With economic uncertainties on the horizon in 2024, many investors are considering diversifying into gold mining stocks. As major producers of a precious commodity, gold miners can provide portfolio stability and profit potential during inflationary periods. This guide explores everything you need to know before buying gold mining stocks this year.
How Gold Mining Stocks Are Classified
The gold mining sector consists of two main types of companies:
Majors
- Large established miners valued over $10 billion
- Operations globally across multiple mines
- Steady cash flow and dividends
- Lower risk than juniors
Examples: Barrick Gold, Newmont, Kinross
Juniors
- Smaller miners focused on exploring and developing
- Market caps under $1 billion
- No dividends but high growth potential
- Higher risk/reward profile
Examples: K92 Mining, Skeena Resources, Integra Resources
While majors and juniors take different approaches, both provide exposure to gold prices. Majors offer stability, while juniors offer growth opportunities.
Why Invest in Gold Miners?
Here are the reasons to consider gold mining stocks:
Leverage to Gold Prices
As gold prices rise, miner margins expand exponentially. A $100/oz increase translates into vastly higher profitability. Miners act as “leveraged plays” on bullion.
Growth Prospects
Developing high-grade deposits can lead to rapidly rising production/earnings. Market re-ratings bring sizable share price gains.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Consolidation rewards acquired junior shareholders with big premium buyouts.
Portfolio Diversification
Gold mining shares have moderate correlation to stocks/bonds as an inflation hedge.
Dividends/Buybacks
When times are good, miners return cash to shareholders through dividends and buybacks.
In summary, gold miners offer multiple ways to benefit from their upside exposure to bullion’s safe haven qualities and inflation protection attributes.
READ ALSO: Beginners Guide to Gold Investing in 2024
Assessing Major Gold Miners
With sizable production across diversified global assets, major gold miners offer investors relative stability and lower volatility.
What to Analyze in a Gold Major
- Proven gold reserves: Large gold resource base ensures production visibility
- All-in sustaining costs (AISC): Total spend to extract an ounce – key metric determining profit margins
- Cash flow: Critical for funding growth projects and shareholder returns
- Geographic footprint: Asset diversification reduces country-specific risks
- Growth pipeline: As mines get depleted, new deposits/expansions drive future output
- Dividend policy: Income and metrics like payout ratio indicate financial health
Top Gold Mining Majors Worth Following
Barrick Gold (GOLD)
World’s #2 gold miner with the biggest reserves, low costs, and mines across the Americas, Africa and the Pacific. Also half-owner of copper mega-mine company Lumwana.
Newmont Corporation (NEM)
Top global gold miner boasting low AISC, organic growth projects, and paying world’s largest gold mining dividend. Assets located across prolific districts in the Americas, Africa, and Australia.
Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM)
Canadian mid-tier major respected for quality assets, execution, ESG and dividends. Expanding production in Canada, Finland and Mexico to over 2 million gold ounces by 2024.
Finding Junior Gold Miners with Big Potential
Junior gold miners offer investors greater risk/reward. While cash flow is minimal now, juniors aim to discover the next major deposit or get bought out at steep premiums after early-stage success.
Evaluating Junior Gold Stocks
- Management: Pedigrees from major miners bring expertise exploring/developing
- Asset location: Favorable mining jurisdictions in North/South America or West Africa optimal
- Grades: High gold grades reduce costs and boost profit margins
- Stage: Later stage developers with permitting progress warrant premiums
- Funding: Cash balance reduces financing risks to operate until cash flow
Notable Junior Gold Miners Worth Following
K92 Mining (KNTNF)
Rapidly growing mid-tier producer in Papua New Guinea with low costs and drilling huge high-grade resource expansion potential nearby.
Skeena Resources (SKE)
Developing an extremely high-grade underground gold mine in British Columbia with robust economics. Advancing towards first production.
Integra Resources (ITRG)
Idaho-focused junior with large low-grade potential open pit gold deposit. optimization studies underway with majors circling.
Juniors represent higher risk/reward propositions but can generate exponential returns if successful. Conduct due diligence around their assets, plans, and leadership.
Additional Gold Investment Options
Beyond directly buying gold mining stocks, other ways to invest in the sector include:
- Gold mining ETFs: Offer diversified exposure to gold miners in an exchange-traded fund structure such as GDX and GDXJ
- Gold mining mutual funds: Professionally managed portfolios of gold miners in a mutual fund vehicle
- Gold futures: Contracts allowing leverage futures exposure with directional bets on gold prices
- Gold options: Provides option contracts to hedge gold positions or speculate through defined risk trades
READ ALSO: Top Gold Stocks Set to Take Off in 2024
Building a Gold Mining Stock Portfolio
Constructing a properly balanced portfolio of gold mining stocks involves blending majors with juniors, mitigating risk while optimizing reward potential.
Portfolio Guidelines
- Core allocation to majors (50-70%): Focus on sizable low-cost producers paying dividends
- Tactical exposure to juniors (30-50%): Tilt towards developing mines and promising explorers
- Rebalancing protocol: Monitor weightings and adjust based on risk tolerance
Sample Gold Mining Portfolio
| Holding | Type | Allocation |
| Newmont Mining | Major | 30% |
| Barrick Gold | Major | 20% |
| Agnico Eagle Mines | Major | 10% |
| K92 Mining | Junior | 15% |
| Skeena Resources | Junior | 10% |
| Integra Resources | Junior | 15% |
This sample portfolio blends risky emerging miners with stable large cap anchors for balanced exposure.
Investing Strategies for Gold Miners
From passive long-term holds to tactical trading, these approaches can generate profits from gold mining equities.
Buy and Hold
Aim to select quality miners and hold for long term gains as assets increase production over time.
Value Investing
Target undervalued majors trading at low P/E multiples relative to profitability.
Growth Investing
Buy surging juniors expanding high-grade deposits driving exponentially higher earnings.
Momentum Trading
Enter rising gold stocks showing relative strength versus peers and the gold price.
Swing Trading
Take shorter term positions around support/resistance in uptrends and downtrends.
Event-Driven
Capture M&A premiums from offers or development milestones like mine construction.
Evaluate strategies fitting your timeframe, risk tolerance and monitoring capabilities.
Gold Miner Investing Tips
Apply these best practices when buying gold mining stocks:
- Stay informed on gold supply/demand fundamentals driving prices
- Maintain patience holding through inevitable volatility
- Reinvest dividends from majors to compound returns
- Set stop losses on speculative junior miners to contain risks
- Review quarterly results assessing operating and financial metrics
- Ride positive momentum but don’t chase extended moves
- Keep position sizing small for junior miners
To Recap
With major global uncertainties on the horizon and inflation concerns lingering in 2024, gold mining stocks offer a relatively stable way to diversify investor portfolios. By blending major and junior gold miners, investors can gain leveraged exposure to upside moves in gold prices crucial for protecting wealth in turbulent times.
Conservative investors after modest gains should emphasize low-cost major gold producers paying growing dividends like Barrick Gold and Newmont.
More aggressive traders seeking home run returns can target ascending junior miners making big discoveries such as K92 Mining and Skeena Resources, while using disciplined stop losses to limit downside risks.
Regardless of risk tolerance, dedicating a 5-20% allocation specifically to gold mining stocks can form an inflation-hedging pillar of resilience in an increasingly uncertain global macro backdrop.
FAQs on Investing in Gold Mining Stocks
How do I buy gold mining stocks?
You can buy gold mining stocks on stock exchanges where they are listed, such as the NYSE and TSX. Open an online brokerage account at regulated brokers like Fidelity, E-Trade or Charles Schwab. Research then purchase shares in gold miners you want to include in your portfolio.
Should I buy gold mining ETFs instead of stocks?
Gold mining ETFs like GDX and GDXJ can provide diversified exposure to gold miners in an indexed fund structure, not requiring selecting individual stocks. However, they limit upside compared to picking winning miners directly. Blend ETFs with handpicked miners.
How risky are junior gold miners versus majors?
Junior gold miners carry much higher risks from potential funding shortfalls, execution issues, or simply not finding economic deposits after exploration drilling. However, major gold miners operate multiple assets globally, paying dividends and carrying lower risk profiles with steadier cash flows.
Should I take delivery of physical gold instead of mining stocks?
While less convenient to store and transport, some hardcore “gold bugs” advocate holding physical coin and bullion instead of “paper gold” miners dependent on factors besides bullion prices. Most financial advisors suggest a balanced approach, with perhaps 10% in physical.
Are gold miners growth or value stocks?
Gold miners can exhibit both growth and value characteristics. Junior miners in exploration and development mode are speculative growth stocks making high-risk bets on finding new economic deposits. Conversely, major gold miners churning out cash flow from production mines better fit the mold of value stocks. Blend together for balance.
In another related article, Best Gold ETFs to Buy in 2024: Top Options for Investing in Gold
