Few asset classes have outperformed precious metals in 2024. Gold has reached record highs, whilst silver is staging a strong comeback. As the global geopolitical situation continues to deteriorate, private investors and central banks alike have flocked to seek safety and stability through precious metals.
The rocketing demand for gold and silver exposure has made some precious metal miners some of the stand-out performers in 2024, particularly in the UK markets.
In my 2023 end-of-year mining sector review, I noted that analysts were expecting that gold prices would reach record highs. They were indeed correct, but it appears that they were very conservative in their estimates, forecasting that gold would reach $2,300 an ounce by 2025, when it’s just breached $2,750.
On the back of the stellar performance of gold this year and silver staging a strong comeback, miners on the UK exchanges have finally found a bit of love again. Junior miners such as Metals Exploration, Serabi Gold and Atlyngold have all seen their share prices more than double. But some of the larger players, like Hoschild Mining and Resolute Mining, have also had their time in the sun. The table below highlights the impressive performance of these often-overlooked mining stocks, all of which have more than doubled in value:
Name | Mkt Cap (£m) | Price Chg % 1y | Stock Rank™ | Industry Grp |
Serabi Gold (LON:SRB) | 68.9 | 168 | 99 | Metals & Mining |
Metals Exploration (LON:MTL) | 110.6 | 184 | 98 | Metals & Mining |
Altyngold (LON:ALTN) | 65.3 | 155 | 98 | Metals & Mining |
Pan African Resources (LON:PAF) | 684.2 | 121 | 84 | Metals & Mining |
Hochschild Mining (LON:HOC) | 1,183.30 | 130 | 84 | Metals & Mining |
Resolute Mining (LON:RSG) | 858.9 | 115 | 69 | Metals & Mining |
Anglo Asian Mining (LON:AAZ) | 130.2 | 156 | 38 | Metals & Mining |
As the data shows, these precious metal miners have outpaced broader market returns, buoyed by economic factors such as inflation concerns, rising debt levels, and geopolitical tensions. Gold, often referred to as the "yellow metal," has been particularly attractive to investors looking to hedge against volatility, as it always has been.
Source: Bloomberg
Citi Research analysts are optimistic that gold will reach $2,800 in the next…
