Junior developers are companies with properties that are in various stages of development, but not yet producing gold. These companies had been underperforming since the gold price broke out in June 2019. This is a sharp contrast from past bull markets, when the juniors began outperforming the larger companies much earlier.

However, through the second quarter and into July, the junior developers have finally kicked into gear, In addition, investors have returned to the junior sector, enabling companies to raise $1.5 billion this year and the second quarter was their strongest for equity raises since 2012 according to RBC Capital Markets.

MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index

07/31/2019-07/31/2020

Source: MV Index Solutions GmbH. Data as of 31 July 2020.

Please note that companies which are included in the MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index (MVGDXJ) are not only junior developers in the definition of the above article.

About the Author:

Joe Foster has been Portfolio Manager for the VanEck International Investors Gold Fund since 1998 and the VanEck – Global Gold UCITS Fund since 2012. Mr. Foster, an acknowledged authority on gold, has over 10 years of dedicated experience in geology and mining including as a gold geologist in Nevada. He has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Barron's, and on Reuters, CNBC and Bloomberg TV. Mr. Foster has also published articles in a number of mining journals, including Mining Engineering and Geological Society of Nevada.

The article above is an opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of MV Index Solutions or its affiliates.