The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that mergers-and-acquisitions activity nearly doubled in the third quarter, fuelled by deals in the mining, real estate and cannabis sectors. A Reuters dispatch to the Post says that quarterly deal volume was up 91 per cent to $75.7-billion from $39.6-billion in the same period last year, bucking a global trend of declines in Europe and Asia. Mining transactions in the quarter included Barrick Gold's planned $6.5-billion (U.S.) acquisition of Randgold Resources, as well as a $1.86-billion deal by Chinese company Zijin Mining Group to acquire Nevsun Resources. It was the strongest period for Canadian mining M&A since the second quarter of 2011. Mining deals slowed in recent years, due in part to commodity price pressures, balance sheet weakness and investor pushback against miners seen as overpaying for assets. The Barrick-Randgold deal, which had no premium and is being paid with equity, was well received. "The structural issues facing the mining industry aren't going away. But I do think the Barrick-Randgold transaction may be the catalyst to trigger more consolidation in the gold space," said Richard Tory, global head of metals and mining at Morgan Stanley.