Kitco NEWS Mining Titans Exclusive: Beaty & Quartermain on the Next Big M&A Wave
Gold is at a new record level, and silver has seen extreme intraday moves, forcing a long-standing question back to the surface for mining investors. Speaking with Kitco News at VRIC 2026 in Vancouver, Ross Beaty and Bob Quartermain discuss whether this price action can finally drive a sustained rerating across mining equities or repeat a familiar cycle where metals surge and miners lag.
Beaty, Chairman of Equinox Gold, draws a clear distinction between gold and silver. He calls the silver market “very frothy, very bubbly,” and “overblown” in a market that is “about 10% the size of the gold market,” where small capital flows can drive outsized swings. By contrast, he says gold is being driven by “this giant move of money from treasuries, US dollars into an alternative source of money, which is gold,” supported by central bank demand rather than short-term speculation.
Both speakers stress cycle awareness. Beaty says the sector is “in the sun right now,” but warns that bull markets can turn abruptly and painfully if companies are unprepared. Quartermain adds that higher prices are reopening the financing window for juniors and developers, but building mines remains a long, capital-intensive process that requires discipline through both good times and bad.
The panel also discusses jurisdictional risk, the return of a Canada premium, and why new mine supply takes years to materialize in a sector constrained by permitting timelines and long project cycles.
Recorded January 26, 2026.
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01:05 - Current Market Dynamics in Gold and Silver
03:02 - What Record Prices Mean for Mining Companies
07:11 - Jurisdictional Risk and Where to Build Mines
12:37 - Long-Term Planning and Market Cycles
14:06 - Cash Flow, Debt Reduction, and Capital Discipline
16:09 - Navigating the Bull Market as an Investor
16:43 - Why Mining Is a Cyclical Business
18:08 - Poland Copper Project and Long-Term Development
20:00 - AI, Copper Demand, and Resource Nationalism
22:55 - Canada’s Mining Landscape and Government Support
25:14 - Philanthropy, Communities, and Legacy in Mining
28:39 - Advice for Junior Miners and Industry Lessons
30:10 - Final Thoughts on This Cycle and What Comes Next
#Gold #Silver #Mining #Copper #PreciousMetals #MiningStocks #ResourceInvesting #KitcoNews
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The videos are not intended to provide trading advice, and the views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. Kitco News, its anchors, producers, and reporters are not responsible in any way for the performance or actions of any sponsor, advertiser or affiliate of Kitco News. In no event will Kitco and its employees be held liable for any indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of the use of the content in this video.