Looking toward 2026, gold prices look set to stay high – and potentially rise further.
China continues buying, interest rates and the US dollar are set to continue falling and global investors are exiting US treasuries.
All things being equal, this should build on existing momentum for gold miners, which have become one of the most unloved pockets of the mining. industry this decade (second perhaps only to coal).
If gold prices shoot past US$5,000 in 2026 – JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs both believe they will – then the best opportunities will be undervalued miners that can grow production while expanding margins.
Two miners stand out: Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST), which is valued cheaply despite sector-leading growth in my opinion. And Ramelius Resources (ASX: RMS), a darling among Australian brokers, and I’m inclined to agree.
Northern Star (NST): the undervalued giant
Among the majors, investors largely focused on Newmont and Evolution through 2024–25.
Northern Star’s share price has been marked down by worries about its Kalgoorlie “Super Pit” (one of Australia’s largest mines) expansion given its recent wall collapse. And concerned about the significant construction spending following its acquisition of the Hemi mine from De Grey (completed May 2025).
The Hemi acquisition improves NST’s resource base and pipeline. But integrating Hemi and realising value will take ages and lots of money.
Nevertheless, I think catch up trades will kick in 2026 for NST for three simple reasons.
First, it is about to see a surge in cash. Currently, NST has “hedged” (pre-sold, in other words) about 41% of its production for early 2026 at fixed prices. This limits NST’s profits now, but these contracts expire in 2026. This means they will soon start selling gold at the current, much higher, market prices, giving them a double boost of more gold sold at better prices.
Second, the expansion of the famous Super Pit is about lowering costs as much as it is about boosting production – a fact lost on the market in my view. The new processing plant is designed to cut processing costs by about A$7 per tonne. This transforms the mine from an expensive old asset into a profit enabler.
Third, it is financially safe. With $600m in net cash and around $3bn in available liquidity, NST can easily afford these upgrades while still paying shareholders a 2–4% (fully franked) dividend.
Ramelius Resources (RMS): the growth machine
Ramelius Resources has become a favourite for brokers because it is rare to find a mid-sized miner growing this fast without needing the capital market.
RMS success comes from a clever and scalable “hub-and-spoke” strategy.
Instead of building an expensive processing factory at every single mine, RMS uses one central factory (the hub) and truck in ore from high-grade mines nearby (the spokes).
RMS is already doing this successfully by trucking ore from its Penny and Cue mines to its Mt Magnet processing centre. It recently acquired Spartan Resources, to much applause, which gave it the Dalgaranga project. This acts as a second major “hub” capable of producing over 350,000 ounces per year. This allows it to run two efficient networks at once.
Most impressively, RMS can pay for all this growth using its own savings, meaning they don't need to issue new shares and debt.
Currently, the market is valuing RMS only on its proven gold reserves. Probable reserves are being discounted at least in part by the market, and its exploration drilling at places like Eridanus and Galaxy is being ignored.
In my opinion, this is what explains the modelling from JP Morgan above, which shows RMS trades on the lowest implied gold price of any Australian gold miner and the biggest discount to net present value (it’s PE ratio, by contrast, is one of the highest).
Conclusion
Generalist investors have largely abandoned ASX gold miners in favour of bullion ETFs. Bullion ETFs have performed better, offered more diversification and lack counterparty risks.
But for those wanting to express a view on the rising gold price in 2026, gold miners offer greater torque. And for me, the two to watch are NST and RMS.
Disclaimer
This document was contributed by a representative of ETFS Shares Management Limited (AFSL No: 562766) and contains information that is general in nature only, and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information in this document, you should consider the appropriateness of the information, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs, and consider seeking independent financial, legal, tax and other relevant advice. Any investment decision should only be made after obtaining and considering the relevant Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) and Target Market Determination (TMD).
