Mining companies are increasingly using streaming deals for growth rather than to repair balance sheets, the chief executive officer of the world's largest precious metals streaming company said.
Randy Smallwood of Wheaton Precious Metals said that around 45% of the assets the company currently streams are development assets with funding provided while mines are built. "We had a phase, for a three-to-four-year period, where there was a lot of balance sheet repair, when even some of the world's largest companies needed a little bit of capital just to get their leverage down on their balance sheets," he said. "Now we're entering into a phase where a lot of money is going into development; from a corporate perspective, our opportunity set shows it's either funding expansions, new mine development or M&A," he told the 25th Mining Indaba in Cape Town, South Africa running from February 4 to 7. To date, $19 billion has accumulatively been invested into streaming in the global mining industry. Wheaton is responsible for close to $10 billion of that through 20 operating mines and nine...