At the end of the first quarter of 2026, the combined market capitalization of the world’s 50 largest mining companies reached $2.41 trillion. This is 250 billion more than at the beginning of the year. The growth occurred despite the military conflict between the United States and Iran, which collapsed gold and silver prices at the end of January.
The correction in the precious metals market began even before the start of the war. In January, gold and silver reached new historical highs and then fell sharply. Gold lost tens of percent, silver completely collapsed. Shares of manufacturers and royalty companies suffered serious losses.
Since then, gold has stabilized above $4,700 an ounce, while silver has settled above $70. While this is still 50% below its peak, both metals are up year to date, with gold up 8% and silver also up.
Copper, after reaching a historical record (over $6.5 per pound, or $14 thousand per ton), corrected and is now trading only 2% below the level of the end of 2025. However, some analysts are already calling copper overvalued and oversaturated.
The lithium sector has come to life. Chilean SQM and American Albemarle returned to the top 50 in the fourth quarter of 2025. Together with China’s Ganfeng Lithium, they were among the top performers in terms of growth this quarter. There are now three lithium companies in the ranking (versus six at the peak in 2022).
Most shares of the largest mining companies have been trading confidently in the green since the beginning of the year, although the war has made adjustments. Barrick Mining, by contrast, has lost 5% year-to-date, while Newmont is up 11% and Agnico Eagle is up 22%. Barrick is trying to increase portfolio value by separately listing its North American gold assets and developing its copper business. The company recently hired Goldman Sachs to lead an IPO that could value those assets at $60 billion, according to estimates. At current capitalization, the rest of Barrick’s business (risk operations in Mali, copper assets in Zambia, copper-gold project in Pakistan) is valued at only $10 billion. Things are not going well in Pakistan, with Barrick last week warning of significant budget increases and delays.
Another outsider is Indonesia’s Amman Minerals, which topped the list of falling stocks for the second quarter in a row, losing 27%. Production problems and delays in launching a copper smelter (Indonesia bans concentrate exports) are weighing on quotes. Amman became the first Indonesian company in the top 50 after its high-profile debut in 2023. After rapid growth, the owner of the Batu Hijau copper mine and developer of the Elang project even briefly broke into the top ten, but has only been going down since then.
The war in the Middle East did not stop the growth of the mining sector, but it changed internal dynamics: gold and silver lost their safe haven status, and industrial metals, especially copper, remain under pressure. Lithium is recovering, but is far from its previous peaks.
Source: MINING.COM
Image: Glencore Nordenham
