From 'The Golden Truth' website, one of the better gold analyst sites out there:

Many of you have by now read about the merger deal between Golden Minerals and ECU Silver. It has the potential to yield some brilliant synergies, as Golden Minerals has two potentially prolific silver properties plus $100 million in cash and ECU needs cash in order to get the Valerdena blockbuster over the "finish line." I've met the new CEO of the combined entity, Jeff Clevenger, and he is a very accomplished mining company operator. You can read about the details of the transaction and the expected synergies HERE

Whoever is selling shares in ECU today has no clue whatsoever how to analyze mining companies. This deal will instantly give ECU the managerial, operational and financial "bulk" to help it fully achieve the untapped value of its massive silver deposit. I also know that ECU's geologists were "blown away" by the potential of Golden Mineral's Argentina silver deposit. For the record, I added some ECU to the fund today after it sold off. The combined entity will have some large investor support, including Sprott and Sentient Group, a private equity investment group which specializes in global resources and owns 19% of Golden Minerals.