The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that like any epic tale, the deal between Barrick and Randgold Resources can be read in at least a couple of ways. The Globe's Ian McGugan writes that the cynical view is to see it as a desperation strategy. If you cannot do much to upgrade the appeal of your key commodity and if your recent share price performance has been brutal, then there is nothing like a flurry of corporate re-engineering to keep investors intrigued. A more positive take is to view the alliance as the beginning of a new round of merger and acquisition activity in the sector. That is the view of IKN, a mining industry newsletter. "A big-boy M&A deal like this should shake up the long-dormant sector," IKN declared. It told readers to expect it "to be the start of things, not an isolated incident" and, on Tuesday, named two Canadian gold miners as likely future targets: B2Gold ("cheap as chips right now") and Alamos Gold ("the big options volume ... suggest an interloper"). Investors with a stomach for risk and a willingness to be patient may want to pay attention. Gold miners possess at least one outstanding virtue at the moment: They are universally loathed and therefore inexpensive.