Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (ABX), Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (GG): Has Newmont Mining Corp (NEM) Become the Perfect Stock?

Of course, Newmont is far from the only mining company to face cost pressures. In its most-recent quarterly report, fellow mining giant Barrick Gold Corporation (USA) (NYSE:ABX) cited attempts to contain costs as well as environmental concerns as reasons for disappointing results. But one big issue facing Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) in particular is a lack of excitement about its growth prospects. Some might point to its size as limiting opportunities for meaningful growth, but rival Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG) has put together an impressive pipeline of prospect properties as part of its five-year growth plan. Goldcorp Inc. (USA) (NYSE:GG)’s ability to keep costs down has also given it a big advantage over Newmont’s higher-cost production.

One area where Newmont has rewarded investors is with its dividend, which has more than tripled in the past three years. But with gold prices stuck in neutral, Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) hasn’t been able to push its payout higher since late 2011, and continuing weakness could lead to dividend cuts at some future point.

For Newmont Mining Corp (NYSE:NEM) to improve, it needs to focus on getting its production volumes up and its costs down. Otherwise, competitors will remain better positioned to take advantage of future gold-price increases if they come.

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The article Has Newmont Mining Become the Perfect Stock? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Dan Caplinger.

Fool contributor Dan Caplinger has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned.

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