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spk04: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to Lead in Precious Metals 2024 First Quarter Results Conference Call. All lines have been placed on mute to prevent any background noise. After the speaker's remarks, there will be a question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question during this time, simply press star then the number one on your telephone keypad or type your answer in the Q&A box of the webinar. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press forward to. Thank you. I would like to remind everyone that this conference call is being recorded on Friday, May 10, 2024, at 11 a.m. Eastern Time. I will now turn the conference over to Emma Murray, Vice President of Investor Relations. Please go ahead.
spk00: 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 Precious Metals President and Chief Executive Officer, Gary Brown, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Haitham Hodale, Senior Vice President, Corporate Development, and Wes Carson, Vice President, Mine and Operations. Please note, for those not currently on the webcast, a slide presentation accompanying this conference call is available in PDF format on the presentations page of the Wheaton Precious Metals website. Some of the commentary in today's call may contain forward-looking statements, and I would direct everyone to review slide two of the presentation, which contains important cautionary notes. It should be noted that all figures referred to on today's call are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted. With that, I'd like to turn the call over to Randy Smallwood, our President and Chief Executive Officer.
spk11: Thank you, Emma, and good morning, everyone. Thank you for joining us today to discuss Wheaton's first quarter results of 2024. I am pleased to announce that our portfolio of long-life, low-cost assets delivered a robust quarter to start the year, generating approximately $220 million of operating cash flow and over $160 million in net earnings, underscoring the effectiveness of our business model in leveraging rising commodity prices while maintaining strong cash operating margins. And we were very excited to have closed the previously announced agreement with Orion Resource Partners for the Platte Reef and Kutztakaya streams, completing an upfront payment of $450 million in February of this year. After advancing this payment, Wheaton remains very liquid, with $306 million in cash, a $2 billion undrawn revolving credit facility, and ongoing strong operating cash flows, allowing the company to fund all outstanding commitments as well as provide the flexibility to acquire additional accretive mineral stream interests. Building on the momentum from a record eight acquisitions in 2023, our corporate development team remains actively engaged in evaluating new opportunities, and we continue to see a healthy appetite for streaming as a source of capital for the mining industry. In addition, during the quarter, we were proud to have been recognized among Corporate Night's 100 most sustainable corporations in the world in 2024. As the architects of sustainable streaming, this accomplishment is reflective of our commitment to operating responsibly in all facets of our business. And with that, I would like to now turn the call over to Wes Carson, our Vice President of Operations, who will provide more details on our operating results. Wes?
spk06: Thanks, Randy. Good morning. Overall production in the first quarter came in higher than expected, driven by strong outperformances at Solobo, Constantia, and Penasquito. In the first quarter of 2024, Solobo produced 61,600 ounces of attributable gold, an increase of approximately 41% relative to the first quarter of 2023, driven primarily by higher throughput. Solobo's strong production in Q1 is attributable primarily to the continued ramp-up of Slobo 3 expansion and sustained overall improvements at both Slobo 1 and 2. In the first quarter of 2024, Constantia produced 640,000 ounces of attributable silver and 13,900 ounces of attributable gold, an increase of approximately 16% and 101%, respectively, relative to the first quarter of 2023. Strong quarterly silver and gold production continued in Q1 as a result of the significantly higher gold grades from the mining of the Papa Concha deposit and associated higher recoveries. In the first quarter of 2024, Penosquito produced 2.6 million ounces of attributable silver, an increase of approximately 27% relative to the first quarter of 2023, primarily due to higher grades. Production in the first quarter focused on mining in the chilly Colorado pit, which contains higher silver, lead, and zinc metal grades than the main Penasco pit. On April 30, 2024, Ivanhoe reported that construction activities for the Platte Reef Phase 1 concentrator are on schedule at almost 90% complete and on track for cold commissioning in the third quarter of 2024. An updated independent feasibility study on an optimized development plan for the acceleration of Phase 2 is planned to be completed and published in the fourth quarter of 2024. As a result of the planned acceleration of Phase 2, Ivanhoe reports that the first feed and ramp-up of production for Phase 1 will be deferred until mid-2025. In addition, a preliminary economic assessment on a Phase 3 expansion is expected to be completed at the same time, increasing Plat Reef's processing capacity up to approximately 10 million tonnes per annum, the result of which is expected to rank Plat Reef as one of the world's largest PGM, nickel, copper and gold producers. In 2024, GEO production is forecast to be consistent with levels achieved in 2023. As expected, stronger attributable production from Penesquito and Boise's Bay is forecast to be offset by lower production from Slobo, the suspension of operations at Minto, and the temporary halting of production at Aldestrell. Attributable production is forecast to increase at Penesquito as a result of uninterrupted operations, and at Boise's Bay due to the ongoing transition from the Ovoid Pit to the underground mines. Attributable production is forecast to decrease slightly at Slobo due to lower grades as per the mine plan, which are expected to be partially offset by increasing throughput as the Slobo 3 expansion continues towards completion. Wheaton's estimated attributable production in 2024 continues to be forecast at 325,000 to 370,000 ounces of gold, 18.5 to 20.5 million ounces of silver, and 12,000 to 15,000 GEOs of other metals. resulting in production of approximately 550,000 to 620,000 GEOs unchanged from previous guidance. Production is forecast to increase at an industry-leading rate of approximately 40% to over 800,000 GEOs by 2028, primarily due to the growth from operating assets including Salobo and Tamina, Penasquito, Voices Bay, and Marmato. Development projects which are in construction and or permitted, including Blackwater, Platte Reef, Goose, Mural Park, Phoenix, Curripamba, and Santo Domingo, and pre-development projects including Marathon and Copper World, for which production is anticipated towards the latter end of the five-year forecast period. From 2029 to 2033, attributable production is forecast to average over 850,000 ounces in the five-year period, also unchanged from previous guidance. That concludes the operations overview, and with that, I'll turn the call over to Gary. Thank you, Wes.
spk07: As described by Wes, production in the first quarter amounted to 160,000 GEOs, a 19% increase relative to the comparable period of the prior year. Most notably, gold production increased 28%, primarily due to Solobo and Constantia. Sales volumes amounted to 143,000 GEOs, a 31% increase relative to the comparable period of the prior year. primarily due to higher production levels coupled with relative changes in ounces produced but not yet delivered, or PBND. This increased sales volume coupled with a 6% increase in commodity prices resulted in revenue rising by 38% to $297 million. Of this revenue, 64% was attributable to gold, 32% to silver, and 2% to each of palladium and cobalt. As at March 31st, 2024, approximately 120,000 GEOs were in PB&D, representing approximately 2.3 months of payable production, which is consistent with our expected range of two to three months. G&A expenses amounted to $10.5 million for the first quarter, and the company continues to anticipate the G&A will total $41 to $45 million for the year, with these figures excluding share-based compensation as well as donations and community investments. Adjusted net earnings amounted to $164 million, with a $59 million increase from the prior year due primarily to the higher gross margin coupled with lower stock-based compensation. Despite the persistent inflationary environment, and thanks to our low and predictable cost structure, Wheaton continued to deliver robust cash operating margins in the first quarter, resulting in cash flow from operations of over $219 million, an increase of 62% from the prior year, driven primarily by higher sales volumes. We have declared a quarterly dividend of 15.5 cents per share, a 3% increase from the prior year. During the quarter, Wheaton made total upfront cash payments of $462 million, $450 million of which was relative to the Platte Reef and Kudzukaya streams, with the balance relating to the Delamar and Mount Todd royalties. When coupled with cash generated from operating activities, our overall net cash outflows amounted to $240 million, in the first quarter of 2024, resulting in cash and cash equivalents as at March 31st of $306 million. Additionally, subsequent to the quarter, the company disposed of its investment in Hecla Mining for gross proceeds of $177 million. 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 interests. Lastly, I did want to provide an update on global minimum tax. As previously disclosed, the company does expect its income generated outside of Canada to be subject to a 15% global minimum tax, or GMT. While we continue to anticipate that the tax will be retroactive to January 1st, 2024, Canada has not yet enacted the legislation. And as such, the company has recorded no current tax expense associated with GMT in the quarter. For reference, in the first quarter, the wholly owned foreign subsidiaries, which reside in jurisdictions where the GMT is expected to apply, had net earnings of $165 million. with 15% of such amount amounting to $25 million. We will recognize the tax expense associated with the GMT in our consolidated financial statements in the appropriate period relative to when the legislation is enacted. As such, assuming that the legislation is enacted in its current proposed form, we will record multiple quarters worth of GMT in the quarter that such enactment occurs. That concludes the financial summary, and with that I will turn the call back over to Randy.
spk11: Thank you, Gary. In summary, Q1 was a very strong start to the year for Wheaton, distinguished by several key highlights. We achieved robust three-month revenue, earnings, and cash flow, and declared a 15.5 cent quarterly dividend aligned with our new progressive dividend policy. Our pipeline of development projects was further de-risked by construction advancements and the receipt of various key permits by our partners, supporting our impressive organic growth profile of over 40% by 2028. We continue to maintain low and predictable costs, which, when coupled with our leverage to increasing commodity prices, result in some of the highest margins in the entire precious metal space. Our balance sheet also remains strong, providing ample capacity to add accretive, high-quality streams into our portfolio. And lastly, we take pride in being a leader amongst precious metal streamers in sustainability and by supporting our partners and the communities in which we live and operate. So with that, I would like to open up the call for questions. Operator?
spk04: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now conduct the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press the star and the number one on your telephone keypad. If you would like to withdraw your question, please press star two.
spk01: There will be a brief pause while we compile the Q&A roster. Your first question is from . Please ask your question.
spk10: Thanks, operator. Good morning. Randy, you know, getting back to Wheaton's Roots and silver, you know, prices have been very strong year to date. Just wondering what the transaction pipeline looks for, looks like for more of those silver heavily levered deals. I would imagine those are still pretty rare. to come by, and there seems to be a lot of gold with silver and vice versa in some of the transactions that you're making. But where does the transaction market start if we wanted to look at bringing more silver into the deal structure?
spk11: Yeah, Ralph, you're bang on. It's tough to find good silver projects. One of the things that's a bit unique about silver is that most of it is produced from lead-zinc operations, whereas silver You know, a lot of byproduct gold comes from copper operations, and we just don't hear a lot of lead-zinc developments out there. Those aren't very sexy metals in today's world. So, yeah, we're not seeing a lot on the silver side. I'll let Hatham add some color to that. He's definitely much more in tune in terms of the opportunities that are out there.
spk03: Sure. Thanks, Randy. And good morning, Ralph. Thank you for the question. I will say, like, if I look at the top ten opportunities I have, probably at least a third of those have fairly significant silver exposure. So there definitely is silver out there. It is, as Randy said, there's not a lot of new silver. It's mostly for, you know, if you're looking at balance sheet strengthening or balance sheet repair, that type of thing.
spk10: Gotcha. Okay. And, you know, maybe I can just stay on the silver theme and, you know, maybe go to Wes and ask him about sort of the near-term mine plan for silver coming out of Penesquito, sort of looking over the course of 2024. Q1, very good quarter on the silver side, and we're coming off a, strike-impacted second half last year, you know, puts us at a position where, and you talked about the chilly Colorado pit, where we're currently tracking ahead of guidance. Just wondering what that cadence looks like on silver for the rest of the year.
spk06: Thanks, Ralph. They are starting to transfer back over to the Penasco pit later in the year here, so we will see kind of a slight weakening of that as the year goes on, but it is fairly consistent through the year here, the silver production. There is still production, excuse me, from Chile, Colorado through the year. So it will be fairly consistent through the year, but as they move back to Penasco, that is where they do get the higher gold grades and slightly lower silver grades. Gotcha.
spk10: Helpful. Thanks, everyone.
spk06: Thanks, Ralph.
spk04: Thank you. Your next question is from Cosmos Chu from CIBC. Please ask your question.
spk09: Great. Thanks, Randy, Gary, and team. Maybe my first question is on your production here. Randy, as you mentioned, very strong Q1, 160,000 ounces, but you've maintained your full year guidance at 550 to 620. If I were to straight line it, but life isn't that simple, but if I were to multiply your Q1 by four, I would get to a number that's higher than the top end of your annual guidance. Could you remind us to the extent possible, Randy, what we should look for? I think Wes kind of mentioned it, Penesquito, it could come down a little bit. But what else can we look for in terms of quarter-over-quarter sort of production?
spk11: I mean, I'll let Wes add a little bit of color at the end of it, but what we do see is relatively consistent production over the course of the year. I think the last quarter at year-end there, we were giving guidance to be a little bit more heavily weighted towards the back end of the year, but we have had it. had some outperformance here, obviously, in the first quarter. We're not confident enough to adjust guidance in the sense of having that outperformance continue through the course of the year. But even if we stay on track, you're right, we're in a very, very good position to at least meet guidance, if not exceed it. We just want to see a bit more strength behind that. So I don't know, Wes, if you've got some colour to add to that.
spk06: Yeah, I would agree. I think it's just that after the first quarter, I think it's a little premature for us to get too excited about it, I think, yet. But I mean, certainly very happy with the quarter. I mean, Constancy would be the other one that, I mean, there is that volatility of as Papa Concha kind of comes in and out of the production there. So that would be the other one that we'll walk through the year as we go through. And there is some change to that quarter. the production from Constantia through the year, but fairly consistent through the rest of the year is what we're expecting.
spk09: Sounds good. Maybe a quick question on global minimum taxes. As you mentioned, Gary, $165 million is the net income from your subsidiary. I'm just trying to figure out how you calculated it. Is it as simple as, say, the spot price for gold minus $430 an ounce cost, which is what it was in Q1, multiplied by all the stream ounces going through your subsidiary? or is there other sort of deductions that you can take as well?
spk07: No, it's pretty much the former of those. It's really, we estimate the tax based upon the accounting income generated outside of Canada.
spk09: So is there potential, you know, when it gets enacted that there's other deductions you can take before applying to 15% or...
spk07: I mean, until the legislation is fully enacted, you know, I think there's potential. We're not projecting that that's going to take place.
spk09: Okay. And as a follow-up, Gary, how is it going to work? I know that, as you said, when it gets enacted, you'll put through an expense in your income statement, but this is also retroactive to January 1st. Is there a potential that you have to make a lump sum payment at that point in time, including the $25 million from Q1? Is that how it works?
spk07: Well, we would have a lump sum expense, but the tax doesn't get paid for 2024 until 2026. But, you know, if we... Like assuming that the legislation gets fully enacted by June 30th, we would have two quarters of global minimum tax flowing through our Q2 results. If it doesn't get enacted by June 30th and it gets enacted by September 30th, then we would have three quarters of GMT going through our third quarter results.
spk11: One of the keys there, Cosmos, is that we don't actually make the payments until 2026. That's the way it looks like it's going to be structured, is that it's going to be several years behind the actual tax year before the payment is actually made.
spk09: Got it. Thanks, Randy, Gary, and team. That's all the questions I have, and have a good weekend.
spk11: Thanks, Cosmos. Thanks, Cosmos. Go Canucks.
spk04: Thank you. Your next question is from Brian McArthur from Raymond James. Please ask your question.
spk02: Good morning, and thank you for taking my question. Again, it goes back to what you were just answering, Gary, with Cosmos. So just so I'm really clear on this, Everything we're talking about is accounting. So from a cash basis, if that's what we're focused on, really all we need to think about is assuming this tax gets enacted this year, i.e. 2024, you'll just pay 15% cash taxes of 2024 income in 2026. Is that the way I should think about it?
spk07: On the income generated outside of Canada.
spk02: Right.
spk07: This is the majority of it.
spk02: Okay. So from a pure cash basis, I get it. We want to make sure everybody understands this is accounting, not cash, but there's really no cash effect this year. That's correct. Perfect. Thank you. And maybe just the other question following up was asked earlier about, um, obviously Slobo did very well and you've got this, you know, ramp up of volume through the, through the middle, but you've got grades coming off. Um, I know you probably don't want to revise anything yet this year, but do we expect Q1's production at Slobo to continue throughout the year?
spk11: I'll let Wes answer that one.
spk06: Sure. I think we saw slightly better grades than expected at Slobo in Q1. Really, the grades do drop off in the plan as we go through the year, and it's just a function of where they are in that pit. But, I mean, they have certainly shown that the production that's going through, particularly Slobo 3, has been very positive. So as we said at the start, I don't think we're confident enough to up the forecast at this point, but it is looking positive for the rest of the year.
spk02: So would that be positive reconciliation, or is it just they happen to be in a different part of the ore body that you got better than expected, Q1? Or can you comment? Positive reconciliation. Perfect. Thanks very much for answering my question.
spk11: Thanks, Brian.
spk04: Thank you. Once again, please press R1 to do wish to ask a question. Your next question is from Tanya Yakuskona from Scotiabank. Please ask your question.
spk08: Good morning, everyone. I recognized myself today. That was good. Thank you for taking my questions. Just wanted to circle back, Wes, on the operational side. I think we touched on Salobo. We touched on Penesquito. And I think Newmont also confirmed on their call that production was going to be for silver evenly distributed for the year. The one I wanted to touch base on was on Wazi Bay. We had talked last quarter about quarter-over-quarter improvements. Is that how I should still be thinking about that asset?
spk06: Absolutely. As those undergrounds come more online, we will see quarter over quarter improvement there. And that is what's forecast for the rest of this year. And certainly we saw very good performance from them in Q1, really ahead of what we've been expecting. So I think we can continue to see that growth through the year.
spk08: Okay. And then I think what Randy had mentioned, the 48-52 first half, second half looks like to be more of a normal distribution or thereabout for the next three quarters. Would that be a safe assumption?
spk11: Based on what we see right now, I think it's probably more like a 50-50. If we do see some outperformance in the latter half, obviously we'll consider it at the end of the second quarter and determine whether we want to change our guidance, but we're definitely well positioned to be on track. As Ralph mentioned earlier on, I think it was Ralph or Cosmos mentioned earlier on, four times this production is beating it, but So we're definitely in a really good position to have a strong year.
spk08: Okay. Maybe just moving on to some of the financials, if I could. You have quite a number of investments, I think, still. I think you've sold out all of your HECLA. Where does the rest of the investment portfolio stand and how should we be thinking of that in terms of harnessing some cash flow?
spk03: Hi, Tanya and Tatham. Thank you for the question. I will say that the HECLA was a bit of an opportunistic sale, and we're happy with that transaction. Looking at the rest of our portfolio, the majority of our portfolio is with our streaming partners. Our equity is held because we entered into the transactions when we did the streams. Our philosophy at this point in time is we will hold those shares until – Our partners get up and running in advance, and if there's an opportunity to sell down the road, that's when we'll do it. We have no interest in selling those shares right now.
spk11: The primary focus on those type of investments is to be supportive of those partners, be a good, strong, supportive shareholder. And so there's no sense in putting pressure on them when they're going through the development phase on their projects. So it is a longer-term commitment, as is the streaming agreement itself.
spk08: Okay. Okay, that's good on the investments. And maybe if I could still follow through, Hatem, just on the transaction opportunities. I just want to circle back. Savanye put out a comment that they're looking at up to $500 million of streaming opportunities. So I want to circle back to, number one, any thoughts of additional platinum-palladium opportunities? I personally don't think still water can take on another royalty and or stream. but maybe some of the other items in South Africa and or their gold assets. I don't think you're interested in lithium. Maybe a comment on how that would fit your portfolio.
spk03: Sure. I mean, I'll keep it simple. We're always looking at precious metals being gold and silver as a primary to precious metals. If we can add gold or silver and alongside it, add platinum or palladium to top it off to the price that they need, that's something we could consider. You're right. I don't think we would increase still water's stream there, but there are other opportunities throughout their portfolio that they are considering.
spk11: Sabani is a good, strong partner of ours. We've had a great relationship with Neil and the team there, and so hopefully we can grow that relationship, as we're always hopeful with all of our partnerships. They've got quite a broad selection of assets there, and we're sure we can help them unlock some value there somewhere.
spk08: Yeah, on the balance sheet repair. Yeah, thank you for that. And then maybe just, you know, just circling back again on the opportunities. I know I ask all the time, all of these big opportunities for balance sheet repairs keeps coming up on, you know, for some of the bigger non-goal companies and assets sales for the Newcrest, Newmont portfolio, et cetera, et cetera. Paytham, I think you mentioned you were looking at 10 or 20. I forget how many you mentioned you were looking at.
spk03: I mean, we always have at least a dozen on the go. Tanya, we're probably up closer to 15 right now. Of those, I would say there is probably a handful that are fairly sizable. But in this environment, you know, there's no guarantee that a stream will actually get done. But it is, I guess, enlightening to see that streaming is measured alongside debt equity and other forms of capital as well. So there's definitely people kicking the tires and we're there. trying to get involved.
spk11: We are happy to see the equity market waking up a little bit and starting to see some support on that side because we've been strong believers that streaming can't be the only source of capital. It should be standing alongside a nice balanced spread on that capital. And so happy to see a little bit there because that's going to open up some opportunities just in that sense, standing alongside some equity raises to fund these developments.
spk08: And these bigger deals, like you said, you have a handful of, I think, Hatem, those would be the plus 500 million deals. Can I assume those are pure streaming, or should I be thinking that there's equity components plus debt components to total plus 500, or should it be a simple streaming structure?
spk03: Sure. I mean, the majority of those are looking at streaming structures. You know, when you're looking at opportunities that sizable, typically the counterparty does not want to dilute. and they have access to debt on their own. For the smaller opportunities, I can tell you there's, I guess you would look at a portfolio, not a portfolio, you'd look at a number of financing mechanisms alongside streaming.
spk08: Okay, and so the main financing mechanisms for the smaller ones are, you know, royalty stream and plus debt equity would be the structure. That's correct.
spk11: We don't see a lot in the royalty space. The royalties tend to, I mean... streaming has proven to be much more attractive as a source of capital than royalties. So we just don't see new royalties. We see existing royalties being traded around, but not too many people are creating new royalties, especially on advanced projects. If they're doing royalties, it's on a very early stage.
spk03: Trying to create basically royalties so that one day they can put them in a portfolio and try to sell them to companies like us. Okay, well, we'll wait for those.
spk08: I appreciate you taking all my questions and a great quarter. Thank you.
spk03: Thanks, Mary.
spk11: Always a pleasure, Tanya.
spk04: Thank you. Your next question is from Richard Hatch from Barenburg. Please ask your question.
spk05: Yeah, thanks. Morning, Randy and team. Thanks for the call. Just got a couple of questions. Just firstly, on the heckler, by my numbers, you made about 50% on that trade, so it's a good deal, but... Is there any tax that you've got to pay on the sale of those shares or anything we need to be working in there or not?
spk07: Thanks. We will have a tax liability associated with that. It'll be included at 50% and subject to a 27% tax. income tax.
spk11: So standard capital gains of 50% of the gain is taxed at a 27% rate. So net effect is about 13.5% on the total. That's right. Yeah.
spk05: Okay. Very helpful. Thanks. Second one is just on Solobo. It's nice to see that asset kind of coming back to performing better again. Yeah. Just any commentary around the expansion case from Vale or anything you might be able to add on that, please? When I say the expansion case, I mean the higher grading case.
spk11: Oh, I see. Okay. Yeah, I mean, you know, the focus, definitely let Wes add some color to this, but, you know, the current focus is, of course, trying to get to the next phase of the expansion payment. And so they're working their way towards that. You know, whether they achieve it this year or next year remains to be seen. They're definitely continuing to improve on line three. But, you know, as it's been sort of laid out before, the whole site has to perform in order to satisfy that. And so line one and line two still got some work to do on that front. But, you know, as we've seen, this quarter they actually outperformed even their own expectations, right? And so given that, you know, we think it's shaping up well for them to hopefully satisfy that line. You know, once that next phase gets satisfied, then we'd be looking at the high-grade, you know, bonus kicker. And actually, it starts in the year subsequent to whenever they satisfy phase two of the expansion payment. And it's, you know, it's basically on an annual basis. If they meet certain objectives, we'll make an additional payment towards Vale for satisfying those things. So that won't start until next year at the earliest, again, depending on when they finish the Phase 2 of the main expansion payment.
spk06: Yeah, I think just to add on to what Randy said there, I mean, really the focus right now is on getting Slobo 3 up to its full capacity and really having Slobo 1 and 2 built up there as well that the high grade is really an expansion on the open pit and getting some more equipment going in there. And that's really once they get those plants up and running, then the focus will move over to the mine and getting that going, I think.
spk11: They have talked in the past, they have just to add, they have talked in the past about the possibility of, you know, exploring a phase four expansion. And there's been some discussion about whether that would be at an additional 6 million tons per annum or 12, whether it's a full line. So there is still some discussion and studies going on internally on that front, too. So there's no doubt there's still a healthy focus on Salobo. Absolutely.
spk05: Lots of upside. And that's just pure upside for you, right? There's no extra commitments. You've got to pay for that, correct? Yep. And then just on that grade upside, are you able to give us any kind of a feel for what kind of higher kind of grade potential we could be seeing from next year if they go down that road?
spk11: The challenge is it depends on how much they grow their mobile fleet. It depends on how much they push towards the low-grade stockpiling side. And so there's a number of different factors that they have to balance, stockpile capacity. If they shift more of the low grade towards that, then they could easily push grades substantially higher. It really does come down to what kind of a fleet expansion they go through in the pit, and that's what will dictate what kind of grades they can deliver to the mills. Yeah, okay, gotcha.
spk05: And then the last one is just on Mineral Park. I think if I look at the MD&A, you've got $150 million that you could deploy into that one this year. Any kind of steer on timing on that, please?
spk11: I mean, it looks like it's on track. I mean, the work's moving forward, and so it's an asset that we know well. We're pretty excited about it. It's always... delivered more silver than expected in times past, and so we're expecting to see, you know, similar results out of it. And what's really exciting about it is the, you know, the current ownership group has identified and really, you know, is in the process of resolving the challenges that that project had in the past. And so we think it's going to be a nice pleasant addition to the, you know, a re-addition to the portfolio this time around. And so we're pretty happy with that group. They've done a good job of identifying what the challenges are, and they're putting the money right where it needs to be spent in terms of getting it there. So I fully expect it to be coming on stream here within a couple of years.
spk03: And that $115 million will be provided in stage payments, right? It's not all one long sum. It'll be provided over, I would say, three or four different payments, $25 million each, and the last one's $40 million.
spk05: Yeah, gotcha. Okay, fine. Sorry. Is that something that could be a Q2 outflow, or is it too early to say that yet?
spk03: Yeah, it could be Q2.
spk05: Helpful. Thanks for your time. Much appreciated.
spk11: Thanks, Richard, and thanks, everyone, for your time today. We are pleased to report a good, strong start to our 20th anniversary year here at Wheaton. 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 one of the best vehicles for investing into gold and precious metal space. As we celebrate our 20th anniversary throughout 2024, I am sincerely thankful to all of our stakeholders for being a part of Wheaton's success and I truly look forward to a golden future together. We look forward to speaking with you again soon. Thank you.
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