expect to fund these commitments without using debt . In addition , our fully undrawn $2 billion revolving credit facility , together with a $500 million accordion , provides exceptional financial flexibility and positions us with the strongest liquidity profile amongst our peers .
Speaker #8: To pursue additional accretive opportunities. This concludes the financial summary. I'll now hand things over to Neil to walk through the details of the Hemlo and Spring Valley streams.
Speaker #5: Thanks .
Speaker #6: Vincent . It's been a very busy few months for the corporate development team , and I'm delighted to provide an overview of our two most recent deal announcements , which further reinforce Wheaton's already sector leading growth profile .
Speaker #6: On September 10th , Wheaton entered into a financing commitment with Car City Capital Corporation to support its proposed acquisition of the Hemlo mine .
Speaker #6: Upon deal Close , which is anticipated in the fourth quarter , said he intends to change its name to Hemlo Mining Corporations or HMC .
Speaker #6: These initial financing commitments included a gold stream of up to $400 million . However , following the strong success of its recent equity raise , which Wheaton supported with a lead order of $30 million , HMC has indicated its intention to proceed with a $300 million amount .
Speaker #6: In this scenario, Wheaton expects to receive 10.13% of payable gold until a total of 136,000 oz have been delivered. After this, Wheaton will receive 6.75% of payable gold until an additional 118,000 oz have been delivered.
Speaker #6: After which Wheaton will receive , or 4.5% of the table gold for the remaining life of the mine . These amounts would be adjusted proportionally if HMC were to elect a different stream amount in return , Wheaton will make ongoing payments with gold , announces delivered equal to 20% of the spot price .
Speaker #6: Each of these drop down thresholds will be subject to an adjustment if there are delays in deliveries relative to an agreed schedule commencing in 2033 .
Speaker #6: If deliveries fall behind an agreed schedule by 10,000oz or more , the stream percentage will be increased by 5% until deliveries catch up in a mechanism that's aimed to mitigate timing , risk .
Speaker #6: Assuming that HMC elects an upfront payment amount of $300 million . Attributable gold production is forecast to average over 14,000oz of gold per year for the first ten years of production , and over 10,000oz per year for the fourth .
Speaker #6: The life of the mine and will present an opportunity , a unique opportunity to add immediate gold ounces from a politically stable jurisdiction backed by a long history of production and a very capable operating team .
Speaker #6: We're proud to support HMC in its acquisition of a mine that has long been considered a cornerstone Canada's mining industry , while also continuing to contribute to the momentum across the sector .
Speaker #6: Just yesterday , we will have seen Wheaton announced Goldstream on the Spring Valley project , located in Nevada and owned by Waterton Gold for cash consideration of $670 million .
Speaker #6: This , this represents a compelling opportunity to secure a significant gold stream while supporting an existing partner in the development of a high quality , low cost gold mine located in a prolific mining jurisdiction .
Speaker #6: Under the agreement , Wheaton will receive 8% of the payable gold until 300,000oz have been delivered , after which Wheaton will receive 6% of payable gold for the remaining life of mine .
Speaker #6: In return, Wheaton will make ongoing payments for the ounces delivered equal to 20% of the spot price until the uncredited deposit has been fully reduced, and 22% of the spot thereafter.
Speaker #6: We will also provide a $150 million cost overrun facility to provide further capacity to a project with an already conservative capital estimate . Attributable gold production is forecast to average 29,000oz of gold per year for the first five years of production , and over 25,000oz of gold per year for the first ten years .
Speaker #6: First production expected 2028 . This production profile reflects an optimized scenario that incorporates updated mineral reserves and resource estimates . Beyond the feasibility , which was published earlier this year .
Speaker #6: Located in a proven mining district , Spring Valley comprises an extensive land package of over 30,000 acres , very little of which has been explored .
Speaker #6: In fact , planning mining activities will occur on concessions representing less than 5% of the total land package , leaving an opportunity for mine life extension with future exploration success .
Speaker #6: With its strong exploration potential, strategic location, and leadership team, Spring Valley aligns perfectly with our commitment to investing in high-quality assets and stable jurisdictions.
Speaker #6: We're excited to deepen our relationship with Waterton as they look to unlock the full potential of this asset . With that , I'll now hand the call back over to Randy .
Speaker #5: Thank you . Neil . In summary , Wheaton delivered another strong quarter marked by several key achievements . We delivered solid revenue , earnings and cash flow , resulting in record year to date performance .
Speaker #5: We made notable progress on our near-term growth strategy with Aljustrel resuming production of its zinc lead concentrates and the ramp up of production at both Blackwater and Goose , reflecting the continued momentum of our catalyst Rich year , our growth profile was further de-risked as construction progressed across key development projects , including Mineral Park , Platte Reef , Phoenix , El Domo Cermak and Q1 .
Speaker #5: In addition , joint venture agreements were announced for both Copper World and Santo Domingo , further de-risking these projects . We also announced two accretive precious metals streaming transactions located in low risk jurisdictions , first , on the currently operating Hemlo mine , located in Ontario and just yesterday on Waterton Spring Valley project in Nevada .
Speaker #5: We believe our 100% streaming revenue model provides significantly greater leverage to rising commodity prices . While keeping us insulated from inflationary cost pressures , resulting in some of the highest margins in the precious metals space .
Speaker #5: We take pride in being the founders of the streaming model , an optimal alternative to traditional equity financing . Streaming provides upfront capital at a fair valuation without further share dilution , resulting in a dramatically improved return on invested capital and superior long term value creation for the shareholders of our mining partners .
Speaker #5: Our balance sheet remains robust , providing ample flexibility to pursue well accretive and high quality streaming opportunities . And finally , we take pride in our community investment leadership amongst precious metals streamers and have always and will always support both our partners and the communities where we live and operate .
Speaker #5: With that , I would like to open up the call for questions . Operator .
Speaker #3: Thank you . Ladies and gentlemen , we will now begin the question and answer session . If you would like to ask a question , please press star .
Speaker #3: Then the number one on your telephone keypad . If you would like to withdraw your question , please press star two . There will be a brief pause while we compile the Q&A roster .
Speaker #3: Your first question is from Wil Dalby from Berenberg . Your line is now open .
Speaker #9: Yeah . Good morning Randy and team . Thank you very much for the call . I have two questions . Firstly , on future growth .
Speaker #9: You've got a really compelling growth profile , but I'm just sort of wondering how you think your volume growth stacks up versus peers , both on an absolute and a risk adjusted basis .
Speaker #9: Sort of thinking in particular about some peers whose growth relies on restarts or on higher risk jurisdictions would be very interested to hear how you see your position in that context .
Speaker #10: Sure . Thank you . It's . Haitham Will , thank you for the question . And good morning . From from an absolute perspective and a relative perspective .
Speaker #10: I'll tell you , you know , we've got growth close to 250,000oz a year between now and 2029 . And that is certain growth .
Speaker #10: That's growth that's actually been permitted . And majority of that I would say almost more than 90% , that's actually in construction and .
Speaker #6: Heading towards development to towards production in , in the next 2 to 3 years . There's two projects starting this year , a couple starting next year , and another 1 or 2 starting over the next couple of years after that .
Speaker #6: So , you know , it's it's a very , very strong growth profile in terms of actual number of ounces . We're generating close to additional 250,000oz , which is probably almost , you know , double what our next closest peers actually generating in terms of growth over the same period .
Speaker #6: So we're very excited about that . And that , that excludes a lot of the growth that you're seeing here with these latest transactions as well , where you know , with the Hemlo transaction with the Waterton transaction , but not to mention significant number of our peers have also announced expansions , optimizations , etc.
Speaker #6: between now and then , which are also not included in that number . So we're very optimistic and very excited about going forward .
Speaker #9: Very clear . Thank you . And then just a second question . You know , if we rewind a bit , say ten years ago , your capital was largely going into repairing balance sheets .
Speaker #9: Five years ago was mostly sort of funding gold projects . Looking ahead , do you see the next five years as more about deploying capital into larger scale copper projects , given the current supply shortage there and the need for new mines to come online ?
Speaker #6: Yeah , definitely . I mean , the large porphyry copper gold systems that we're seeing in the high sulfidation epithermal systems that we're seeing through some of the the diversified base metal producers , those are definitely an area of future growth as they require billions of capital , not not millions or hundreds of millions , but actually billions of capital .
Speaker #6: So , so streaming naturally should play and likely will play a part in the overall financing packages . There are still lots of opportunities that we're seeing outside of that space as well though .
Speaker #6: Will I would say , you know , with commodity prices where they're at specifically , you know , you look at silver as an example , silver has had a nice run that is prompting many to consider what their silver is worth within their existing portfolio .
Speaker #6: So for for the first time in a long time , we're seeing more not more silver , but we're seeing more silver opportunities now more than gold .
Speaker #6: But we're seeing additional silver opportunities that we previously hadn't come to the market . So we're very excited about that as well .
Speaker #9: Thanks a lot . Haitham . That's all from me . Thank you .
Speaker #6: Thank you .
Speaker #3: Thank you . Your next question is from Josh Wolfson from RBC Capital Markets . Your line is now open .
Speaker #11: Yeah . Thanks very much . I had a question first on Spring Valley . Some of the technical information out there is a bit light .
Speaker #11: I know there's a 2014 4101 and then a feasibility study earlier this year , at least a summary of which I noticed that Wheaton provided some of its own interpretations of what the mine will look like .
Speaker #11: I guess just maybe drilling down on some of the assumptions . Would we even be able to provide some perspective on on how it sees the asset ?
Speaker #11: You know , in terms of , you know , what the underlying assumptions or changes in its perspective was versus the the updated feasibility study and also , you know , what we should think about recoveries .
Speaker #11: And I noticed there's a big difference between the original 2014 report and what was issued earlier this year. Thank you.
Speaker #6: Sure . Josh , it's Neil Burns here . Waterton did put out a feasibility study earlier this year , which was done , not surprisingly , with much lower gold prices .
Speaker #6: I believe the reserve pit was done at $1,700 gold . If you look on this website , they've they've updated their R&R and I believe the reserves are at 1800 .
Speaker #6: And the resources perhaps at 22 , $2,200 . They do model the recoveries and they have updated those . Those are detailed in the footnotes of those are in our tables .
Speaker #6: And they do them separately by the redox state of oxide transition . And sulfide naturally with decreasing recoveries . As you get into the sulfides .
Speaker #6: And they split it between the ROM and the crush . So I think that's a spot where you can get some additional , some additional color .
Speaker #6: And that was just updated . I believe , earlier this week .
Speaker #5: Josh , I mean , Spring Valley is is so similar to hundreds of different operations down in Nevada . Right ? You're looking at a heap leach operation that's going to have crushed components .
Speaker #5: It's always going to be focused on the on the highest grade portion of whatever's coming out of the pit . And then run of mine .
Speaker #5: And , you know , one of the areas of upside that I see in this that we see in this asset is the fact that as , as Neil mentioned , the the pricing for the reserves and even the resources are about half of what the spot price is right now .
Speaker #5: And the waste dump is about the same distance away from the pit as the heat pad . And so , you know , the ROM processing capacity , you know , the decisions as to where that truck dumps that ore as it has lower grade material but is still economic because the spot prices of $4,000 , I think there's incredible upside on this on this , on this asset to even see more production than what's being forecast by by Waterton , just in terms of operational flexibility .
Speaker #5: It's a simple project . It's the highest grade is highest grade of the day will go through the crusher and everything else . It'll be a choice as to whether you put it into a waste dump or put it into a ROM heap leach pad .
Speaker #5: Push it forward . So I just , you know , they're pretty simple . Nevada . There's lots of capacity for heap . It's a it's a big flat area just to the , to the east of the ore body that has all sorts of expansion capacity .
Speaker #5: And so it's a classic Nevada operation that , that we see as it's going to be going for just we're excited about what the what the real potential is here .
Speaker #5: And then the exploration over and above it . As Neil highlighted during the during the talk . So little of this property is actually been poked at .
Speaker #5: It's it's right north of the Rochester operation , which continues to shine for core . And of course Florida Canyon is to the north .
Speaker #5: And so it's right in a corridor that's got a lot of mining history . And and we do think that this asset is , is well set up to deliver .
Speaker #11: All right. Thank you. One more question. I know we've talked about some of the Nevada premiums that are out there.
Speaker #11: This this might apply in that situation . You know , when you look at the value opportunity here in the valuation paid , you know , how would you assess this in comparison to some of the public consolidation opportunities that that could be out there ?
Speaker #11: You know , depending on the prices obviously . Thank you .
Speaker #5: Yeah . I mean , consolidation , when I when I look at , you know , I mean , the biggest comment I'd have on the consolidation side is that is that , you know , what we found is that a lot of the smaller companies have had to give up structural weaknesses , structural flaws in their agreements to try and get scale .
Speaker #5: And we've seen some pretty large sized examples of that recently with deals scale of $1 billion with zero security backing it . You know , and so we we just see issues with the value of some of those , some of those transactions , some of those assets within the within the , you know , M&A side .
Speaker #5: And so , you know , as we like to say , we're we think there's no stream as good as a Wheaton stream .
Speaker #5: You know , we invented the model and we continue to try and perfect it . I think Hemlo was a real step up in terms of how to how to actually deliver value not only to our shareholders , but to our partners in terms of support and strength all the way across and trying to find that great balance of of satisfying both , both sides of the , of the spectrum .
Speaker #5: And so , you know , the , the acquisition side , most of those companies do trade at a bit of a premium to Nav and , and , and we , you know , whereas when it comes to going out and looking at new assets , we can we can find these things at Nav or less slightly less than that .
Speaker #5: It's still attractive compared to an equity financing or to other alternative forms of financing for these . For these companies are looking for capital .
Speaker #5: So as Haitham and now Neil , the team has has done a great job of continuing to put the capital back to work , looking at opportunities like this .
Speaker #5: And I think Spring Valley is a great example of that . It's a it's a lower risk jurisdiction . It's our first real footprint into Nevada , which is a jurisdiction we've looked at for a long time .
Speaker #5: But we have seen some incredibly expensive transactions in our eyes go , you know , take place in Nevada . This one , we feel is attractively priced , especially when we go over the upside that we , you know , that I just finished describing to you .
Speaker #5: And so , you know , we're pretty excited about having this one . And you know , we like this path . We're always looking at the M&A side .
Speaker #5: And if we do see some opportunities in that space that make sense , we would act . But to date we're doing a , you know , we find better value in just sourcing new opportunities .
Speaker #5: We are blessed with an industry that always needs capital . So that's our business supplying capital .
Speaker #11: Great . Thank you very much .
Speaker #3: Thank you . Your next question is from Tanya Jakusconek , Scotiabank . Your line is now open .
Speaker #12: Oh , great . Good morning everyone . Thank you very much for taking my questions . Some of them have been answered already .
Speaker #12: Maybe Haitham , for you , as I think about the environment , the trends , the opportunities out there , one of my questions was on silver .
Speaker #12: I'm just then you I think you touched it a little bit . You're seeing more on the silver side than , than than previously .
Speaker #12: Are we seeing some big silver opportunities ?
Speaker #6: You know what ? That's interesting . It's funny you asked that question . There are some larger silver opportunities that are out there .
Speaker #6: But we're being very proactive to go out and find those . You know , with that , I'm going to turn the mic over to Neil to just tell you a little bit about the current current environment for growth .
Speaker #6: Sure . Thanks . Thanks , Haitham . And hi , Tanya . In terms of volume , we continue to be as active as we've ever been .
Speaker #6: We have literally over a dozen active opportunities in the pipeline from stage perspective . It's interesting because we've seen an increase in operating opportunities , which is great to see .
Speaker #6: It's something we hadn't seen for a number of years , and it's also been driven by the increase in M&A , M&A activities with the with the major selling off some non-core assets , metal mix , which you've already touched on is probably 60 40 gold , silver , I would say at the time , at this time , in terms of size , the majority are in the 2 to $300 million range .
Speaker #6: But we also have a couple of exciting billion plus opportunities . But those those are a bit longer . Lead time .
Speaker #5: The one thing , Tanya , that I would add on the silver side , your question specifically on silver , keep in mind that most silver is produced as a byproduct actually from base metal operations .
Speaker #5: And , you know , the one one thing that we're we're hopeful is that with the with the strength that we've seen in silver prices of late , that perhaps some of those base metal operators would like to crystallize some of that value .
Speaker #5: And , and help strengthen their own balance sheets and fund their own growth . And so , you know , that does fall into an opportunity set with this strength that we've seen , where we may be able to pick up some , as Neil said , some operating access to , you know , silver streams on operating assets .
Speaker #5: So we're we're out there pounding the pavement and , you know , with these kind of silver prices , there's definitely an interest in terms of learning more .
Speaker #5: So stay tuned .
Speaker #12: Yeah . It's just I've been hearing more on the silver side . And so I just wondered if , you know , and I've heard of some of the big ones like billion dollar silver deals and I just wondered if those were something that you were focused on .
Speaker #7: Yeah .
Speaker #5: You know me well enough , Tanya , that I've always liked silver a little bit more than gold . So if there's opportunities in the space , we're definitely trying to track that down .
Speaker #5: Neil and the team are doing a great job on that front.
Speaker #12: And when you mentioned the 200 to 300 million range , were those mainly on the gold opportunities ?
Speaker #6: They are a mixture actually . There's I would say probably an even mixture between gold and silver within those 2 to $300 million opportunities .
Speaker #12: Okay . And are you also seeing because I am hearing and I don't know if that's the same , that there's probably more assets for sale within the senior gold companies and the market expects , like , yes , we've seen Newmont sell out there .
Speaker #12: You know , Newcrest assets and Barrick's cleaned up their portfolio somewhat . But I'm hearing that there's also more coming out of the senior space than expected .
Speaker #12: Is that what you're seeing as well ?
Speaker #6: Maybe I'll answer that . Tanya , just with regards to divestitures from of non-core assets from from senior producers , I will say that , you know , we did see a lot of that over the last 12 to 18 months for sure .
Speaker #6: Right now it has declined quite a bit , but obviously with changing management teams , changing focus of various companies , we do expect that to start again .
Speaker #6: But we haven't seen a lot of it yet .
Speaker #12: Okay , so you expecting more of that to come ?
Speaker #6: We hope so . We'd love to be able to support another acquirer of some of these high quality assets . Keep in mind a lot of these assets , when they were , you know , within these senior companies , they're being valued at a reserve base of , you know , call it Neil mentioned one 1700 Barrick was doing theirs at 1400 previously .
Speaker #6: You know , you start using numbers of , 2100 , 2500 . You go from a six year reserve life to a 20 year reserve life .
Speaker #6: So I think a lot of that is is probably something we're going to see here in the near term .
Speaker #12: And just your your Spring Valley acquisition , if you assume that all of the , the resources get converted and you can mine out a , you know , 4,000,000oz mineable , let's say , would it be fair to say at spot that you'd be in that sort of 4 or 5% internal rate of return , like in line with cost of capital ?
Speaker #6: Well , based on our analysis , I can tell you our numbers are higher than that based on exploration upside that we've seen based on expansions of the existing pit dimensions , based on higher lower cut off grades .
Speaker #6: We are getting a higher rate than what you're quoting there . I will leave it to you to figure out what your actual rate is , based on how many years of additional exploration upside you want to add .
Speaker #6: On top of that . But we're pretty optimistic that eventually this will get to double digit .
Speaker #5: I will add , Tanya , that the resource is drill limited . You know , it's there's plenty of exploration potential that wide open mineralization .
Speaker #5: And so it's it's the drill data that's actually the limiting factor on the resource , not the economics .
Speaker #12: Yeah . No , no I mean , you know , I just looked at it on a 4,000,000 ounce mineable scenario . Yeah .
Speaker #6: Okay . I'm I've .
Speaker #5: Seen enough of it down there to think that there's probably even more than that .
Speaker #12: Yeah .
Speaker #13: Yeah .
Speaker #12: As I said , it's , it's it's in a good camp . So those camps go on for a while . Maybe if I could just a modeling question .
Speaker #12: I saw the updated DNA in the portfolio . Can someone just remind or guide us on your depreciation ? And , you know , guidance for what you expect for 2025 and maybe , maybe 2026 with the new portfolio updates ?
Speaker #8: Sure . Hey , Tanya , it's Vince here . We did update our depletion part of normal . Not a big change . You know , Anti-mena we saw a bit of a drop because they had the tailings tailings lift .
Speaker #8: There . You know , Stillwater a little bit higher just because of the change in mine plan . But all the detailed depletion rates we've now put into the .
Speaker #8: The financials and the MDA . So you can see exactly what has happened there and help you out on the modeling front .
Speaker #12: All right . I forget what the guidance was corporately beginning of the year . But yeah , I'll go back and look .
Speaker #8: I think net it's it's not going to change materially going forward . So I would you know roughly say it's at the same levels going forward .
Speaker #12: Okay . And then my final question is and maybe a reminder , I've seen a lot of the other companies sell out investment portfolios .
Speaker #12: You know , equity interest . Can you just remind me what's left within yours .
Speaker #6: Yeah . There's we've got I don't have the list in front of me . I can tell you . And it's listed on our I think on our or at least some of it's broken down .
Speaker #6: Some of the larger positions . But we have about a $260 million US equity book right now . I can tell you we're not looking to divest any of those positions .
Speaker #6: Those positions are all with our existing partners that are ramping up operations , and we are going to continue to be strong supporters .
Speaker #6: Eventually . There may be some liquidity events where we can actually get off our positions , but at this point in time , we're , you know , if nothing else , we'd be helping our partners as they need it going forward to continue to strengthen their their balance sheets .
Speaker #12: Okay . Well , that's good to know . Thank you so much for taking my questions .
Speaker #5: Thanks , Tanya .
Speaker #3: Can you your next question is from Martin Pradier from Veritas Investment Research . Your line is now open .
Speaker #14: Thank you . In terms of antamina , I , I noticed that the depreciation dropped in half almost . What happened there ?
Speaker #15: Patient dropped in .
Speaker #7: Dropped it now . Yes .
Speaker #14: So the depletion . Sorry .
Speaker #7: Yeah yeah yeah . Right . Thanks . Martin . Yeah . So that really is as Vincent mentioned , it's because of the tailings expansion .
Speaker #7: So right now Antamina marks their reserves with tailings capacity . And in Q1 this year , Antamina managed to secure the permits for a further expansion of the tailings facility .
Speaker #7: And that increased the reserves dramatically , which then drops that depletion rate down . So that's the reasoning behind that .
Speaker #5: Essentially what happened was the tailings capacity doubled , which meant that the , you know , with that that much the depletion , you know , that much more the reserve doubled because of that excess capacity , because with that tailings capacity , then you can class it as a reserve .
Speaker #5: And so , so it's , you know , the resource there is very , very high geological confidence . But but Entamoeba is approach is , is that it's not a reserve until it actually has permitted tailings capacity .
Speaker #5: And so the fact that it went up just meant that we had a substantial increase in reserves , which means the depletion rate drops .
Speaker #14: Okay . Perfect . I understand . And in terms of should we expect a a strong Q4 , I thought that there was like a little bit of higher grade in in Q4 .
Speaker #7: Was reasonably flat in Q4 . So we're expecting we've seen very strong performance through the year this year . And we were just on site at the end of September there .
Speaker #7: And really , they they are planning to continue on as they have for the rest of the year here . So , so reasonably flat for Q4 .
Speaker #5: Okay , they move forward a little bit of preventative maintenance that was scheduled in Q4 into Q3 . So , so you know , that should help a little bit on the Q4 side .
Speaker #5: You know , there was there was a short stint in Q3 . So .
Speaker #14: Okay . And on . Yeah , that that that would be all . Thank you .
Speaker #5: Thanks , Martin .
Speaker #3: Thank you . Your next question is from George . Eddie from UBS . Your line is now open .
Speaker #16: Yeah . Hi , Tim . Thanks for the call . And nice update here again . Can I ask about the Spring Valley stream and sorry , I joined a little bit late , so I may have missed this , but the payment profile .
Speaker #16: Can you remind me of the various conditions for the payment and the profile timeline ? Please ?
Speaker #6: Yeah, you bet. I mean, we'll, and we're still. I would say of the 670 million, the majority of that will go in during development.
Speaker #6: There'll be a small amount that goes in up front approximately . I would say 310 million over the next , over the next .
Speaker #6: Well , close , close 300 million over the next 6 to 12 months , I would say . And then the remainder will go in alongside the company's equity investments .
Speaker #6: So we put in 120 million . They put hundred and 20 million . And we do that a couple of times until we get to the $670 million number .
Speaker #5: And drip fed over the construction , other than small amount ahead of construction , starting just to get some equipment orders in and stuff like that .
Speaker #5: But it's drip-fed over the construction, which is likely to start shortly.
Speaker #16: Yeah . Okay . No that's great . Thank you . And then just so talking before about all these asset opportunities coming up , some large ones like that 900,000 per ounce profile like also the 870 rather geo profile by 2029 .
Speaker #16: Is it fair to assume there's potentially a bit of upside here with the streams like Spring Valley ? And given the environment is so strong right now , do you think that's a well , there's a bit of upside .
Speaker #5: Yeah . Not only that , a lot of our existing operations and startups have have announced accelerated plans for start up and for expansions .
Speaker #5: We've got Blackwater moving forward with expansions . Platte reef is is accelerated . Their their ramp up and production over that five year period .
Speaker #5: Snowbowl itself also is fine tuning in terms of trying to improve Throughputs and recoveries . And so , you know , we've even the existing portfolio without the new acquisitions , has , has , has made that forecast look very conservative and gets us even closer to that million ounce number sooner than later .
Speaker #16: Yeah . No , don't disagree . That's very clear . Thanks , team . Thanks , George .
Speaker #5: Thank you George , and thank you everyone for your for your time today . Dialing in our record breaking performance over the first nine months of this year underscores Wheaton's position as a premier , low risk choice for investors seeking exposure to gold and silver .
Speaker #5: Our recent transactions in low risk jurisdictions underscore the quality of opportunities we're pursuing our corporate development team continues to see strong demand for streaming as a source of capital , and we we are excited about the pipeline of opportunities that lie in front of us with our high quality operating portfolio , 100% streaming revenue , sector leading growth profile , and unwavering commitment to sustainability , we offer shareholders with one of the most effective vehicles for investing in precious metals .
Speaker #5: We thank all of our stakeholders for their continued support as we enter this exciting period of sustained organic growth . We look forward to speaking with you all again soon .
Speaker #5: Thank you .
Speaker #3: Thank you , ladies and gentlemen . This concludes the conference call for today . Thank you for participating . Please disconnect your lines .