Vancouver's Silver Wheaton Corp. (TSX:SLW) plans to acquire all the silver from a copper and molybdenum mine in northwestern Arizona owned by an affiliate of North Vancouver-based Mercator Minerals Ltd. (TSX:ML).
Silver Wheaton will make an upfront payment of US$42 million in cash and pay up to US$3.90 for each ounce of silver produced from Mercator's Mineral Park mine.
Mercator will use the funds raised to fund further construction and development of the mine's milling facilities which will increase the mine's production capacity to 50,000 tons of ore per day.
The Mineral Park mine is expected to produce 56.4 million pounds of copper, 10.3 million pounds of molybdenum and 600,000 ounces of silver per year during the first 10 years of operation.
Silver Wheaton's share price range during the past week: between $13.76 and $14.82; 52-week high: $19.30; 52-week low: $10.45.
Mercator's share price range during the past week: between $11.10 and $12.22; 52-week high: $12.94; 52-week low: $4.10.