Senior and intermediate gold producers run mines, process ore into dore or payable metal, sell gold and byproduct metals, and then spend part of that cash to replace the ounces they deplete. This node tests whether higher gold prices become durable free cash flow after all-in sustaining cost, sustaining capital, growth projects, taxes, royalties, labor, power, freight, permitting, reserve replacement, mine sequencing, dividends, buybacks, debt reduction, and acquisitions. The ranked basket is led by AEM because it is the only name here with a filed canonical security lane; NEM, B, KGC, AU, AGI, BTG, and EGO remain API-backed producer comparables with annual filing routes but missing canonical lanes.
AISC: all-in sustaining cost is the reported miner cost measure that tries to capture ongoing cash cost plus sustaining spending needed to keep current mines operating.
Sustaining capital: mine spending required to keep existing production and safety systems running, separate from larger growth projects.
Reserve replacement: drilling, engineering, mine planning, permitting, construction, and acquisitions that replace mined-out ounces with economic future ounces.
Cash conversion: revenue growth needs a free-cash-flow check after mine costs, sustaining capital, project spend, taxes, royalties, and working-capital needs.
Coverage boundary: all eight ranked tickers have local chart coverage through 2026-06-22. Only AEM has a filed canonical security lane in this workspace. The other seven cards are included for operating relevance, but company-specific AISC, capex, reserve, balance-sheet, and capital-return claims remain source-needed until their lanes or official filing projections are filed.
Current Setup
Margin and mine-life testGold price helps only when costs, capex, and reserve replacement leave cash per share.
AEM has the cleanest local evidence. NEM and B are essential senior comparables, while KGC, AU, AGI, BTG, and EGO test whether smaller producer exposure can replace depleted ounces without losing the gold spread to operating and project costs.
Positive proofAEM has sourced production, AISC, FCF, net-cash, and project evidence.
Q2/Q3 production cadence, AISC inside guide, Hope Bay, Finland, and net-cash preservation are the next checks.
Conversion gateSeven producer peers need lane or filing extraction.
NEM, B, KGC, AU, AGI, BTG, and EGO should be read as chart-backed, filing-routed, source-gap comparables.
Primary constraintAISC, sustaining capital, reserves, and project capex can absorb the gold spread.
Do not infer FCF or reserve quality from share-price strength or metal beta alone.
Metal priceRealized gold and byproducts
Mine economicsAISC, grade, recovery, taxes
ReinvestmentSustaining capex, projects, reserves
Per-share proofFCF, net debt, returns
The precious-metals equity route is different from bullion wrappers. A miner can benefit from higher realized gold prices only if production stays on plan, AISC and sustaining capital stay controlled, taxes and royalties do not absorb the spread, and reserve replacement keeps mine life credible.
The positive setup is that all eight ranked producer tickers have local OHLC through 2026-06-22, and AEM has filed evidence for high realized gold prices, free cash flow, net cash, 2026 production guidance, AISC guidance, and named growth projects. The next proof is quarterly delivery against production, AISC, FCF, reserve replacement, and capital-allocation checks.
The main headwind is source depth. NEM, B, KGC, AU, AGI, BTG, and EGO lack canonical lanes, so their AISC, sustaining capex, reserve life, project economics, net debt, buybacks, dividends, jurisdiction risk, and M&A discipline require official filing or IR extraction before strong company-specific claims can be made.
Basket
The merged subagent tournament selected this order: AEM first for source-backed operating evidence, then NEM and B as senior-scale comparables, KGC as the reserve-replacement bridge, and AU, AGI, BTG, and EGO as intermediate producer exposure. All eight are chartable through the local report API; seven are marked missing canonical lane.
Canonical-backed senior producer with the clearest local proof of gold-price spread, AISC, FCF, net cash, and reserve-replacement burden.
Market cap$83.3B
Local chartAPI 2026-06-22
Source stateCanonical lane
Role in stack
AEM operates gold mines in Canada, Mexico, Finland, and Australia. The node test is whether realized gold prices stay above AISC while Hope Bay, Finland consolidation, sustaining capital, and exploration extend mine life without weakening per-share cash flow.
Revenue mix
The filed lane frames AEM as a senior gold producer with economics driven by mined ounces, realized gold price, AISC, sustaining and development capital, and reserve replacement. Q1 2026 realized gold price was $4,861/oz.
Proof burden
Q2/Q3 production cadence against 3.3-3.5 Moz guidance, AISC inside the $1,400-$1,550/oz guide, FCF after capex, net-cash preservation, Hope Bay reserves, and Finland transaction discipline.
Largest gold-miner comparable; included for scale, reserve replacement, mine sequencing, and byproduct-credit checks.
Market cap$124.4B
Local chartAPI 2026-06-22
Source stateMissing lane
Role in stack
Newmont is the scale anchor for this node. Local instrument data describe 11 mines and interests in two joint ventures across the Americas, Africa, Australia, and Papua New Guinea.
Revenue mix
Local instrument data describe Newmont as primarily a gold miner with material copper, silver, zinc, and lead byproducts. Revenue-by-metal, AISC, capex, and mine-level mix remain source-needed.
Proof burden
Use the 2026 10-K and latest quarterly filing to verify production guidance, AISC, reserves, divestitures, byproduct credits, net debt, dividends, buybacks, and reserve replacement.
Senior producer and required Barrick route; copper projects make the gold-reserve test less pure and more capital intensive.
Market cap$67.6B
Local chartAPI 2026-06-22
Source stateMissing lane
Role in stack
B is the local Barrick ticker. Barrick tests whether global gold mine cash flow and Nevada/Pueblo Viejo/Fourmile reserve routes can fund gold and copper projects without diluting per-share value.
Revenue mix
Local instrument data show 2025 gold sales around 3.3 Moz and about 220,000 metric tons of copper. Lumwana and Reko Diq add copper-growth exposure, so gold and copper economics need to be separated.
Proof burden
Use the 2026 40-F and latest updates to verify gold/copper production, AISC, project capex, reserve life, Nevada JV terms, Lumwana, Reko Diq, debt, dividends, buybacks, and any JV monetization.
Scaled intermediate producer where Great Bear and mine sequencing decide whether current cash flow can replace depletion.
Market cap$37.6B
Local chartAPI 2026-06-22
Source stateMissing lane
Role in stack
Kinross operates in the Americas and West Africa. Local instrument data describe roughly 2 Moz GEO produced in 2025 and Great Bear as a replacement project for falling volumes at other mines.
Revenue mix
Gold/GEO exposure is the current local frame. Mine-by-mine revenue mix, byproduct credits, AISC, sustaining capital, and Great Bear economics remain source-needed.
Proof burden
Use the 2026 40-F and latest releases to verify production, AISC, reserve duration, Great Bear schedule and capital, West Africa risk, balance sheet, and capital returns.
Large global gold operator with broad jurisdiction exposure and a source-needed mine-cost and reserve-replacement check.
Market cap$45.9B
Local chartAPI 2026-06-22
Source stateMissing lane
Role in stack
AngloGold Ashanti operates across Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Ghana, Guinea, the DRC, and Tanzania, with projects in the United States and Colombia. The node test is mine execution across a complex map.
Revenue mix
Local instrument data state gold is the main product, mined and processed into dore. Country-level production, cost, tax, labor, reserve, and project mix remain source-needed.
Proof burden
Use the 2026 20-F and latest operating updates to verify production by region, AISC, capex, mine life, permitting, tax/labor events, debt, and reserve replacement.
Focused Canada and Mexico producer where mine-life extension and cost proof can matter more than broad sector scale.
Market cap$15.3B
Local chartAPI 2026-06-22
Source stateMissing lane
Role in stack
Alamos operates Young-Davidson, Island Gold District, and Mulatos across Canada and Mexico. Its role is a cleaner jurisdiction and mine-life test inside the intermediate producer set.
Revenue mix
Local instrument data say Alamos produces gold and other precious metals and generates maximum revenue from Island Gold District mines. Exact production, AISC, and reserve mix remain source-needed.
Proof burden
Use the 2026 40-F and latest updates to verify Island Gold economics, Young-Davidson and Mulatos production, reserve additions, AISC, capex, cash balance, and returns.
Gold-primary intermediate producer where Fekola, Masbate, Otjikoto, Goose, and project spending drive the reserve-replacement check.
Market cap$5.7B
Local chartAPI 2026-06-22
Source stateMissing lane
Role in stack
B2Gold operates Fekola, Masbate, Otjikoto, and development projects including Goose. It belongs because gold production and project delivery decide whether higher prices become replacement ounces.
Revenue mix
Local instrument data state gold production forms all revenue. Mine concentration, Mali exposure, Goose capex, AISC, and sustaining capital remain source-needed.
Proof burden
Use the 2026 40-F and latest releases to verify Fekola, Masbate, Otjikoto, Goose timing, capex, reserves, AISC, cash flow, debt, share count, and permitting risk.
Smaller producer with Turkey, Canada, Greece, and Skouries exposure; the setup needs cost, permit, capex, and reserve proof.
Market cap$8.6B
Local chartAPI 2026-06-22
Source stateMissing lane
Role in stack
Eldorado operates in Turkey, Canada, and Greece, with Skouries as a major project route. It belongs as a higher-execution-risk producer in the reserve-replacement basket.
Revenue mix
Local instrument data describe Eldorado as a gold and base-metals producer. Mine-level gold/base-metal mix, Skouries economics, AISC, and capex remain source-needed.
Proof burden
Use the 2026 40-F and latest updates to verify Turkey, Canada, and Greece production, Skouries construction, permitting, cost inflation, reserves, debt, and FCF conversion.
Market caps are local discovery instrument values rounded from the 2026-06-22 coverage check. Non-AEM operating metrics are deliberately labeled source-needed until official filings or canonical lanes support them.
What Confirms Or Weakens
AreaWhat confirmsWhat weakens or invalidatesWatch next
01Node thesis
Gold spread becomes cash
What confirms
Realized gold prices stay above AISC while production stays inside guide and free cash flow remains positive after sustaining and growth capital.
What weakens or invalidates
AISC, taxes, royalties, labor, diesel, power, freight, grade decline, or capex inflation rises as fast as realized gold revenue.
Watch next
AEM Q2/Q3 cadence
Peer AISC filings
Realized gold spread
02Reserve replacement
Depletion gets replaced
What confirms
Reserve statements, mine-life updates, technical reports, drilling, permits, and project milestones replace mined ounces at acceptable capital cost.
What weakens or invalidates
Reserve downgrades, weak conversion from resources to reserves, higher project capex, schedule slips, or acquisitions made on peak gold assumptions.
Watch next
Hope Bay
Finland closing
Great Bear
Skouries
03Capital allocation
Cash survives reinvestment
What confirms
Operating cash flow funds sustaining capital, reserve work, debt reduction, dividends, buybacks, or acquisitions without net debt, share count, or project risk moving against owners.
What weakens or invalidates
Net cash erodes, leverage rises, buybacks compete with needed project capital, or M&A adds ounces without clear per-share economics.
Watch next
AEM net cash
Debt schedules
Dividend and NCIB use
Project funding
04Jurisdiction and operations
Mine plans stay executable
What confirms
Permits, safety, tailings, labor, power, tax, royalty, and community disclosures show mines can keep operating and projects can advance on schedule.
What weakens or invalidates
Permit disputes, safety events, tailings issues, power shortages, labor disruptions, tax changes, or local opposition interrupt production or project timelines.
Watch next
B Zambia/Pakistan
BTG Mali/Goose
EGO Greece/Turkey
AU country mix
05Source state
Refresh trigger
What confirms
AEM lane stays current, local daily OHLC remains fresh, and new non-AEM lanes or filing projections add cost, reserve, capex, and balance-sheet detail.
What weakens or invalidates
New filings, earnings, mine updates, reserve statements, or price data arrive before this node is refreshed, especially for the seven source-gap names.
Read-only discovery checks used ./.venv/bin/python -m discovery.cli status TICKER --json and read-only DuckDB queries against daily_ohlc and instruments.
Daily OHLC coverage through 2026-06-22: AEM 1,284 rows; NEM 1,283; B 1,212; KGC 1,283; AU 1,284; AGI 1,284; BTG 1,283; EGO 1,283.
Selected-security right-rail charts use /api/securities/{ticker}/chart?frequency=weekly&window=3y&as_of=latest. The report API derives weekly bars from daily_ohlc using first open, maximum high, minimum low, final close, and summed volume, with 20-week and 100-week EMA indicators when enough history exists.
Price history is pulled at runtime from the selected-security API; this page does not store price arrays or author fixed chart overlays.
Ticker mapping check: local B is Barrick Mining Corporation. Local GOLD is Gold.com, Inc. and is excluded from this producer node.
Known Gaps
NEM, B, KGC, AU, AGI, BTG, and EGO are missing canonical security lanes, so company-specific AISC, sustaining capex, FCF, net debt/cash, reserve life by mine, jurisdiction risk, dividends, buybacks, and M&A discipline remain source-needed.
Expansion candidates such as GFI, Northern Star, HMY, EQX, IAG, and CGAU were deferred pending local coverage, canonical-lane status, and scope review.
GLD, GDX, PHYS, SLV, royalty and streaming names, silver-heavy miners, and non-producer market rails belong in other Precious Metals nodes.