Newmont Consolidates World-Class Assets and Sharpens Its Portfolio for Margins
Industry leader Newmont, based in the US state of Colorado, demonstrates the immense financial strength inherent in fully integrated mining operations. In fiscal year 2025, Newmont posted an adjusted net income of USD 7.6 billion and a record free cash flow of USD 7.3 billion. Despite these record figures, operational efficiency is being put to the test. Under the leadership of Natascha Viljoen, who has held the CEO position since the beginning of 2026, Newmont is streamlining its property portfolio by divesting non-core assets. Sales of peripheral mines generated net proceeds of USD 4.5 billion after taxes, while liabilities decreased by USD 3.4 billion over the past year. For 2026, management is targeting gold production of approximately 5.3 million ounces but faces rising total production costs, projected at USD 1,680 per ounce. To secure its reserve base in the long term, Newmont is focusing on major projects such as the seaward retaining wall project at Lihir, which is expected to unlock over 5 million ounces of gold. At the same time, Newmont is relying on partnerships in its search for new deposits. In Côte d’Ivoire, Newmont is fully funding the exploration program on the 797 km² Odienné property as part of its stake in Awalé to gain access to 1.71 million ounces of gold equivalent.
Barrick Spins Off North America and Fights Back Against Costs
On the other side of this battle of the giants, Barrick Mining is implementing radical restructuring measures to address its persistent valuation discount in the financial markets. In 2025, Barrick posted a 31% jump in revenue to USD 16.96 billion and reached a USD 1.95 billion settlement with Newmont to restructure the Nevada Gold Mines joint venture. As part of this agreement, Barrick received the billion-dollar payment as compensation for the contribution of its world-class Fourmile deposit and, in return, approved the restructuring. New CEO Mark Hill is now pushing to spin off the North American core assets into an independent publicly traded company, whose equity value analysts estimate at about USD 42 billion. According to Bloomberg reports from early September 2026, the spin-off could be postponed until 2027. The move is a direct leap forward. Although Barrick generated a net profit of USD 1.22 billion in the second quarter of 2026, all-in sustaining costs climbed to USD 1,708 per ounce in the first quarter and could rise to as much as USD 1,950 per ounce for the full year. In addition to lower ore grades in parts of the Nevada mines, higher labor costs and revenue-based royalty payments are weighing on profitability. Furthermore, the strategic copper push, including the USD 2.0 billion expansion of the Lumwana mine in Zambia, requires significant funding. At the same time, delays at the Reko Diq project in Pakistan are likely to fray the nerves of management and investors alike.
Kobo Resources Drives Its Flagship Project Forward
While Newmont and Barrick juggle billions and brace for rising costs, Kobo Resources is focusing on the search for tomorrow’s gold deposits in the high-yield Birimian greenstone belt of Côte d’Ivoire. The Canadian exploration company is focusing its efforts on the 100% wholly-owned Kossou Gold project, located just 20 km from the capital, Yamoussoukro, and well-connected to infrastructure. Along the ore trend, which stretches over 9 km, Edward Gosselin’s team has already made significant progress. By late summer 2026, Kobo Resources had completed over 51,295 drill meters at Kossou in more than 220 drill holes using two diamond drill rigs. The drill cores speak for themselves. In the Road Cut Zone, drill hole KDD0179 returned, at a depth of approximately 150 m, intervals of 4.55 g/t gold (Au) over 5.0 m as well as an extremely high-grade quartz vein with 68.60 g/t Au over 1.0 m. The Jagger Zone, which has now been proven over a strike length of more than 1.4 km, yielded even more spectacular peak values. A standout result here is 75.29 g/t Au over 2.0 m, which includes an interval of 150.0 g/t Au over 1.0 m. These geological findings are complemented by the Kadie Zone, where trenching revealed 5.16 g/t Au over 11 m.
For exploration companies, however, grade alone is only half the equation – processing is what really matters. A series of metallurgical tests on six samples delivered encouraging results. The ore proved to be remarkably straightforward: metallurgical tests conducted at SGS Lakefield achieved an average overall recovery of around 97%, with a free-gold content of 57% in the gravity concentrate. Rapid cyanide leaching, which dissolved most of the remaining metal within ten hours, and moderate reagent consumption make the ore well suited to carbon-in-leach (CIL) plants. This brings a neighbor into focus for Kobo Resources: just a few kilometers away is the processing facility for Perseus Mining’s Yaouré Mine.
Other Projects and Outlook
Kobo is not limiting itself to its Kossou project; it also has other properties in its portfolio: At Kotobi, test pits have already identified gold mineralization in the overlying rock, prompting the company to deploy its first drilling rigs there. At its second satellite project, the 74.06 km² Yakassé earn-in project in the Adzope Belt, management is leveraging preliminary work conducted by Newmont years ago. Kobo has direct access to the US company’s historical drilling and geochemical data, eliminating time-consuming prospecting phases and allowing for the immediate modeling of target drill holes. Kobo Resources is at an earlier stage than Barrick and Newmont. This poses risks for investors, but also presents opportunities. At a time when gold is in ever-increasing demand, Kobo offers an exciting investment story.
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