Imperial shares shot up almost 57% yesterday on news of Newcrest (ASX: NCM) taking a 70% stake in its Red Chris gold-copper mine for US$806.5 million in cash.
Imperial shares touched a one-year high of C$3.48 before settling to $3.10, well above its previous close of $1.98.
Newcrest however lost the previous day's gains and was down 3.5% in afternoon trade today, as it announced it had increased the tenure of its joint venture with Encounter Resources in Western Australia.
Meanwhile, Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX) closed 2% higher in Toronto yesterday as it dropped its hostile bid for Newmont Mining and the pair agreed to a joint venture over the bulk of their Nevada operations.
Newmont (NYSE: NEM) closed down 0.77%.
In a further ripple effect, given the Nevada JV leaves Newmont clear to continue with its planned merger with Goldcorp (TSX: G), Goldcorp's shares gained 1.32%.
The gold price is similar to this time yesterday, above $1,296 an ounce, with major global market indices closing higher yesterday and UK prime minister Theresa May securing key assurances from the EU over Brexit ahead of Tuesday's vote by MPs.
