Goldcorp Inc.'s overnight bid for Andean Resources Ltd. came as a surprise to some people Friday morning, but its initial shock value didn't match that of Kinross Gold Corp.'s $7.1-billion bid for Red Back Mining Inc. , which could be in trouble. (The lower shock could have something do with today being the Friday before a long weekend and some people have mentally checked out.)

With two major gold deals in a month, it makes sense to put the transactions side by side to compare metrics.

Location of Target's Major Asset(s):

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Andean: Cerro Negro gold project in Argentina

Red Back: Gold mines in Ghana and Mauritania

Premium paid:

Andean: 35 per cent

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Red Back: 21 per cent

Dilution to CFPS:

Goldcorp: Around 9 per cent in 2011, and 1 to 4 per cent for a few years after, according to Cormark Securities

Kinross: Around 20 per cent for the next three years, according to UBS Securities

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Proven and probable gold reserves:

Andean: 2.5 million ounces

Red Back: 8.1 million ounces

Production after acquisition:

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Goldcorp: Almost 4 million ounces by 2014, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Kinross: Around 3.7 million ounces in 2015, according to National Bank Financial

Approvals:

Goldcorp/Andean: Both boards and Sentient Executive GP II, which owns 21 per cent of Andean

Kinross/Red Back: Both boards and 14 per cent of Red Back shareholders. But the deal has run into problems of late.