Au
Newmont CEO urges discipline in gold industry despite higher prices
The CEO of Newmont (NYSE: NEM), the world’s largest gold miner, on Wednesday urged the industry to control spending and invest wisely despite higher gold prices, saying the favourable market presented an opportunity for investors to benefit from expanding margins.
Gold rallied sharply in 2025 on safe-haven demand, hitting a record high of $5,595 an ounce in January 2026 and helping producers like Newmont report higher profits.
Though gold is down 4.7% so far this year due to expectations of interest rates staying higher for longer, industry experts forecast that the precious metal could reach $5,013 an ounce over the next 12 months.
“With the structural shift in gold prices, we see that there is an opportunity for stakeholders to get the benefit of increasing margins,” Newmont CEO Natascha Viljoen told a mining conference in Johannesburg.
“The biggest mistake we can make is losing discipline in terms of capital allocation because it really becomes very attractive,” she said, responding to a question about mistakes mining executives can make at the top of a commodity cycle.
Viljoen said the best thing the industry could do was maintain cost discipline despite high commodity prices, warning that losing focus could lead to bad decisions when the cycle turns.
She added that gold was currently “a store of long-term value” amid global geopolitical uncertainty.
“Gold is a low-risk investment,” said Viljoen. She said governments, fund managers and individual investors were increasingly holding physical gold as part of their reserves or portfolios.
(Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Nelson Banya, Editing by Xevi Fontdegloria)
Gold industry expects price rise to $5,013 an ounce over 12 months
The price of gold is expected to hit $5,013 a troy ounce over the next 12 months, up from the current level of $4,170, delegates to the London Bullion Market Association’s (LBMA) annual gathering in Sorrento, Italy predicted on Tuesday.
Gold is down 3% so far this year due to expectations of interest rates staying higher for longer amid the Iran war. It jumped 64% in 2025, which was its biggest yearly rise since 1979, and hit a record high of $5,595 an ounce in January.
A year ago the delegates of the same conference expected gold to be at around $4,980 by now.
A poll of delegates from around the world at the LBMA conference also predicted that silver prices would jump to $97 per ounce in a year’s time from around $61 on Tuesday.
Silver has fallen 14% so far this year, after rallying 147% in 2025.
Results gathered at LBMA’s annual poll and shown to delegates at the conference, also showed forecast that platinum prices would increase to $1,914 an ounce from the current $1,706 and palladium would rise to $1,415 from around $1,174.
Platinum and palladium are down 17% and 28%, respectively, so far this year.
(Reporting by Polina Devitt; Editing by Joyjeet Das)
Gold liquidity deep enough for Asian, Western hubs to coexist, HK and Singapore say
Stock image.Global gold market liquidity is deep enough to support the growth of emerging Asian hubs alongside established Western trading centres, representatives from Hong Kong and Singapore told a precious metals conference on Tuesday.
The two Asian financial centres are expanding their gold trading ecosystems, prompting worries in the West that this would mean direct competition for liquidity with the London bullion market, the world’s largest for over-the-counter trade, overseen by the London Bullion Market Association.
This is especially focused on Hong Kong with its connection to mainland China, the world’s top metals consumer. The territory plans to launch the first central clearing and settlement system for gold in early 2027 and aims to have more than 2,000 metric tons of gold storage capacity within two years.
“We are positioning ourselves as a super connector and also a super value adder,” Christopher Hui, secretary for financial services and the treasury in the Hong Kong government, told the LBMA’s annual conference in Sorrento, Italy.
“We are connecting the LBMA standards and also its internationalism with the Asian liquidity.”
Global gold market liquidity is deep enough to support the growth of emerging Asian hubs alongside established Western trading centres, representatives from Hong Kong and Singapore told a precious metals conference on Tuesday.
The two Asian financial centres are expanding their gold trading ecosystems, prompting worries in the West that this would mean direct competition for liquidity with the London bullion market, the world’s largest for over-the-counter trade, overseen by the London Bullion Market Association.
This is especially focused on Hong Kong with its connection to mainland China, the world’s top metals consumer. The territory plans to launch the first central clearing and settlement system for gold in early 2027 and aims to have more than 2,000 metric tons of gold storage capacity within two years.
“We are positioning ourselves as a super connector and also a super value adder,” Christopher Hui, secretary for financial services and the treasury in the Hong Kong government, told the LBMA’s annual conference in Sorrento, Italy.
“We are connecting the LBMA standards and also its internationalism with the Asian liquidity.”
To complement, not displace
Hong Kong in July launched a “Delivery Connect” programme with the Shanghai Gold Exchange to facilitate cross-border gold settlements.
“Towards the end of this year, you will see a number of things happening: we will announce details of a renminbi physically delivered gold futures to be launched on our stock exchange,” Hui said.
Singapore, meanwhile, is starting up central bank gold-vaulting services this month and establishing an OTC gold clearing system. The Southeast Asian city-state already has commercial vaulting capacity of more than 2,000 metric tons.
Singapore sees strong growth in Asian gold demand as the main driver for this expansion, Lim Cheng Khai, head of the financial markets development department at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, told the conference.
“I think both Hong Kong and Singapore, we are under no illusion that we are trying to displace, but we are trying to complement price discovery in the Asian time zone,” he said.
“People are looking to diversify gold holding storage”, he added. “The demand coming from both sovereigns, institutional investors, as well as high net worth individuals puts us in a good place to provide and build up that entire ecosystem.”
(Reporting by Polina Devitt;Editing by Alison Williams)
Hong Kong in July launched a “Delivery Connect” programme with the Shanghai Gold Exchange to facilitate cross-border gold settlements.
“Towards the end of this year, you will see a number of things happening: we will announce details of a renminbi physically delivered gold futures to be launched on our stock exchange,” Hui said.
Singapore, meanwhile, is starting up central bank gold-vaulting services this month and establishing an OTC gold clearing system. The Southeast Asian city-state already has commercial vaulting capacity of more than 2,000 metric tons.
Singapore sees strong growth in Asian gold demand as the main driver for this expansion, Lim Cheng Khai, head of the financial markets development department at the Monetary Authority of Singapore, told the conference.
“I think both Hong Kong and Singapore, we are under no illusion that we are trying to displace, but we are trying to complement price discovery in the Asian time zone,” he said.
“People are looking to diversify gold holding storage”, he added. “The demand coming from both sovereigns, institutional investors, as well as high net worth individuals puts us in a good place to provide and build up that entire ecosystem.”
(Reporting by Polina Devitt;Editing by Alison Williams)
Beaver Creek: Mining’s next generation takes the wheel
Mining is entering a generational handover as veteran founders and dealmakers begin stepping back, leaving a younger group of executives to prove they can build lasting companies through changing commodity cycles.
That shift was on display this week at the Precious Metals Summit in Beaver Creek, Colo., where Elemental Royalty (TSX, NASDAQ: ELE) CEO Frederick Bell, First Majestic Silver (TSX: AG; NYSE: AG) president Mani Alkhafaji and Heliostar Metals (TSXV: HSTR; US-OTC: HSTXF) CEO Charles Funk outlined markedly different tests ahead: a $290-million acquisition, succession at an established silver producer and the planned construction of a new gold mine.
“Most CEOs pass their careers without really doing much of note,” panel moderator Paul Harris said Tuesday. “That’s one of the reasons why the elite teams stand out, because they’re the movers and shakers who actually do things and get things done.”
For investors accustomed to following mining figures such as Pierre Lassonde, Ross Beaty and the Lundin family, the question is whether the next generation can turn early successes and greater access to capital into durable companies and gains per share, rather than simply accumulating ounces, assets and debt.
Market test
Gold’s retreat offers an immediate test of those plans. Front-month futures settled at $4,345.80 per oz. on Monday, down 0.9% on the day and about 18% below their January record settlement of $5,318.40, according to Dow Jones market data.
With bullion no longer lifting every gold stock, acquisitions, mine builds and financing decisions will have to stand up on their own merits. Execution and returns per share matter more when the metal price offers less cover.
Funk designed Heliostar to avoid being stranded by the next downturn.
A physics graduate who moved into geophysics and geology, he travelled widely for large Australian miners before moving to Canada with his wife in 2016. He intended to buy a project, but another company got there first. A job with a junior explorer followed, then a discovery that raised his profile and opened doors to capital.
That success also pigeonholed him as an explorer. Funk wanted a company that could generate cash, build mines and buy assets when others couldn’t.
“I wanted to build a business that worked all through the cycle,” he said.
Heliostar’s acquisition of the La Colorada and San Agustin mines moved it towards that goal, but left Funk with another label: turnaround specialist. Now he wants to show Heliostar can build a mine.
“Spite’s an underrated motivator,” he said. “The first version of Heliostar failed as well.”
Building Ana Paula
Ana Paula will test that ambition. Heliostar expects to finish a feasibility study in the second quarter of 2027 and make a construction decision around mid-year, according to its Monday update. The company targets first gold before the end of 2028 but still needs approval for its revised underground plan and a construction financing package.
Heliostar plans to use cash from La Colorada and San Agustin with new debt to fund the project, reducing its reliance on another equity issue. It plans to order equipment with long delivery times in the fourth quarter.
Funk targets annual production of 500,000 oz. by the end of the decade and eventually wants four or five large gold mines. He said that growth must also improve performance per share.
“Our biggest goal is that when people see our company’s name, like certain other companies out there, there’s an assumption of good work,” Funk said. “That’s what we aspire to in five to 10 years.”
Deal scale
Bell learned early how quickly a commodity downturn can overturn a business plan.
The history graduate entered mining through an Australian uranium explorer whose shares lost 80% after the Fukushima disaster. A gold exploration venture then ran into another market collapse. Those experiences drew him to royalties, which can generate cash without requiring the holder to build and operate mines.
Elemental’s first acquisition was worth less than $2 million. To complete it, the company raised half the money and gave a private equity fund half the economics, Bell recalled. Its latest deal shows how much its capacity has changed.
“We still do the $10-million deals, but we can also do the sort of $290-million deals today,” he said.
Elemental’s greater scale now allows it to retain more of the upside rather than syndicate deals. “But that’s taken time and that’s taken building a track record and team,” Bell said.
Elemental agreed to pay Orion Mine Finance $200 million in cash and $90 million in shares for the portfolio. It secured a commitment to increase its revolving credit line to $250 million. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to conditions.
Bell expects the portfolio to help lift annual output from about 20,000 gold-equivalent oz. this year to 50,000 oz. in 2031. Larger operators and financed mine expansions support much of that outlook, but those operators still have to deliver while Elemental services its acquisition debt.
Succession plans
Alkhafaji said his promotion to president and chief corporate development officer formed part of First Majestic’s succession planning, though he declined to characterize himself as CEO Keith Neumeyer’s eventual replacement.
“I’m not going to speak on behalf of Keith, but it is part of succession planning,” he said.
Alkhafaji has worked with Neumeyer for 14 years, serving as a mine general manager and leading supply chain functions before taking his current role. He said learning the business from the ground up prepared him to make financing and acquisition decisions.
First Majestic’s reputation and trading liquidity helped it raise $350 million in December through convertible notes paying annual interest of 0.125% and maturing in 2031. The initial conversion price was about $22.36 a share. The company used part of the proceeds to repurchase older debt and retained the balance for corporate purposes, including acquisitions.
Beaver Creek video: Gold gains new role vs bonds
Gold’s growing role as a monetary alternative to government bonds and the U.S. dollar could mark a structural shift rather than another cyclical bull market, Sprott managing partner John Hathaway and Incrementum partner Ronald-Peter Stöferle told the Precious Metals Summit in Beaver Creek, Colo., on Sept. 22.
The pair pointed to persistent central-bank buying, de-dollarization and gold’s ability since 2022 to rise even as bond yields climbed. Stöferle said the key question for investors is whether gold is in a normal cycle or a broader “remonetization cycle,” arguing the evidence increasingly supports the latter.
Hathaway said the changing relationship between gold and bonds reflects weakening confidence in fixed income as a safe haven. At the same time, institutional and retail participation in gold remains remarkably low, leaving significant room for capital to move into bullion and mining shares if traditional portfolios begin shifting away from bonds.
Both also argued that gold miners remain undervalued despite stronger balance sheets, margins and cash flow than a decade ago. But attracting generalist investors will require the industry to communicate its case more clearly and positively, Stöferle said, rather than relying on the familiar language of crisis, inflation and financial collapse.
Watch the full conversation here:
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