Silver Wheaton Reports 9% Increase in Attributable Reserves, Marking Sixth Consecutive Annual Increase
VANCOUVER, March 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Silver Wheaton Corp. ("Silver Wheaton" or the "Company") (TSX, NYSE:SLW) is pleased to announce that attributable proven and probable reserves increased by over nine percent in 2010, as a result of an increase of 80 million ounces of silver and 23,000 ounces of gold, to a record 954 million silver equivalent ounces1. Over the same period, attributable measured and indicated resources increased by one percent, as a result of an increase of four million ounces of silver and 22,000 ounces of gold, to 377 million silver equivalent ounces. Attributable inferred resources increased by 22%, as a result of an increase of 89 million ounces of silver, to 497 million silver equivalent ounces.
Silver Wheaton's increase in 2010 attributable reserves was a combination of acquisition and organic growth. The Company acquired 100% of the life of mine silver and gold production from Augusta Resource Corporation's Rosemont Copper Project located in Arizona, which increased attributable reserves by approximately 7%. In addition, continued exploration success at the mines from which Silver Wheaton purchases its silver led to another year of strong organic reserve growth, more than replacing reserves mined during the year.
The table below summarizes the growth in attributable silver reserves year over year. Year end reserve and resource updates for the Cozamin, Campo Morado and Aljustrel mines are forthcoming and have not been included in this calculation.
Proven and probable silver reserves as of Dec. 31, 2009 861.8Moz
Net acquisitions during 2010 62.9Moz
Mined ounces during 2010 (includes silver lost to process) (50.6)Moz
Organic reserve growth during 2010 67.9Moz
Proven and probable silver reserves as of Dec. 31, 2010 942.0Moz
Proven and probable gold reserves as of Dec. 31, 2010 248koz
Total proven and probable silver eq. reserves as of Dec. 31,
2010(1) 954.4Moz
"We are very proud to announce our sixth consecutive year of strong attributable silver reserve and resource growth," said Peter Barnes, Chief Executive Officer of Silver Wheaton. "More importantly, on a per share basis, attributable silver reserves have increased in every year since the company's inception in 2004, growing at an annualized rate of 36%, and resulting in the creation of significant shareholder value."
"With silver stream agreements relating to 16 operating mines and three development stage assets around the globe, Silver Wheaton now has more silver reserves and resources than any other silver company in the world. In addition to completing accretive acquisitions, consistent strong organic reserve growth from the mines underlying our agreements has resulted in Silver Wheaton having one of the highest-quality reserve and resource bases in the precious metals industry. Our core assets continue to replace reserves mined each year, a testament to the very high-quality, long-term sustainability of these mines."
(1) A gold/silver ratio of 50:1 was used to calculate silver equivalent ounces
Silver Wheaton's Attributable Reserves and Resources as of
December 31, 2010
ATTRIBUTABLE PROVEN AND PROBABLE RESERVES (1,2,3,8,15,16)
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2010 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED(6)
Proven Probable
Tonnage Grade Contained Tonnage Grade Contained
SILVER Mt g/t M oz Mt g/t M oz
Penasquito (25%)
Mill 180.0 27.0 156.4 175.4 19.6 110.8
Heap Leach 4.7 20.1 3.0 12.3 15.5 6.1
San Dimas(10) 2.1 364.0 24.8 3.8 314.7 38.1
Pascua-Lama (25%) 9.8 58.9 18.6 86.3 53.8 149.2
Lagunas Norte(11) 4.7 4.5 0.7 55.3 3.7 6.6
Pierina(11) 18.8 12.7 7.7 11.6 12.6 4.7
Veladero(11) 5.3 13.3 2.3 86.8 15.0 42.0
Yauliyacu(12) 1.2 98.6 3.8 2.1 128.8 8.8
Neves-Corvo
Copper 21.2 43.0 29.3 2.1 48.0 3.2
Zinc 34.3 63.9 70.5 8.2 56.0 14.8
Rosemont(13) 128.8 4.5 18.5 366.8 3.8 44.5
Mineral Park(13) 302.6 2.7 26.4 76.7 2.9 7.2
Zinkgruvan
Zinc 8.3 105.0 28.1 2.7 63.0 5.4
Copper 2.8 32.0 2.9 0.1 29.0 0.1
Aljustrel
Zinc - - - 13.1 62.9 26.6
Copper - - - 1.7 14.6 0.8
Campo Morado (75%) 0.4 273.7 3.5 1.1 186.6 6.4
Stratoni 1.7 174.0 9.3 0.1 225.0 0.7
Minto 7.8 5.4 1.3 5.1 4.9 0.8
Cozamin
Copper 1.6 76.3 4.0 5.9 59.0 11.3
Zinc - - - 1.9 37.2 2.2
Los Filos(14) 62.7 4.4 8.9 185.9 5.4 32.1
Total Silver 419.7 522.3
GOLD
Minto 7.8 0.63 0.16 5.1 0.54 0.09
Total Gold 0.16 0.09
(table continued)
Proven & Probable
Tonnage Grade Contained Process
Recovery
SILVER Mt g/t M oz % (7)
Penasquito (25%)
Mill 355.4 23.4 267.2 70%
Heap Leach 17.0 16.8 9.1 26%
San Dimas(10) 5.9 332.5 62.9 94%
Pascua-Lama (25%) 96.1 54.3 167.9 82%
Lagunas Norte(11) 60.0 3.8 7.3 21%
Pierina(11) 30.4 12.7 12.4 37%
Veladero(11) 92.1 14.9 44.3 6%
Yauliyacu(12) 3.3 118.0 12.6 86%
Neves-Corvo
Copper 23.2 43.4 32.5 35%
Zinc 42.6 62.4 85.3 23%
Rosemont(13) 495.6 3.9 62.9 80%
Mineral Park(13) 379.3 2.8 33.6 49%
Zinkgruvan
Zinc 11.0 94.8 33.4 70%
Copper 2.9 31.9 2.9 78%
Aljustrel
Zinc 13.1 62.9 26.6 37%
Copper 1.7 14.6 0.8 30%
Campo Morado (75%) 1.5 210.0 9.9 55%
Stratoni 1.8 177.0 10.0 88%
Minto 12.9 5.2 2.1 81%
Cozamin
Copper 7.5 62.7 15.2 74%
Zinc 1.9 37.2 2.2 74%
Los Filos(14) 248.6 5.1 41.0 5%
Total Silver 942.0
GOLD
Minto 12.9 0.60 0.25 74%
Total Gold 0.25
ATTRIBUTABLE MEASURED & INDICATED RESOURCES (1,2,3,4,5,9,15,16)
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2010 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED(6)
Measured Indicated
Tonnage Grade Contained Tonnage Grade Contained
SILVER Mt g/t M oz Mt g/t M oz
Penasquito (25%)
Mill 8.1 23.5 6.1 62.1 30.8 61.5
Heap Leach 0.1 11.1 0.02 1.0 15.8 0.5
Pascua-Lama (25%) 4.5 25.5 3.7 48.0 24.4 37.7
Yauliyacu(12) 0.2 150.1 1.0 4.3 152.4 20.9
Neves-Corvo
Copper 16.7 55.9 30.1 1.9 55.7 3.4
Zinc 25.2 53.1 43.0 6.1 45.4 8.8
Rosemont(13) 7.2 3.9 0.9 103.0 2.7 8.8
Mineral Park(13) 101.0 2.6 8.4 175.6 2.7 15.2
Zinkgruvan
Zinc 1.6 82.8 4.4 2.8 113.0 10.0
Copper 1.4 26.2 1.2 0.2 25.4 0.1
Aljustrel
Zinc 5.5 50.5 9.0 7.8 56.0 14.0
Copper 0.9 24.1 0.7 3.7 13.3 1.6
Campo Morado (75%) 0.04 58.0 0.1 3.8 164.2 19.9
Loma de La Plata - - - 3.6 169.0 19.8
(12.5%)
Minto 5.4 3.8 0.6 19.2 2.9 1.8
Cozamin
Copper 0.6 81.5 1.5 1.0 54.9 1.8
Keno Hill (25%)
Underground - - - 0.1 920.5 3.0
Elsa Tailings - - - 0.6 119.0 2.4
Los Filos(14) 13.0 4.0 1.7 125.1 5.4 21.9
Total Silver 112.3 253.0
GOLD
Minto 5.4 0.47 0.08 19.2 0.24 0.15
Total Gold 0.08 0.15
(table continued)
Measured & Indicated
Tonnage Grade Contained
SILVER Mt g/t M oz
Penasquito (25%)
Mill 70.2 30.0 67.6
Heap Leach 1.0 15.6 0.5
Pascua-Lama (25%) 52.5 24.5 41.4
Yauliyacu(12) 4.5 152.3 21.8
Neves-Corvo
Copper 18.6 55.9 33.5
Zinc 31.3 51.6 51.8
Rosemont(13) 110.2 2.7 9.7
Mineral Park(13) 276.6 2.7 23.6
Zinkgruvan
Zinc 4.4 101.7 14.4
Copper 1.6 26.1 1.3
Aljustrel
Zinc 13.3 53.7 23.0
Copper 4.6 15.5 2.3
Campo Morado (75%) 3.8 163.2 20.0
Loma de La Plata (12.5%) 3.6 169.0 19.8
Minto 24.6 3.1 2.4
Cozamin
Copper 1.6 64.3 3.3
Keno Hill (25%)
Underground 0.1 920.5 3.0
Elsa Tailings 0.6 119.0 2.4
Los Filos(14) 138.1 5.3 23.5
Total Silver 365.3
GOLD
Minto 24.6 0.29 0.23
Total Gold 0.23
ATTRIBUTABLE INFERRED RESOURCES (1,2,3,4,5,9,15,16)
AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2010 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED (6)
Inferred
Tonnage Grade Contained
SILVER Mt g/t M oz
Penasquito (25%)
Mill 10.2 30.8 10.1
Heap Leach 0.4 14.5 0.2
San Dimas(10) 16.9 329.8 178.7
Pascua-Lama (25%) 7.3 15.6 3.7
Yauliyacu(12) 16.8 176.6 95.1
Neves-Corvo
Copper 26.3 41.0 34.7
Zinc 26.8 52.8 45.5
Rosemont(13) 163.0 2.1 11.2
Mineral Park(13) 320.1 2.3 23.9
Zinkgruvan
Zinc 5.1 70.0 11.5
Copper 1.0 33.0 1.0
Aljustrel
Zinc 10.6 48.6 16.6
Copper 2.2 11.7 0.8
Campo Morado (75%) 1.1 177.8 6.1
Stratoni 0.7 217.0 4.7
Loma de La Plata (12.5%) 0.2 76.0 0.4
Minto 6.0 2.8 0.5
Cozamin
Copper 2.4 52.6 4.0
Zinc 1.7 30.1 1.6
Keno Hill (25%)
Underground 0.03 320.2 0.3
Los Filos(14) 224.4 6.0 43.6
TOTAL SILVER 494.3
GOLD
Minto 6.0 0.25 0.05
TOTAL GOLD 0.05
Notes:
1. All Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources have been calculated in
accordance with the CIM Standards and NI 43-101, or the AusIMM JORC
equivalent.
2. Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources are reported above in millions
of metric tonnes ("Mt"), grams per metric tonne ("g/t") and millions
of ounces ("Moz").
3. Individual qualified persons ("QPs"), as defined by the NI 43-101,
for the Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates are as
follows:
a. Penasquito - Guillermo Pareja, Ph.D., P.Geo. (Manager,
Mineral Resources), Peter Nahan, P.Eng. (Senior Evaluation
Engineer), both employees of Goldcorp Inc.
b. San Dimas -Velasquez Spring, P.Eng. (Senior Geologist,
Watts, Griffis and McOuat Limited)
c. Pascua-Lama - Dino Pilotto, P.Eng. (Principal Mining
Consultant, SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc.); Bart A.
Stryhas, Ph.D., CPG (Principal Resource Geologist, SRK
Consulting (U.S.) Inc.)
d. Yauliyacu - Neil Burns, M.Sc., P.Geo. (Director of
Geology, Silver Wheaton); Samuel Mah, M.A.Sc., P.Eng.
(Director of Engineering, Silver Wheaton), both employees
of the Company (the "Company's QPs")
The Company's QPs are responsible for overall corporate review and
all other operations and development projects.
4. The Mineral Resources reported in the above tables are exclusive of
Mineral Reserves. The Minto, Cozamin, Neves-Corvo, Zinkgruvan and
Aljustrel mines report Mineral Resources inclusive of Mineral
Reserves. The Company's QPs have made the exclusive Mineral Resource
estimates for these mines based on average mine recoveries and
dilution.
5. Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have
demonstrated economic viability.
6. Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources are reported as of December
31, 2010, other than the following:
a. Resources and Reserves for Yauliyacu are reported as of
July 31, 2010.
b. Resources and Reserves for Neves-Corvo and Zinkgruvan are
reported as of June 30, 2010.
c. Resources for Rosemont are reported as of October 22, 2008
and Reserves as of March 17, 2009.
d. Resources for Mineral Park are reported as of December 29,
2006.
e. Resources and Reserves for Aljustrel are reported as of
December 31, 2007.
f. Resources for Campo Morado's El Largo, El Rey, Naranjo and
Reforma deposits are reported as of February 29, 2008,
Reserves and Resources for the G-9 deposit as of December
31, 2009.
g. Resources and Reserves for Stratoni are reported as of
August 10, 2010.
h. Resources and Reserves for Cozamin are reported as of
December 31, 2009.
i. Resources for Keno Hill are reported as of November 9,
2009 and April 22, 2010 for the Elsa Tailings.
7. Process recoveries are the average percentage of silver in a saleable
product (dore or concentrate) recovered from mined ore at the
applicable site process plants as reported by the operators.
8. Mineral Reserves are estimated using appropriate process recovery
rates and commodity prices of $15.00 per ounce of silver, unless
otherwise noted below:
a. Pascua-Lama, Lagunas Norte, Veladero and Pierina - $16.00
per ounce.
b. Yauliyacu - $18.50 per ounce.
c. Neves-Corvo - 1.6% Cu cut-off for the copper Reserve and
4.3% Zn cut-off for the zinc Reserves above the 550 level
and 6% Zn cut-off for zinc Reserves below the 550 level.
d. Rosemont -$10.00 per ounce.
e. Mineral Park - $7.50 per ounce.
f. Zinkgruvan - 3.1% Zn equivalent cut-off for the zinc
Reserve and 2.0% Cu cut-off for the copper Reserve
g. Aljustrel - 1.5% Cu cut-off for all copper Reserves and
zinc cut-offs of 4.5%, 4.0% and 4.0%, respectively, for
the Feitais, Moinho and Estacao zinc Reserves.
h. Campo Morado - 3.0% Zn cut-off for the Abajo, West
Extension and South East zones and 5% Zn cut-off for the
North zone.
i. Minto - $3.90 per ounce silver and $300 per ounce gold.
j. Cozamin - $4.00 per ounce.
9. Mineral Resources are estimated using appropriate recovery rates and
commodity prices of $17.00 per ounce of silver, unless otherwise
noted below:
a. Yauliyacu - $18.50 per ounce.
b. Neves-Corvo - 1.0% Cu cut-off for the copper Resource and
3.0% Zn cut-off for the zinc Resource.
c. Rosemont - 0.2% Cu cut-off.
d. Zinkgruvan - 3.1% Zn equivalent cut-off for the zinc
Resource and 1.5% Cu cut-off for the copper Resource.
e. Mineral Park - $7.50 per ounce.
f. Aljustrel - 1.5% Cu cut-off for all copper Resources and
zinc cut-offs of 4.5%, 4.0% and 4.0%, respectively, for
the Feitais, Moinho and Estacao zinc Resources.
g. Campo Morado - 3.0% Zn only cut-off grade for the G-9
zones and 5% Zn cut-off for the South West zone and El
Largo, El Rey, Naranjo and Reforma deposits.
h. Loma de La Plata - $12.50 per ounce
i. Minto - $12.00 per ounce silver and $900 per ounce gold.
j. Cozamin - 1.15% Cu cut-off for San Roberto Area and 3.0%
Zn cut-off for San Rafael Area.
k. Keno Hill - $15.25 per ounce for the Southwest and 99
Zones, $14.50 per ounce for the East Zone and $17.00 per
ounce for the Elsa Tailings.
10. The San Dimas purchase agreement provides that from August 6, 2010
until August 5, 2014, Primero Mining Corp. ("Primero") will deliver
to the Company a per annum amount equal to the first 3.5 million
ounces of payable silver produced at San Dimas and 50% of any excess,
plus the Company will receive an additional 1.5 million ounces of
silver per annum to be delivered by Goldcorp. Beginning August 6,
2014, Primero will deliver to the Company a per annum amount equal to
the first 6.0 million ounces of payable silver produced at San Dimas
and 50% of any excess, for the life of the mine.
11. The Company's attributable tonnage at Lagunas Norte, Pierina and
Veladero was estimated by assuming 2010 production levels for the
remaining three years. This tonnage was pro-rated between Proven and
Probable Mineral Reserves according to the ratio of the December 31,
2010 Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves as published by Barrick
Gold Corporation ("Barrick"), applying average reserve grades.
12. The Company's Yauliyacu purchase agreement (March 2006) with Glencore
International AG provides for the delivery of up to 4.75 million
ounces of silver per year for 20 years. In the event that silver
produced at Yauliyacu in any year totals less than 4.75 million
ounces, the maximum amount to be sold to the Company in subsequent
years will be increased to make up the shortfall, so long as
production allows. Depending upon mine production levels, it is
possible that these attributable Resources and Reserves may not be
completely mined before the agreement expires.
13. The Mineral Park and Rosemont Resources and Reserves do not include
the SX/EW leach material since this process does not recover silver.
14. Los Filos Resources and Reserves now include the Bermejal deposit.
15. The Company has filed a technical report for each of its mineral
projects considered to be material to the Company, being San Dimas,
Yauliyacu, Penasquito and Pascua-Lama, which are available on SEDAR
at http://www.sedar.com.
16. Silver is produced as a by-product metal at all operations with the
exception of Keno Hill and the Loma de La Plata project; therefore,
the economic cut-off applied to the reporting of silver Resources and
Reserves will be influenced by changes in the commodity prices of
other metals at the time.
CAUTIONARY LANGUAGE REGARDING RESERVES AND RESOURCES For further information on Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources and on Silver Wheaton more generally, readers should refer to Silver Wheaton's Annual Information Form for the year ended December 31, 2009, and other continuous disclosure documents filed by Silver Wheaton since January 1, 2010, available on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com. Silver Wheaton's Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources are subject to the qualifications and notes set forth therein. Mineral Resources which are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability.
Cautionary Note to United States Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured, Indicated and Inferred Mineral Resources: The information contained herein uses the terms "Measured", "Indicated" and "Inferred" Mineral Resources. United States investors are advised that while such terms are recognized and required by Canadian regulations, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission does not recognize them and expressly prohibits U.S. registered companies from including such terms in their filings with the SEC. "Inferred Mineral Resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Under Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred Mineral Resources may not form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. United States investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of Measured or Indicated Mineral Resources will ever be converted into Mineral Reserves. United States investors are also cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an Inferred Mineral Resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable. United States investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in Silver Wheaton's Form 40-F, a copy of which may be obtained from Silver Wheaton or from http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml.
Mr. Randy V.J. Smallwood, P.Eng., President of Silver Wheaton, is a "qualified person" as such term is defined under National Instrument 43-101, and has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.
About Silver Wheaton
Silver Wheaton is the largest silver streaming company in the world. Based upon its current agreements, forecast 2011 attributable production is 27 to 28 million silver equivalent ounces, including 15,000 ounces of gold. By 2015, annual attributable production is anticipated to increase significantly to approximately 43 million silver equivalent ounces, including 35,000 ounces of gold. This growth is driven by the Company's portfolio of world-class assets, including silver streams on Goldcorp's Penasquito mine and Barrick's Pascua-Lama project.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING-STATEMENTS The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements, which are all statements other than statements of historical fact, include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the future price of silver and gold, the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the realization of mineral reserve estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, reserve determination, reserve conversion rates and statements as to any future dividends. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Silver Wheaton to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: fluctuations in the price of silver and gold; the absence of control over mining operations from which Silver Wheaton purchases silver or gold and risks related to these mining operations including risks related to fluctuations in the price of the primary commodities mined at such operations, actual results of mining and exploration activities, economic and political risks of the jurisdictions in which the mining operations are located and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; and differences in the interpretation or application of tax laws and regulations; as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Description of the Business - Risk Factors" in Silver Wheaton's Annual Information Form available on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com and in Silver Wheaton's Form 40-F on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in Washington, D.C. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions management believes to be reasonable, including but not limited to: the continued operation of the mining operations from which Silver Wheaton purchases silver or gold, no material adverse change in the market price of commodities, that the mining operations will operate and the mining projects will be completed in accordance with their public statements and achieve their stated production outcomes, and such other assumptions and factors as set out herein. Although Silver Wheaton has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Silver Wheaton does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that are included or incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.
For further information:
Brad Kopp
Vice President, Investor Relations
Silver Wheaton Corp.
Tel: 1-800-380-8687
Email: info@silverwheaton.com
Website: http://www.silverwheaton.com
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