World’s 50 Most Valuable Mining Stocks Suffer $264 Billion September Slump
- At the end of September, the collective market capitalization of the world’s 50 most valuable mining stocks totaled $2.26 trillion, following a $264 billion reduction that represented the...
- The September slump was driven by gold, which erased $79 billion from the gold miners that had supplied $138 billion of August’s gain.
- Newmont and Agnico Eagle both suffered double-digit billion-dollar damage, pushing Agnico back below the $100 billion mark.
At the end of September, the collective market capitalization of the world’s 50 most valuable mining stocks totaled $2.26 trillion, following a $264 billion reduction that represented the second-largest monthly drop since the ranking began. The steep September drop took back three quarters of August’s record $357 billion advance.
Gold Miners Lose Billions as Federal Reserve Raises Rates
The September slump was driven by gold, which erased $79 billion from the gold miners that had supplied $138 billion of August’s gain. During September, New York bullion futures decreased by 6.4%, moving from $4,441 an ounce at the end of August to $4,158 as the month concluded. The Federal Reserve raised rates for the first time since 2023 on September 16, while a global bond selloff pushed yields to their highest since 2008 and the dollar firmed. Silver fell 9% for the month, and platinum group metals continued to decline. This 12.7% sector-wide fall across the fifteen gold companies represented a retreat that left the metal below where it started the year.
Newmont and Agnico Eagle both suffered double-digit billion-dollar damage, pushing Agnico back below the $100 billion mark. Kinross lost 21.3% after cutting its 2026 and 2027 production guidance by about 8% from the midpoint, while Shandong Gold fell 27.8% after lowering its mined gold target. Gold Fields saw its shares fall 21% over the month—an $8.6 billion loss of market value—after its unsolicited A$38.7 billion ($27 billion) approach for Northern Star was rejected as highly opportunistic
by the Australian company’s board on September 28. AngloGold Ashanti, which led gains in August, fell 16.4% and shed $9.4 billion, while Zhongjin Gold lost 17.7%. Northern Star, the target of the failed bid, proved the best-performing gold miner, sliding only 3.1%.
Copper and Lithium Values Fall in September
Copper producers lost $44 billion between them in a 7.6% fall. Lithium lost more than a fifth of its value in September alone, undercutting exuberance in battery-metals coverage after carbonate futures in Guangzhou dropped 22.5%.
Mining Firms Trade Well Below Their 52-Week Peaks
Most of these companies are trading well off their recent highs, with 33 of the 47 firms that have a full year of trading having set their 52-week peaks in the first quarter, when gold reached $5,420 an ounce. Chinese names face the steepest recovery, with Shandong Gold 58% below its peak, while Zhongjin Gold, Amman Mineral, China Northern Rare Earth, and Jiangxi Copper are all more than 40% adrift.
The rankings exclude giants such as Chile’s Codelco, Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining, and Eurochem, while diversified firms like Anglo American often feature separately listed majority-owned subsidiaries.