AKIPRESS.COM - Newmont Mining Corp said on Monday it would buy smaller rival Goldcorp Inc for $10 billion, creating the world’s biggest gold producer.

The transaction, the biggest ever takeover in the gold sector according to Refinitiv, follows Barrick Gold Corp’s agreement in September to buy Randgold Resources Ltd in a deal valued at $6.1 billion, Reuters reported.

“Combining forces will give us the sector’s best project pipeline and exploration portfolio,” Newmont Chief Executive Gary Goldberg said on a conference call with analysts. “These prospects translate to the gold sector’s largest reserve and resource base.”

Vancouver-based Goldcorp’s Toronto-listed shares rose 7 percent to C$13.75 at 12:03 p.m. ET (1703 GMT). Newmont Mining’s shares were down about 8.8 percent at $31.83 in New York.

Spot gold prices are up 11.3 percent since an August trough, when they had declined 15 percent from a January 2018 peak.

Newmont’s acquisition of Goldcorp could spark further consolidation in the industry, where too many gold companies are chasing too few assets, Michael Siperco from Macquarie Research said. He did not specify which companies are most likely to follow suit.

The new company, to be called Newmont Goldcorp, is set to overtake current leader Barrick Gold’s annual production and will have mines in the Americas, Australia and Ghana.

“This transaction is positive for Newmont, because it establishes it as the world’s leading gold producer with a deal that is accretive on nearly all key metrics,” analysts at Scotiabank wrote in a note.

The new company will be led by Newmont’s Goldberg. He will retire at the end of 2019, when Tom Palmer, Newmont’s chief operating officer, will take over as the CEO, the companies said.