Notes to the Condensed Interim Consolidated Financial Statements
Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2020 (US Dollars - Unaudited)
Cotabambas
In connection with the Cotabambas Early Deposit Agreement, the Company is committed to pay Panoro a total cash consideration of $140 million, of which $9 million has been paid to date. Once certain conditions have been met, the Company will advance an additional $5 million to Panoro, spread over up to five years. Following the delivery of a bankable definitive feasibility study, environmental study and impact assessment, and other related documents (collectively, the “Cotabambas Feasibility Documentation”), and receipt of permits and construction commencing, the Company may then advance the remaining deposit or elect to terminate the Cotabambas Early Deposit Agreement. If the Company elects to terminate, the Company will be entitled to a return of the portion of the amounts advanced less $2 million payable upon certain triggering events occurring.
Kutcho
In connection with the Kutcho Early Deposit Agreement, the Company is committed to pay Kutcho a total cash consideration of $65 million, of which $7 million has been paid to date. The remaining $58 million will be advanced on an installment basis to partially fund construction of the mine once certain conditions have been satisfied.
The Company will be required to make an additional payment to Kutcho, of up to $20 million, if processing throughput is increased to 4,500 tonnes per day or more within 5 years of attaining commercial production.
Salobo
The Salobo mine currently has a mill throughput capacity of 24 million tonnes per annum (“Mtpa”). In October 2018, Vale’s Board of Directors approved the investment in the Salobo III mine expansion (the “Salobo Expansion”). The Salobo Expansion is proposed to include a third concentrator line and will use Salobo’s existing infrastructure. Vale anticipates that the Salobo Expansion, which is scheduled to start up in the first half of 2022 with a ramp-up of 15 months, will result in an increase of throughput capacity from 24 Mtpa to 36 Mtpa once fully ramped up.
If actual throughput is expanded above 28 Mtpa, then under the terms of the Salobo PMPA, Wheaton will be required to make an additional set payment to Vale based on the size of the expansion, the timing of completion and the grade of the material processed. The set payment ranges from $113 million if throughput is expanded beyond 28 Mtpa by January 1, 2036 up to $953 million if throughput is expanded beyond 40 Mtpa by January 1, 2021. Assuming the Salobo III expansion project achieves 12 Mtpa of additional processing capacity (bringing total processing capacity at Salobo to 36 Mtpa) by the end of 2023, the Company would expect to pay an estimated expansion payment of between $550 million to $670 million. The actual amount and timing of any expansion payment may significantly differ from this estimate depending on the size, timing and processed grade of any expansion.
Canada Revenue Agency – Canada Revenue Agency – 2013-2015 Taxation Years - Domestic Reassessments
The Company received Notices of Reassessment in 2018 and 2019 for the 2013 to 2015 taxation years in which the CRA is seeking to change the timing of the deduction of upfront payments with respect to the Company’s PMPAs relating to Canadian mining assets, so that the cost of precious metal acquired under these Canadian PMPAs is equal to the cash cost paid on delivery plus an amortized amount of the upfront payment determined on a units-of-production basis over the estimated recoverable reserves, and where applicable, resources and exploration potential at the respective mine (the “Domestic Reassessments”). In total, the Domestic Reassessments assessed tax, interest and other penalties of $7 million.
Management believes the Company’s position, as reflected in its filed Canadian income tax returns and consistent with the terms of the PMPAs, that the cost of the precious metal acquired under the Canadian PMPAs is equal to the market value while a deposit is outstanding, and the cash cost thereafter is correct. The Company has filed Notices of Objection and paid 50% of the disputed amounts in order to challenge the Domestic Reassessments. The 2016 to 2019 taxation years remain open to a domestic audit.
If CRA were to apply the methodology in the Domestic Reassessments to taxation years subsequent to 2015, the Company estimates that losses would arise that could be carried back to reduce tax and interest relating to the Domestic Reassessments to approximately $2 million.
U.S. Shareholder Class Action
During July 2015, after the Company disclosed that the CRA was proposing that they would issue notices of reassessment for federal and provincial tax, transfer pricing penalties, interest and other penalties for the 2005-2010 taxation years (the “Reassessments”), two putative securities class action lawsuits were filed against the Company in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in connection with the proposal (the “Complaints”).
On October 19, 2015, the Complaints were consolidated into one action, In re Silver Wheaton Securities Litigation, as against the Company, Randy Smallwood, President & Chief Executive Officer, Gary Brown, Senior Vice President & Chief Financial Officer and Peter Barnes, former Chief Executive Officer (together the “Initial Defendants”) and a lead
WHEATON PRECIOUS METALS 2020 SECOND QUARTER REPORT [92]