Newmont Is Our Top Gold Stock

Article Excerpt

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 by at least 10%. It should also immediately add to the Newmont’s earnings. Boddington’s reserves should last 20 years, so owning all of it enhances Newmont’s long-term prospects. Gold is now just over $900 an ounce, up 30% since November 2008. That’s mainly because investors fear that low interest rates and government stimulus spending will spur inflation. Gold should continue to gain as the credit crisis makes it harder for gold companies to fund new projects and expand production. Newmont Mining is a buy for aggressive investors. investors…