By Mary de Wet

Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. is predicting it will produce more gold and slightly less silver this year than in 2021.


On its outlook:

The precious metals streaming company expects to produce 350,000 to 380,000 ounces of gold in 2022, up from 342,546 ounces last year.

For silver production, Wheaton is aiming for 23 million to 25 million ounces this year, down from 26 million ounces in 2021.

The company is targeting 700,000 to 760,000 gold equivalent ounces, on par with 752,958 ounces in 2021.

Wheaton is assuming gold prices to average $1,800 an ounce, with silver at $24 an ounce and palladium at $2,100 an ounce this year.


On its fourth quarter:

Wheaton produced 88,321 ounces of gold, down from 92,039 ounces in the year-ago quarter. Salobo, Wheaton's biggest source of gold, suspended operations for 18 days in October after a conveyor belt fire.

Wheaton produced 6.4 million ounces of silver, down from 6.5 million ounces a year ago. Antamina, the company's second-largest source of silver, had a 29% decrease in production due to lower throughput and grades. In addition, operations at Antamina were briefly suspended to ensure the health and safety of its workforce following localized protests in Peru, the company said.

Lower throughput also reduced palladium production to 4,733 ounces from 5,672 ounces a year ago.


Write to Mary de Wet at mary.dewet@dowjones.com


(END) Dow Jones Newswires

03-10-22 1816ET