Gold Price Rally Fuels M&A in Canada and Creates Upside Potential for Gold Juniors

The impending recession and ongoing geopolitical concerns may be creating uncertainty in the markets, but it’s doing wonders for gold.

Gold demand hit record highs in 2023 with central banks purchasing more than 1,000 tons for two consecutive years.⁴

Canada, which is the third largest gold producer in the world, is gaining a ton of attention from gold majors and investors alike. 

There’s been a surge in mega gold M&A deals in the region as industry giants look to solidify their spot in the booming market.

In Q4 2023 alone there were 100 M&A deals announced in Canada worth a whopping total value of $8.1 billion. There were also several monumental deals closed last year.

Newmont acquired Newcrest Mining for $15 billion in November, becoming the world’s leading gold mining company.⁵

Agnico Eagle and Pan American Silver joined forces in a joint acquisition of Yamana Gold for $4.8 billion.⁶

B2Gold bought Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. and its Back River Gold District located in Nunavut, Canada for $840 million in April.

After a flurry of mega deals among the majors, many are turning their attention towards junior exploration companies with a lot of promise like Fury Gold Mines (TSX:FURY) (NYSE-A :FURY).

Elevated gold prices are injecting more capital into the exploration space and creating some exciting possibilities for companies like Fury Gold Mines.

After closing a placement for C$8.75 million in March 2023,⁷ and completing the sale of 5.45 million Dolly Varden shares this March,⁸ Fury (TSX:FURY) (NYSE-A:FURY) has one of the strongest financial positions in the sector with $5.7 million left in its treasury even after buying Newmont’s 49.9% interest in the Éléonore South gold project.⁹ The company also has C$57.1 million in equity. ¹⁰

Yet, according to the chart below, Fury (TSX:FURY) (NYSE-A :FURY) is priced well below its peers despite offering a sizable resource and the highest grades among the group.

Fury’s James Bay Flagship Gold Project – Eau Claire

Fury Gold Mines (TSX:FURY) (NYSE-A:FURY) has wasted no time at all getting to work on its flagship Eau Claire project

In 2022¹⁶ Fury (TSX:FURY) (NYSE-A:FURY) set off to demonstrate the potential to significantly expand the Eau Claire deposit in all directions at its Hinge Target. 

Here are some highlights from the last two years of drilling:

2022 Exploration Highlights:

• August 2022: Discovery of multiple zones of gold mineralization, showcasing:
  • 3.50m at 4.79 g/t gold
  • 1.00m at 14.19 g/t gold
  • 3.50m at 5.86 g/t gold
  • 1.00m at 20.6 g/t gold
  • 17.50m at 1.29 g/t Au¹⁷
• October 2022: Expansion of the mineralized footprint at Eau Claire, with drilling results including:
  • 4.0m at 5.75 g/t gold
  • 1.0m at 21.40 g/t gold
  • 3.5m at 5.86 g/t gold¹⁸

2023 Exploration Highlights:

The 2023 Fury Gold Mines (TSX:FURY) (NYSE-A:FURY) exploration drilling at the Hinge Target confirmed that the mineralization encountered is the direct extension of the existing Eau Claire resource significantly expanding the overall potential of the project.¹⁹

• Notable intercepts from the 2023 Hinge Target drilling include:
  • 3.50m at 31.77 g/t gold from drillhole 23EC-077²⁰
  • 3.50m at 17.62 g/t gold from drillhole 23EC-082²¹
  • 3.50m at 5.73 g/t gold from drillhole  23EC-065²²

In February 2023, Fury (TSX:FURY) (NYSE-A:FURY) shared an update on targeting at its fully owned Lac Clarkie project, which is located directly to the east of its Eau Claire project.²³ Through the conclusion of a B-horizon soil sampling program, the company has defined a total of eight gold targets. 

Six of the targets are located along the Cannard Deformation Zone, which contains numerous gold occurrences along its >100 km mapped extent, including FURY‘s Eau Claire Deposit and the Percival Prospect. 

• • Percival Prospect Drilling: Results from the first five 2023 core drill holes at Percival Main include:

• 279 g/t gold over 1.5m
• 5.0m at 2.68 g/t gold
• 7.5m at 2.31 g/t gold²⁴

• • Continued Success at Percival: Additional drill holes confirmed with notable intercepts such as:

• 48.5m at 0.86 g/t gold
• 16.5m at 1.42 g/t gold
• 14m at 1.09 g/t gold

The multiple stacked zones of gold mineralization clearly demonstrate that Eau Claire remains open to the west and has the potential to be expanded significantly with approximately a 25% increase to the mineralized footprint realized to date.

Éléonore South Project: A Clear Path to Gold Discovery

To the Northwest of the Eau Claire project is the 14,000-hectare Éléonore South, which Fury Gold Mines Limited (TSX:FURY) (NYSE-A:FURY) recently acquired 100% ownership of after sharing the rights to the property with the world’s largest gold producer, Newmont Corporation.²⁵

This move to gain full ownership of Éléonore South not only underscores Fury’s commitment to growth but also highlights the project’s significant potential. 

Located in the heart of Quebec’s James Bay region, within the prolific Eeyou-Istchee Territory, Éléonore South spans an impressive 14,700 hectares. It’s ideally situated just south of Newmont‘s Éléonore property and mere kilometers from the Éléonore Mine, which houses the renowned +5 million-ounce Roberto gold deposit.

Fury Gold Mines Limited (TSX:FURY) (NYSE-A:FURY) has made significant strides at the Éléonore South project, and has commenced a  2024 exploration program comprised of 2,000 m following up on previous drill intercepts of 53.25 m of 4.22 g/t Au; 6.0 m of 49.50 g/t Au and 23.8 m of 3.08 g/t Au.²⁶

But the intrigue of Éléonore South doesn’t stop at its extensive mineralized zone. 

The project has also revealed areas with much higher gold grades, found within structurally controlled quartz vein stockworks. 

Below are results from previous drilling at Éléonore South:

• 53.25 meters with 4.22 g/t gold,
• 6 meters with an exceptional 49.50 g/t gold
• 23.8 meter area yielding 3.08 g/t gold.²⁷

These significant findings mark Éléonore South as a project with both volume and high-grade potential. Building on these successes, Fury Gold Mines has commenced a focused drilling campaign for Spring 2024. 

This next phase aims to further explore these high-grade structural corridors, following up on the promising results already achieved.

For investors, Fury Gold Mines’ (TSX:FURY) (NYSE-A:FURY) Éléonore South project represents a straightforward opportunity in gold exploration. With substantial groundwork laid and a clear direction for future drilling, Éléonore South is demonstrating its potential to be a significant gold discovery in Quebec.

Experienced Management and Leadership

In the gold mining game, it takes a strong team of explorers, developers, and financial wizards to make it all work—and for all that Fury Gold Mines (TSX:FURY) (NYSE-A :FURY) ticks every box. This is an experienced management team with a proven record of success. FURY’s leadership team includes:

Tim ClarkCEO and Non-Independent Director

Clark brings 23 years of global capital markets experience with numerous US, European and Canadian banks, including Barclays Capital, National Bank Financial, Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and most recently BMO Capital Markets, where he held the role of Managing Director, Institutional Equity Sales. Over the years, he has developed strong working relationships with Tier 1 institutional investors throughout the USA providing corporate strategy, and peer and financial analysis and insights on corporates within the materials, commodities and mining sectors. Clark holds a Bachelor of Economics from the University of Massachusetts (Amherst) and a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from Vanderbilt University.

Bryan AtkinsonSVP Exploration

Atkinson has been involved in mineral exploration globally for +15 years with a focus on orogenic lode gold and intermediate sulphidation epithermal deposits. In his role as an Exploration Manager he oversaw the successful completion of over 45,000m of exploration drilling across three projects in a 6-month period with an overall budget of $40M. Atkinson has also developed a valuable background in community relations as the manager of all First Nations engagement across Auryn Resources’ North American project portfolio.