By Peter Shout

(SP) Toronto - Silver Wheaton Corp. (TSX: SLW) bought 25% of the Barrick Gold Corp.'s (TSX: ABX) Pascua-Lama mining project's silver production for $625 million over a three-year period.  Silver Wheaton says it will finance the deal with cash and proceeds from a stock sale.

Silver Wheaton's shares reached a 52-week hi of $12.10 shortly after announcing the deal with Barrick this morning before its common stock settled back to trade at $11.88 for a 2.5% gain, that, despite the fact that the silver mining company says it will float a $287.5 million sale of its common stock.

Silver Wheaton announce the financing earlier as a $250 million 'bought deal.'

In a press release this morning, Silver Wheaton said it would receive 100% of the silver production from three of Barrick's currently producing mines, effective September 1, 2009, until the end of 2013 and that the transaction would 'immediately enhance cash flow'.

Silver Wheaton says the deal will add 2.4 million ounces of production until Barrick's Pascua-Lama project commences production.

Pascua-Lama is a key Barrick growth asset and is the third largest silver deposit in the world, with an estimated mine life of over 25 years.

Silver Wheaton's 25% share of the estimated average annual silver production for the first five years (2013 to 2017) is 9 million ounces, boosting overall silver sales by 30% to approximately 40 million ounces per annum.

Shares of Barrick Gold Corp. were up 42 cents US at $40.46.