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| Statement |
|---|
| Record quarterly gold production combined with strong silver production are a result of significantly higher grades from mining of high-grade zones in the Pampacancha deposit and associated higher recoveries |
| And lastly, we continue to demonstrate leadership and sustainability with sector leading ESG ratings and external recognition |
| That's a great news story |
| So, we've got a strong enough balance sheet with all the tools that we have at hand and all the growth we have |
| Wheaton's high-quality portfolio of assets, sector leading growth profile and commitment to sustainability provides our shareholders with a solid outlook for the future and is one of the best vehicles for investing into the gold and precious metals space |
| The corporate development team was exceptionally busy in 2023, announcing a record eight precious metal’s transactions on a number of assets and over $1 billion in commitments, resulting in the addition of multiple top tier assets, adding strong accretive growth to our development project pipeline |
| Each of these acquisitions further diversifies our portfolio in terms of geographic presence and strategic partnerships and once ramped up, our forecast to contribute meaningful production and further strengthen Wheaton's already prominent position as the leader in the sector's growth landscape |
| During this quarter, we are also proud to have been recognized as one of the world's 100 Most Sustainable Corporations by Corporate Knights, an achievement reflective of our commitment to operating responsibly in all areas of our business and representing the quality of the mining partners that we work with to deliver society its much needed commodities |
| This cash balance combined with the fully undrawn $2 billion revolving credit facility and the strength of our forecasted operating cash flows, positions the company exceptionally well to satisfy its funding commitments and provides us with the financial flexibility to acquire additional accretive mineral stream interest |
| As we at Wheaton here celebrate our 20th Anniversary here in 2024, I'm just incredibly grateful for the partnerships that we have forged over the years and the strong support of our shareholders |
| Our pipeline of development projects was further de-risked by construction advancements and the receipt of various key permits by our partners, supporting on our impressive organic growth profile of over 40% in the next five years |
| With production of 620,000 gold equivalent ounces, we achieved our annual guidance, generating robust cash flows of over $750 million and distributing record dividends of over $270 million |
| Overall production in the fourth quarter came in higher than expected, driven by strong out performances at both Salobo and Constancia and a steady ramp up at Peñasquito, highlighting the strength of our diversified portfolio of long-life low-cost assets |
| I am pleased to announce that our portfolio of long-life, low-cost assets delivered another solid quarter, allowing us to meet our annual production guidance, achieving 620,000 gold equivalent ounces in 2023 |
| Despite the persistent inflationary environment, Wheaton continued to deliver robust cash operating margins in the fourth quarter resulting in cash flow from operations of over $242 million an increase of over 40% relative to the fourth quarter of 2022 |
| Our balance sheet remains one of the strongest in the industry, providing ample capacity to add accretive, high-quality streams into our portfolio |
| We were very excited to see Vale Base Metals successfully complete the throughput test for the first phase of the Salobo III expansion project in November, marking a significant milestone that demonstrates increased reliability and continued operational excellence |
| Strong commodity prices coupled with our solid production base resulted in revenue of $313 million and gross margin of $177 million an increase over the comparable period of the prior year of 33% and 46%, respectively |
| Our strong quarterly performance was underscored by Salobo, which reached its highest production level in the last four years |
| Randy Smallwood We've shown a strong track record of just adding to that dividend |
| Wheaton's overall attributable reserves and resources saw solid growth across all mineral categories, with the most noteworthy being 10% growth in our Proven and Probable Reserves |
| And so, and we've got healthy access to very, very attractive re-priced debt if required |
| Attributable Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources also saw good growth at 15% on a GEO basis, and overall attributable inferred resources grew by 3% |
| And as Gary highlighted there, we've got a pretty good track record of making sure that we deliver on those returns |
| While 2023 was a record year for corporate development activity at Wheaton, we continue to see strong appetite for streaming capital in the mining space and see opportunities to continue adding accretive acquisitions to our portfolio in 2024 |
| We've got a pretty good track record on the IRR side |
| They showed really good progress last year |
| Our costs actually are defined by our contracts and are and we still deliver very, very strong margins all the way back up when we see those higher prices |
| And really, we're really excited to see that higher throughput coming through and we're really just seeing the beginning of it |
| In summary, 2023 was a very strong year for Wheaton, distinguished by several key highlights |
| Statement |
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| In the fourth quarter of 2023, Peñasquito produced 1 million ounces of attributable silver, a decrease of approximately 41% relative to the fourth quarter of 2022, primarily due to lower throughput resulting from the labor strike, which began on June 7, 2023 and ended on October 13 |
| In the fourth quarter of 2023, Antamina produced 1 million ounces of attributable silver, a decrease of approximately 3% relative to the fourth quarter of 2022, resulting from lower grades due to the mine sequencing |
| Revenue for 2023 amounted to $1 billion representing a 5% decrease relative to 2022 due primarily to lower gold equivalent sales, partially offset by a 6% increase in the average realized gold equivalent price |
| The challenge that we've had with that is that it's one that had a climbing basement |
| I think I will say what you're seeing now, John, in terms of a lack of quality is something we actually saw a few years ago |
| We don't suffer from that |
| One of the challenges this isn't a number that's out there, but what we have run into over the last few years is we're putting out a lot less IOVs, Indications of Value |
| G&A expenses amounted to $9.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2023 and total G&A for the year amounted to $38 million slightly below the low-end of our original forecast due primarily to lower compensation costs |
| And I'm fearful for the industry in the sense that there's just not a lot of risk capital out there, so there's not a lot of exploration and that means there's just not a lot of good new discoveries that we see coming down the pipe |
| As at December 31, 2023 approximately 134,000 GEOs were in PBND and cobalt inventory, representing approximately 2.5 months of payable production slightly lower than the preceding quarter and within our expected range of two to three months |
| But, until we see legislation, it's really tough to be firm on that |
| Production is forecast to decrease slightly at Salobo due to lower grades as per the mine plan which are expected to be partially offset by increasing throughput as the Salobo III expansion project continues toward completion |
| I think, perhaps the market sort of struggled a bit to get clarity on select volumes over recent years |
| That's not something that's a concern to us |
| And so, you make sure you structure it to protect yourself, so you don't have those kind of problems |
| Many of the others are very, very short mine lives and wouldn't really be amenable to a good stream |
| We're not seeing as many good quality projects out there |
| Our growth pipeline of development projects was also further de-risked in the quarter as Adventus Mining received multiple key permits for the Curipamba project and conveyed that a construction decision is expected within the year |
| Randy Smallwood There is a possibility that Curipamba might move forward a bit |
| And, we just felt that having been flat for a couple of years, it was time to add some growth |
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