Franco-Nevada, the Canadian gold and energy royalty company sold to Newmont Mining Corp. [NEM-N] in 2002, is set to rise again with an initial public offering aiming to raise more than $1-billion – by far the largest debut on the Toronto Stock Exchange this year.

Hoping to attract the millions of mining investment dollars that have come available with the recent loss of major industry names including Alcan Inc., [AL-T]LionOre Mining International Ltd. and Meridian Gold [MNG-T], the new company will hold royalty interests in approximately 190 precious and base metals properties, providing it with a steady stream of revenue from various projects.

The IPO will mark the return to the Canadian capital markets of a resource portfolio created by industry legends Pierre Lassonde and Seymour Schulich. Franco-Nevada Mining Corp. was sold to the U.S. gold giant as part of a $4.2-billion (U.S.) blockbuster three-way merger in 2002. Newmont announced plans to sell the assets in July as part of major restructuring under new management.

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