3 catalysts that could put some heat into the unloved gold sector

Jake Klein, Executive Chairman of Evolution Mining, has been making the pilgrimage to Kalgoorlie for the annual Diggers & Dealers conference for nearly two decades. But this year, the mood was decidedly different. By all reports the prevailing sentiment was upbeat, almost euphoric - just not towards ASX listed gold producers and explorers.

Kalgoorlie is the spiritual home of Australia’s gold mining industry. But at this year’s conference, Jake along with other gold producers and explorers, played second fiddle to the main act - critical minerals stocks focused on commodities like lithium and rare earths. Jake agrees that there will be some great companies to emerge from this industry but cautions that many are good stories but not much more than that.

“There’s some fantastic companies emerging but there are a lot of development opportunities that remind me a lot of a tech style bubble.”

I spoke with Jake following the release of Evolution’s FY23 results on the 17th of August. Despite dealing with mine closures at their cornerstone Ernest Henry operations, Evolution still posted a statutory net profit of $163.5 million and declared a final dividend of 2.0 cents per share, fully franked.

In this C-Suite interview, we cover the key points from Evolution’s full year results and how Jake and the Evolution Team are planning to improve margins and improve cash flow in the year ahead. Jake also talks about the soft sentiment towards gold stocks and outlines three catalysts that could spark interest in the sector.

You can access detailed information on Evolution Mining including share price, charts, detailed financial information and significant shareholders on Market Index.

Key points 

• 0:00 - Introduction

• 0:22 - Key numbers from the financial results

• 1:40 - The outlook for cash generation and margins

• 2:56 - Evolution’s growth plans

• 3:50 - Restructuring Evolution’s debt profile

• 4:35 - The big picture outlook for gold

• 5:27 - Three catalysts for a rising gold price

• 8:03 - Lithium stealing the show at Diggers & Dealers

• 9:10 - The role of copper for Evolution

• 10:46 - Gold sector consolidation

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