Discover how you can make higher profits in gold investing — and minimize your risks

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When the economy is weak, gold’s popularity rises. As an informed Canadian investor, you’ve likely noticed that this has been the case in the wake of the …read more »

Gold now trades at $1,240.70 U.S. an ounce. That’s up 32.7% from $935 a year ago, but down from its all-time high of $1,256.50 U.S., where it closed on June 18, 2010.

Investor fears about European sovereign debt — Greek and Spanish debt in particular — have been a major factor in gold’s recent rise. These fears are prompting more …read more »

There’s no limit to the range of investment questions that members of Pat McKeough’s Inner Circle get to ask me and my investment associates.

Most members ask us about specific investments (such as stocks, exchange-traded funds and income trusts), that they are thinking of buying or selling. However, members ask us a wide range of other types of investment questions, …read more »

Gold is currently trading at around $1,183 U.S. an ounce. That’s up 4% from April 19, 2010, when it was trading at around $1,138 U.S. an ounce, but still short of gold’s all-time high of $1,214.80 U.S., which it reached in late 2009.

Gold’s recent rise has partly been driven by investor fears about European sovereign debt — Greek debt in …read more »

NEWMONT MINING $54.09 (New York symbol NEM; Shares outstanding: 483.0 million; Market cap: $26.1 billion; SI Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 0.7%) expects its gold production to rise 5% to 10% this year. Its new Boddington gold mine in Australia, which started operating in July 2009, is the main reason. Boddington’s reserves should last over 24 years.

Newmont remains our top …read more »

NEWMONT MINING CORP. $50 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 491.0 million; Market cap: $24.6 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.3; Dividend yield: 0.8%; WSSF Rating: Average) is one of the world’s largest gold-mining companies. It has major mines in the U.S., Australia and Peru.

Gold accounts for about 85% of Newmont’s revenue. The remaining 15% comes from …read more »

Right now, gold is trading at roughly $1,125 U.S. an ounce. That’s down from its all-time high of $1,214.80 U.S., which it reached in late 2009. But it’s still far above the fall 2008 price of roughly $700 U.S.

We think gold could well move higher in the long term, although it will continue to be volatile. Rising gold would …read more »

EUROPEAN GOLDFIELDS $6.55 (Toronto symbol EGU; SI Rating: Speculative) (44 (20) 7408 9534; www.egoldfields.com; Shares outstanding: 181.8 million; Market cap: $1.2 billion; No dividends paid) holds a 95% interest in Hellas Gold.

Hellas owns three gold and base-metal deposits in northern Greece: the Stratoni zinc/lead/silver property, the Olympias gold/zinc/lead/silver project and the Skouries copper/gold property.

European Goldfields also owns 80% of the …read more »

NEWMONT MINING $51.94 (New York symbol NEM; Shares outstanding: 483.0 million; Market cap: $25.1 billion; SI Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 0.8%) reports that its 2009 earnings jumped 71.6%, to $1.4 billion from $792.0 million in 2008. The company sold common shares to raise funds to buy the one-third of the Boddington gold mine in Australia that it didn’t already own. …read more »

SHORE GOLD $0.89 (Toronto symbol SGF; SI Rating: Start-up) (306-664-2202; www.shoregold.com; Shares outstanding: 224.5 million; Market cap: $199.8 million) released positive results from a prefeasibility study on its 100%-owned Star diamond project and the nearby 60%-held Orion South project in Saskatchewan. Newmont Mining owns the other 40% of Orion South, plus 9.9% of Shore’s common shares.

The study projects that a …read more »

Last week, Newmont Mining (symbol NEM on New York), one of the world’s biggest gold producers, said that it believes that gold could rise as high as $1,350 U.S. an ounce this year. Gold has fallen from the all-time high of $1,214.80 U.S. that it reached in late 2009, and now trades around $1,092 U.S.

We cover Newmont in our …read more »

NEW GOLD $4.43 (Toronto symbol NGD; SI Rating: Speculative) (888-315-9715; www.newgold.com; Shares outstanding: 388.8 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion; No dividends paid) has entered into an agreement with Goldcorp over the El Morro gold/copper project in Chile.

Barrick Gold had previously agreed to pay $465 million for Xstrata plc’s 70% stake in El Morro.

Instead, New Gold will exercise its right of …read more »

We’ve analyzed junior gold and mineral stocks for many years in Stock Pickers Digest, our newsletter for more aggressive investors.

Many of our picks have shot up during the recent rise in gold from around $700 U.S. an ounce in the fall of 2008 to a recent peak of above $1,200 U.S. Gold has since dropped by about $100. But …read more »

YAMANA GOLD $12.93 (Toronto symbol YRI; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-815-0220; www.yamana.com; Shares outstanding: 733.3 million; Market cap: $9.5 billion; Dividend yield: 0.3%) owns six operating gold mines in Brazil, Chile and Argentina. It also holds interests in five properties that are still under development.

In the three months ended September 30, 2009, Yamana posted revenue of $333.2 million. That’s up 50.3% …read more »

Three years ago, when gold was at half of today’s price, we said that the best way to profit in gold was through junior miners that were increasing production by adding new mines.

Our picks have done just that. Plus, they are generating lots of cash flow with rising gold prices. Here’s how they look today:

European Goldfields $7.33, Toronto symbol EGU, …read more »

Last week, Barrick Gold (symbol ABX on Toronto) said that its research shows that global gold production has been falling by roughly one million ounces a year since 2000. Barrick is the world’s largest gold-mining company.

Moreover, the company says that poorer-quality ore has driven down total global mine supply by roughly 10%. In Canada, the U.S, and Australia, for example, …read more »

With commodity prices on an upswing, many investors have turned their attention to companies that produce and explore for minerals. These include Canadian gold stocks, especially in light of gold’s recent rise to over $1,030 U.S. an ounce.

(In the current Stock Pickers Digest, we take a close look at a junior gold explorer we’ve recommended in the past. It …read more »

MIRANDA GOLD $0.44 (Toronto symbol MAD; SI Rating: Start-up) (604-689-1659; www.mirandagold.com; Shares outstanding: 44.9 million; Market cap: $19.5 million) explores for gold, mainly in the Cortez Trend and Battle Mountain-Eureka regions of Nevada. Miranda has 13 properties in various stages of production in these areas, which are two of the world’s most productive gold belts.

The company takes part in a …read more »

EUROPEAN GOLDFIELDS $6.05 (Toronto symbol EGU; SI Rating: Speculative) (44 (20) 7408 9534; www.egoldfields.com; Shares outstanding: 179.9 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion) has won preliminary approval to build mines at its Skouries copper/gold property and its Olympias gold/zinc/lead/silver project. Both are located in Greece.

European Goldfields holds a 65% interest in Hellas Gold, which owns three gold and base-metal deposits in …read more »

STREETTRACKS GOLD SHARES $99.91 (New York symbol GLD; SI Rating: Speculative) (www.streettracksgoldshares.com; 1-866-320-4053; Shares outstanding: 353.1 million; Market cap: $35.3 billion) is an investment trust that aims to reflect the price of gold bullion, less the trust’s expenses.

StreetTRACKS Gold Shares only hold gold bullion, and, from time to time, cash.

Unlike stocks, commodity investments, such as gold bullion, do not generate …read more »

Gold has been attracting investor interest because it recently broke out of the $930 to $960 U.S. range that it had been trading in and climbed over $1,000.

The last time gold was over $1,000 was last March. In November, it dropped to $700 as stock-market prices fell sharply.

Many investors see investing in gold as a safe haven

We feel that …read more »

NEWMONT MINING CORP. $39 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 490 million; Market cap: $19.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 3.4; WSSF Rating: Average) earned $213 million, or $0.43 a share, in the three months ended June 30, 2009. That’s down 3.6% from the $221 million, or $0.50 a share, it earned the previous year. The latest …read more »

Gold rose from $300 an ounce at the beginning of this decade to over $1,000 in early 2008. It fell below $700 late last year before rebounding back over $1,000 earlier this year. Today, it trades around $954.

We feel that gold will eventually surpass its recent highs. That’s mainly because low interest rates and government spending will spur inflation.

Still, investors …read more »

IAMGOLD $12 (Toronto symbol IMG; SI Rating: Speculative) (1-888-464-9999; www.iamgold.com; Shares outstanding: 367.2 million; Market cap: $4.4 billion) has interests in seven operating gold mines: 100% of the Mupane mine in Botswana; 38% of the Sadiola mine and 40% of the Yatela mine, both located in Mali; 18.9% interests in both the Tarkwa and Damang mines in Ghana; 100% of …read more »

NEWMONT MINING $42.18 (New York symbol NEM; Shares outstanding: 479.0 million; Market cap: $20.2 billion; SI Rating: Average) has completed the purchase of the 33.3% of the new Boddington gold mine, in western Australia, that it does not already own from AngloGold Ashanti. Newmont paid $1.1 billion.

Newmont took advantage of rising gold prices earlier this year to sell $517.5 million …read more »

Gold could eventually surpass its recent highs of over $1,000 U.S. an ounce. That’s mainly because investors fear that low interest rates and government stimulus spending will spur inflation. Gold prices should also continue to gain as the credit crisis makes it harder for gold companies to fund new projects and expand production.

High gold prices will push up the …read more »

CENTERRA GOLD $5.19 (Toronto symbol CG; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-204-1953; www.centerragold.com; Shares outstanding: 216.3 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion) is still negotiating with the government of Kyrgyzstan over Centerra’s Kumtor gold mine. The parties are negotiating the size of the government’s stake in Kumtor, as well as a new tax regime for the mine.

The country’s finance minister, Marat Sultanov, recently …read more »

If you are interested in gold investing, we recommend staying away from buying gold bullion, coins (unless you collect them as a hobby) or certificates representing an interest in bullion. Unlike stocks, commodity investments like gold bullion do not generate income. Instead, they come with a continuing cash drain, for management, insurance and so on.

However, if you do want …read more »

Gold moved up from $300 an ounce in the early part of this decade to over $1,000 in 2008. It fell to $700 in November 2008 as the stock market bottomed out. Like the stock market, gold has regained some of its losses and now trades at around $900.

We feel gold could eventually surpass its recent highs with a corresponding …read more »

NEW GOLD $2.18 (Toronto symbol NGD; SI Rating: Speculative) (888-315-9715; www.newgold.com; Shares outstanding: 212.8 million; Market cap: $463.9 million) has agreed to buy Western Goldfields (symbol WGI on Toronto) in a $292-million friendly takeover offer. New Gold is offering one of its shares and $0.0001 in cash for each share of Western Goldfields. New Gold will issue a total of …read more »

CAMECO CORP. $21.22 (Toronto symbol CCO; SI Rating: Extra Risk) (306-956-6200; www.cameco.com; Shares outstanding: 392.4 million; Market cap: $8.3 billion) is the world’s largest uranium producer. Its large, high-grade reserves and low-cost operations, significant market position and access to other supplies of uranium give it a strong competitive position. Cameco is also one of three commercial converters of enriched uranium …read more »

EUROPEAN GOLDFIELDS $3.53 (Toronto symbol EGU; SI Rating: Speculative) (44 (20) 7408 9534; www.egoldfields.com; Shares outstanding: 179.4 million; Market cap: $633.2 million) holds a 95% interest in Hellas Gold.

Hellas owns three gold and base-metal deposits in northern Greece: the Stratoni zinc/ lead/silver property, the Olympias gold/zinc/lead/silver project and the Skouries copper/gold property.

Production at Stratoni started in September 2005. Permits to …read more »

CENTERRA GOLD $5.30 (Toronto symbol CG; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-204-1953; www.centerragold.com; Shares outstanding: 216.3 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion) owns 100% of the large Kumtor gold mine in Kyrgyzstan and 100% of the Boroo gold mine in Mongolia.

Centerra also holds joint-venture exploration prospects in Nevada, Turkey and Russia, and 100% of the Gatsuurt property in Mongolia. Cameco Corp. owns 53% …read more »

Gold is now at $978 U.S. an ounce, up 36% since November 2008. That’s mainly because investors fear that low interest rates and government stimulus spending will spur inflation. Gold should also continue to gain as the credit crisis makes it harder for gold companies to fund new projects and increase production.

We still think the best way to participate in …read more »

NEWMONT MINING $39.99 (New York symbol NEM; Shares outstanding: 477.6 million; Market cap: $19.1 billion; SI Rating: Average) has agreed to buy the 33.3% of the new Boddington gold mine, in western Australia, that it does not already own from AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. Newmont will pay $1.1 billion.

Boddington will begin operating later this year, and will increase Newmont’s annual production …read more »

NEWMONT MINING CORP. $39 (New York symbol NEM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Resources sector; Shares outstanding: 454.3 million; Market cap: $17.7 billion; Price to- sales ratio: 3.4; WSSF Rating: Average) is one of the world’s largest gold mining companies, with major operating gold mines in the United States, Canada, Australia, Peru, Bolivia and Ghana. Gold accounts for about 85% of Newmont’s …read more »

Gold moved up from $300 an ounce in the early part of this decade to over $1,000 in 2008. It fell to $700 in November 2008 as the stock market bottomed out. Like the stock market, gold has regained some of its losses and now trades at around $900.

We feel gold will eventually surpass its recent highs. We also feel …read more »

NORTHGATE MINERALS CORP. $1.24 (Toronto symbol NGX; SI Rating: Speculative) (604-681-4004; www.northgateminerals.ca; Shares outstanding: 255.7 million; Market cap: $317.0 million) owns and operates the Kemess South open-pit mine in north-central B.C. However, Northgate expects to exhaust the ore at Kemess South in late 2010.

To replace production from Kemess South, Northgate bought Australian gold miner Perseverance Corp. last year for $257 …read more »

HECLA MINING COMPANY $2.23 (New York symbol HL; SI Rating: Extra risk) (208-769-4100; www.hecla-mining.com; Shares outstanding: 169.5 million; Market cap: $378.0 million) explores for, mines and processes silver and gold in the U.S. and Mexico.

Earlier this year, the company paid Rio Tinto plc $750 million for the 70.3% interest in the Greens Creek mine in Alaska that it didn’t already …read more »

Gold stocks look attractive to many investors in a time of global turmoil in financial markets and stock markets. But our view all along has been that gold stocks are rarely if ever an attractive place to invest, compared to other resource-sector investments like oils and other mines, and there is no compelling reason to put up with the disadvantages …read more »

CENTERRA GOLD $4.02 (Toronto symbol CG; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-204-1953; www.centerragold.com; Shares outstanding: 216.3 million; Market cap: $869.6 million), continues to negotiate with the government of Kyrgyzstan over the size of the government’s proposed stake in Centerra’s Kumtor mine, as well as the mine’s tax regime.

Centerra and Cameco (which owns 53% of Centerra) and the Kyrgyz government were scheduled to …read more »

EUROPEAN GOLDFIELDS $3.06 (Toronto symbol EGU; SI Rating: Speculative) (44 (20) 7408 9534; www.egoldfields.com; Shares outstanding: 179.4 million; Market cap: $548.9 million) holds a 95% interest in Hellas Gold. Hellas owns three gold and base metal deposits in Northern Greece. The deposits are the Stratoni zinc/ lead/silver property, the Olympias gold/zinc/lead/silver project and the Skouries copper/gold property.

Production started at Stratoni …read more »

NEW GOLD $4.20 (Toronto symbol NGD; SI Rating: Speculative) (888-315-9715; www.newgold.com; Shares outstanding: 212.1 million; Market cap: $891.0 million) is the result of the merger completed on June 30, 2008 of three companies: Peak Gold, symbol PIK on Toronto, Metallica Resources, symbol MR on Toronto, and New Gold, symbol NGD on Toronto.

New Gold operates three mines: the Peak gold/ copper …read more »

IAMGOLD $5.94 (Toronto symbol IMG; SI Rating: Speculative) (1-888-464-9999; www.iamgold.com; Shares outstanding: 295.6 million; Market cap: $1.8 billion) has interests in eight operating gold mines: 100% of the Mupane gold mine in Botswana, 38% of the Sadiola gold mine and 40% of the Yatela gold mine, both located in Mali, 18.9% interests in both the Tarkwa and Damang gold mines …read more »

YAMANA GOLD $9.99 (Toronto symbol YRI; SI Rating: Speculative) (416-815-0220; www.yamana.com; Shares outstanding: 699.5 million; Market cap: $7.0 billion) owns and operates seven operating mines in five countries in North and South America, along with interests in two others plus five development stage properties. It also holds extensive exploration properties.

Yamana’s revenues in the three months ended June 30, 2008 rose …read more »

Gold hit a high of $850 an ounce in 1980, then worked its way downward for 25 years. It began rising again in 2002, and rose to a record high of $1,011 in March 2008.

Gold moved down after that March high, to a recent low of $750. That, in turn, pushed gold mining stocks down. However, gold recently jumped $66 …read more »

NEWMONT MINING $41.39 (New York symbol NEM; SI Rating: Average) aims to start operations at its 66.7%-owned Boddington gold mine in Australia in early 2009. The $2 billion mine is now 77% complete.

With forecast annual production of one million ounces of gold and 30,000 tonnes of copper for at least 15 years, Boddington should expand Newmont’s annual production by around …read more »

HECLA MINING COMPANY $8.71 (New York symbol HL; SI Rating: Extra risk) (208-769-4100; www.hecla-mining.com; Shares outstanding: 127.4 million; Market cap: $1.1 billion) explores for, mines and processes silver and gold in the U.S. and Mexico. The Idaho-based company has been in business for 117 years.

Hecla produced 5.6 million ounces of silver in 2007, mostly from its 29.7%-owned Greens Creek mine …read more »

NEW GOLD $7.95 (Toronto symbol NGD; SI Rating: Speculative) (888-315-9715; www.newgold.com; Shares outstanding: 211.9 million; Market cap: $1.7 billion) is the new name for Peak Gold, formerly symbol PIK on Toronto.

New Gold is the result of the merger of three companies: Peak Gold, Metallica Resources, symbol MR on Toronto, and New Gold, symbol NGD on Toronto. Under the terms of …read more »

IMPERIAL METALS $8.15 (Toronto symbol III; SI Rating: Speculative) (604-669-8959; ww.imperialmetals.com; Shares outstanding: 32.6 million; Market cap: $266.1 million) can now proceed with further development at its Red Chris copper and gold mine in northeast B.C.

The Canadian Federal Court of Appeal has overturned a lower court decision that had blocked environmental approvals for the mine. Environmental group MiningWatch Canada had …read more »