Output, prices push Wheaton income up tenfold

Vancouver-based Wheaton River Minerals (Amex: WHT; TSX: WRM) reported US$57.7mn in net income last year, more than 10 times the US$5.6mn posted in 2002 thanks to increased output and higher metals prices, the company announced. The company, which operates mines in Mexico, Argentina and Australia, posted US$213mn in sales last year, more than six-times higher than 2003's level of US$35mn, while the company ended 2003 with US$30mn in net cash, company CEO Ian Telfer said in a conference call. The "dramatic increases all around" were "due to the number of acquisitions we made during the year" Telfer said. Output more than quadrupled last year to 450,000oz gold-equivalent compared to 106,000oz in 2002, while reserves were up 600% to 5.3Moz gold and resources more than doubled. Wheaton's wholly owned subsidiary Luismin SA in Mexico contributed US$66.3mn in sales last year with 6.05Moz silver, while Wheaton's 37.5% share in Argentina's Alumbrera mine contributed 166,000oz gold and 111Mlbs copper. Luismin operates the San Dimas, San Martin and Nukay silver mines, and is developing the Los Filos gold project. Capex will total US$57mn in 2004, including US$22mn for its newly acquired Amapari gold project in northern Brazil and US$21mn in Luismin, of which US$6mn will go toward Los Filos and US$15mn to expand San Dimas and San Martin, Telfer said. Construction of an open-pit heap leach operation is underway at Amapari, where production is planned to start 4Q05. Further, production is expected to start in early-2006 at Los Filos, if final feasibility is wrapped up this year. The company aims to produce roughly 540,000oz gold equivalent this year, expanding output to 900,000oz gold equivalent by 2006 thanks to Los Filos and Amapari.