The Financial Post reports in its Wednesday edition that Barrick executives used to claim that unlike other miners, they would never make acquisitions to simply expand their footprint and size. The Post's Gabriel Friedman writes, however, that on Monday after proposing a nearly $18-billion takeover of Colorado-based Newmont Mining -- a deal that if consummated would create the world's largest gold producer, with an estimated $42-billion market cap, by a distance -- Barrick chief executive officer Mark Bristow argued that being large is critical. "The point is we really want to attract generalists back into the industry," Mr. Bristow said on the conference call. "We want to be relevant and we think that $40-billion is relevant." Mr. Bristow stopped short of saying bigger is always better, adding that it makes sense in this case because of his record of "being disciplined" as a manager. Some analysts are skeptical of the estimated synergies and supposed $7-billion in cost savings outlined by Barrick. Canaccord analyst Carey MacRury said in a note that the synergies as estimated by Mr. Bristow, including an estimated $500-million (U.S.) in Nevada, where both companies operate mines, "appears high."