BMO also flagged the looming end of a standstill agreement between Newmont and Barrick Gold but said the former did not plan to act.

"With an extensive existing growth pipeline, M&A is not a high priority for Newmont, though it continues to evaluate and consider prospective opportunities," BMO's Jackie Przybylowski said.

"Newmont does not plan to bid to acquire Barrick on the July expiry of the standstill agreement."

The agreement was struck as part of a 2019 deal that ended Barrick's takeover bid for Newmont - which had threatened Newmont's now-complete merger with Goldcorp - and resulted in the creation of the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture.  

The pair had previously looked at a merger in 2014 but talks broke down amid a bitter war of words.

Przybylowski said Newmont had a number of near-term catalysts and a deep growth pipeline.

"Near-term catalysts include full funds decisions on Ahafo North and Yanacocha Sulfides projects (management remains confident that Peru will remain supportive of the mining industry), ramp-up of Subika underground, optimisation at Musselwhite, Eleonore, and Cerro Negro, and life-of-mine extensions including at Porcupine, Eleonore, Cerro Negro, and Penasquito," she said.

The growth pipeline included Newmont's acquisition of GT Gold and its Tatogga copper-gold project in British Columbia and the Coffee project in Yukon.

"We continue to believe Newmont will be a go-to investment for predictable, low-risk, and liquid exposure to the gold sector, which could be topical on growing inflation expectations," Przybylowski said.

"We have not changed our estimates as a result of this event - we maintain our outperform rating and our US$85/share one-year target."

Newmont shares are trading near a one-year high, closing yesterday at $68.78 to capitalize it at $55.1 billion.

Barrick has a market cap around $42 billion and its shares are trading at the lower end of a one-year range.