The New Metals Standard: Gold Miners Mergers and Acquisitions 2026

04/12/2025

Given the magnitude of investment into the precious metals sector this year, many gold and silver miners have enjoyed strong re-ratings, with elevated equity valuations underpinned by record free cash flow and strengthened balance sheets.

Global production is still dominated by a relatively small group of large-cap miners with market capitalisations in the tens of billions – led by Newmont, Barrick, Agnico Eagle, Zijin and a handful of others – who increasingly look to M&A rather than greenfield exploration to sustain and grow their reserve bases.

As opposed to investing significant capex in exploration and new greenfield projects, a safer bet for many of the mining majors is to add to their proven gold reserves and producing assets by outright purchasing junior or mid-tier miners or their assets, by parting with their hard earned cash or better yet, in an all-stock transaction, given the lofty premiums their equities command in the current market environment.

Western Australia has been the hot bed for dealmakers throughout 2025, with Corrs Chambers Westgarth (a leading Aussie law firm advising on transactions) reporting that gold has accounted for half of all metals and mining transactions in public M&A.

Notable Deals in 2025

Northern Star Resources / De Grey Mining

Australian major Northern Star Resources launched a c.$3.3 billion (USD) all stock takeover of junior miner De Grey Mining in December 2024, which was approved by shareholders and completed in May 2025. The prize of the deal is De Grey’s Hemi gold discovery in Western Australia’s Pilbara region – a huge low-cost project forecast to produce ~550,000 oz/year in its first five years.

The strategy behind the deal boiled down to acquiring a proven large deposit rather than banking on exploration – a move enabled by high gold prices boosting Northern Star stock as acquisition currency. The merger makes Northern Star Australia’s largest gold producer by reserves and supports its production ambitions to exceed 2,000,000 oz/year once Hemi is fully online. Northern Star was already a top-tier producer (with two mines in Western Australia and one in Alaska), while De Grey was an emerging developer; their combination boosts NST into the ranks of the world’s top 5 gold miners by output.

De Grey’s Hemi development was the perfect geographical target and resource grade for Northern Star to develop into its existing Pilbara infrastructure, alongside its other core hubs in Kalgoorlie and Yandal.

In the finalised deal, De Grey’s shareholders received 0.119 new Northern Star shares for each De Grey share, a ~37% premium to De Grey’s pre-deal trading price, letting them retain upside in Hemi’s development within a stronger combined company. Upon completion of the takeover, Northern Star shareholders owned ~80% of the merged company, while De Grey shareholders owned the remaining ~20%. De Grey’s biggest shareholder at the time happened to be Gold Road Resources at 17%, netting the junior ~3% ownership of Northern Star and a red target on its back for a future buyout.

Gold Fields / Gold Road Resources

Fresh out of the starting blocks following the Northern Star / De Grey takeover, South African listed Gold Fields announced it would pay c.$2.4 billion (USD) in cash to buy out their 50/50 joint venture partner Gold Road Resources in May 2025, acquiring 100% ownership of the Gruyere gold mine in Western Australia. As a low-cost, long-life open pit mine producing ~300,000 oz/year; full control of the venture allows Gold Fields to integrate Gruyeres cashflows and exploration upside into its Australian portfolio whilst securing a reserve base extension in a safe jurisdiction.

Prying deeper into their valuations, Gold Fields at a ~$37bn market cap. and Gold Road Resources at ~$2bn pre-bid, the transaction was a clear no-brainer given high bullion prices and the incentive to bolster portfolios. Gold Fields choice of an all-cash scheme of arrangement and willingness to pay a 15% premium to win board support of the aggressive takeover demonstrates how larger miners are prepared to foot the bill for full control of joint-venture assets and “buy growth” in a hot gold market.

Coeur Mining / New Gold

One of the largest precious metals transactions of 2025 was the merger between Coeur Mining, a U.S. based mid-tier producer, and New Gold of Canada.

In November 2025, Coeur agreed to acquire New Gold in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $7 billion USD, with New Gold shareholders receiving 0.4959 Coeur shares per NGD share. The combined entity is expected to have a pro forma equity market capitalisation of around $20 billion USD, creating a North American focused senior producer.

Coeur Mining had its sights on two key assets, the Rainy River open-pit gold mine in Ontaria, and the New Afton gold-copper mine in British Columbia. When combined with their five existing operations the projects are expected to yield 2026 production of 900,000 ounces of gold, 20 million ounces of silver, and 100 million pounds of copper, generating approximately US$3 billion in EBITDA and US$2 billion in free cash flow.

Once again, these deals focus on expanding resource base, whilst retaining jurisdictional safety – effectively uniting two mid-tier producers into a top 10 global precious metals firm under a ‘merger of peers’ structure. Coeur’s shareholders will own of ~62% and New Gold’s ~38% of the new entity. The all-stock nature of the deal preserves cash for future project growth and positions the new entity to gain further upside exposure to the gold and silver prices through a larger and more liquid company.

2026 Takeover Candidates

After a year of buying what’s already producing, the majors are running out of easy, de-risked options. 2026 is likely to be the year they start hunting tomorrow’s Tier-1 deposits – the big discoveries, district-scale plays and juniors that control ounces too valuable to be left independent.

The strategic logic has not changed, what has changed is the field of obvious targets.

What stands out now are juniors that:

-          Host early-stage, multimillion ounce potential.

-          Sit in safe or improving jurisdictions

-          Sit beside, or are partly owned by, a logical acquirer.

Snowline Gold (Yukon, Canada) - US Ticker: SNWGF

Possible bidder: Hecla (HL) or another North American major with a regional gap to fill.

Snowline is one of the standout new discoveries in Canada. The company’s Valley deposit, on its 100% owned Rogue project in the Yukon, now hosts an updated 2025 mineral resource of 7.94Moz measured & indicated plus 0.89Moz inferred, in a large, near-surface bulk tonnage system averaging >1 g/t Au – with the resource still open to expansion.

Their website’s project ownership map tells the story clearly: Snowline controls the heart of a geological trend now surrounded by increasingly aggressive neighbours. The Valley discovery is so large, so high-margin, and so scalable that only a deep-pocketed major can realistically shepherd it into production.

Hecla stands out as a prospective bidder. They already operate in the Yukon (via Keno Hill) and have both the logistics and the M&A track record to be a natural acquirer – though any Snowline deal would likely require a multibillion dollar balance sheet or a larger partner.

In 2022-2023, pre-boom Hecla was involved in small ticket expansions in the region, notably:

-          Acquiring Alexco Resource Corp. for $74M to become Canada’s largest silver producer.

-          Acquiring ATAC Resources for $19M in Hecla common stock.

-          Purchasing $10M worth of shares in Dolly Varden Silver Corporation increasing its ownership to 15.7%.

Hecla’s stock is up >230% YTD, Q3 earnings highlighted record quarterly revenue of $409.5 million, representing a 35% increase over prior quarter. $90M in free cash flow,

A Snowline transaction may require a $2-4B acquirer, but the strategic logic is no longer ambiguous.

Banyan Gold (Yukon, Canada) – US Ticker: BYAGF

Possible bidders: Hecla (HL) or any major establishing a Yukon hub.

If Snowline is the “big, strategic prize,” Banyan is the accessible, bolt-on acquisition. Banyan’s AurMac project sits in the same Tombstone Gold Belt as Snowline and Victoria Gold’s Eagle mine, with road access, power and proximity to existing mills. Public disclosures and regional summaries highlight AurMac as a sizeable, growing deposit in a part of the Yukon where consolidation is a logical outcome.

Banyan’s AurMac project already sits near infrastructure and next to established operators. The ounces are real, scalable, and in a jurisdiction where consolidation is the name of the game.

Rupert Resources (Finland) – US Ticker: RUPRF

Possible bidder: Agnico Eagle (AEM)

Rupert’s Ikkari discovery in Finland’s Central Lapland Greenstone Belt is one of the most significant new gold finds in Europe, with multimillion ounce resources outlined in recent studies.

The strategic setup is textbook:

-          Agnico Eagle already operates Kittilä, Europe’s largest primary gold mine, in the same belt as Rupert’s Ikkari discovery.

-          The Fraser Institute ranks Finland #1 in the world for mining investment attractiveness in its 2025 survey.

-          Acquiring Rupert would extend Agnico’s reserve life in a Tier-1 jurisdiction and allow integrated development with existing infrastructure.

Agnico M&A playbook

Riddarhyttan Resources → Kittilä (Finland)

-          In 2004-2005 Agnico first accumulated a 14% stake in Riddarhyttan Resources, owner of the Suurikuusikko gold deposit in northern Finland.

-          It then launched a recommended all-share offer for the remaining 86% of the company in 2005, explicitly framed as a move to secure 100% of what would become the Kittilä mine.

-          Kittilä has since grown into Europe’s largest primary gold mine and one of Agnico’s cornerstone long-life assets – a textbook case of “foot-hold first, full consolidation later.”

O3 Mining (Canada) – A modern Agnico takeover example

-          In 2024 Agnico provided convertible debentures and warrants to O3 Mining, giving it a small but strategic equity position and embedded optionality.

-          In late 2024 / early 2025, Agnico moved from “partner” to “owner”, launching a friendly bid and taking up over 90% of O3’s outstanding shares, effectively rolling O3’s Marban project into its own Québec pipeline.

Given Agnico’s minority-stake first M&A history and ~10% holding in Rupert Resources, a 2026 deal fits the pattern of consolidation.

Agnico’s reported record free cash flow of $1.2B at its most recent Q3 earnings. AEM stock is also up >100% YTD with a market capitalisation of $85B, meaning their “acquisition currency” is extremely strong.

Collective Mining (Colombia) – US Ticker: CNL

Possible bidder: Agnico Eagle (AEM)

Collective Mining controls a portfolio of gold-copper projects in Colombia and has reported strong drill results at its Guayabales / Apollo system.

Collective is one of the few Colombian developers with Tier-1 scale potential, strong drilling results, and leadership with proven mine building track records. The projects have gold-copper optionality (important for majors seeking energy-transition exposure) and are located in the one part of Colombia where major miners are still willing to commit capital.

Agnico Eagle already owns 15% of Collective Mining – so thematically makes the company a 2026 takeover candidate given their tendency to buy where they already have a material equity stake.

Barrick / Newmont – US Ticker: B

The mega-deal overhanging the sector

Barrick’s Dec 1, 2025 news release “Barrick Announces Evaluation of an IPO of its North American Gold Assets.”

Barrick Mining now sits at the centre of what some commentators are calling “the biggest deal in the history of gold mining” – a potential restructuring that could ultimately tee up a merger of (part of) Barrick with Newmont.

The core thesis is simple and heavily skewed to one geography: carve out a North America heavy Barrick anchored by Nevada Gold Mines and the Fourmile discovery, and either float it via IPO or leave it clean enough for Newmont to acquire outright.

Barrick has confirmed that it is evaluating an IPO of a new subsidiary holding its North American gold assets, including its stakes in Nevada Gold Mines, Pueblo Viejo (Dominican Republic), and Fourmile in Nevada, with Barrick retaining a controlling interest.

Analysts immediately flagged that a clean, standalone North American vehicle would be a natural strategic fit for Newmont, which already co-owns Nevada Gold Mines and has been signalling a renewed focus on tier-one jurisdictions.

Interim CEO Mark Hill has refused to add fuel to the speculation, repeating that Barrick “does not comment on market rumours,” while company spokespeople have also declined to elaborate. The market, however, is already voting: Barrick’s stock rose by 3% on the Reuters split headline, capping a year-to-date rally of roughly 130%.

At current prices, Barrick is valued at roughly $70 billion USD, with Newmont at $98 billion USD, implying a combined market value in the $160-170 billion range if they were ever brought together at today’s levels.

Whether that happens via Newmont bidding for a spun-out “Barrick North America,” or through a more complex asset swap, is still pure speculation - but the strategic groundwork (split discussions, IPO evaluation, portfolio pruning) is now clearly visible in public reporting.

For 2026 M&A scenarios, this is the overhang: any serious bid by Newmont for Barrick’s North American portfolio would instantly redefine the senior-producer landscape and re-rate virtually every large-cap gold equity in the space.

Important Disclaimer

This article is intended for general information purposes only and reflects the market environment at the time of writing. It does not constitute investment advice, a personal recommendation, or an offer to engage in any trading activity. The content does not take into account individual objectives or circumstances and should not be relied upon as the basis for any investment decision. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. 

Content may have been created by persons who have, have previously had, or may in the future have personal interests in securities or other financial products referred to therein. All conflicts and potential conflicts relating to our business are managed in accordance with our conflicts of interest policy. For more information, please refer to our Summary of Conflicts of Interest Policy. 

For more information and important risk disclosures, please see our Derivative Product Trading Notes and Privacy Policy. AMT Futures Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.