Feb 17 (Reuters) - BHP Group ( BHP ) on Tuesday entered a long-term silver streaming agreement with a unit of ​Wheaton Precious Metals for an ‌upfront payment of $4.3 billion at completion.

BHP will deliver ⁠silver from its share of output ⁠at Peru's Antamina mine, where ‌it has ‌a 33.75% investment in the mine's operator, Compañía ​Minera Antamina S.A.

"Supported ‌by strong silver market conditions, the agreement maximises shareholder value by ​unlocking capital from ​a ‌non-core commodity that can be reallocated to BHP's high-return growth projects and ⁠shareholder returns, consistent with our capital ⁠allocation framework," BHP said.

Upon closing, Wheaton said it will receive a combined 67.5% of all the silver produced ⁠from ‌Antamina, up from the 33.75% ‌currently delivered under the existing Glencore ( GLCNF ) ⁠silver stream.

"Quality silver production is becoming increasingly difficult to source while demand continues to rise for both critical industrial uses and for silver's safe haven qualities in ​today's economic environment," said Randy Smallwood, chief executive officer of Wheaton Precious ​Metals.

(Reporting by Sneha ‌Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by ​Lisa Shumaker)