After hosting a series of meetings and dinners at this year’s Denver conference, The Globe and Mail has noted, mining analyst Tanya Jakusconek at Bank of Nova Scotia said in a report: “The M&A chatter this year was focused on taking out smaller-sized companies, including juniors in key mining camps, given the depressed valuations and limited access to capital.”

The Globe report noted the price of gold soared 37% over the past year, closing Friday at US$2,736 an ounce. Last week, investment bank Goldman Sachs predicted the rally will continue and the price will hit US$3,000 an ounce next year.

It also noted takeover activity in the mining sector is picking up, with 125 deals announced in Canada in the second quarter of the year, up 34% from the previous three-month period, according to investment bank Crosbie & Co. The value of mining M&A in the most recent quarter jumped to $964-million from $328-million in the prior quarter.

So far this year, The Globe noted, large and mid-sized mining companies focused on acquiring one another, not picking off junior companies with projects that will take years to produce gold. In a report last week, analysts at RBC Capital Markets predicted that the dynamic is about to change, as senior miners begin taking advantage of a rising tide that has only lifted a few boats.

“We think rising producer margins could start to encourage activity to backfill asset portfolios, especially if access to early stage capital remains limited,” the RBC analysts said.

The investment bank tracked more than 100 junior mining companies, and its top stock picks based on the quality of their projects, rather than takeover potential, are Artemis Gold Inc. (ARTG.TO), Skeena Resources Ltd. SKE and Seabridge Gold Inc. SEA.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally, and/or from other media sources. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation.