DEG - Expect news on Thursday, page-40

The gold majors (the companies in the GDX gold miners index) have not been doing any exploring for the last 12 years and have been running down their reserves. These companies traditionally resolve this problem by taking over explorers that have found tier one deposits or, even better, world class deposits. The deposit at Hemi is possibly the biggest deposit found in the last 30 years and that would make it a world class deposit with a mine life of over twenty years. Newmont and Barrick will want and need something like this in their portfolio. The cycle has reached the point where the majors are going to have to replace operations that are nearing the end of their mine life so a takeover is a very real possibility that must be anticipated. For the record, it is not my preferred outcome. I would rather be owning shares in a tier one producer with lots of blue sky in the exploration tenement but if I have to take the money then I will have little choice in the matter.