Gold dominated merger and acquisition (M&A) activity for the second consecutive year in 2024, driven by elevated gold prices and geopolitical uncertainty.
According to S&P Global Commodity Insights, a division of S&P Global, the total deal value reached $26.54bn across 62 transactions, a 1% increase from 2023 despite the absence of “blockbuster deals” seen in the previous year.
Gold accounted for 43 deals worth $19.31bn, representing 73% of the total M&A value. This robust activity was fuelled by record-high gold prices, driven by geopolitical uncertainty, including the Russia-Ukraine war, Middle East conflicts and US-China trade tension.
Central bank purchases further bolstered demand for the precious metal, solidifying its status as a safe-haven asset. The rising price of gold, which reached multiple record highs during the year, also played a role in driving deal activity.
Notable gold-focused transactions included Northern Star Resources, an Australian gold miner, acquiring De Grey Mining, a Western Australian gold explorer and project development company, for $3.26bn.
AngloGold Ashanti bought out Centamin, an Egypt-focused gold mining and exploration company, for $2.48bn. The acquisition, completed in November, added Centamin’s Sukari gold mine in Egypt to AngloGold Ashanti’s global operations.
Additionally, Gold Fields purchased Osisko Mining — a Canadian mineral exploration company — for $1.42bn.
According to the report, Australia and Canada were key hubs for gold deals, with Australia attracting junior and intermediate buyers and Canada drawing interest from major players. The average price paid per ounce of gold in Australia was $122, with 46-million ounces of gold reserves and resources (R&R) changing hands.
While gold dominated, the report found that base metals experienced mixed results. Copper transactions totalled $5.7bn, but acquired R&R fell 52% year on year to 21-million metric tonnes.
The largest copper deal was the joint $3.03bn acquisition of Filo Corp, a Canadian copper exploration company, by Lundin Mining, a Canadian base metals producer, and BHP Group. This deal highlights the growing interest in copper as a critical metal for the energy transition.
Zinc re-entered the M&A space after a quiet 2023, with two deals worth $1.52bn. The largest of these was Boliden, a Swedish mining and smelting company, acquiring Neves-Corvo, a zinc-copper mine in Portugal, and Zinkgruvan mines, a zinc-lead-copper mine in Sweden, both significant producers of base metals in Europe.
Nickel, on the other hand, saw minimal activity, with only one deal announced in 2024, which was Horizon Minerals, an Australian nickel producer, acquiring Poseidon Nickel, another Australian nickel miner, for $20.3m. According to the report, this reflects the low-price environment and lack of investor interest in the nickel commodity.
Looking ahead, geopolitical uncertainty and rising metal prices are expected to sustain strong M&A activity in 2025, particularly in gold and copper.
According to the report, further consolidation and strategic partnerships are expected as miners seek to capitalise on the energy transition and secure critical mineral supplies.
The Russia-Ukraine war, US-China trade tension and other geopolitical risks are likely to keep metal prices volatile, “creating opportunities for opportunistic acquisitions”.
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