Gold Producers Offset Price Decline With Strong Q2 Output

Newmont posts record US$2.2 billion free cash flow

Newmont (NYSE:NEM,ASX:NEM) insulated its operations against the sliding price environment, reporting US$2.2 billion in adjusted net income and a record US$2.2 billion in second-quarter free cash flow. Adjusted EBITDA reached US$3.8 billion.

The Denver-based miner produced 1.29 million attributable ounces of gold, down 1 percent from the previous quarter. Seismic events at the company's Cadia mine and planned lower grades at its Ahafo South, Peñasquito and Yanacocha operations caused the slight decline. Operations at Cadia returned to normal levels by mid-June.

Alongside gold, the company produced 7 million ounces of silver and 17,000 metric tons of copper.

"Newmont delivered another quarter of strong operational and financial performance, producing approximately 1.3 million attributable gold ounces and generating record second quarter free cash flow of $2.2 billion, while remaining on track to achieve our full-year 2026 guidance,” President and CEO Natascha Viljoen said.

Newmont also declared a dividend of US$0.26 per share and ended the quarter with US$9 billion in cash and US$13 billion in total liquidity.

The company repurchased US$1.7 billion of common shares between the release of its last two quarterly filings as part of its US$6 billion share buyback program. Since February 2024, the company has reduced its share count by more than 100 million shares, or roughly 9 percent of its outstanding shares.

Newmont's guidance for its 2026 attributable gold production is set at 5.26 million ounces, weighted slightly higher to the second half of the year, driven by output increases at Boddington, Tanami, Lihir, Cerro Negro, and Brucejack.

Agnico Eagle cushions hit From Barnat Pit failure

Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX:AEM,NYSE:AEM) reported a record US$1.33 billion in quarterly free cash flow, offsetting the production fallout from a recent rock wall failure at its Canadian Malartic complex.

The miner produced 855,816 payable ounces of gold in the second quarter at an all-in sustaining cost of US$1,459 per ounce, anchored by output at the Detour Lake, Kittilä and Fosterville mines.

"Our high-quality portfolio delivered another strong quarter, with better-than-planned production and disciplined cost control driving strong margins and record quarterly free cash flow," said President and CEO Ammar Al-Joundi in the official report.

Despite the record financials, operational disruptions in Quebec forced Agnico Eagle to adjust its near-term production outlook.

A rock mass movement struck the north wall of the Barnat open pit on July 1. Engineers had previously identified the sector for its weak geological structures and isolated the zone with safety perimeters prior to the failure. Extraction at the pit remains suspended.

While the company maintained its 2026 corporate guidance of 3.3 million to 3.5 million ounces of gold, the pit closure will reduce Canadian Malartic’s second-half production by 60,000 to 80,000 ounces. The mine's H1 production totaled 301,459 ounces of gold.

Pending ongoing geotechnical reviews, Agnico Eagle anticipates the wall failure will curb production by up to 150,000 ounces annually in 2027 and 2028.

However, company management confirmed the open-pit incident will not delay development at the adjacent Odyssey underground mine. The company's objective to reach 1 million ounces of annualized gold production from Canadian Malartic by the early 2030s remains intact.

AngloGold Ashanti approves US$2 billion shares buyback

AngloGold Ashanti (NYSE:AU,JSE:ANG) recorded a 36 percent year-over-year jump in free cash flow to US$727 million in Q2, enabling the board to launch a massive US$2 billion share repurchase program.

The strong quarterly performance also reversed the company's balance sheet, pivoting from a net debt position of US$311 million at the end of June 2025 to US$991 million in net cash by the close of the first half of 2026.

"This result shows the strong cash generation capacity of our assets, and the resilience of our portfolio," CEO Alberto Calderon said in the earnings release. "We remain focused on managing the factors in our control to optimize margins as we look to a production increase in the second half of the year."

To distribute the windfall, the company declared an interim dividend of US$364 million, or US$0.72 cents per share. Shareholders approved a proposed US$2 billion share repurchase program on July 23.

On the production end, group gold production checked in at 744,000 ounces in Q2, down from 804,000 ounces in the second quarter of 2025.

According to AngloGold, the decline primarily reflects the sale of the Serra Grande asset in December 2025, lower output at the Obuasi mine after a contractor was fatally injured in April and planned mine sequencing across the portfolio.

Additionally, following a portfolio review, the company is advancing a pipeline of brownfield mining, processing and recovery improvements at its Obuasi, Geita, Sukari, Siguiri and Cuiabá operations it believes will offer high returns and be capital efficient.

The company also reaffirmed its full-year 2026 group production guidance, which stands at 2.8 million to 3.18 million gold ounces, and projected that production will be significantly weighted toward the second half of the year.

Kinross Gold returns US$615 million to shareholders as margins swell 42 percent

Kinross Gold (TSX:K,NYSE:KGC) announced over US$725 million in second-quarter free cash flow.

The Toronto-based miner reported net earnings of US$844.2 million, or $0.71 per share, alongside US$1.14 billion in operating cash flow. The company ended June with $US2.7 billion in cash and equivalents, pushing its net cash position to US$1.9 billion.

Management committed to returning 40 percent of its annual free cash flow to shareholders. Year-to-date, Kinross has deployed approximately US$615 million toward this goal, repurchasing US$480 million in stock during the first half of the year and another US$40 million in July, alongside its quarterly dividend payments.

"We returned more than $275 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends, and we remain on track to achieve our commitment of returning 40 percent of annual free cash flow to shareholders in 2026,” CEO J. Paul Rollinson said in the earnings release.

Operationally, total production hit 492,326 gold equivalent ounces, a 4 percent decrease from the second quarter of 2025. Higher throughput at the Tasiast mine and elevated mill grades at Paracatu partially offset lower output from the Bald Mountain, Round Mountain, and Fort Knox operations.

Kinross also recently published updated economics for its Lobo-Marte project in Chile, adjusting the 2021 feasibility study to account for recent inflation and modified execution strategies.

In Ontario, construction on the advanced exploration program at the Great Bear project reached 93 percent completion, with the first blast of the exploration decline executed on July 27. Detailed engineering for the main project is roughly 50 percent complete.

In February, the Ontario provincial government designated the Great Bear site under its new One Project, One Process framework.

The initiative aims to cut permitting timelines in half by establishing the Ministry of Energy and Mines as a single point of contact to coordinate provincial approvals.

Kinross expects Great Bear to produce more than 500,000 ounces of gold annually during peak operations. Major construction is slated to begin in 2027, with the start of production expected in 2029.