Newmont is the world's largest gold miner. It bought Goldcorp in 2019, combined its Nevada mines in a joint venture with competitor Barrick later that year, and also purchased competitor Newcrest in November 2023. Its portfolio includes 17 wholly or majority owned mines and interests in two joint ventures in the Americas, Africa, Australia and Papua New Guinea. The company is expected to produce roughly 6.9 million ounces of gold in 2024. However, after buying Newcrest, Newmont is likely to sell a number of its higher cost, smaller mines accounting for 20% of forecast sales in 2024. Newmont also produces material amounts of copper, silver, zinc, and lead as byproducts. It had about two decades of gold reserves along with significant byproduct reserves at the end of December 2023.

When global economic conditions become unpredictable, investors often flock to gold. Currently, the yellow metal is trading around $2,400 per ounce, up 17% for the year and at the highest level in the past 25 years. During the first phase of the pandemic, as uncertainty abounded, the spot price for an ounce of gold jumped 33% in six months and broke through the $2,000 level. Gold spot prices also spiked above $2,000 in early March 2022 due to the war in Ukraine, and are now at even higher levels as tension simmers in the Middle East and East Asia, and the U.S. presidential election approaches. The current price of gold reflects the perceived safety of hard assets amid the global conflicts, as well as expectations for lower U.S. interest rates (which tend to weaken the dollar, which is the currency in which gold is priced). The outlook for Federal Reserve rate cuts also helps gold, as lower rates reduce the risk for a global economic recession and thus a potential decline in gold purchased for jewelry. Looking ahead, our forecast trading range for gold in 2024 is now $2,500-$1,800, and our average forecast for the year is now $2,200. This compares to average gold prices of $1,960 in 2023; $1,873 in 2022; $1,806 in 2021; $1781 in 2020; $1,400 in 2019; $1,265 in 2018; $1,277 in 2017; $1,258 in 2016; and $1,155 in 2015. As long as geopolitics and global economic uncertainty are part of the market conversation, gold is likely to remain at levels well above the historical averages of $1,150 since 2000 and $1,514 since 2010.

Barrick Gold engages in the production and sale of gold, including exploration, development, mining, and processing. Its operations are located in the United States, Canada, Australia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Tanzania, and Zambia. Barrick was founded in 1983 and is based in Toronto.

Based in Toronto, Barrick Gold is one of the world's largest gold miners. In 2023, the firm produced nearly 4.1 million attributable ounces of gold and about 420 million pounds of copper. At end 2023, Barrick had about two decades of gold reserves along with significant copper reserves. After buying Randgold in 2019 and combining its Nevada mines in a joint venture with competitor Newmont later that year, it operates mines in 19 countries in the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The company also has growing copper exposure. Its potential Reko Diq project in Pakistan, if developed, could double copper production by the end of the decade.