Wheaton Precious Metals™ Corp. (“Wheaton” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Wheaton Precious Metals International Ltd. ("Wheaton International") has entered into a definitive Precious Metal Purchase Agreement (the “PMPA”) with Alliance Metals International, a subsidiary of Adventus Mining Corporation (collectively “Adventus”) (TSX: ADZN) in respect to the Curipamba Project (“Curipamba” or the “Project”) located in Ecuador. Curipamba is forecast to be a high-margin mine in the lowest half of the copper cost curve with a 10-year open-pit mine life and the potential to transition into an underground mine subsequent to the open pit[1].

“Wheaton has had a successful long-term partnership with Adventus and welcomes the opportunity to support the development of a project the caliber of Curipamba. Forecasted to be a high quality, low-cost mine with significant exploration potential, Curipamba’s profile aligns well with Wheaton’s accretive growth strategy” said Randy Smallwood, Wheaton’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Adventus has a strong entrepreneurial reputation and shares Wheaton’s vision that responsible mining should benefit all stakeholders, including support for the communities around the mines. We look forward to our continued partnership with Adventus and shared success in Curipamba.”



TRANSACTION DETAILS

(All values in US$ unless otherwise noted)

Upfront Consideration: Wheaton International will pay Adventus total upfront cash consideration of $175.5 million (the “Deposit”), $13 million of which is available pre-construction (the “Early Deposit”) and $500,000 of which will be paid to support certain local community development initiatives around Curipamba. The remainder will be payable in four staged installments during construction, subject to various customary conditions being satisfied.
Streamed Metal: Under the PMPA, Wheaton International will purchase: (i) 50% of the payable gold production referenced from Curipamba, dropping to 33% for the life of mine once 150,000 ounces of refined gold have been delivered; and (ii) 75% of the payable silver production referenced from Curipamba, dropping to 50% for the life of mine once 4.6 million ounces of refined silver have been delivered.
Production Profile1: Attributable production is forecast to average 17,000 oz of gold and 551,000 oz of silver per year for the first five years of production. Adventus anticipates construction activities to begin as early as late 2022, with commissioning and commencement of mine operations as early as 2024.
Production Payments: Wheaton International will make ongoing payments for the gold and silver ounces delivered equal to 18% of the spot prices (“Production Payment”) until the value of gold and silver delivered less the Production Payment is equal to the Deposit, at which point the Production Payment will increase to 22% of the spot prices.

Incremental Reserves and Resources[2]: The addition of Curipamba will increase Wheaton’s estimated Proven and Probable gold reserves by 0.26 Moz and silver reserves by 7.1 Moz, Measured and Indicated gold resources by 0.06 Moz and silver resources by 2.2 Moz, and Inferred gold resources by 0.02 Moz and silver resources by 0.7 Moz. In addition, Wheaton believes significant exploration potential exists within the large Curipamba property demonstrated by the recent discovery of the Agua Santa prospect which is approximately 4.5 km southwest of El Domo.
Community Investment Support: As part of the Deposit, Wheaton International has agreed to provide $500,000 to support local community development initiatives around Curipamba being advanced by Adventus. In addition, by entering into the PMPA, Adventus is eligible for additional community support through Wheaton’s Partner CSR Program which provides financial support for its mining partners’ economic, environmental and social initiatives within the communities that are directly influenced by the mines.
Other Considerations:
Curipamba will be subject to a 90-day completion test based on a set mine throughput level and designed production forecast.
Until the first drawdown of the Deposit after the Early Deposit, Adventus would have a one-time option to repurchase 33% of the stream (gold and silver) on a change of control of Adventus for an amount ensuring a fixed internal rate of return to Wheaton International.
Adventus and certain of its subsidiaries will provide Wheaton International with corporate guarantees and certain other security over their assets.
Wheaton also intends to provide up to US$5M in equity to Adventus, subject to a maximum ownership level below 10%.
FINANCING THE TRANSACTIONS

As at September 30, 2021, the Company had approximately $372 million of cash on hand, which when combined with the liquidity provided by the available credit under the $2 billion revolving term loan and ongoing operating cash flows, positions the Company well to fund all outstanding commitments and known contingencies and provides flexibility to acquire additional accretive mineral stream interests.



ABOUT ADVENTUS MINING AND THE CURIPAMBA PROJECT

Adventus is a unique public company focused on copper-gold exploration and development in Ecuador. Outside of Ecuador, Adventus also owns a portfolio of exploration projects in Ireland that are funded by commercial partners and equity investments.

Curipamba comprises seven mineral concessions representing approximately 21,500 hectares and includes the advanced high-grade copper-gold El Domo deposit. Curipamba is located in central Ecuador approximately 150 km northeast of the major port city of Guayaquil. El Domo is a flat-lying tabular shaped VMS deposit, with mineralization beginning at 30 metres from surface and dimensions of approximately 800 x 400 metres. Three well-maintained gravel roads provide direct access to El Domo and most of the Curipamba project area. Over 75,000 metres of diamond drilling has been completed on El Domo to date. In 2021, Adventus completed a feasibility study NI 43-101 Technical Report as well as completed and submitted a detailed environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) report to the Government of Ecuador.

Category
Tonnage Mt Grade Au g/t Contained Au Moz

Proven 1.6 2.83 0.14

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