The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that it is a $6-billion (U.S.) gold mining deal with seemingly no cost savings. The Globe's Niall McGee writes that talk of "synergies" was absent from both the regulatory documents released with the announcement and presentations of both Barrick Gold and Randgold Resources during two separate, hour-long conference calls on Monday. Part of the answer is there is not that much fat to trim. Barrick has spent the past few years slimming down, or as executive chairman John Thornton has said, trying to be more like the Barrick of old, when it was a much smaller, nimbler and more efficient operation. It has sold many non-core assets, cut jobs and trimmed its management structure significantly since 2013. However, Barrick certainly is not in the league of Randgold, recognized as a model of efficiency. On Monday, however, Mark Bristow, Barrick's incoming chief executive officer and the founder of Randgold, said he was determined to bring "the Randgold way" to Barrick. Mr. Bristow spelled out a few areas where he saw potential cost savings. One of the most obvious is in Nevada. There, a partnership with U.S. competitor Newmont Mining is possible.