Wheaton Precious Metals engages in the precious metals streaming transaction business. The company does not directly operate mines; instead, it advances capital to mining enterprises in exchange for the long-term right to purchase their future physical gold and silver production at fixed low prices. Upon acquiring the physical metals, the company bulk-sells them in the spot market at market prices. This business avoids the equipment expenditure of heavy machinery extraction, relying primarily on earning the bid-ask spread of bulk precious metals to generate profit.