Wheaton Precious Metals Loads Up On Even More Silver

Wheaton Precious Metals is expanding its Antamina stream in a deal that swaps upfront cash for years of silver deliveries tied to a clear pricing formula. The company said its subsidiary, Wheaton Precious Metals International, signed a definitive agreement with a BHP subsidiary to acquire BHP’s 33.75 percent portion of payable silver from Peru’s Antamina mine stream. Wheaton is paying an upfront $4.3 billion deposit at closing, and it will also make ongoing payments equal to 20 percent of the spot silver price for each ounce delivered under the agreement.

The mechanics matter for investors because this is not a short dated trade. The stream is effective April 1, 2026, and Wheaton will purchase 33.75 percent of payable silver until a total of 100 million ounces has been delivered, after which the stream steps down to 22.5 percent for the remaining life of mine. Payable silver is calculated using a fixed payable factor of 90 percent. Once the new stream closes, Wheaton said it will receive a combined 67.5 percent of all silver produced from Antamina, up from the 33.75 percent it currently receives under its existing arrangement.

From Wheaton’s perspective, the headline is immediate scale. The company said the acquisition is expected to add average attributable silver production of about 6.0 million ounces per year over the first five years and about 5.4 million ounces per year over the first ten years, and it noted that combined attributable production from Antamina is expected to average about 12.0 million ounces per year over the first five years and 10.8 million ounces per year over the first ten years. Wheaton also highlighted Antamina as a long life, low cost operation with declared reserves sufficient to support mining activity until 2036, with options under evaluation that could extend mine life.

BHP’s side of the story is capital discipline with a big silver bow on top. BHP said the deal lets it realize value from silver as a by product at Antamina while retaining full exposure to copper, zinc, and lead from its share of the mine, and it said the transaction is not expected to increase reported debt. Completion is expected on or around April 1, 2026, is not subject to regulatory approvals, and is subject only to corporate matters and customary closing conditions. Also, BHP noted that settlement of the stream is completed via metal credits with no physical delivery of silver to Wheaton - modern mining finance often ships value before it ships anything else.

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