Argentina tripled lithium carbonate production capacity in last two years
Argentina, the world's No. 4 lithium producer, has four projects in production.
Silver Wheaton saw its stock price jump almost 3% on Tuesday, following a report that the company will increase its goldstream from the Salobo mine in Brazil. The $800 million deal with a Vale subsidiary provides Silver Wheaton an additional 25% of output of gold equivalent over the mine’s life.
This latest acquisition will add to Silver Wheaton’s existing 50% of gold production from Salobo; Brazil’s largest known copper deposit. President and CEO of Silver Wheaton, Randy Smallwood, announced on Tuesday that; “We did not hesitate at the opportunity to increase our exposure to a mine with one of the lowest copper cash costs in the world, 50 years of mine life on reserves alone, and what we believe to be substantial exploration and expansion potential.”
The Vancouver based company has revised its production guidance to reflect the new stream. The forecast for 2016 has been upped to 305,000 ounces, while projected annual gold production over the coming 5 years is expected to reach an average of 330,000 ounces a year.
The deal will be concluded with an upfront cash payment of $800 million, while the 10 million Silver Wheaton common share purchase warrants previously issued to the Vale subsidiary will be amended, allowing the company to buy Silver Wheaton stock and reducing the strike price per common share from US$65 to US$43.75. Silver Wheaton will finance the payment with a mixture of cash and funds from its US$2 billion revolving credit facility, the Canadian company said on Tuesday.
A jump in gold and silver prices over the last few months have continued to lift Silver Wheaton shares. The gold stream sale will now help Brazil based Vale reduce its hefty debt load from $27 to $15 billion. The company has felt the strain of low iron ore prices and construction costs from a new mine development over the previous months. Shares in Vale were also up on Tuesday following news of the deal.
