Global miners flock to Toronto as buyout buzz spreads

Consolidation among smaller gold miners is expected to be top of mind as much of the industry meets in Toronto this week, with dealmakers cautiously optimistic a fresh wave of buyouts is imminent once major pending transactions are settled.

Barrick Gold’s $18-billion hostile bid for rival Newmont Mining last week came shortly after the former’s acquisition of Randgold Resources and the latter’s friendly offer for Goldcorp.