that the big guys do not have the juniors on their radar. They are looking for good juniors B U T on their terms. Hopefully they can find a junior with the goods but is financially struggling. Do you think if they find such a company that they will come in as a benevolent step-father. Isn't it possible that some of the majors A N D countries with big bucks, [China has 3 trillion IN CASH and it is rumored that 'BHP are in their 'gun shot' range] aren't at work in their best interests and not the best of companies like Sage Gold. To think otherwise is to show a great deal of naivilt and immaturity. This is why I do believe that a conspiracy theory is possible. What do we think the oil companies are doing. So why not the Gold funds and majors'. I think the below copy and paste gives us a better look at the bigger picture and I do believe that the plans of man have affected the SP of Sage gold.

Jerry

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SHIFT IN THINKING

Barrick's recent transactions underline its shift in thinking.

In the first quarter, it paid $1.7 billion for Rio Tinto's (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research) 40 percent interest in the million-ounce-a-year Cortez property in Nevada and bought Arizona Star Resource Corp for C$773 million, giving it a majority stake in the massive Cerro Casale project in Chile.

Munk said such deals would continue to be on Barrick's radar, while other top players have said much the same.

Kinross Gold (K.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) CEO Tye Burt said on a conference call earlier this month the company expected to benefit from problems junior players were facing in tight debt markets.

Goldcorp (G.TO: Quote, Profile, Research) CEO Kevin McArthur told Reuters last week the company did not want to buy anything that was already operating, and would instead focus on early-stage properties.

"The juniors discover gold a lot better than the seniors do, they do a very good job," McArthur said.

The companies can certainly afford it. At the end of the first quarter, Barrick was sitting on a cash balance of $1.9 billion, while Goldcorp has $1.3 billion and no debt. Global No. 2 producer Newmont Mining (NEM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has about $1 billion.

And while costs have continued to rise, gold has shown no signs of a prolonged retreat. Spot metal prices were just under $900 an ounce on Friday.

"They're spending a lot of money (on exploration) but the resources are limited and there's some good resources on the exploration side of the sector," said Peter Spina of Goldseek.com.

"The (explorers') valuations are very cheap, so maybe these large companies sense that and are waiting for them to get in a more desperate position before making a move."

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