Vale has signed separate agreements with Wheaton Precious Metals Corp and Cobalt 27 Capital Corp to sell an aggregate total of 75% of the cobalt produced at Voisey's Bay, enabling it to proceed with an expansion of the mine.
From January 1, 2021, Wheaton and Cobalt 27 will be entitled to receive finished cobalt equivalent to 42.4% and 32.6% respectively of the future cobalt production from its Voisey's Bay mine in Labrador, Canada, the company said in a press release on Monday June 11. In return, Vale will receive an initial cash payment of $690 million upfront, comprising $390 million from Wheaton and $300 million from Cobalt 27. The upfront payment is equivalent to 40% of the estimated nominal capex of $1.7 billion for the underground mine expansion project at Voisey's Bay. "By unlocking the value of...