VIDEO - Ross Beaty: I’ve Never Seen Better Macro Fundamentals for Gold

Ross Beaty, chairman of Pan American Silver (TSX:PAAS,NASDAQ:PAAS) and Equinox Gold (TSX:EQX,NYSEAMERICAN:EQX), says that the upcoming Equinox Gold and Leagold Mining (TSX:LMC,OTCQX:LMCNF) merger may not be the last for the Americas-focused gold company.

“Who knows if this is going to be the last deal we do — probably not. We’re a reasonably deal-friendly company, and until the model is broken that scale creates wealth by itself, you want to just keep getting bigger,” he said on the sidelines of the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC).

Beaty described the merger, which is due to close in February, as a “really great fit,” saying that there are many synergies between the two companies in terms of management and their assets. The new company would have six operational mines across the US, Mexico and Brazil.

“(The merger was) an opportunity to combine one and one and make three,” said Beaty. “Let’s just say that since December 16 (when the merger was announced), the (Equinox) stock’s up 30 percent.”

On future mergers and where up-and-coming Equinox may go after the Leagold deal closes, Beaty said that there is ultimately a limit to how large companies can get, but Equinox isn’t there yet.

“There’s a limit (to mergers) ultimately — there’s a limit to the amount of mines that you can sensibly run and manage well. I think Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX,NYSE:GOLD) way overshot that and they’ve pulled back a lot,” said Beaty. He said that Newmont (TSX:NGT,NYSE:NEM) has done the same.

“We’ll probably do the same thing — we won’t own everything we own today in three years.”

Beaty also offered his thoughts on gold and silver prices, shared an update on Pan American Silver and talked about the big events that players in the resources market can look out for as 2020 wears on.

Listen above for Beaty’s complete thoughts, and click here to see our full VRIC playlist on YouTube.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Scott Tibballs, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

Editorial Disclosure: The Investing News Network does not guarantee the accuracy or thoroughness of the information reported in the interviews it conducts. The opinions expressed in these interviews do not reflect the opinions of the Investing News Network and do not constitute investment advice. All readers are encouraged to perform their own due diligence.