Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX, NYSE, LSE: WPM) expects to repay its debt and have $4 billion (C$5.6 billion) available for new deals by the end of next year, President and CEO Haytham Hodaly said.
The company is generating more than $250 million a month in free cash flow, enough to clear its $1.9 billion in net debt while rebuilding its capacity to invest, Hodaly told The Northern Miner last month in Colorado Springs. That $4 billion would include money Wheaton could borrow through its credit lines, he said.
“It’s a time in the market right now where we’re seeing more opportunities than we’ve ever seen,” Hodaly said, pointing to higher commodity prices. “So those increasing prices provide a mechanism for people to unlock value in their existing portfolios.”
Large copper projects in Latin America could provide the next opening, although Hodaly ruled out buying copper streams. Wheaton offers miners upfront funding in exchange for future deliveries of their gold and silver byproducts, giving it exposure to precious metals without having to operate the mines.
Watch below the full interview with The Miner’s Western Editor, Henry Lazenby:
Source: www.northernminer.com — article syndicated from the publisher’s feed; all rights remain with the original publisher.
