Gold bars are displayed at a bullion house in Mumbai.ARKO DATTA/Reuters
Franco-Nevada Corp.'s chief executive told hundreds of cash-starved mining companies that for asset purchases, there's no time like the present.
"Right now we're buying as much as we can," David Harquail told miners Tuesday at the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference in Toronto. "This is a great time to buy assets. Everything is for sale."
Franco-Nevada buys royalties and streams of future precious metal production from miners and thus does not have to deal with the headache of running mines during the downturn.
Last year it spent $648-million to buy future gold and silver production from Lundin Mining Corp.'s copper mine in Chile.
Mr. Harquail's comments come one day after rival Silver Wheaton Corp. paid Vale SA $900-million for future gold from one of its Brazilian copper mines.
Capital has been hard to come by for the thousands of junior miners, which typically raise funds on public markets. Because capital has dried up, they have been seeking alternative sources of cash.
Rachelle Younglai