BHP Group on Tuesday reached a long-term silver streaming agreement with a unit of Wheaton Precious Metals that will see Wheaton provide an upfront payment of $4.3 billion at completion. Under the arrangement, BHP will deliver silver produced from its share of output at the Antamina mine in Peru, where BHP holds a 33.75% interest in the mine's operator, Compa a9 a1a Minera Antamina S.A.
In a statement, BHP said the deal is backed by "strong silver market conditions" and that it "maximises shareholder value by unlocking capital from a non-core commodity that can be reallocated to BHP's high-return growth projects and shareholder returns, consistent with our capital allocation framework." The company framed the transaction as a means of converting a non-core metal into deployable capital.
Upon closing the transaction, Wheaton said it will receive a combined 67.5% of all silver produced from Antamina. That share represents an increase from the 33.75% currently delivered under an existing Glencore silver stream arrangement.
"Quality silver production is becoming increasingly difficult to source while demand continues to rise for both critical industrial uses and for silver's safe haven qualities in today's economic environment," said Randy Smallwood, chief executive officer of Wheaton Precious Metals.
The agreement changes the flow of silver produced at Antamina and transfers a larger portion of future silver deliveries to Wheaton in exchange for the upfront cash payment to BHP. BHP's stated objective for the proceeds is to reallocate capital toward projects it considers higher-return as well as to support shareholder returns, in line with its capital allocation priorities.
Separately, an investment research offering highlighted in the original release notes that WPM is evaluated monthly by an AI-driven model that uses over 100 financial metrics. The description states the tool assesses fundamentals, momentum, and valuation to identify stocks that the model views as having favorable risk-reward profiles. The release cites past winners identified by the model, including Super Micro Computer (+185%) and AppLovin (+157%). The commentary also invited readers to check whether WPM appears in any of the model's strategies.
The transaction centers on the Antamina mine's silver output and the reallocation of future silver receipts, with both parties citing the interaction of supply constraints and rising demand as a backdrop to the commercial terms agreed.