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Shortly before supervillain Goldfinger shows James Bond his giant laser in that infamous scene of the movie bearing his name (arguably the greatest Bond movie of all time), he makes an important declaration:
“This is gold, Mr. Bond. All my life I’ve been in love with its colour, its brilliance, its divine heaviness. I welcome any enterprise that will increase my stock — which is considerable.”
So are we. People are obsessed with gold, and will go to enormous lengths to get it: settling entire continents, starting wars, robbing ancient tombs and plundering ships on the high seas. Fortunately, you don’t have to go to such measures to get your hands on it. You can invest in it through gold ETFs, mining stocks or even buying physical gold itself at your jewelry store or bank.
It’s great for your portfolio, too. Investors consider gold a “safe haven” asset, and will flock to it during times of financial uncertainty and political upheaval such as now. Physical gold can help maintain the value of your investments while riskier assets such as tech stocks go through periods of sell-off. Gold ETFs and mining stocks offer more liquidity, and when the price of gold rises, profit margins and stock prices can rise faster than the price of physical gold itself.
Of course, that can work the other way, and gold mining ETFs and stocks face other risks such as rising energy costs and geopolitical risks. They don’t just expose you to the price of gold, but how efficiently the company can extract it. So here’s a look at some of the most valuable gold mining stocks and ETFs in the world — and a couple of them are Canadian.
All prices are from end of trading day, Aug. 17.
Barrick Mining Corp. ($ABX)
Price: $58.97
52-week price range: $33.18-$74
Market cap: $97.06B
Quarterly dividend/Yield: $0.18/1.68%
Average analyst rating: Buy
Headquartered in Toronto and formerly known as Barrick Gold, Barrick Mining is one of the world’s largest mining companies, with operations in 18 countries across five continents. In 2025, the company sold 3.3 million ounces of gold and 220,000 metric tonnes of copper. Barrick recently reported strong second quarter results, including a settlement to a dispute with mining giant Newmont over joint venture Nevada Gold Mines operation, the world’s largest gold producing complex. It’s planning an initial public offering (IPO) of its joint venture stakes in NGM, along with its Pueblo Viejo and Fourmile deposits by the end of the year, while planning to maintain a controlling stake in those crown-jewel assets. The move was controversial among shareholders, saying Barrick should have gotten a higher payment from Newmont than $1.95 billion, but others see a buy opportunity for a solid company that’s been unduly undervalued. Analysts average an estimate of $72.59, with a top of $119.25.
Agnico Eagle Mines ($AEM)
Price: $261.67
52-week price range: $180.26-$348.94
Market cap: $132.5B
Quarterly dividend/Yield: $0.45/0.96%
Average analyst rating: Buy
Higher gold prices are inflating profit margins for gold miners, and as Canada’s largest and the world’s second-largest producer of gold in the world, AEM is having a good year. Second quarter net profit after tax (NPAT) is up 60% from last year to $1.5 billion U.S., despite lower amounts sold. AEM likes to operate in more politically stable environments (Canada, Australia and Finland are countries in which AEM has operations) and it would appear the company is banking on higher gold prices for longer. It’s developing its Hope Bay project in Nunavut, and will likely go ahead with expansions at Canadian Malartic and Detour Lake as it seeks to ramp up production. Analysts predictions go as high as $395.18.
Newmont Corporation ($NEM)
Price: $120.33 (All figures U.S.)
52-week price range:
Market cap: $126.79B
Quarterly dividend/Yield: $0.26/0.86%
Average analyst rating: Strong Buy
Newmont is the world’s largest gold miner, and has conducted major expansion deals in recent years. It acquired Goldcorp in 2019, improving performance at operations where that corporation struggled. That same year it entered a joint venture with Barrick at Nevada Gold Mines. In 2023, it acquired Australian gold miner Newcrest. The deal allowed Newmont to offload some smaller, higher-cost mines in 2024 and 2025. It also produces copper, zinc, silver and lead as byproducts from its gold mines, which span 11 countries and four continents. The company is expected to sell approximately 5.3 million ounces of gold this year. By the end of last year, it boasted twenty years of gold reserves, along with major byproduct reserves. Analysts estimate an average of $136.08 with a high of $170.
SPDR Gold Shares ETF ($GLD)
Price: $405.49
MER: 0.40%
Morningstar Rating: 5 out of 5
State Street’s ETF doesn’t carry a collection of companies, but tracks the price of gold itself and is the largest to do so, with some $130.3 billion in assets under management. You can own a piece of physical gold simply by purchasing a share in this fund. The price of one share of this ETF is one-tenth of a troy ounce of physical gold bullion, backed up by gold stores in vaults all over the world, secured by JPMorgan Chase and HSBC. It’s a way for investors to access gold itself, without having to worry about storage and transport. It’s grown considerably too: this time last year, $GLD was trading at the $310 mark.
Disclaimer: The information contained in this column is for informational purposes and is not intended to be investment advice or an offer or recommendation to buy or sell any security. Brian Towie is not a certified financial adviser and encourages readers to do their own diligence before investing their money.