There are different methods by which gold mining companies are ranked. One is by their annual production. Another is by their cash cost per ounce, that is, how much money it costs them to mine the gold. Since gold prices are the same everywhere, companies with lower costs per ounce make more profit. The most common method lists by market capitalization which considers the total value of capital holdings by that company. Also considered when comparing companies is their market capitalization per ounce of gold equivalent (sometimes abbreviated MV-GEO, EVO if the enterprise value is used) which takes the market value and total reserves and resources for each company as well as the price of gold into consideration. The figures for each company can be used to determine the value the stock market gives to each company's reserves on an ounce to ounce basis.
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If the calculation is to exclude financial assets the enterprise value is used instead of market capitalization. EVO = Enterprise Value/Ounce (gold equivalent) = Enterprise Value divided by resources. The enterprise value is the difference between a company's market capitalization (product of the number of company shares and listed stock price) and its cash, investments less debt (amortization). Three of the 10 largest companies by market cap that engage in gold mining, Fresnillo, Buenaventura and Freeport-McMoran (copper/molybdenum) are not included in the first list because they are minor gold producers/most of their revenue comes from a metal other than gold (Fresnillo and Buenaventura rely more on silver, in some lists silver production is treated as gold production, converted to gold equivalent using the gold to silver price ratio; McMoran produced 32.375 tonnes of gold in 2013 (up 32% after falling by 31% in 2012) but gold accounted for only 8% of revenue (down from 10%).
World gold production declined by 50 tonnes in 2008 despite a strong showing in market price. Total production cash costs were up 4.1% industrywide in the third quarter of 2010 to US$585 per ounce of gold mined. The lower price of gold in 2013 is expected to impact gold production in the coming years; Barrick Gold is slowing construction at one of its largest gold projects Pascua Lama (18m ounces of gold, 676m ounces of silver) while in Australia mines are being shuttered by companies in an attempt to curb costs.
In 2013, nine of the world's 14 major producing regions recorded growth in output, they are: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea and Russia; In 2012 only Canada, China, Ghana, Mexico, Peru and Russia produced more than the year before. In 2013, the world's five leading gold producers, in order of total production were China (420 tons +17), Australia (250 tons +5), US (227 tons -8), Russia (218 tons +2), South Africa (145 tons -15). In 2011, all of the world's 14 major producing countries recorded growth in output except for Peru, Indonesia and Brazil (global primary production up 5.5%); list was led by China (355 tons), Australia (270 tons), USA (237 tons), Russia (200 tons), South Africa (190 tons). South Africa's drop in output (down 10% from 2010 to 2012) is not a result of resource depletion but rather high production costs.
The Big 10
more recent additions - companies that have grown considerably in size since 2015
Sources and other information
Canadian companies
Even though Canada lags far behind its counterparts in its amount of central bank gold reserves, Canadian companies dominate the industry. These companies are big players in the Canadian industry which ranks 7th globally but rely mostly on assets in foreign countries (Barrick Gold alone produced 209.79 tonnes of gold in 2009, Canada produced 100 tonnes). In fact 75% of the world's mining companies are headquartered in Canada. Canada's biggest undeveloped gold deposit is the Kerr Sulphurets Mitchell copper-gold property in northwestern British Columbia; It holds 38.2 million ounces of gold (2P reserves steady in 2012, up 27% in 2011). Another project in the Detour Lake area of Ontario ranks 4th among North America's deposits (up from six in July 2010). Among the largest gold containing properties controlled by Canadian companies is Goldcorp's wholly owned billion ounce silver, 18 million ounce gold Penasquito mine in Mexico and Ivanhoe Mines' 81.3 billion pound copper, 46.4 million ounce gold Oyu Tolgoi deposit in Mongolia. Barrick Gold owns 50% of Super Pit, Australia's biggest gold mine.
In 2013, 60% of the country's gold output came from six mines, they are Red Lake 493,000 oz, Malartic 475,277 oz, Meadowbank 430,613 oz, Porcupine 291,900 oz, Musselwhite 256,300 oz, Detour Lake 232,287 oz.
As of September 2009, there were 20 companies in the country with a market cap of 1 billion dollars or more. Barrick Gold Corp. is the country's largest gold mining company by several measures of size. After growing 3.35% on the year, on November 8, 2012 Goldcorp leapfrogs Barrick Gold in capitalization - Barrick lost 25% of its market value that year. In the following table are Canada's 10 highest valued gold mining companies for 2010 as well as 6 other mid cap companies.
South Africa
The world's 5th largest gold producer (170 tons in 2012) that is home to two of the world's ten largest gold mines. As recently as 2007 South Africa was the world's top gold producer. The drop in its global ranking is not due to resource depletion (South Africa ranks close behind leader Australia in reserves) but rather to its high costs of production. In fact South Africa has the highest mining cash costs among all major producing regions.
Notable South African gold companies include:
Forbes Global 2000
The Forbes Global 2000 list is produced annually by Forbes. Compiling information about each of the 2000 largest companies globally it ranks them. These are all of the gold companies that made the list in 2015. Companies that dropped out of the list, 2016: Osisko Gold Royalties; 2015: Polyus Gold, Newcrest Mining; 2014: Anglogold Ashanti, Yamana, Gold Fields, Kinross, Buenaventura, Shandong Mining, Eldorado; 2013: Iamgold; 2012: Agnico Eagle Mines.
It ranks them based on a number of factors, the top companies on its list aren't necessarily the biggest. Data reflects the 12-month period ending March 2016 for companies based in the United States, Canada and Bermuda. For all other countries, data is for the last fiscal year period.
Source: May 6, 2015: The Global 2000