10 Best Gold Royalty and Small-Cap Gold Stocks to Buy

8. Orla Mining Ltd. (NYSEAMERICAN:ORLA)

Number of Hedge Fund Investors: 16

Market Capitalization as of December 23: $1.79 Billion

Orla Mining Ltd. (NYSEAMERICAN:ORLA) is an intermediate gold mining company that operates the Camino Rojo oxide gold project in Mexico. The company is also developing the South Railroad and open-pit, heap leach gold project in the United States.

Orla Mining Ltd. (NYSEAMERICAN:ORLA) is actively expanding its footprint through strategic acquisition, exploration, and development projects. On November 18, the company announced the acquisition of the Musselwhite Gold Mine in Ontario from Newmont Corporation. The transaction valued at $810 million is set to more than double the company’s annual gold production to over 300,000 ounces and is expected to generate more than $150 million in average annual free cash flow over the next six years. The company intends to aggressively explore the 65,000-hectare concession, including following up on historical drilling that suggests 2 to 3 kilometers of mineralized strike potential beyond the current reserves.

Following the acquisition of Musselwhite Gold Mine, Scotiabank upgraded Orla Mining Ltd. (NYSEAMERICAN:ORLA) to Outperform. Scotiabank analyst Ovais Habib said that the acquisition diversifies the company into a tier 1 jurisdiction, more than doubling annual production without diluting existing shareholders.

Orla Mining Ltd. (NYSEAMERICAN:ORLA) is also making progress on the South Railroad project in Nevada, which encompasses the South Railroad and Pony Creek properties. The company is progressing requirements by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) before issuing the Notice of Intent and plans to complete all supplemental environmental reports required by the BLM by the end of 2024. The Notice of Intent is anticipated to be published in early 2025, with the targeted Record of Decision, which is the final permitting decision, expected by mid-2026. Following this approval, construction on the South Railroad project is set to begin, with the first gold production anticipated in 2027.