The Financial Post reports in its Saturday edition that higher commodity prices and the rise of electric vehicles made the mining sector the star of the show for Bay Street's dealmakers in the first half of the year, with investors particularly hungry for stock and debt in companies supplying copper. The Post's Barbara Shecter writes that renewed interest in mining and a reinvigorated appetite for corporate debt helped produce 508 debt and equity deals worth $338.7-billion in the first half of 2024, with deal value up 32 per cent from the same period a year earlier. On the debt side, buyers and sellers finally found common ground on interest rate expectations. Most of the big-money deals in mining in the first half of the year were copper plays. There were some mergers and acquisitions activity in the first half, including Equinox Gold's acquisition of a 40-per-cent share of Greenstone Gold Mine GP, purchased from funds managed by Orion Mine Finance Management LP for $995-million (U.S.). Also in April, Karora Resources announced plans to merge with Westgold Resources in a deal valued at $786-million (U.S.). Trends in artificial intelligence and data collection and storage will increase the focus on critical minerals.