Top Three Gold Mining Companies Hit $73.8B in Combined Market Cap, a 36% YTD Increase

The Covid-19 outbreak had a significant impact on the gold mine production and mineral exchanges, causing a number of mine closures across the world due to lockdown restrictions. However, the world’s largest gold mining companies witnessed an impressive growth of their market cap in 2020, despite the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to data presented by Aksje Bloggen, the combined market capitalization of Barrick Gold Corporation, Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, and Sibanye Stillwater, as the three largest gold mining companies worldwide, jumped by 36% since the beginning of the year, reaching $73.8bn last week.

Sibanye Stillwater’s Market Cap Surged by 42%, the Biggest Increase in 2020

Although the coronavirus crisis knocked down global stock markets in the first quarter of 2020, shares of gold miners and funds dealing in the precious metal rallied in the second quarter as investors raced to buy gold as a safe-haven asset.

In December 2019, the combined market cap of the world’s three largest gold mining companies stood at $54.3bn, revealed Yahoo Finance data. After a fall to $45bn in March, shares of the gold mining giants quickly bounced back and hit $68.7bn value in June, a 51% jump in three months.

The increasing trend continued in the third quarter of the year, with their combined market cap rising to over $77bn in September. Statistics show the fourth quarter of the year delivered a negative trend with the market capitalization of the three companies falling to $73.8bn last week. Nevertheless, this value represents an almost $20bn increase compared to December 2019 figures.

The Yahoo Finance data indicate the combined value of shares of Barrick Gold Corporation, the world’s largest gold mining company, jumped by 40% YTD, rising from $32.8bn in December to over $46bn last week.

Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, as the second-largest company on this list, witnessed a 23% YTD increase in market cap. In December 2019, the combined value of shares of the Canadian gold producer stood at $14.6bn. Over the last eleven months, this figure rose to $18.1bn.

However, Sibanye Stillwater, as the world’s largest producer of platinum, the second-largest producer of palladium, and third-largest producer of gold, witnessed the most significant market cap increase in 2020. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2019, the market capitalization of the South African mining group amounted to $6.8bn. Over the last eleven months, this figure surged by 42% to $9.7bn.

Global Demand for Investment Gold Jumped 61% YoY

Unlike stock, banknotes, or other assets, gold has managed to maintain its value through the years, preserving the investors’ wealth, especially in times of turmoil in the financial markets. Although many investors value the precious metal as an important portfolio asset, the economic downturn caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to a surge in global demand for investment gold.

Between January and March, global demand for investment gold surged by 81% YoY to 539.6 metric tons, revealed the World Gold Council data. The strong increasing trend continued in the second quarter, with the figure rising to 582.9 metric tons, almost 100% jump year-over-year.

Statistics indicate the global demand for gold for investment purposes hit 1,617 metric tons in nine months of 2020, a 61% increase compared to the same period a year ago.