Newmont Corporation NEM has agreed to sell its Eleonore operation in Northern Quebec, Canada, to Dhilmar Ltd for $795 million in cash. The divestment is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, subject to certain conditions. Upon closure of the transaction, Newmont will have received up to $3.6 billion in gross proceeds from non-core asset divestitures and investment sales. 

Dhilmar has extensive experience in gold and copper mining, and NEM believes the former will be an excellent steward of the asset.

With this transaction, the company has exceeded its planned cash flow from portfolio optimization by more than $1.5 billion to date. The proceeds of this transaction will support Newmont's complete capital allocation strategy, which includes improving its investment-grade balance sheet and returning cash to shareholders.

In February 2024, Newmont revealed its intention to sell non-core assets, including six businesses and two projects in its Australian, Ghanaian and North American business units. With definitive agreements to divest four operations and one project, NEM is now focusing on completing the sales processes for its remaining North American non-core assets, which are expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2025.

Newmont’s shares have gained 4.1% in the past year against a 20.9% rise of the industry.

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Newmont expects fourth-quarter 2024 attributable production of 1.8 million gold ounces. The company anticipates that the fourth-quarter costs applicable to sales will be $1,050 per ounce, with all-in-sustaining costs of $1,475 per ounce.

NEM’s Rank & Key Picks

NEM currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Better-ranked stocks in the basic materials space include Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS, DuPont de Nemours, Inc. DD and CF Industries Inc. CF. 

Carpenter Technology currently carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). CRS beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 14.1%. The company's shares have soared 160% in the past year. You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for DD’s current-year earnings is pegged at $3.88 per share, indicating a year-over-year rise of 11.5%. DD, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), beat the consensus estimate in each of the last four quarters, with the average earnings surprise being 12.9%. The company's shares have rallied roughly 16.9% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CF’s current-year earnings is pegged at $6.32 per share. CF, carrying a Zacks Rank #1, beat the consensus estimate in two of the last four quarters while missing twice, with the average earnings surprise being 10.3%. CF has rallied around 18.3% in the past year.

 

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