Gold or gold shares?
Gold is up 52% year to date and barely shivered when US President Donald Trump announced 100% tariffs on Chinese imports.
That rattled markets somewhat but they quickly recovered when Trump saw the damage he had caused to markets (not to mention the insider trading that front-ran his social media posts) and then quickly appeared to soften his stance.
Is it better to own gold or gold stocks?
Actually, a bit of both seems to be appropriate.
Gold’s rise above $4,100 an ounce are the result of geopolitical tensions in Ukraine and the Middle East and the potential disruptions caused by a widening war in any of these theatres.
There’s something else more fundamental going on here: the US has wracked up a debt mountain of $37 trillion, a figure so staggeringly high there appears no way to pay it off. That means it will get booted down the road until the US defaults or, by some miracle, trades its way back to solvency. Where money expansion goes, inflation follows.
Gold has lived up to its vaunted status as a safe haven against this kind of madness. The weaker US dollar, down 10% so far this year, has been a gift to countries like China and India, which have been aggressively accumulating gold with cheaper US dollars, while Western ETF holdings have surged to nearly 3,900 tonnes, nearing 2020 peaks. Further buttressing demand are new Basel III rules treating gold as a Tier 1 asset equivalent to cash. That’s unlocked a new wave of institutional buying, with retail investors following behind.
The chart below shows how gold stocks have responded for the year to date (YTD).
| Rank | Company | YTD appreciation (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | — | 52% |
| 1 | Newmont (NEM) | 122 |
| 2 | Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) | 100 |
| 3 | Barrick Gold (GOLD) | 105 |
| 4 | Franco-Nevada (FNV) | 65 |
| 5 | Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM) | 82 |
| 6 | Kinross Gold (KGC) | 145 |
| 7 | Gold Fields (GFI) | 165 |
| 8 | AngloGold Ashanti (AU) | 199 |
| 9 | Northern Star Resources (NST.AX) | 75 |
| 10 | Evolution Mining (EVN.AX) | 125 |
The big performers here are AngloGold Ashanti, which only recently departed South Africa for London, and Gold Fields (also South African, though it only has one remaining operation in SA at South Deep).
The stocks above are ranked according to size.
Now let’s rank them according to year to date stock performance, including dividends:
| Rank | Company | YTD appreciation (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gold Fields (GFI) | 225 |
| 2 | AngloGold Ashanti (AU) | 230 |
| 3 | Ora Banda Mining (ESGFF) | 705 |
| 4 | Kinross Gold (KGC) | 143 |
| 5 | Orla Mining (ORLA) | 100 |
| 6 | Harmony Gold (HMY) | 68 |
| 7 | SSR Mining (SSRM) | 90 |
| 8 | Newmont (NEM) | 65 |
| 9 | Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM) | 97 |
| 10 | Wheaton Precious Metals (WPM) | 89 |
| Gold | — | 52% |
These are impressive returns by any measure.
Keep an eye on costs
For gold mining companies with significant cash reserves, now is an ideal time to explore growth opportunities. Newmont, the world’s top gold producer, generates over 6.7 million ounces annually from its operations across North America, Ghana, Argentina, Peru, and Suriname. With a cash reserve exceeding $6 billion—bolstered by robust free cash flows from record-high gold prices and $2.5 billion from selling non-core assets—Newmont is well-positioned for strategic moves.
Barrick Gold, the second-largest producer, operates in nearly 20 countries and produced 3.91 million ounces in 2024. However, its all-in sustaining costs (AISC) of $1,520 per ounce are relatively high compared to peers like Newmont ($1,450/oz), AngloGold Ashanti ($1,380/oz), Gold Fields ($1,320/oz), and Kinross Gold ($1,350/oz).
Notably, companies with lower AISC have outperformed in the stock market in 2025, with standouts including AngloGold Ashanti, Gold Fields, and Kinross Gold. While soaring gold prices can mask operational inefficiencies, these become evident when prices soften. Gold Fields reduced its AISC by 6.5% year-to-date, while Agnico Eagle leads with an AISC of $1,285/oz, driven by high-grade Canadian assets and disciplined operations.
For the gold sector as a whole, AISC has climbed 7–10% YoY to an industry average of $1,500–$1,600/oz due to inflation, labour shortages, and higher sustaining capital. This creates a "margin expansion" effect for low-AISC miners, with margins exceeding $1,600/oz for leaders.
Where to buy gold stocks
For South Africans, you can purchase AngloGold Ashanti and Gold Fields on the JSE, but the others you will have to purchase exchange traded funds (ETFs) such as Satrix Global Gold Miners ETF.
Physical gold vs. digital alternatives?
For gold investors, it's perfectly fine to maintain a mix of tangible gold holdings and shares in gold-related companies.
One drawback of owning physical gold is the ongoing expense for secure storage and insurance. Fortunately, innovative options now address this: Platforms like Mesh.Trade use blockchain technology to let users buy digital representations of gold (and silver) that are fully supported by actual physical metals, with the provider handling all storage and insurance fees. Similarly, Pax Gold provides a tokenised asset where each token corresponds to one troy ounce of pure gold, offering easy digital access without the hassles of physical possession.
Another convenient route is Troygold, which enables purchasing gold and using it as collateral for loans. Additionally, SA Mint, a division fully owned by the South African Reserve Bank, facilitates online buys of Krugerrand coins and gold bars, complete with built-in storage and insurance managed by the organisation.
