Recording date: 5th August 2025

The global mining sector has reached a critical juncture in Q2 2025, driven by exceptional financial performance and fundamental policy shifts that signal a multi-year bull cycle ahead. Major gold producers delivered record-breaking results that have forced institutional investors to take notice, while government policy changes in key Western nations provide unprecedented structural support for the industry.

Leading the charge, Newmont Corporation achieved what may be its best quarter in company history, generating $2.99 billion in EBITDA and $1.3 billion in free cash flow at an average gold price of $3,320 per ounce. This translates to approximately $32 million in daily EBITDA and $18 million in daily free cash flow. Agnico Eagle demonstrated even superior efficiency, producing $2 billion in EBITDA and $1.3 billion in free cash flow while operating at roughly half of Newmont's production volume.

These exceptional results have created compelling investment dynamics. Agnico Eagle's current $8 billion annual EBITDA run rate makes it Canada's third-largest company by this metric, surpassing major banks and technology companies. This dramatic shift is forcing generalist portfolio managers to buy mining stocks to avoid significant tracking error against their benchmarks.

Simultaneously, both Australia and the United States have implemented price floor mechanisms for critical minerals and defense-critical metals. This represents a fundamental reversal from decades of policy neglect, acknowledging that Western nations effectively "exported pollution" to China while allowing it to build dominant refining capacity. China now controls approximately 66% of global copper flows and maintains near-monopolistic positions in rare earths, tungsten, and antimony.

Record profitability is enabling major M&A activity, exemplified by Royal Gold's $1 billion streaming deal with First Quantum at attractive mid-50% valuation multiples. This transaction demonstrates how mining companies are deploying their substantial cash flows for strategic growth, with the sector itself representing the largest pool of available investment capital.

The convergence of exceptional profitability, supportive government policies, and forced institutional participation suggests the mining sector is experiencing a generational revaluation rather than a typical cyclical upturn, positioning it for sustained outperformance across multiple years.

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