On Australian Gold Share Investments


... the Nerds have the Numbers



The gold sector is volatile. There are over 250 gold and silver companies on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). All but the biggest are under the radar of market analysts, so temporary mispricings and market inefficiencies are common.

GoldNerds provides information for investors on all the gold and silver companies on the ASX. We've done an enormous amount of legwork for you. Use GoldNerds to compare companies — to find undervalued stocks to buy, and overvalued stocks to sell. GoldNerds does not recommend stocks, but it helps you make informed decisions.

Investing without GoldNerds is like being blind. Are your current gold stocks good value, compared to their peers? Subscribe to find out.

What we offer

The information is presented in a sophisticated spreadsheet file, in Microsoft Excel on Windows. The GoldNerds spreadsheet file is very friendly — more like a mini-app. No experience with spreadsheets is required.

Every two weeks (except in January), a new edition of the GoldNerds spreadsheet file with the latest information is compiled and posted to this website, and subscribers are notified by email. Subscribers can download the latest spreadsheet file at any time from this website.

Subscriptions are for either six months or twelve months. Subscribe to one of three versions: Standard, Professional, or Elite (see below for the differences, here and here, or Find on “Professional” and “Elite”).

Because it is an app rather than a plain spreadsheet, GoldNerds only runs on Excel on Windows. (Sorry, but due to limitations of Excel on the Mac it does not run, or even open, on a Mac.) No demonstrations available, but see the screenshots below.

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Features

Graphs

The GoldNerds spreadsheet file has 25 graphs. Choose the companies to compare in the graphs by typing their codes into a list, then press a button.

Did you know you can buy gold more cheaply when it is underground? Gold in an exploration lease is often less than ten dollars per ounce, and often only one or two hundred dollars an ounce underneath a working mine. You can buy a lot of ounces this way, for a lot of leverage to a rising price of gold, but you incur company risk. Bargains abound, but you may need a GoldNerds spreadsheet to find them. And remember, the stock prices in this sector are volatile, so the numbers and comparisons can quickly go out of date.

The in-ground cost of a company's gold is the value of the company (its market capitalization or enterprise value) divided by the number of ounces of gold it has rights over (typically expressed as its gold resources or reserves). The in-ground cost of gold escalates as a deposit is found, gets a resource statement, then a mining study, and finally goes into production. However, at all these stages the cost of the in-ground gold is far lower than the cost of bullion.

By buying shares of gold companies, you get to effectively own a lot more ounces of gold than by buying bullion. This gives you greater leverage to rises and falls in the gold price. This is part of the reason that the share prices of gold companies, even those that are not producing gold, are so sensitive to the price of gold. When the gold price moves up or down, gold shares usually rise or fall by a much greater percentage.

Even among producers there are big differences in the in-ground cost, because mining costs vary between resources and because companies go in and out of favor for non-fundamental reasons. Here is an example graph of the in-ground costs for some ASX gold producers, measured by market capitalization per resource ounce of precious metals (mainly gold, but also any silver, platinum, palladium, or rhodium in gold-equivalent ounces). Clearly, some gold is cheaper than other gold (warning: this example uses past data and includes made-up data):
The market capitalization of a company includes its cash and debt, which can sometime mislead. The enterprise value (EV) of a company removes the financial assets from the valuation -- it is the value the market is putting on just the physical assets of a company, it's underground minerals, mines, and equipment. We get a clearer picture of the market value of a company's in-ground gold from its EV per resource ounce (Professional and Elite versions only) (warning: this example graph uses past data and includes made-up data):
Some gold companies also have a lot of non-precious minerals in their tenements. For example, Australia's leading gold company is Newcrest Mining (NCM), which has almost as much value in its copper as its gold. Several of its mines are bulk gold-copper mines. The "byproduct" credits from selling the copper are subtracted off the costs of gold production, so the cost to produce an once of gold at some of its mine can be very low, even negative in some quarters (meaning the revenue from the copper paid for all the mining). When evaluating Newcrest, we need to look at more than the in-ground cost of its gold -- we need to look at the in-ground cost of all its minerals, expressed in equivalent gold ounces. Now a different picture emerges (compare NCM's ranking in this graph with the first graph above) (warning: this example graph uses past data and includes made-up data):
The main factor affecting the profitability of a miner is its cost of production. The vast majority of the cost is captured by its "all-in sustaining cost", or AISC, which is the industry-standard measure of the cost of producing an ounce of gold. (The "all-in cost" tends to be one or two hundred dollars per ounce higher, but is not reported by most companies.) Investors who believe the price of gold will increase soon will generally prefer to buy a high-cost mine, because it offers greater leverage (profit increases by a higher percentage for a given rise in the price of gold if the AISC is high). Investors who think the price of gold is stable or will decline in the near future will generally prefer a low-AISC mine, for safety. GoldNerds can display the industry cost curve (warning: this example graph uses past data and includes made-up data):
Companies with a lot of debt and little cash are in more danger of going bust, because even a small unexpected event or a temporary downturn in the grade of mined ore can leave the company unable to meet its obligations. When a company has to call in the receivers, shareholders usually lose their entire investment. The Professional and Elite versions of GoldNerds track total liabilities, investments, and other financial assets, and construct the Net Financial Assets (NFA) indicator: financial assets less financial liabilities, as a percentage of market capitalization. Beware of companies whose NFA slips below -25. In the NFA graph, the safe companies are on the left and the riskier companies are on the right (warning: this example graph uses past data and includes made-up data):

Company Columns

View, sort, filter, and get help on any column on the Companies sheet. Some columns are hidden by default, but can be switched on.

Everything in the Standard version is in the Professional version, and everything in the Professional version is in the Elite version. The Professional and Elite versions have the same columns — see the next section for the differences between those versions.

Columns in all versions:

  • ASX code of company

  • Company name

  • Long comment on projects, mining studies, recent exploration results, capital raisings, etc.

  • Historic share price
    (on a date of your choosing)

  • Recent share price

  • Change in share price

  • Number of existing shares

  • Number of shares when fully diluted

  • Cash
    (comment has date, recent changes)

  • Hedgebook
    (comment has details)

  • Market capitalization

  • Status
    (producer, developer, or explorer)

  • Minerals

  • Percentage in gold
    (focus calculated from resources, exploration targets)

  • Percentage in silver
    (focus calculated from resources, exploration targets)

  • HQ location

  • Reserves, precious
    (comment describes all reserves by project: minerals, grades, types, dates, etc)

  • Resources, precious
    (comment describes all resources by project: minerals, grades, types, dates, etc)

  • Potential, precious
    (comment describes all potentials by project: minerals, grades, types, dates, etc)

  • Mineable, precious
    (reserves + 60% of (resources - reserves), or your choice)

  • Reserves, non-precious

  • Resources, non-precious

  • Potential, non-precious

  • Mineable, non-precious

  • Reserves, all

  • Resources, all

  • Potential, all

  • Mineable, all

  • Mineable Byproducts, all

  • Mkt cap per reserve ounce, precious

  • Mkt cap per resource ounce, precious

  • Mkt cap per mineable ounce, precious

  • Mkt cap per reserve ounce, all

  • Mkt cap per resource ounce, all

  • Mkt cap per mineable ounce, all

  • Current production, precious
    (comment includes amounts and costs for previous quarters)

  • Current production, non-precious

  • Current production, all

  • Future production
    (comment includes guidance and dates)

  • Reserve life

  • Mkt cap per production ounce

  • All-in sustaining cost (AISC) -- Last quarter

  • All-in sustaining cost (AISC) -- Last Year

  • All-in sustaining cost (AISC) -- Future

  • All-in cost (AIC) -- Last quarter

  • All-in cost (AIC) -- Last Year

  • Sovereign risk

  • Percentage of reserves in Tier 1 countries

  • Score

  • Custom 1 ... 6
    (sortable, filterable columns for your calcs)

Columns in the Professional and Elite versions only:

  • Number of in-the-money options

  • Revenue from in-the-money options

  • Investments
    (double-click for window of details)

  • Liabilities
    (comment has date)

  • Other financial assets

  • Enterprise value (EV)

  • Net financial assets
    (as a percentage of market cap.)

  • EV per resource ounce, precious

  • EV per reserve ounce, precious

  • EV per mineable ounce, precious

  • EV per resource ounce, all

  • EV per reserve ounce, all

  • EV per mineable ounce, all

  • EV per production ounce

  • Construction costs

  • Current total cost of ownership (TCO)

  • Future total cost of ownership (TCO)

  • Free cash flow

  • EV per free cash flow

  • Price to free cash flow

  • GDXJ index percentage

  • Dividends last year
    (comment contains details)

  • Dividend yield

  • CommSec lending ratio

  • Leveraged Equities lending ratio

Differences Between Elite and Professional

The Professional and Elite versions have the same company columns (see here for the columns in the Standard version).

The following three features are in the Elite version but not in the Professional version:

1. The Mineral Estimates custom window shows a company's reserves and resources by project and by component (proved, measured, etc.), and, in some cases, also by deposit. Double clicking on the Reserves or Resources cell of a company opens the window. The contents of the window are summarized in the comments on those cells in all versions of GoldNerds, but cannot be altered or examined in detail except in this window in the Elite version. This window also shows ore, ownership level, announcement dates, cutoffs, and which minerals are regarded as by-products. See the two examples in the Custom Windows section, below.

2. The Ore Calculator part of the Mineral Estimates window shows the gross mineral value, GMV per tonne, gold equivalent amount, and gold equivalent grade, for every component of a project's reserve and resource. This allows you to compare resources with different mixes of minerals, and to judge the viability of poly-metallic deposits. You can set the mineral prices to be used in the Ore Calculator, and also the mining factor and recovery percentages for each component of each deposit. See the Mineral Estimates custom window, and the Assumptions custom window, below.

3. The Minerals sheet compares every project with a resource estimate, across all the companies. Sort and filter companies or projects by mineral, contained metal, gross mineral value, GMV per tonne, gold equivalent amount, and gold equivalent grade. See the two screenshots of the Minerals sheet below.

Screenshots

The Companies sheet lists all the companies in the precious metals sector of the ASX, one company per row. Here is the upper left of that sheet, which includes all of the special buttons (standard version):
The resources of a company are summarized in the comment on its "Resources, Precious" cell on the Companies sheet. For example, here are the resources of Red5, a junior producer in Western Australia. These comments are present in all versions of GoldNerds. (Warning: example data may be out of date.)
Each company has a substantial comment, outlining the history, main issues, recent drill results, capital raisings, mining studies, etc. It's located on the cell containing the name of the company. Companies going into production tend to be the most complex, explorers tend to be simpler. More recent changes or updates are in blue writing, so you can zoom in quickly onto what's changed recently.
Filter the rows (companies) on the Companies sheet, to narrow down the companies:
The Compare sheet compares up to 10 companies in a more relaxed format (standard version shown, example data out of date and includes made-up data):
The Minerals sheet lists all the projects of all the companies in one big table, which is both sortable and filterable. It includes some ore calculator results, such as Gross Metal Value and GMV per tonne of ore. In this example it is sorted by GMV per tonne of gold. This sheet is only present in the Elite version. (Warning: example data is out of date and includes made-up data.)
The Minerals sheet can find all sorts of things by filtering. For example, filtering with "Project" = "Company Total", "Estimate" = "Resource", and "Mineral" = "Nickel" finds all the companies on GoldNerds that have a nickel resource. This sheet is only present in the Elite version. (Warning: example data is out of date and includes made-up data.)

Custom Windows

The file you download from the GoldNerds website is a Microsoft Excel file, but it's not just spreadsheets and graphs. It also contains several custom windows.

For example, here is the Capital Structure window. It lists all of a company's shares and potential shares (warning: example out of date):
This is the Help window, displaying the help for the Market Capitalization column:
Here is the Choose Columns window, for choosing which columns appear on the Companies sheet. This shows the window as it appears in the Professional and Elite versions (in the Standard version some choices are grayed out, because those columns are not available):
Here is the Mineral Estimates window, showing the resources at Newcrest Mining's Cadia project, which is a large gold and copper mine. Notice the Ore Calculator over to the right, showing the gross metal value (GMV), GMV per tonne, and gold-equivalent grades of each part of the deposit. Only the Elite version contains this window. (Warning: example out of date.)
Here is the Mineral Estimates window again, with a summary of all the resources of Newcrest Mining. This is a large company with many projects. This window is only present in the Elite version. (Warning: example out of date.)
The Assumptions window specifies the mineral prices, recoveries, and mining factors used by the ore calculator (Elite version only):

Feedback

  • Matthew Hill, Australia
    Huge fan of this I recommend it to all my Gold peers. Best Gold analysis info I have ever seen.
    Matthew Hill, Australia
  • Jason Blomfield, Australia
    Gold has been one of my best investments thanks to your analysis tools to a large extent. Four to six ten bangers.
    Jason Blomfield, Australia
  • Allen Gotts, Queensland
    The amount of data in the spreadsheet is incredible, and I haven't found anything that's not spot-on.
    Allen Gotts, Queensland
  • Nikesh Thakorlal, New South Wales
    I've spent the last few hours in absolute ecstasy (I know, I'm sick) at the wealth of information you've put into such an easy to use spreadsheet. You've practically smashed my research time to zero. Thank you!
    Nikesh Thakorlal, New South Wales
  • Graham Pitkethley, New South Wales
    ... your programme is brilliant. Comprehensive, easy to use and accurate. By the time I correct all the inaccuracies on every other programme I might as well do it myself. I still check yours but haven't caught you out yet.
    Graham Pitkethley, New South Wales
  • Chris Hogarth, Brunei
    ... I've found the spreadsheet really useful in identifying small companies (i.e. promising projects not yet identified by the market). It has been invaluable in helping to identify great companies.
    Chris Hogarth, Brunei
  • Bob, North Carolina
    ... You've got a great product! I have utilized your scoring system to pick a stronger group of stocks after struggling with choices for some time. I have immediately seen positive results. This is no ordinary spreadsheet, it's a verb- alive with information and customizable... I am utterly grateful and very impressed.
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  • Dan, Florida
    ... I like GoldNerds for the details. With little work I can find the stocks that meet my criteria and not have to rely on internet noise. I have been well rewarded. Love your product, keep it coming.
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  • Marcus Blockey, Queensland
    GoldNerds has saved me literally hundreds of hours. It's a phenomenal resource and a total 'no brainer' for any goldmining investor... a gold mine of knowledge in front of me, for peanuts.
    Marcus Blockey, Queensland

Companies Currently on the GoldNerds Spreadsheet

Here are all the companies on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) whose value or focus is at least 50% on gold or silver — as of December 19, 2022. We're so confident we've got the whole sector that if you tell us about a company we haven't included — and which is not already in the research pipeline, as is typical for recent IPOs — we'll email you the current and the next two professional spreadsheets for free. (If you are already a subscriber, we'll add a month to the end of your current subscription.)

Link to this list with https://goldnerds.com.au/#companies.

Alphabetical by company name (not by ASX code):
A
AIV — Activex
ADG — Adelong Gold
ADT — Adriatic Metals
A1G — African Gold
A1M — AIC Mines
ALY — Alchemy Resources
AL8 — Alderan Resources
AQI — Alicanto Minerals
AQX — Alice Queen
ALK — Alkane Resources
AME — Alto Metals
ANL — Amani Gold
AGG — AngloGold Ashanti
AWV — Anova Metals
AAU — Antilles Gold
AZY — Antipa Minerals
ADV — Ardiden
ARD — Argent Minerals
ARV — Artemis Resources
AAJ — Aruma Resources
AS2 — Askari Metals
ASR — Asra Minerals
ASO — Aston Minerals
AAR — Astral Resources
AMI — Aurelia Metals
AWJ — Auric Mining
AUR — Auris Minerals
AUE — Aurum Resources
AUN — Aurumin
AUC — Ausgold
AYT — Austin Metals
AGD — Austral Gold
A8G — Australasian Metals
AYM — Australia United Mining
AGC — Australian Gold & Copper
AUT — AuTECO Minerals
AZS — Azure Minerals
B
BMR — Ballymore Resources
BGD — Barton Gold
BMO — Bastion Minerals
BBX — BBX Minerals
BCN — Beacon Minerals
BGL — Bellevue Gold
BNZ — Benz Mining
BEZ — Besra Gold
BC8 — Black Cat Syndicate
BDG — Black Dragon Gold
BMG — BMG Resources
BML — Boab Metals
BOC — Bougainville Copper
BPM — BPM Minerals
BRB — Breaker Resources
BTR — Brightstar Resources
C
CAI — Calidus Resources
CAE — Cannindah Resources
CRS — Caprice Resources
CMM — Capricorn Metals
CWX — Carawine Resources
CNB — Carnaby Resources
CAV — Carnavale Resources
CPN — Caspin Resources
CDT — Castle Minerals
CTN — Catalina Resources
CYL — Catalyst Metals
CVR — Cavalier Resources
CHN — Chalice Mining
CEL — Challenger Exploration
CHZ — Chesser Resources
CTO — Citigold Corporation
CLZ — Classic Minerals
CDR — Codrus Minerals
CGN — Crater Gold Mining
D
DCN — Dacian Gold
DTM — Dart Mining
DTR — Dateline Resources
DEG — De Grey Mining
DES — DeSoto Resources
DEV — DevEx Resources
DBO — Diablo Resources
DCX — DiscovEx
E
E2M — E2 Metals
E79 — E79 Gold Mines
EMR — Emerald Resources
ERM — Emmerson Resources
EMU — Emu
ENR — Encounter Resources
EQE — Equus Mining
ERW — Errawarra Resources
ESS — Essential Metals
EMC — Everest Metals
EVN — Evolution Mining
F
FAL — Falcon Metals
FEG — Far East Gold
FXG — Felix Gold
FFX — Firefinch
FAU — First Au
FG1 — Flynn Gold
FML — Focus Minerals
FRS — Forrestania Resources
G
GAL — Galileo Mining
GCY — Gascoyne Resources
GML — Gateway Mining
GBZ — GBM Resources
GMD — Genesis Minerals
GES — Genesis Resources
GPR — Geopacific Resources
GIB — Gibb River Diamonds
GLA — Gladiator Resources
GRL — Godolphin Resources
G50 — Gold 50
GMN — Gold Mountain
GOR — Gold Road Resources
G88 — Golden Mile Resources
GMR — Golden Rim Resources
GSM — Golden State Mining
GBR — Great Boulder Resources
GNM — Great Northern Minerals
GSN — Great Southern Mining
GSR — Greenstone Resources
H
HMG — Hamelin Gold
HAR — Haranga Resources
HAV — Havilah Resources
HRN — Horizon Gold
HRZ — Horizon Minerals
I
ICL — Iceni Gold
IDA — Indiana Resources
IVR — Investigator Resources
IR1 — Iris Metals
K
KAI — Kairos Minerals
KAU — Kaiser Reef
KZR — Kalamazoo Resources
KAL — Kalgoorlie Gold Mining
KLI — Killi Resources
KIN — Kin Mining
KCN — Kingsgate
KRM — Kingsrose Mining
KSN — Kingston Resources
KWR — Kingwest Resources
KNB — Koonenberry Gold
KTA — Krakatoa Resources
L
LRL — Labyrinth Resources
LEX — Lefroy Exploration
LGM — Legacy Minerals
LLO — Lion One Metals
LDR — Lode Resources
LSR — Lodestar Minerals
LCL — Los Cerros
LYN — Lycaon Resources
M
M3M — M3 Mining
MAG — Magmatic Resources
MAU — Magnetic Resources
MKG — Mako Gold
M24 — Mamba Exploration
MHC — Manhattan Corporation
MTL — Mantle Minerals
MKR — Manuka Resources
MPG — Many Peaks Gold
MEU — Marmota
MMA — Maronan Metals
MVL — Marvel Gold
MZZ — Matador Mining
MAT — Matsa Resources
MXR — Maximus Resources
MM8 — Medallion Metals
MEK — Meeka Metals
MEG — Megado Minerals
MBK — Metal Bank
MHK — Metal Hawk
MCT — MetaliCity
MTC — MetalsTech
MEI — Meteoric Resources
MM1 — Midas Minerals
MI6 — Minerals 260
M2R — Miramar Resources
MTH — Mithril Resources
MOH — Moho Resources
MRZ — Mont Royal Resources
M2M — Mt Malcolm Mines
MTM — Mt Monger Resources
MGV — Musgrave Minerals
N
NAG — Nagambie Resources
NMR — Native Mineral Resources Holdings
NML — Navarre Minerals
NES — Nelson Resources
NAE — New Age Exploration
NTL — New Talisman Gold Mines
NCM — Newcrest Mining
NPM — NewPeak Metals
NME — Nex Metals Exploration
NXM — Nexus Minerals
NFL — Norfolk Metals
NSM — North Stawell Minerals
NST — Northern Star Resources
NWM — Norwest Minerals
NVA — Nova Minerals
O
OAR — OAR Resources
ODY — Odyssey Gold
OBM — Ora Banda Mining
OAU — Ora Gold
OMX — Orange Minerals
ORR — OreCorp
OZM — OzAurum
OZZ — OZZ Resources
P
PGO — Pacgold
PNR — Pantoro
PKO — Peako
PGD — Peregrine Gold
PRU — Perseus Mining
PGM — Platina Resources
PNX — PNX Metals
POD — Podium Minerals
POL — Polymetals Resources
PDI — Predictive Discovery
PRX — Prodigy Gold
PRS — Prospech
Q
QXR — QX Resources
R
RDN — Raiden Resources
RMS — Ramelius Resources
RND — Rand Mining
RR1 — Reach Resources
RED — Red 5
RMX — Red Mountain Mining
RC1 — Redcastle Resources
R8R — Regener8 Resources
RRL — Regis Resources
RNX — Renegade Exploration
RSG — Resolute Mining
REZ — Resources & Energy Group
RIE — Riedel Resources
RCR — Rincon Resources
RGL — Riversgold
RXL — Rox Resources
S
S2R — S2 Resources
SMI — Santana Minerals
SRR — Sarama Resources
STN — Saturn Metals
SVG — Savannah Goldfields
SNX — Sierra Nevada Gold
SIH — Sihayo Gold
SLR — Silver Lake Resources
SVL — Silver Mines
SNG — Siren Gold
SKY — Sky Metals
SLS — Solstice Minerals
SXG — Southern Cross Gold
SAU — Southern Gold
SSR — SSR Mining
SBM — St Barbara
SMS — Star Minerals
STK — Strickland Metals
SLZ — Sultan Resources
SHN — Sunshine Gold
STM — Sunstone Metals
SPQ — Superior Resources
SRN — Surefire Resources
T
TLM — Talisman Mining
TAM — Tanami Gold
TG1 — TechGen Metals
TEM — Tempest Minerals
TMR — Tempus Resources
X64 — Ten Sixty Four
TMS — Tennant Minerals
TMX — Terrain Minerals
TSO — Tesoro Gold
TGM — Theta Gold Mines
TMZ — Thomson Resources
TIE — Tietto Minerals
TTM — Titan Minerals
TBA — Tombola Gold
TOR — Torque Metals
TRE — Toubani Resources
TKL — Traka Resources
TBR — Tribune Resources
TRY — Troy Resources
TRM — Truscott Mining
TUL — Tulla Resources
TCG — Turaco Gold
V
VAN — Vango Mining
VKA — Viking Mines
VMM — Virdis Mining
W
WAF — West African Resources
WWI — West Wits Mining
WSR — Westar Resources
WGR — Western Gold Resources
WGX — Westgold Resources
WRM — White Rock Minerals
WIA — Wia Gold
WC8 — Wildcat Resources
X
XAM — Xanadu Mines
XTC — Xantippe Resources
Y
YRL — Yandal Resources
Z
ZAG — Zuleika Gold