Mining Is Hot In 2026
We’re a few weeks into 2026 and some industries are zooming.
In particular, the mining industry is having an awesome 2026.
State Street SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (ticker: XME) is up over 20% since the calendar changed on January 1st.
2025 wasn’t so bad either.
Over the last twelve months, XME more than doubled in price.
Gold and silver prices skyrocketed recently, which makes it more profitable for mining companies to dig the shiny rocks from the ground.
Why are the prices for gold, silver, and other precious metals rising so much?
There are a few key factors.
First, the U.S. dollar is really struggling, especially since the start of 2025.
The U.S Dollar Index (ticker: DXY) is down almost 10% since the beginning of last year.
The index measures how the U.S. performs relative to other currencies.
But the same principle applies to commodities like metals.
Since the dollar is performing badly, it makes the price jump in metals higher.
Second, and more importantly, metals are being used in a lot of high-demand industries.
Artificial intelligence (AI), data centers, space exploration, and electric vehicles (EVs) are just a few areas needing metals.
And if those industries want to expand, they need mining companies to give them what they need.
Here are some of my favorites.
Royal Gold (ticker: RGLD) is one of the most profitable gold mining companies in the world.
Its 56% profit margin is significantly higher than its competitors.
But the intriguing part about Royal Gold is the diversification.
About 25% of Royal Gold’s revenue comes from other metals such as silver and copper.
Plus, Royal Gold has mines all over the world.
So geopolitical risk in certain parts of the world won’t drastically impact Royal Gold since their mines are so spread out.
There’s more to mining than just gold.
Southern Copper Corp (ticker: SCCO) is one of the top copper miners around.
Copper is used heavily in construction for things like electrical wiring and plumbing as well as renewable energy.
No publicly-traded company has more copper reserves than Southern Copper.
And with construction and renewables taking off in markets like Asia, Southern Copper is in an excellent spot.
Southern Copper’s forward price-to-earnings ratio of 31x is a little expensive.
But it’s worth paying a bit more for Southern Copper’s industry-leading 40% Return on Equity (ROE).
Last up is Materion Corp (ticker: MTRN), the top company in mining and producing beryllium products.
Beryllium didn’t come up a lot in your high school Chemistry class, but it’s really important.
The metal is used in many high-tech industries such as semiconductors, rockets, satellites, magnets, and nuclear reactors.
Beryllium from Materion was actually used in the James Webb Telescope.
Materion’s stock price has been zooming over the past five years.
A price-to-earnings ratio of 140x seems like a major red flag.
But Materion’s forward price-to-earnings ratio, which uses next year’s earnings, is only 21x.
Given Materion’s near-monopoly on beryllium, the stock looks like a steal!
What mining stocks do you own?
Coach Parker
Category: Commodities, Stocks
