By Pav Jordan
The Globe and Mail
When Randy Smallwood goes hunting for a mine acquisition, he has one hard and fast rule: Bet on the asset, not the management team.
Rather than a stinging rebuke of his mining brethren, the mantra is what has helped Mr. Smallwood, a geological engineer by training, build Silver Wheaton Corp. into the world’s largest precious metals streaming company after he helped found it in 2004.
“We look for management-proof projects,” the chief executive officer of Vancouver-based Silver Wheaton said during a recent visit to Toronto. “We want assets that will be good under any management team.”
Silver Wheaton makes its money by purchasing streams of future silver and gold production from companies that mine it as a byproduct; Silver Wheaton can then sell the precious metals into the spot market, usually at a higher price.