Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the annual and special meeting of shareholders of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. Please note, the meeting will be recorded. I would like to introduce Mr. Randy Smallwood, President and CEO of the company. Mr. Smallwood, the floor is yours.
Thank you, Operator, and good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the annual and special meeting of the shareholders of Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. The meeting will now come to order. My name is Randy Smallwood, and I am the President and Chief Executive Officer of the company, and I will chair this meeting. I would first like to acknowledge that this meeting is taking place on the shared traditional and ancestral territory of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations. I would also like to acknowledge that many of you are joining us today from places near and far, and acknowledge the traditional owners and caretakers of those lands. The board recognizes the importance of in-person engagement with its shareholders, as well as the value of allowing Wheaton's shareholders, employees, and community to attend our meeting virtually.
As a result, Wheaton has once again adopted an online virtual meeting platform, and we have encouraged all of our shareholders to participate in the meeting using this online platform. I am happy to welcome our shareholders that are joining this meeting today in person and through the virtual meeting platform. We are excited to have your participation in this meeting. Please note that following the formal part of our meeting, there will be an opportunity for questions. For those attending online, please input your questions through the virtual meeting platform. So let us now proceed with the business of the meeting. For the purposes of this meeting, Wheaton Precious Metals has appointed Sabrina Evangelista on behalf of TSX Trust Company to act as scrutineer. Curt Bernardi, the Senior Vice President, Legal and Strategic Development for the company, will act as secretary for the meeting.
I have been advised that the notice calling this meeting, together with notice and access notification and the form of proxy, were mailed to shareholders of record as of March 15, 2024, in accordance with applicable law. TSX Trust Company has filed with me proof of service of such mailing, and I direct that a copy of such proof of service be annexed to the minutes of this meeting as a schedule. The scrutineers have also advised me that prior to the meeting, proxies were received from the holders of a sufficient number of common shares to constitute a quorum. I therefore declare the meeting to be regularly called and properly constituted for the transaction of business. I direct that a formal report of the scrutineers be annexed to the minutes of this meeting as a schedule.
I would like to take a moment to comment on the voting procedures to be used at today's meeting. Voting for the directors of the company and the company's approach to executive compensation will proceed by way of ballot. Otherwise, voting will proceed by way of a show of hands and voting through the virtual meeting platform. If you are a registered shareholder or proxy holder who is attending in person at the meeting, you should have received a ballot on white paper and a ballot on green paper upon checking in with the TSX Trust Company. If you are a registered shareholder or proxy holder and do not have these ballots, please raise your hand. If you are a registered shareholder or proxy holder attending the meeting through the virtual meeting platform, you will not require the ballots but will instead record your votes through the meeting platform.
There will be a short pause on each matter to allow registered shareholders and proxy holders to record their votes. With respect to each matter to be considered at today's meeting, I will ask for a motion and a second. Only registered shareholders or duly appointed proxy holders can make or second a motion or address the meeting with respect to a pending motion. Once a matter has been seconded, I will ask for discussion as to the pending matter. In order to allow for timely and orderly consideration of the business to come before today's meeting, each registered shareholder or duly appointed proxy holder wishing to speak as to a pending motion must be allocated two minutes to present their position. At this time, I would ask the Operator to open the polls on our virtual meeting platform.
As the first item of business of this meeting, I now present to the meeting the company's financial statements as at and for the year ended December 31, 2023. Copies of the financial statements were mailed to those shareholders who requested to receive copies of them in accordance with the applicable law, and unless there is any objection, I do not propose to read them to the meeting. The next item of business is the election of directors by the company's shareholders to hold office until the close of the first annual meeting of shareholders following such election or until their successors are elected or appointed. The company's bylaws include an advance notice requirement for the nomination of directors by shareholders in certain circumstances. The company did not receive notice of any director nominations in connection with this meeting.
Accordingly, the only persons eligible to be nominated for election to the board at this meeting are the management nominees. Management nominates George Brack, Jaimie Donovan, Peter Gillin, Chantal Gosselin, Jeane Hull, Glenn Ives, Charles Jeannes, Marilyn Schonberner, Randy Smallwood, and Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan as directors for the ensuing year or until their successors are elected or appointed. I declare the nominations closed. As a result of the company's majority voting policy, it is necessary to vote by ballot for the election of each director. I therefore direct that a poll be taken. Each shareholder or proxy nominee should record your vote in respect of the election of each director nominee. If you are participating in the meeting through the virtual meeting platform, please record your vote now.
For those registered shareholders and proxy nominees here in person, please record your vote by marking the appropriate box beside each director's name and by signing and printing your name on the white ballot. Once you have done so, please raise your hand and the ballot will be collected from you. I will now pause for approximately 30 seconds to allow for both online and in-person voting. I have been advised by the scrutineers that the proxies deposited for the meeting have overwhelmingly voted for the election of each of the directors. Therefore, I declare George Brack, Jaimie Donovan, Peter Gillin, Chantal Gosselin, Jeane Hull, Glenn Ives, Charles Jeannes, Marilyn Schonberner, Randy Smallwood, and Srinivasan Venkatakrishnan to be elected as your board of directors to serve in that capacity until the company's next annual general meeting or until their successors are elected or appointed.
Rather than hold up the business of this meeting for the final tabulation of votes cast, I direct that the results of the poll for the election of the directors be included with the minutes of this meeting and filed on SEDAR+ and EDGAR. The next item of business is the appointment of auditors for the ensuing year and the authorization for the board to fix their remuneration. I ask that someone move and someone second the following resolution. Be it resolved that Deloitte LLP, independent registered public accounting firm, be and they are hereby appointed as auditors of the company to hold office until the close of the next annual general meeting of shareholders or until their successors are appointed at such remuneration as may be fixed by the directors and the directors be and they are hereby authorized to fix such remuneration. Will someone move that resolution?
I so move.
Will someone second the motion? I will actually second the motion. Is there any discussion? If you are participating in the meeting through the virtual meeting platform, please record your vote now. For those registered shareholders and proxy nominees here in person and in favor of the resolution, please so signify by raising your hand. I will now pause for approximately 30 seconds to allow for online and in-person voting. I declare the resolution carried. The next item of business is the approval of the company's approach to executive compensation, as more particularly described in the Management Information Circular. The resolution to approve the company's approach to executive compensation is set out on page 100 of the Management Information Circular. In order to be effective, this resolution must be approved by the affirmative vote of not less than a majority of votes cast at this meeting.
I'm advised by the scrutineer that over 5% of the shares already voted by proxy were voted against the resolution to approve the company's approach to executive compensation as set out on page 100 of the Management Information Circular. So we will proceed to vote by way of ballot. Each shareholder or proxy nominee should record your vote in respect of the company's approach to executive compensation. If you are participating in the meeting through the virtual meeting platform, please record your vote now. For those registered shareholders and proxy nominees that are here in person, please record your vote by marking the appropriate box and by signing and printing your name on the green ballot. Once you have completed your ballot, please raise your hand and the ballot will be collected from you. I will now pause for approximately 30 seconds to allow for online and in-person voting.
I have been advised by the scrutineers that the proxies deposited for the meeting have been voted for the confirmation of the company's approach to executive compensation. As sufficient votes have been cast in favor of this resolution, I declare the resolution carried. Rather than hold up the business of the meeting for the final tabulation of votes cast, I direct that the results of the poll be included with the minutes of this meeting and filed on SEDAR+ and EDGAR. Before proceeding with the termination of the formal part of this meeting, I would ask all shareholders and registered proxy holders to please take a moment to ensure that you have inputted your votes into the virtual meeting platform before online balloting is closed. I will now pause for approximately 30 seconds to allow for online and in-person voting.
At this time, I would ask the Operator to please close the polls on our virtual meeting platform. Is there any further business? I ask that someone move and someone second a resolution that this meeting now terminate.
I so move.
Will someone second the motion? I will second the motion. I declare that the formal portion of this meeting is now terminated. We will now proceed to answer any questions received through the virtual meeting platform. We will now pause for 30 seconds to give shareholders a moment to input questions through the virtual meeting platform.
Chairman, I just wonder if you could comment on what I perceive to be the disconnect between share prices of senior gold producers and price of gold over the last three or four years?
So I'll repeat the question for everyone online. A shareholder here in the boardroom has asked for a comment on the disconnect between share prices and the price of gold over the last few years. I'm going to speak. I'll answer that just both from my CEO position but also from our involvement in the World Gold Council and a very active member of the World Gold Council. The gold prices right now are really being driven by really high demand in Asia. China, specifically, a lot of central bank purchasing but also very, very strong retail sales in Asia. We're still not seeing that kind of interest levels in Europe or North America, in the Western world, so to speak.
And so the challenge and that's supported by what we have as the facts is that the fact that gold prices are high and yet the ETF, which is not normally a way that Asians invest into gold, has been losing space and we've got the disconnect with respect to commodity prices. The other supporting evidence, I would say, is the fact that silver is trading very low relative to gold. Traditionally, in the Western world, when we have interest in gold, silver will always follow with it and we'll also see strength in ETFs and equity prices. Now, it excites me because the reasons that we're seeing such strength in buying in the Asian part in China and the rest of Asia, mainly Southeast Asia, those are reasons that are valid around the world.
And so I do think that the driving force behind that increased interest in gold is contagious, so to speak. And I do think that we are going to see elevated interest levels in gold around the world. Mainly, I think one of the driving reasons for that is just the challenges, the challenges of governments to maintain any type of level of fiscal responsibility and the challenges that we see, political challenges around the world. The need for gold is becoming even more and more apparent in the Western world. And so I do expect that over the next few years, we're going to see even more interest from the Western world. I mean, it excites me the fact that only a small portion of the world has been able to drive gold prices to record levels.
As that understanding spreads around the world, it truly excites me for where we can go as a first off, as a resource in gold but also our company in terms of providing access to shareholders to good, strong gold production.
If I could put it crudely and simplistically, we're coiling the spring of stock prices.
I do truly believe that. We haven't seen that support in the equity space but we're seeing very, very strong and consistent support and it's growing support. It seems what excites me is that, again, gold is serving as a strong store of value for the Asian population within China, within Korea, within Singapore, all through Southeast Asia. You just see increasing, dramatically increasing interest in gold as a strong store of value in potentially challenging times. And so I do think that there is incredible upside. It still feels I've been in this market enough. It still feels like there's lots of space to move.
I just asked, do you have a really good safety record?
Yeah. One of the things that.
Just to repeat the question.
Yeah. Okay. So a question about having a good safety record? I think, yes. So one of the I'm not going to call it an advantage but it's one of the aspects of our business model is that we don't operate mines. Now, that doesn't stop us from having a sense of ownership and responsibility in terms of how our partners perform. And so even though we don't operate mines, our staff is actually quite small. As you can see, just by looking at our G&A numbers, we have just over 40 employees worldwide. So for a company of our size to be such a small organization, it's easy internally to do that. But that doesn't stop us from having a sense of ownership, a sense of wanting to ensure that our partners are also very focused on having good, strong safety records and environmental records.
We do put a lot of effort into trying to provide that support to our partners. It is something that isn't very important to. It's very important to us in terms of trying to provide access to improvements that will help on both safety and environmental. It's a constant focus for us, so.
Yeah. Just as a follow-up, do you know partners or the miners, do they complete or clean up operations properly after the mining is done?
Yeah. In most parts of the world, there's reclamation bonds that are required and plans that have to be filed. Here in Canada, I know that's the case. And a lot of jurisdictions around the world will have those plans in place. We are fortunate in the sense that a lot of our ore bodies have really long lives in front of them. And so one of the real advantages that Wheaton delivers to its precious metal investors, to its shareholders, is that we provide access to long-life base metal assets that will be operating for a very long time. And their life is actually probably going to be driven by what the price of copper is 40 years from now. And I can tell you, I'm confident it will be higher than where it is now. And those kind of economics will always drive how long a mine operates.
We have assets in our portfolio that have operated for hundreds of years. We will have that. One of the important aspects about focusing on first and second quartile assets is that it drives. There's a really strong incentive to reinvest into these and make them even better and stronger and longer life. It's a real important aspect of how we've built our portfolio, so. Any questions from the online?
We have no further questions from shareholders.
As we have no further questions, that concludes our meeting today. On behalf of everyone here at Wheaton, I'd like to take a moment to thank all of our shareholders for attending and participating in our meeting today and for your continued support over the past 20 years. In this environment of record gold prices, combined with Wheaton's high-quality portfolio of assets, sector-leading growth profile, and strong corporate development momentum, we have never been in a better position than now. We are proud to provide our shareholders with one of the best vehicles for investing in the gold and precious metal space. I look forward to continuing this journey of achievement together. I thank you.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for attending today's meeting. You may now disconnect.
Way too much legalese.