The relative performance of investing in gold vs gold mining stocks is charted at the end of my September 2016 article on why gold is a relatively poor investment. Although it is not a sector I like, I have decided to post as a reference 20 of the largest gold mining companies by market cap as of January 2017:
| RIC | Name | USD Market Cap (Millions) |
| NEM | Newmont Mining Corp | $18,555 |
| ABX.TO | Barrick Gold Corp | $14,373 |
| NCM.AX | Newcrest Mining Ltd | $11,322 |
| FNV.TO | Franco-Nevada Corp | $10,951 |
| 600547.SS | Shandong Gold Mining Co Ltd | $9,835 |
| AEM | Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd | $9,703 |
| 2899.HK | Zijin Mining Group Co Ltd | $9,507 |
| G.TO | Goldcorp Inc | $9,163 |
| RRS.L / GOLD.O | Randgold Resources Ltd | $7,437 |
| 600489.SS | Zhongjin Gold Corp Ltd | $6,067 |
| AU | AngloGold Ashanti Ltd | $4,484 |
| RGLD.O | Royal Gold Inc | $4,243 |
| KGC | Kinross Gold Corp | $4,089 |
| 600687.SS | Gansu Gangtai Holding Group Co Ltd | $3,546 |
| EGO | Eldorado Gold Corp | $3,217 |
| BVN | Compania de Minas Buenaventura SAA | $3,091 |
| GFI | Gold Fields Ltd | $2,627 |
| EVN.AX | Evolution Mining Ltd | $2,597 |
| 1818.HK | Zhaojin Mining Industry Co Ltd | $2,574 |
| IAG | IAMGOLD Corp | $2,512 |
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