The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that the past year was a golden one for insiders at many Canadian miners. The Globe's David Milstead and Naill McGee write that several companies, executives and directors took advantage of 2020's surging bullion prices to legally sell tens of millions of dollars worth of shares. Insider stock sales at Barrick Gold totalled $90.3-million, while executives and directors at B2Gold sold $65.4-million worth of stock, and sales at Agnico Eagle Mines totalled $52.2-million. Stock markets dropped sharply from late February to late March, then rebounded by year-end. Gold had a steady climb as the economy stayed shaky, and it hit a historic high of $2,050 an ounce in August. That meant leaders at most mining companies had multiple opportunities to legally sell shares into a rising market -- more so than in many years past, when mining stocks offered lacklustre returns. Barrick executive chairman John Thornton slashed his share of the company by 50 per cent, selling 2.6 million shares in April for proceeds of $64-million. Mr. Thornton was joined in selling by chief executive officer Mark Bristow, who sold $10.4-million worth of Barrick shares in May at $27.14 (U.S.) a share.