In the meantime, Silver Wheaton will receive output from other Barrick operations, such as Lagunas Norte mine, in Peru.
Canadian miner Silver Wheaton (TSX:SLW) said Monday it has agreed to give Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) over two years past the original deadline to meet a silver production milestone at the stalled Pascua Lama project straddling the border between Chile and Argentina.
Under the deal, Silver Wheaton paid about US$625 million in cash in return for rights to silver produced by Barrick either at the now mothballed gold-silver project or its other mines.
The gold giant now has until June 30, 2020, to reach at least 75% of design capacity at Pascua-Lama. The previous deadline was Dec. 31, 2017, which was two year later than the original target of Dec. 31, 2015, when the agreement was reached in 2013.
“The extension of the completion test deadline gives Barrick additional time to develop the world-class Pascua Lama project, and Silver Wheaton receives 15 months of additional production from Barrick’s other mines,” Silver Wheaton’s President and Chief Executive Officer Randy Smallwood said in today’s statement.
By “other mines” Smallwood means Barrick’s Lagunas Norte and Pierina (in north-central Peru), as well as Veladero (in Argentina).
Silver Wheaton also announced Monday that it has cancelled a silver stream agreement with Nyrstar Mining.
