IN A BIG YEAR, BARRICK LEADS THE LIST

MINING REPORTER

It is a good year to be a mining investment banker.

The year isn't over yet, but it has already been a record one for mining financings in Canada, according to the Toronto Stock Exchange.

As of Sept. 30, miners had raised $17-billion on the TSX and TSX Venture.

By comparison, they raised just $3.9-billion by that date in 2008.

It seems the resource sector was quick to learn the lessons from the financial crisis that hit last fall and devastated miners' ability to raise cash.

When commodity prices began recovering early this year, metals producers wasted no time pumping out equity and debt deals. Just a few months before, the capital markets had all but seized, and once they had opened again, miners moved fast.

There have been 264 financings, the majority by gold companies.

Of course, one monster-sized deal stands out. Barrick Gold Corp. sold more than $4-billion worth of its shares in September to pay for the elimination of its ghastly hedge book, in what is the largest stock sale in Canadian history.

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Gold rush