Following on from that last post, here are 50 companies that are exploring for gold. Some, like GOR are also developing a mine. GOR will be producing gold in 2019. Unlike my producers list above, some of the following explorers don't necesarily have gold as their main focus at any given time, but they all either own some gold in the ground (which may or may not be commercially viable to extract and process) and/or have communicated with shareholders that they were searching for gold deposits (during the past year). Most of these companies are pretty risky propositions to invest in. I have been in and out of a couple of them in my time, and made money on a few - and lost money on others.
Like with horse racing, you can narrow the odds by studying the form of these companies, their management and the geologists who work for them, and look at what they've achieved in the past. The ones who keep changing focus, like become tech companies, or biotechs, then switch back to being minerals exploration companies when a particular commodity price goes up, are usually the riskiest and often best avoided altogether. The ones who have a history of discovering and developing (or selling) commercial mineral deposits are rare, but worth following. There are a couple of those in the list below, but not many.
The best ones are often involved in JVs (joint ventures) with larger companies, to offset much of the risk - as often the larger companies pay most of the bills and require the smaller JLV partner to do most of the work. This is how OZL (OZ Minerals) are operating, using smaller companies like RDM (Red Metal) and MEP (Minotaur Exploration) to identify the targets, do the drilling, and evaluate the results, while OZL bankroll the work.
Other JVs involve the larger company (like SFR, Sandfire Resources) farming in to tenements owned by small companies (like AUR, ENT, TLM & GTE) where the larger company does all the work and pays for it all (or the vast majority of it) in exchange for earning a significant economic interest (often around 70%) of any commercial mineral deposits that are discovered. These JVs often operate in areas adjacent to existing operating mines and processing plants. For example, AUR, ENT, TLM & GTE all own land tenements surrounding SFR's DeGrussa copper/gold mine in WA, and rather than buy them all out, SFR is doing the exploration work on their tenements in exchange for a majority share (70%) of whatever commercially viable copper/gold deposits they discover. The smaller companies get to find out what is in their ground, usually without having to spend any of their own money, but the downside is they are giving most of it away in exchange for gaining that knowledge. This can be a viable option for small companies who have land assets but no money to properly explore them. Talisman (TLM) had a big win when SFR discovered the Monty deposit on TLM's land last year. Now SFR is buying TLM's 30% share of that land (the Springfield JV) for $72.3 million. TLM will then be cashed up and can use that money to explore their other prospects. They might even give some of it back to their shareholders (I hope, as I'm one of them). That's just one example of where these JVs can really pay off for the smaller partners, even though they're giving away most (like 70%) of a significant asset.
Anyway, here's the list. They are in very rough market cap order, from largest to smallest, but I haven't checked all of the prices for a few days, so some of them may have leapfrogged over others in the meantime.
ASX-listed explorers and mine developers who have gold assets or who have actively explored for gold in the past year:
I know there will be plenty more. I added two to that list just this morning. If you have any suggestions, please use this Dacian Gold general forum to make them, by clicking on "Reply" below.
As discussed in one of my DCN straws, I have a list of gold producers and a second of list of gold explorers and gold mine developers. I'm sure these lists aren't complete, because I keep finding more companies to add to them. If anyone has any suggestions or corrections, please pass them on via this general discussion forum.
This first list is of ASX-listed pure-play gold producers, in market cap (market capitalisation) order, from biggest down to smallest. This list does not include BHP, OZL, IGO, SFR or any other companies who produce gold as a byproduct of other production, or where gold is not their main commodity.
The order will change as share prices change, but was correct at close of trade on 19-Sep-2018.
Producers:
Those 29 all sold and/or produced gold in the quarter ending 30th June 2018.