https://www.globalminingobserver.com/first-mining-finance-moneta-porcupine-keith-neumeyer-

Oban Mining

Oban Mining, the junior gold developer backed by mine-builder Sean Roosen, has also approached Moneta Porcupine, according to sources, but has not tabled an offer. “The conversation ended very quickly,” a source involved in the process says. Moneta's management is understood to have signed confidentiality agreements with several larger companies that can advance its assets, rather than warehouse them.

Both Oban and First Mining Finance have been scooping up distressed gold assets in the current downturn, in predominantly paper-funded deals. The two companies have amassed 5.5m and 7.8m ounces respectively, paying prices as low as $2.20 per ounce. They are thought to have previously competed for assets.

But some analysts question whether First Mining has bought anything of any real long-term worth. Its Pickle Crow project is flooded, its Springpole project is sitting under a deep lake and its Duparquet property is bristling with arsenic. The company has more than quadrupled its share count in the last 12 months.

Going Hostile

Despite being courted by other companies, Moneta Porcupine has a low cash burn rate and is understood to be happy to sit out the cycle, rather than drop the goods at the bottom of the market. Moneta's shares have surged ahead of gold this year, up 54 per cent. Until recently, First Mining had put on a more modest 15 per cent, as the company has continued to issue stock to buy new assets, but its shares have spiked in recent days, up over 30 per cent on zero news flow.

First Mining Finance internally has plans to upgrade its listing in Toronto, allowing it to buy shares in target companies, giving it greater leverage going into takeover talks. The company has openly discussed going hostile on firms that rebuff its advances, but has also maintained that it has a long list of possible targets. “There's a list of targets and we're not going to comment on that list,” a company insider said.