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“We are seeing fewer and fewer large-scale and transformative gold discoveries,” Newmont Corp. Chief Executive Officer Tom Palmer told an industry conference in Toronto on Tuesday. “Instead, we are seeing lower grades and more-difficult-to-reach ounces.”

To tap those ounces while assuring the industry addresses “critical sustainability issues” will require access to capital and agility, Palmer said at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada gathering.

“There are only a few gold mining companies who have the capacity to deliver on all of these elements: size, scale, mine life and access to capital — clearly making the case for further partnerships and consolidation within the gold mining industry,” he said.

Those who don’t understand such fundamentals “are doomed to be left behind,” Palmer said. “While gold will always exist, not all of us will without collaboration and consolidation.”