The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, Jan. 31, edition that in the past few months, the Canadian gold sector has been revitalized with the unveiling of two major deals. The Globe's Rachelle Younglai and David Milstead write that Barrick Gold recently closed its $6-billion acquisition of Randgold Resources and earlier this month, Newmont Mining announced it is buying Goldcorp for $10-billion (all figures U.S.). Higher gold prices have also sparked interest in the sector. Lately, gold has shot up based on indications the United States Federal Reserve will slow its pace of rate hikes, a development that has dampened enthusiasm for the U.S. dollar. Kinross and Iamgold have both been among the worst-performing long-term Canadian gold stocks. Much of Kinross's travails can be traced back to its acquisition of Red Back Mining in 2010. Kinross wrote down about 80 per cent of the value of the acquisition. Investors also attach a low valuation to Kinross because of political risk associated with the company's Russian mines. Iamgold has had serious missteps, too. Its $608-million Cote Gold project now faces a capital cost investment of more than $1-billion. Earlier this week Iamgold put the project on hold.