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The price of gold soared to record highs during Q2, reaching US$2,450.05 per ounce on May 19.
The metal’s historic gains were due to several factors, including waning inflationary figures out of the US and speculation that an improving economic outlook would cause the Federal Reserve to begin cutting interest rates. Gold also saw continued momentum from central bank buying in April and slower outflows to western exchange-traded funds.
However, the gold price saw its biggest drop in two years at the beginning of June as a strong US jobs report cut the likelihood of a September rate cut, and the People’s Bank of China reported it made no gold purchases in May.
The precious metal saw further declines through June as the US dollar and bond yields both gained strength. making gold a less attractive option for investors. Despite the fall, gold remains near historic levels, trading above US$2,300.
What has this price activity meant for gold stocks trading on the TSX? The list below outlines the five biggest gainers so far this year. Data for this article was retrieved on June 25, 2024, using TradingView’s stock screener, and only companies with market capitalizations greater than C$50 million are included.
1. Galiano Gold (TSX:GAU)
Year-to-date gain: 87.9 percent; market cap: C$597.2 million; share price: C$2.33
Galiano Gold is a gold producer that is operating and developing the Asanko gold mine.
Asanko is located on the Asankrangwa Gold Belt in Ghana and consists of four open-pit mining areas: Abore, Miradani North, Nkran and Esaase. The site hosts a 5.8 million metric ton (MT) per year carbon-in-leach processing plant and, according to a February 2023 feasibility study, has proven and probable reserves of 2.07 million ounces of gold.
Asanko was previously a joint venture in which both Galiano and Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) owned 45 percent and the government of Ghana owned 10 percent. However, in late 2023, Galiano entered into a binding agreement with Gold Fields to acquire its 45 percent interest. The deal, which closed on March 4, saw Gold Fields receive 19.9 percent of Galiano shares, US$65 million and a 1 percent net smelter return royalty capped at 447,000 ounces of gold from the Nkran deposit.
In an announcement on March 11, Galiano reported high-grade results from infill drilling at Asanko’s Abore deposit, with one hole producing grades of 12.4 grams per MT (g/t) gold over 45 meters from a depth of 191 meters.
The company used the results from the drill program to update Abore’s resource estimate — on April 16 it reported a 38 percent increase to the site’s measured and indicated resource for a total of 658,000 ounces from 15.6 million MT grading 1.31 g/t gold. On the same day, Galiano said 2024 guidance for the Asanko gold mine is expected to be within the 140,000 to 160,000 ounce range, with an all-in sustaining cost of US$1,600 to US$1,750 per ounce.
The company followed this announcement with its Q1 financial results, reporting production of 30,386 ounces, with production expected to ramp up in the second half of the year after the completion of waste stripping. It also said it had generated US$65.5 million in revenue from the sale of 31,840 ounces of gold at an average price of US$2,056 per ounce.
Shares of Galiano reached their year-to-date high of C$2.51 on May 28.
2. G2 Goldfields (TSX:GTWO)
Year-to-date gain: 85.33 percent; market cap: C$293.10 million; share price: C$1.39
G2 Goldfields is a gold exploration and development company that is working to advance projects in South America and West Africa. The company’s founders were previously part of Guyana Goldfields, where they were involved in the discovery, financing and development of the Aurora gold mine, which is Guyana’s largest gold mine. Chinese company Zijin Mining (OTC Pink:ZIJMF,SHA:601899) completed its acquisition of Guyana Goldfields in 2020.
G2’s flagship Oko-Aremu District is a 27,719 acre property located in Guyana’s Cuyuni Mining District. The project boasts 17 kilometers of prospective strike. To date, the company has drilled 235 holes.
Shares of G2 saw gains following a news release on April 3, when it announced an updated resource estimate. The company reported a 320 percent increase in indicated gold quantities to 922,000 ounces, and a 69 percent increase in total contained gold to 2 million ounces from the combined Oko Main zone and Ghanie zone.
The company said the maiden resource estimate for Ghanie is a step toward realizing the scale of the Oko gold system.
In a follow-up announcement on April 8, G2 reported that it had received final approval to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and would no longer be trading on the TSX Venture Exchange. The company said the graduation would provide it with better access to institutional investors and international capital.
In the most recent update from the Oko-Aremu project on June 25, G2 announced that diamond drilling was continuing to expand the Ghanie zone, including at depth, reporting that it had encountered a highlighted intersection of 9.7 g/t gold over 10 meters at a depth of 628 meters.
Shares of G2 Goldfields reached a year-to-date high of C$1.41 on May 30.
3. Perpetua Resources (TSX:PPTA)
Year-to-date gain: 81.37 percent; market cap: C$564.13 million; share price: C$7.69
Perpetua Resources is an exploration and development company focused on the advancement of its Stibnite gold project in Central Idaho, US. The project lies within a historic mining district that hosted large-scale operations dating back to the early 1900s. Perpetua is working to reclaim the historic Yellow Pine and Hangar flat open-pit mines, while also reprocessing historic tailings and restoring streams and fish migration routes on the site.
A November 2020 feasibility study shows an after-tax net present value of US$1.9 billion based on an average gold price of US$1,850 per ounce, providing for an internal rate of return of 27.7 percent and a payback period of 2.5 years. Total gold recovery is pegged at 4.28 million ounces of gold over a 15 year mine life with annual recovery of 301,000 ounces.
The site also hosts significant amounts of antimony, which is classed as a critical mineral, with measured and indicated quantities of 205.89 million pounds. This has allowed the company to secure funding from the US government under the Defense Production Act, with the most recent US$34.6 million being awarded on February 12.
Perpetua is currently awaiting a decision on its environmental impact statement, which it expects during the second half of 2024. Permitting and construction for the project is expected in 2025, with the first production slated for 2028.
On March 21, the company announced it had received US$8.5 million from Franco-Nevada (TSX:FNV,NYSE:FNV) in exchange for a royalty on all payable silver revenue over the life of the mine.
The most recent funding news came on April 8, when the company announced it had received a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the US for potential debt financing up to US$1.8 billion through the bank’s Make More in America program and its China and Transformational Exports program.
Shares of Perpetua reached a year-to-date high of C$9.42 on June 3.
4. G Mining Ventures (TSX:GMIN)
Year-to-date gain: 69.72 percent; market cap: C$1.08 million; share price: C$2.41
G Mining Ventures is a gold development and mining company that is working to complete the Tocantinzinho mine in the Tapajos region of Brazil. It is expected to begin commercial production in the second half of 2024.
In a February 2022 feasibility study, the company reported an after-tax net present value of US$622 million with an internal rate of return of 24 percent at a gold price of US$1,600 per ounce. According to the document, the project hosts measured and indicated reserves of 2 million ounces of gold.
Shares of G Mining soared following a release on June 11, when the company began the hot commissioning process after receiving the necessary permits from the Para State Environmental Agency. The permits allow G Mining to begin processing ore at the site, as well as disposing of tailings and selling and exporting gold.
The company said Tocantinzinho is 97 percent complete and is on budget and on schedule to come online in H2. When fully operational, the mine will produce 175,000 ounces of gold per year with a 10.5 year mine life.
G Mining’s share price reached a year-to-date high of C$2.41 on June 26.
5. Mineros (TSX:MSA)
Year-to-date gain: 67.69 percent; market cap: C$321.28 million; share price: C$1.09
Mineros is a mid-tier gold producer focused on Latin America.
Its primary assets are the Nechi alluvial mine in Colombia and the Hemco property in Nicaragua. Nechi features a cyanide- and mercury-free recovery extraction process using gold-hosted sands mined from closed ponds. In its 2023 management’s discussion and analysis report, released on February 15, the company indicates that 2023 production at Nechi totaled 93,756 ounces of gold, an increase of 1,372 ounces over 2022.
The company’s Hemco operations consist of the Panama and Pioneer mines, and have an arrangement in place to process ore from third-party artisanal miners. Production for 2023 reached a total of 125,951 ounces of gold, an increase of 6,569 ounces of gold compared to 2022. Mineros is expecting to begin production from the Porvenir satellite deposit at Hemco in 2027, which it says will add 44,700 ounces of gold output per year.
On May 19, Mineros released its operating results for the first quarter of the year. In the announcement, the company reported producing 51,741 ounces of gold during the quarter, a 14 percent decrease from the 60,248 ounces produced in Q1 2023. The decline was due to the discontinued operation at its Gualcamayo property in Argentina. However, its production at its current assets is still up year-on-year, as they combined for 50,609 ounces in Q1 2023.
Mineros reached its year-to-date high of C$1.25 on April 18.
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
