By Laura Superneau

Vancouverite major Goldcorp (TSX: G, NYSE: GG) is "very actively" looking at business opportunities in South America after a number of M&A deals of late have concentrated the majority of its operations in North and Central America, according to the company's executive VP corporate development, Charles Jeannes.

"We love Chile, for example... And there are other countries where we are very actively looking at projects in South America," Jeannes told BNamericas.

Goldcorp began a slew of deals in 2006 with the acquisition of a 50% stake in the La Coipa mine in Chile, 40% of the Pueblo Viejo project in the Dominican Republic, JV interests in the Musselwhite and Porcupine mines in Canada plus 100% of the Campbell mine in Canada. The same year it acquired Glamis Gold, which brought Goldcorp a number of assets in Central and North America.

A 2007 asset swap with Toronto's Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC, TSX: K) left the Vancouverite with 100% of Musselwhite and Porcupine and gave the former a 100% interest in La Coipa. Goldcorp also sold its Amapari mine in Brazil and Peak mine in Australia to Peak Gold (TSX-V: PIK), leaving a 37.5% equity stake in Argentina's Alumbrera copper-gold mine as the company's sole South American asset.

But according to Jeannes, this series of events does not indicate a flight from the southern region of the continent.

"There is certainly not any intention to do that. It was more on a project and deal-specific basis," he said. "There's no strategy to change our geographic focus."

Goldcorp's Latin American assets also include the Peñasquito project and El Sauzal, Nukay, San Dimas and Los Filos mines in Mexico, the Marlin mine and Cerro Blanco project in Guatemala and the San Martín mine in Honduras.