Wheaton River Mineral Acquires Gold Deposits

Vancouver-based Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. acquired, on October 30, 2003, a 100 per cent interest in the Los Filos Gold Deposit and a 21.2 per cent interest in the El Limon Gold Deposit, both located in Mexico, for US$87 million in cash. Wheaton River Minerals acquired a 30 per cent in the Los Filos deposit together with a 21.2 per cent interest in the El Limon deposit as a result of its acquisition of all the outstanding shares of Miranda Mining Corp. by way of a takeover bid for US$38.6 million. Wheaton River acquired the remaining 70 per cent interest in the Los Filos deposit from Teck Cominco Ltd. in consideration for US$48.4 million. Wheaton River plans to bring the Los Filos deposit into production by 2006 and expects to increase its projected annual production to over seven hundred thousand gold equivalent ounces as a result of the acquisition.

Wheaton River Minerals was represented by Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP, with a team that included Paul Stein, Jeffrey Roy, Ann Watterworth, Erik Goldsilver and John McFarlane; and assisted in Mexico by Rodrigo Cortina of Franck Galicia Y Robles, SC. Miranda Mining was represented by Blair Horn and Richard McDerby of Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP in Vancouver. Teck Cominco was represented in-house by Peter Rozee, vice-president, commercial and legal; and by Geof Myers of Lang Michener LLP in Toronto; and assisted in Mexico by Rodrigo Sanchez-Mejorada of Sanchez-Mejorada Velasco Y Valencia, SC.