Charles Gibson's questions to Wheaton Precious Metals Corp (WPM) leadership • Q4 2024
Question
Charles Gibson from Edison Group (also referred to as Lord Ashbourne) asked a counterfactual question regarding the Voisey's Bay impairment, wondering if the write-down would have occurred if the cobalt price on December 31st had been at its more recent, higher level.
Answer
SVP & CFO Gary Brown acknowledged that at the higher price, they 'probably not' would have impaired the asset. However, he explained the decision was based on the sustained decline in cobalt prices over the prior 12-16 months and a desire to remove the 'noise' of potential impairments or reversals from future results, given uncertainty about the sustainability of the recent price rally.