Newmont Takes Top Gold Producer Spot With $10 Billion Goldcorp Buy

An undated picture of the gold mine Yanacocha, in Cajamarca, 621 miles (1000 kilometers) northeast of Lima, Peru. The biggest gold mine in Latin America, located in the north of Peru, has been crippled by protests from locals who believe activity there has polluted the water supply. Production at the mine, which is run by a subsidiary of U.S. mining group Newmont, the Yanacocha company, was suspended on Aug. 29, 2006. STR/AFP/Getty Images

Newmont Mining Corp. said on Jan. 14 it would buy smaller rival Goldcorp Inc. for $10 billion, creating the world’s biggest gold producer in the face of dwindling easy-to-find reserves of the precious metal.

The transaction, the biggest ever takeover in the gold sector according to Refinitiv, follows Barrick Gold Corp.’s agreement in September to buy Randgold Resources Ltd. in a deal valued at $6.1 billion.