Reuters reported that the number of publicly traded junior mining companies should fall as tight credit conditions and plunging commodity prices force explorers to either find deep pocketed partners or disappear.

Equity analyst Mr John Kaiser said that smaller mining players with proven resources or production have the best chance to survive the recent shift in market conditions. He added that "What we are going through now is a winnowing of the 1500 companies that are out there. Only the ones with truly competent management and ounces and pounds in the ground that are worth defending from predators or worth keeping will survive."

The TSX Venture Exchange composite index, which tracks companies on Canada's junior stock market and is largely made up of mine exploration companies, is down more than 51% since mid June 2008.

Mr Kaiser said that "We are going to see another round of redemption selling in this quarter. We might see a period of metal taking off again and spiking to crazy levels."

The bright spot for miners who are able to stay independent, said Kaiser, is that the clearing out of smaller players and delay of some projects will pinch metal supply in the longer term, which should drive resource prices higher.