Pierre Lassonde, the former president of Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM.N), is warning shareholders to carefully weigh Barrick’s unsolicited takeover bid for Newmont – especially when it comes to the potential corporate synergies between the two mining titans.

“Those are a mirage in the desert – in the mining industry, forget it,” Lassonde said in an interview at the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada’s annual convention in Toronto. “Once [Barrick CEO Mark Bristow] gets to the mirage he’ll see it will evaporate.”

“I would be very, very careful about the real amount of synergies available,” he added, saying both companies have been taking costs out in Nevada over the last five years.  

Lassonde, now chairman of Franco-Nevada Corp., and one of the most respected voices in the Canadian mining community, said he isn’t surprised the company rejected Barrick’s bid, citing the fact the offer came with no premium. 

“In 2004, when I was president, we actually tried to do a merger of our Nevada assets  –  and we failed.”  

After a week of trading barbs over the bid, the leaders of Newmont and Barrick are meeting in New York Tuesday to discuss a possible joint venture in Nevada, which Newmont proposed Monday when it rejected Barrick’s takeover offer.  

But Lassonde said a JV wouldn’t have much of an impact on either company.   

“[The JV] is not going to be transformational because the impact on cost is two, three per cent, maximum,” he said. “Don’t think that that’s transformational.”

As M&A activity in the sector heats up, Lassonde also expressed his disappointment for Canadian mining companies leaving the country.

“We build great companies and then we sell them off to the rest of the world,” he said.

“It would have been better if we kept some of those companies. The one thing about Canada is we have the second-largest landmass in the world. So we’re going to be in the mining business forever – and that’s the good point.”

Meanwhile, the battle between two of the world’s largest gold miners has been in the spotlight of the annual gathering of global mining companies. Don Lindsay, president and CEO of Teck Resources Ltd., said in an interview he will be following developments in the corporate battle closely

“I think like everybody else around the PDAC, we’re enjoying the show. You know, I’ll get my bag of popcorn, sit back, and watch the fireworks,” he said.

“I’m not sure which way it’s going to go, I’ve seen this before,” he added, speaking to whether Barrick will eventually succeed in swallowing Newmont whole.

“Some people are after bigness and some people are after returns – they’re going to put their track records in front of shareholders and the shareholders will decide. So I wish them both luck and see how it goes.”