IMG.TSXIamgold Corp.

Gold bull markets tend to move in stages. Producers benefit first as margins expand. Then capital rotates toward developers with defined resources, and finally into early-stage explorers positioned in the right geology at the right moment. But in extended bull markets, the kind driven by structural monetary forces rather than cyclical sentiment, a fourth stage emerges: a reserve replenishment race among the majors themselves. When the largest producers in the world are generating record free cash flow against a backdrop of depleting ore bodies, the exploration corridors they cannot afford ...

Gold bull markets tend to move in stages. Producers benefit first as margins expand. Then capital rotates toward developers with defined resources, and finally into early-stage explorers positioned in the right geology at the right moment. But in extended bull markets, the kind driven by structural monetary forces rather than cyclical sentiment, a fourth stage emerges: a reserve replenishment race among the majors themselves. When the largest producers in the world are generating record free cash flow against a backdrop of depleting ore bodies, the exploration corridors they cannot afford ...