Published by Will Owen in www.globalminingreview.com

Wheaton Precious Metals™ Corp. has announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Wheaton Precious Metals International Ltd. (WPMI) has entered into a definitive precious metals purchase agreement with Allied Gold Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary Allied Gold Services Inc., in respect of the Kurmuk Project located in Ethiopia.

Randy Smallwood, President and CEO of Wheaton Precious Metals, said:

“Wheaton is pleased to announce a streaming agreement with Allied to advance the construction of the Kurmuk project, which is set to be the first commercial gold mine in Ethiopia. This fully permitted, high quality development project offers significant exploration potential, supported by a team at Allied with a proven operating track record. We are excited to partner with Allied to unlock opportunities that empower the local communities and help drive the growth of Ethiopia’s emerging metals and mining sector.”

Peter Marrone, Chairman and CEO of Allied Gold Corp., commented:

“We are delighted to partner with Wheaton on this streaming financing. This began as a multi-party process although it soon became apparent to us that Wheaton would be our partner of choice. They conducted detailed and extensive diligence, were supportive of our efforts, worked with us in evaluating and considering optimisation opportunities and recognised the inherent value of our Kurmuk project, a value that we believe significantly exceeds the value implied in our share price. We take our sustainability programs seriously, and it was a delight to see Wheaton not only support these programmes but provide suggested improvements. We also welcome Wheaton as a shareholder with a share position acquired in Allied’s recent overnight marketed equity financing. The stream financing now allows us to complete the gold prepay, which is the final component of our planned comprehensive financing package for the development of the Kurmuk project. The gold prepay is expected to be led by the lending syndicate for Allied’s revolving credit facility, with proceeds available to Allied following the completion of the stream financing. We expect the Kurmuk mine will become one of the more significant precious metal mines in the world delivering significant production and cash flow following its construction.”