TORONTO - Flush with cash and sporting no debt, Goldcorp would seem to have the means to go on a multibillion-dollar acquisition spree similar to the one that made the Canadian miner a top global player two years ago. But Goldcorp, the world's second-biggest gold company by market capitalization, says it wants no part of blockbuster M&A deals, and will instead target small development players that will add to its pipeline of future production rather than bulk up its current roster of mines.

"We don't want to buy things that are already operating. We want to buy something early stage, tip of the iceberg, something bigger than what we see is apparent on the surface," chief executive Kevin McArthur said in an interview after Goldcorp's annual meeting in Toronto.

With major gold discoveries increasingly scarce, and rising gold prices pushing valuations of established producers higher, development-stage companies have become the new target of operators who'd rather not pay a premium for mines that have already been built.

"The juniors discover gold a lot better than the seniors do, they do a very good job. And we look for those juniors," McArthur said.

Goldcorp spent about $10 billion two years ago on mid-tier gold producer Glamis Gold as well as some assets of Placer Dome.

The company has struggled at times since then to smoothly incorporate the new assets, but now sports no debt, about $1 billion in annual cash flow, and $1.3 billion in cash.

It expects to produce 2.6 million ounces this year, and hopes to raise that by about 50 percent over the next five years.

"Our goal is to grow to 3 to 4 million ounces per year, and have that go on forever," McArthur said.

The Vancouver-based company's top priority is for exploration and expansion at its current projects, and it hopes to expand its flagship Red Lake mine in Ontario to a million-ounce producer by 2012.

The mine yielded about 700,000 ounces last year.

Goldcorp shares, which have risen 68 percent over the past 12 months, climbed C$1.34, or 3.2 percent, to C$42.65 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Tuesday.