Newmont Ramping Down Operations at Penasquito Mine in Mexico
Newmont Corporation NEM recently announced that it is ramping down operations at the Penasquito mine following the coronavirus-related restrictions imposed by the government of Mexico.
The federal government of Mexico published a decree that mandates temporary suspension of all non-essential activities till Apr 30. The move is part of a nationwide effort to slowdown the global pandemic.
Per the decree, mining is not deemed as an essential activity. Newmont is trying to ascertain the impact of the decree on operations. Moreover, Penasquito will work with local governments, employees, contractors and unions to ensure a safe and orderly ramp down of the mine, complying with the directives of the federal government.
Newmont has implemented rigorous controls at all of its sites across the globe to protect workforce and communities from contracting or transmitting the disease. Further, the company has not reported any confirmed COVID-19 case. The company is ensuring that the Penasquito is well positioned to efficiently and safely ramp up operations in a timely manner once these directives are lifted. At present, the company is unable to determine the impact of ramping down of activities on Penasquito’s production and costs for 2020.
Newmont’s shares have rallied 36.7% in the past year against the industry’s decline of 31.9%.
Zacks Rank & Other Key Picks
Newmont currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
Few other top-ranked stocks in the basic materials space are Franco-Nevada Corporation FNV, Novagold Resources Inc. NG and Barrick Gold Corporation GOLD, all currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Franco-Nevada has an expected earnings growth rate of 22% for 2020. Its shares have returned 46.1% in the past year.
Novagold has an expected earnings growth rate of 11.1% for fiscal 2020. The company’s shares have surged 100.2% in the past year.
Barrick has an expected earnings growth rate of 41.2% for 2020. The company’s shares have gained 52% in the past year.
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