Denham Capital managing director Bert Koth noted that 55% of equity raisings last year were for balance sheet repair, with only 13% going into the ground.

However, the panel agreed that things were starting to change.

“There’s no doubt that in 2017, it’s easier to prize money out of people’s hands,” Starboard Capital MD Dr Robert Wrixon said.

Pacific Road Capital partner Matt Fifield said there had been a noticeable shift, where management teams seemed more keen to take projects forward, rather than focusing on survival and restructuring.

Koth noted that most of the deals completed in the past two years had been driven by distress.

In the past three months, a number of the major miners had been buying back debt, which Fifield said was a positive sign.

“Cash M&A is around the corner,” he said.

“Around the corner is that moment where people say ‘my cupboard is bare’.”

Wrixon said Vedanta Resources founder and chairman Anil Agarwal’s recent raid on Anglo American was an interesting development.

Starboard is a venture capital firm and Wrixon said a large Indian group had approached the company over two of its exit-level assets.

“There seems to be action on the side of Indian buyers,” he said.

“Is that a sign of things to come? I’m not sure.”

Koth said Denham saw “active opportunities” over the next 12-24 months.