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VANCOUVER, March 3 /CNW/ - Silver Wheaton Corp. ("Silver Wheaton" or the "Company") (TSX: SLW), (NYSE: SLW) is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has approved an inaugural quarterly cash dividend of US$0.03 per common share (US$0.12 per common share, annually), commencing immediately. The initial dividend of US$0.03 per common share will be paid to holders of record of its common shares as of the close of business on March 21, 2011. The dividend will be distributed on or about March 31, 2011.


"The successful ramp up during 2010 of the first of our cornerstone growth assets, Goldcorp's Penasquito mine in Mexico, marked a major milestone for our company, and resulted in record operating cash flows for the year," said Peter Barnes, Chief Executive Officer of Silver Wheaton. "With cash on hand in excess of $428 million at year-end, and a business model that consistently results in amongst the highest cash operating margins in the precious metals industry, it is the ideal time for Silver Wheaton to implement a sustainable long-term dividend policy. This will not only allow our shareholders to participate in one of the strongest growth profiles in the industry, but will also provide a dividend yield, with the potential to increase over time, further positively differentiating us from a silver exchange traded fund."


This dividend qualifies as an 'eligible dividend' for Canadian income tax purposes.





About Silver Wheaton





Silver Wheaton is the largest silver streaming company in the world. Based upon its current agreements, forecast 2011 attributable production is 27 to 28 million silver equivalent ounces, including 15,000 ounces of gold. By 2015, annual attributable production is anticipated to increase significantly to approximately 43 million silver equivalent ounces, including 35,000 ounces of gold. This growth is driven by the Company's portfolio of world-class assets, including silver streams on Goldcorp's Penasquito mine and Barrick's Pascua-Lama project.





CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING-STATEMENTS





The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements, which are all statements other than statements of historical fact, include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the future price of silver and gold, the estimation of mineral reserves and resources, the realization of mineral reserve estimates, the timing and amount of estimated future production, costs of production, reserve determination, reserve conversion rates and statements as to any future dividends. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Silver Wheaton to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: fluctuations in the price of silver and gold; the absence of control over mining operations from which Silver Wheaton purchases silver or gold and risks related to these mining operations including risks related to fluctuations in the price of the primary commodities mined at such operations, actual results of mining and exploration activities, economic and political risks of the jurisdictions in which the mining operations are located and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; and differences in the interpretation or application of tax laws and regulations; as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Description of the Business - Risk Factors" in Silver Wheaton's Annual Information Form available on SEDAR at






For further information: Brad Kopp, Vice President, Investor Relations, Silver Wheaton Corp., Tel: 1-800-380-8687, Email: info@silverwheaton.com, Website: http://www.silverwheaton.com/">www.silverwheaton.com