VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMatthews - Aug. 6, 2004) - Wheaton River Minerals Ltd. (Vancouver, British Columbia) is pleased to report a 90% increase in second quarter net earnings to US$21 million (US$0.04 per share) for the three months ended June 30, 2004 compared with US$11 million (US$0.03 per share) in 2003. Operating cash flows for the three months were US$39 million, or US$0.07 per share (2003 - US$21 million, or US$0.05 per share).

During the quarter, Wheaton sold 148,700 gold equivalent ounces at a total cash cost of US$19 per ounce (net of by-product copper sales). This compared with sales of 112,400 gold equivalent ounces at a total cash cost of US$90 per ounce in 2003.

Net earnings for the six months ended June 30, 2004 amounted to US$55 million, more than triple the comparable 2003 earnings of US$15 million. Earnings per share doubled to US$0.10 in 2004 from US$0.05 per share in 2003. For the six months, 305,200 gold equivalent ounces were sold at a total cash cost of minus US$26 per ounce (net of by-product copper sales), compared with 2003 sales of 168,000 gold equivalent ounces at a total cash cost of $119 per ounce. Operating cash flows for the six months were US$101 million, or US$0.18 per share (2003 - US$31 million, or US$0.09 per share).

"Wheaton is committed to continuing our phenomenal growth path" said Ian Telfer, Chairman and CEO. "We plan to build on our solid, extremely profitable, asset base to further enhance shareholder value. Our recently announced monetization of our silver assets is just one example of this."

A conference call will be held Monday, August 9th at 11:30 am (ET) to discuss these results. You may join the call by dialing toll free 1-877-888-4605, or (416) 695-5259 for calls from outside of Canada and the US. The conference call will be recorded and you can listen to a playback of the call after the event by dialing 1-888-509-0081 or 416-695-5275. A live and audio webcast will also be available on the website.

Wheaton is a leading gold producer and expects 2006 production from all of its mines to increase to approximately 900,000 gold equivalent ounces at a total cash cost of less than US$100 per ounce. Current production exceeds 500,000 gold equivalent ounces (over 400,000 ounces of gold and 7 million ounces of silver) at a total cash cost of less than US$50 per ounce.

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