Auryn Resources Inc (AUG.TO) said on Monday that Goldcorp Inc (G.TO), the world's third-largest gold producer by market value, would buy a stake in the Canadian exploration company for $35 million, sending its shares up nearly 15 per cent.

Auryn owns the Committee Bay gold project in Nunavut and the Homestake Ridge gold project in British Columbia. It also owns gold properties in Peru.

Large gold producers are increasingly relying on small exploration companies to do the heavy lifting of searching for new deposits and are taking stakes of 10 per cent to 20 per cent in them.

Goldcorp will buy 9.5 million shares in Auryn at $3.67 each. Shares of Auryn were up 45 cents, or nearly 15 per cent, at $3.50 on the Toronto Stock Exchange after the deal was announced, while Goldcorp rose 6 cents to $19.39.