There are different methods by which gold mining companies are ranked. One is
by their annual production. Another is by their cash cost per ounce, that is,
how much money it costs them to mine the gold. Since gold prices are the same
everywhere, companies with lower costs per ounce make more profit. The most
common method lists by market capitalization which considers the total
value of capital holdings by that company. Also considered when comparing
companies is their market capitalization per ounce of gold equivalent which takes
the market value and total reserves and resources for each company as well as
the price of gold into consideration. The figures for each company can be used
to determine the value the stock market gives to each company's reserves on an
ounce to ounce basis. If the calculation is to exclude
financial assets the enterprise value is used instead of market capitalization.
EVO = Enterprise Value/Ounce = Enterprise Value divided by resources.
The enterprise value is the difference between a company's market
capitalization and its cash, investments less debt. Three of the 10 largest
companies by market cap that engage in gold mining, Fresnillo, Buenaventura and
Freeport-McMoran are not included in the first list because they are minor gold
producers/most of their revenue comes from a metal other than gold but gold
accounted for only 8% of revenue. World gold production declined by 50
tonnes in 2008 despite a strong showing in market price. Total production cash
costs were up 4.1% industrywide in the third quarter of 2010 to US$585 per
ounce of gold mined. The lower price of gold in 2013 is expected to impact gold
production in the coming years; Barrick Gold is slowing construction at one of
its largest gold projects Pascua Lama while in Australia mines are being
shuttered by companies in an attempt to curb costs.
In 2013, nine of the world's 14 major producing regions recorded growth in
output, they are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Indonesia, Mexico,
Papua New Guinea and Russia; In 2012 only Canada, China, Ghana, Mexico, Peru
and Russia produced more than the year before. In 2013, the world's five
leading gold producers, in order of total production were China, Australia,
US, Russia, South Africa. In 2011, all of the world's 14 major producing
countries recorded growth in output except for Peru, Indonesia and Brazil;
list was led by China, Australia, USA, Russia, South Africa. South Africa's
drop in output is not a result of resource depletion but rather high
production costs. The Big 10
Sources and other information 2008 ranking Gold Strategist
total resource [1] 1 tonne = 1000 kg = 2204.6 lbs =
35,273.9619 ounces; 1 ton = 2000 lbs = 32,000 ounces
Newcrest Mining started including Lihir Gold assets in mid-2010.
Metrics such as cash costs, revenue for years prior to 2011 were changed due to
the transition in accounting standards from Generally Accepted Accounting
Principles to International Financial Reporting Standards.
For 2012 Barrick Gold's overall losses can be attributed to a $4 billion
writedown on copper assets incurred during the final quarter.
Gold Fields production down due to unbundling of certain assets in South
Africa into a newly created company called Sibanye Gold.
3 of the companies took on major writedowns on their assets in the last
quarter of 2011 and that affected their annual profits.
Newmont operates Australia's two biggest gold mines, Boddington and Kalgoorlie.
On July 25, 2011 Polyus Gold and KazakhGold merged.
In 2013 Goldcorp, Newmont, Newcrest, Kinross, AngloGold, and Eldorado
produced more gold than the previous year. In 2012 it was Yamana, Kinross,
and Polyus Gold that produced more. In 2011 it was Newmont, Newcrest, Kinross
and Eldorado. November 8, 2012 - Goldcorp overtakes
Barrick Gold in market value. Canadian companies
Even though Canada lags far behind its counterparts in its amount of central
bank gold reserves, Canadian companies dominate the industry. These companies
are big players in the Canadian industry which ranks 7th globally but rely mostly
on assets in foreign countries. In fact 75% of the world's mining companies are
headquartered in Canada. Canada's biggest undeveloped gold deposit is the
Kerr Sulphurets Mitchell copper-gold property in northwestern British
Columbia; It holds 38.2 million ounces of gold. Another project in the Detour
Lake area of Ontario ranks 4th among North America's deposits. Among the
largest gold containing properties controlled by Canadian companies is
Goldcorp's wholly owned billion ounce silver, 18 million ounce gold Penasquito
mine in Mexico and Ivanhoe Mines' 81.3 billion pound copper, 46.4 million ounce
gold Oyu Tolgoi deposit in Mongolia. Barrick Gold owns 50% of Super Pit,
Australia's biggest gold mine. In 2013, 60% of the country's gold
output came from six mines, they are Red Lake 493,000 oz, Malartic 475,277 oz,
Meadowbank 430,613 oz, Porcupine 291,900 oz, Musselwhite 256,300 oz, Detour Lake
232,287 oz. As of September 2009, there were 20
companies in the country with a market cap of 1 billion dollars or more.
Barrick Gold Corp. is the country's largest gold mining company by several
measures of size. After growing 3.35% on the year, on November 8, 2012 Goldcorp
leapfrogs Barrick Gold in capitalization - Barrick lost 25% of its market value
that year. In the following table are Canada's 10 highest valued gold mining
companies for 2010 as well as 6 other mid cap companies.
Notes - Kinross Gold was 13.50 billion in May before it acquired Red Back
Mining. Osisko Mining was $10 million in 2005 and $3.5 billion May 2010.
South Africa The world's 5th largest gold producer
that is home to 2 of world's 10 largest gold mines. As recently as 2007 South
Africa was the world's top gold producer. The drop in its global ranking
is not due to resource depletion but rather to its high costs of production.
In fact South Africa has the highest mining cash costs among all major
producing regions. Notable South African gold companies
include: AngloGold Ashanti - world's 3rd biggest
gold producer at 3.944 million ounces in 2012. AngloGold is also South Africa's
largest producer of uranium, a position that was strengthened in July 2011 when
it acquired 20% of Canada's First Uranium.
Gold Fields - produced 2.2 million ounces of gold in 2013, down from 3.254
million ounces on the year ended June 30, 2012; 2011 production roughly the
same as 2010. Its largest new mine has the potential to produce at a rate of 1
million ounces annually. It is South Africa's second leading producer. During
2013 the company spun off some of its assets into a new company called Sibanye
Gold. Harmony Gold - was the 5th largest
producer of gold in 2008 in 2008 compared to 1.56 million in fiscal 2010)
Forbes Global 2000 The Forbes Global 2000 list is produced
annually by Forbes. Compiling information about each of the 2000
largest companies globally it ranks them. These are all of the gold
companies that made the list in 2014. Companies that dropped out of the list,
2014: Anglogold Ashanti, Yamana, Gold Fields, Kinross, Buenaventura, Shandong
Mining, Eldorado; 2013: Iamgold; 2012: Agnico Eagle Mines.
It ranks them based on a number of factors, the top companies on its list
aren't necessarily the biggest. The other statistics are based on the
12-month period ending March 2014 for companies based in the United States,
Canada and Bermuda. For all other companies, the data comes from the last
fiscal year period. Source: May 13, 2014: The Global 2000
References