Gold breached the US$2,200 per ounce mark in the first three months of the year, and reached its quarterly high of US$2,264.37 on March 31 — at the time a new record for the yellow metal.
At the start of the year, market participants thought the US Federal Reserve might begin cutting interest rates in March, but a February bump in inflation prompted the central bank to continue its higher-for-longer strategy.
Heading into the second quarter, a turnaround from the Fed isn’t expected until the summer. However, commentary from the Fed’s March meeting indicates that officials still believe three rate cuts are likely in 2024.
Gold also saw further upward momentum from continued geopolitical instability, particularly from a tense situation in the Middle East, where the conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza shows no signs of abatement.
An Israeli attack on international aid workers in Gaza at the start of Q2 coincided with another price rise, with gold approaching the US$2,300 mark at the beginning of April; it then set an all-time high of US$2,364.72 on April 9.
Against that backdrop, some TSX-listed gold stocks have responded positively. The list below outlines the five biggest gainers so far this year. Data for this article was retrieved on April 2, 2024, using TradingView’s stock screener, and only companies with market capitalizations greater than C$50 million are included.
1. Serabi Gold (TSX:SBI)
Year-to-date gain: 76 percent; market cap: C$87.15 million; current share price: C$1.32
Serabi Gold is a mining company focused on the Tapajós region in Northern Brazil.
Its flagship operation is the Palito complex, which features the Palito and Sao Chico underground mines, along with an approximately 500 metric ton (MT) per day processing plant that produces 30,000 to 40,000 ounces of gold per year. In a July 2023 mineral resource estimate, the company reported that Palito and Sao Chico have total measured and indicated resources of 339,300 and 38,400 ounces of contained gold, respectively.
In addition to Palito, the company is working on the Coringa gold project. It currently hosts limited production with ore being processed at Palito. On January 31, the company reported that the trial mining license for Coringa had been renewed for three years. The permit will allow the company to transport 50,000 MT of ore per year to be processed at the Palito complex. Aside from that, the company said in the announcement that it had secured permits to install a planned crusher and sorter, which it expects to be operational during the fourth quarter of 2024.
Once everything is in place, the company estimates that Coringa will produce 25,000 to 30,000 ounces of gold per year.
Shares of Serabi reached a quarterly high of C$1.45 on March 27.
2. Mineros (TSX:MSA)
Year-to-date gain: 69.23 percent; market cap: C$334.18 million; current share price: C$1.10
Mineros is a mid-tier gold producer focused on Latin America.
Its primary assets are the Nechi alluvial mine in Colombia and the Hemco property in Nicaragua. Nechi features a cyanide- and mercury-free recovery extraction process using gold-hosted sands mined from closed ponds. In its 2023 management’s discussion and analysis report, released on February 15, the company indicates that 2023 production at Nechi totaled 93,756 ounces of gold, an increase of 1,372 ounces over 2022.
The company’s Hemco operations consist of the Panama and Pioneer mines, and also have an arrangement to process ore from third-party artisanal miners. Production for 2023 reached a total of 125,951 ounces of gold, an increase of 6,569 ounces of gold compared to 2022. Mineros is expecting to begin production from the Porvenir satellite deposit at Hemco in 2027, which it says will add 44,700 ounces of gold output per year.
Mineros has risen alongside the gold price since the start of March and hit a quarterly high of C$1.04 on March 28.
3. Galiano Gold (TSX:GAU)
Year-to-date gain: 62.9 percent; market cap: C$471.51 million; current share price: C$2.02
Galiano Gold is a gold producer that is operating and developing the Asanko gold mine.
Asanko is located on the Asankrangwa Gold Belt in Ghana and consists of four open-pit mining areas: Abore, Miradani North, Nkran and Esaase. The site hosts a 5.8 million MT per year carbon-in-leach processing plant and, according to a March 2023 technical report, has proven and probable mineral reserves of 2.07 million ounces of gold.
On February 16, the company released its operating results for the fourth quarter of 2023 and full year, reporting that it produced 134,077 ounces of gold, exceeding its guidance.
Asanko was previously a joint venture in which both Galiano and Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) owned 45 percent and the government of Ghana owned 10 percent. However, in late 2023, Galiano entered into a binding agreement with Gold Fields to acquire its 45 percent interest. The deal, which closed on March 4, saw Gold Fields receive 19.9 percent of Galiano shares, US$65 million and a 1 percent net smelter return royalty capped at 447,000 ounces of gold from the Nkran deposit.
In its most recent news release on March 11, Galiano reported high-grade results from infill drilling at Asanko’s Abore deposit, with one hole producing grades of 12.4 g/t gold over 45 meters from a depth of 191 meters. The company said the results from the drill program will be used to update Abore’s mineral resource and reserve estimates and to provide 2024 production and cost guidance after the work is completed in April.
Shares of Galiano reached their quarterly high of C$1.88 on March 28.
4. Ascot Resources (TSX:AOT)
Year-to-date gain: 57.58 percent; market cap: C$422.49 million; current share price: C$0.78
Ascot Resources is a Canadian gold exploration and development company focused on the construction of mining operations at its Premier gold project. The site is located within the Golden Triangle area of Northern BC, and hosts the Premier, Silver Coin and Big Missouri deposits, as well as one of only three mills in the region.
Ascot is currently in the advanced stages of construction of mining facilities at Premier and is expecting its first gold pour in April 2024. Once operations are fully ramped up, the company is targeting approximately 150,000 ounces per year.
Shares of Ascot saw strong gains early in the quarter following a news release on January 22, when it arranged C$70 million in funding that will be allocated to the completion and ramp up of mining operations at Premier. In the announcement, it said the funding will come from a combination of US$30 million from a royalty agreement with Sprott Resources Streaming and Royalty, a subsidiary of Sprott (TSX:SIL,NYSE:SIL), and a C$20 million cost overrun facility from Nebari Natural Resources Credit Fund. There is also a private placement for gross proceeds of C$25 million.
Shares of Ascot reached a quarterly high of C$0.77 on March 14.
5. McEwen Mining (TSX:MUX)
Year-to-date gain: 54.43 percent; market cap: C$683.62 million; current share price: C$14.64
Led by industry veteran Rob McEwen, McEwen Mining has operating gold mines in Canada, the US and Argentina.
Shares of McEwen Mining saw their largest gains at the end of February and the beginning of March. This rise coincided with positive news from the company’s Q4 and full-year 2023 report, released on February 29.
In the filing, the company announced that it achieved net income of US$54.7 million for the year, along with a consolidated production total of 128,650 ounces of gold, an increase of 25,970 ounces over 2022. These gains came despite adverse weather conditions at McEwen Mining’s Gold Bar mine in Nevada, US.
McEwen Mining also shared plans for its Fox Complex in Ontario, Canada, in the announcement. The company said that in Q1 it would begin construction of underground ramp access to orebodies at the Stock West deposit, which will become the primary production source for Fox after mining is completed at its Froome deposit in 2026.
Additionally, the firm said construction at the Fenix gold-silver project in Mexico will start in the second half of 2024.
Shares of McEwen Mining reached a quarterly high of C$13.36 on March 28.
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.