Canada's junior gold miners sparkle as M&A targets.

http://af.reuters.com/article/metalsNews/idAFN1518535820101004

* High gold prices fuel record M&A activity

* Top producers pay up to $1,100/ounce in ground

* Juniors merge to make strong acquisition targets

(In U.S. dollars unless noted)

By Julie Gordon and Pav Jordan

TORONTO, Sept 16 (Reuters) - When junior miner Andean Resources (AND.AX: Quote)(AND.TO: Quote) sold itself to Goldcorp (G.TO: Quote) for C$3.4 billion ($3.3 billion) last month, it cashed out for about 100 times the amount it had invested in its flagship Cerro Negro gold project.

A host of Canadian gold juniors could pull off a similar feat over the next 12 months as big gold miners rush out to buy smaller companies that own reserves, instead of looking to make their own discoveries.

"Gold miners are just not finding any new gold, meanwhile, the demand is increasing," said Maison Placements analyst John Ing. "So the major gold miners are stuck on a treadmill."

"What we are seeing is that gold companies are paying premium dollars for ounces in the ground," he said. "It's faster and it's easy." Continued...