In this article, we will take a look at the 11 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in Right Now.
According to the World Gold Council’s annual report, robust central bank purchases and rising investor interest drove global gold consumption to a new high in 2024. The Council described central banks’ appetite for gold as “insatiable,” a significant turning point as purchases exceeded 1,000 tons for the third consecutive year. Gold investment grew by 25%, mostly due to gold exchange-traded funds, reaching a four-year high of 1,180 tons. Meanwhile, rising purchasing activity in China and India contributed to the continued strong demand for gold bars and coins.
Physical demand for gold is still low in key consumer markets, despite its impressive performance. China and India have seen a decline in purchasing demand due to record-high prices. Gold sales for January hit a 10-month low, according to the Perth Mint, while silver sales fell 61% from the previous month. This implies that although there is a high demand for investments, the retail and jewelry industries are under pressure from high prices. In light of the aforementioned factors, Citi kept its 6–12 month projection at $3,000, unchanged from the prior forecast, but updated its short-term (0–3 months) price target for gold to $3,000 per ounce from $2,800. Additionally, the bank raised its average price forecast for 2025 from $2,800 to $2,900 per ounce. The bank noted:
“We expect gold to continue to rise as a hedge against growth and other risks, including actual and perceived rising growth risks, including trade wars, still-high interest rates weighing on growth, continued deterioration in the U.S. labor market, ex-U.S. currency devaluation risks, and potential U.S. equity drawdown risks.”
Earlier in the first week of February, US President Donald Trump sparked a trade war by following through on his promise to put tariffs on China. Meanwhile, the President gave Mexico and Canada each a one-month respite. In that regard, the new government seems determined to follow through on its promises of imposing tariffs, casting a pall over global economic growth expectations. According to Ricardo Evangelista, senior analyst at ActivTrades, such an act increases the attraction of safe-haven gold. Speaking on this issue, in combination with January’s job market report, he added:
“I anticipate the data will confirm a slowdown in the U.S. labor market… this scenario would reinforce dovish expectations for the Fed and provide support for gold prices.”
Our Methodology
To come up with our list of the 11 Best Gold Mining Companies to Invest in, we scoured the VanEck Gold Miners ETF holdings, a fund that invests a significant percentage of its total assets in common stocks and depositary receipts of companies in the gold mining industry. From that list, we narrowed down stocks based on the hedge fund sentiments surrounding them. These stocks are ranked in ascending order based on the number of hedge funds that hold their shares.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 275% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 150 percentage points (see more details here).
11. Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 22
Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) is a prominent global gold mining company with a diverse portfolio of assets located in South Africa, South America, Ghana, Australia, and Canada. It also explores copper and silver deposits, providing diversified exposure to precious metals.
On December 2, Torq Resources Inc. and Gold Fields Limited (NYSE:GFI) announced that they had entered into a final Implementation Agreement for the Santa Cecilia Project. As per the agreement, GFI will invest $48 million to acquire up to 75% of the project’s indirect stake.
For the fiscal year 2024, analysts predict that GFI’s sales and EPS will increase 9.7% and 27.6%, respectively, to $4.94 billion and $1.20 billion. The company’s revenue is further anticipated to rise 26.4% year-over-year to $6.24 billion in fiscal year 2025, while its earnings per share is expected to settle at around $2.01, representing a 67.5% growth over the previous year.
10. Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 23
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) is a Canadian multinational corporation whose primary business is precious metal streaming. The company is well-positioned in the production and marketing of precious metals, namely silver. Typically, these metals are mined as byproducts of other mining companies’ primary operations.
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) produced 4,554 ounces of silver and 144,164 ounces of gold equivalent ounces (GEO) in the third quarter of 2024, a 34.1% increase over the same period the previous year. Additionally, the company sold 3,875 ounces of silver during the quarter, representing a strong increase of 30.7% over the previous year, and 75,694 ounces of gold, up 1.7% year over year.
Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (NYSE:WPM) further expanded its portfolio recently by completing a $175 million streaming agreement with Allied Gold for the Kurmuk project in Ethiopia and a $625 million gold stream on Montage’s Kona project in Côte d’Ivoire. It’s expected that these projects, which have substantial exploration potential, would significantly boost growth in their respective regions.