When Mining Weekly reported last month that African gold mining company Randgold Resources was looking across the Atlantic, the last merger target in mind was gold mining company Barrick. It was the northern edge of South America that effectively hosts the same geology as West Africa that we believed Randgold had in mind. But in one fell swoop, Barrick announced its intention to acquire Randgold and put its founder, Dr Mark Bristow, at the top of its heap as president and CEO. If the deal goes through, it will result in the world’s biggest gold mining company, with the combined entity surpassing Newmont as the largest gold producer.