I'm putting my money on Agnico Eagle. Newmont need to digest...

I'm putting my money on Agnico Eagle. Newmont need to digest Newcrest. Barrick staying out of Australia - Mark Bristow has commented loudly he does not want to compete against Australians in their backyard.

Down below was the key takeaway by RBC from Agnico's CEO's presentation at the Denver Gold Conference.

Interesting Agnico talk about Western Australia where they do not have a single asset (only asset in Australia is Fosterville in Victoria, which came from their Kirkland Merger). Could possibly look at Gold Road as the first step (Gruyere 50%) and then later De Grey (using Gold Road's 20%). While GOR doesn't operate, it's an easy entry point into a new jurisidiction. Only other likely canditate for Agnico would be Northern Star.

Key takeaways:

• Agnico emphasized that it was a regional gold company, and not a global gold mining company. Regions the company focuses on must meet two criteria: 1) geological potential to be able to deliver multiple mines over multiple decades, and 2) political stability to operate. As an example, the company highlighted 16moz of resource additions thus far at Malartic's Odyssey in recent years, despite the mine having been discovered in 1923.
• In AEM's view, premier regions which meet its criteria are Nevada (dominated by its largest competitors), Western Australia (which hasn’t been consolidated), and its region of focus, the Abitibi in Ontario/Quebec. AEM also noted the re-emerging regions of Mexico and Europe, and its view of Nunavut being the best new emerging region. Core to AEM is to be the best miner in these regions, including being the employer of choice, strong government and community relationships, strong supplier relationships, and leading geological knowledge.