BUY HOLD SELL: 4 ASX MINERS TO WATCH AS THE GOLD PRICE REBOOTS
This episode was filmed on Wednesday, 8th April 2026.
Gold has had a remarkable 12 months.
From the low in May-June last year, around US$3,500 an ounce, to the high of the January 2026 spike, around US$5,400 an ounce, the precious metals rallied almost 70%.
It was during this period that lines formed in Martin Place outside ABC Bullion.
Then, gold got the wobbles - particularly as war broke out in the Middle East. Whilst it didn't fall in a straight line, the precious metal dropped from US$5,400 to a low of US$3,800 by late March - a 20% wipeout.
With a tentative ceasefire in place and normal programming (i.e., US dollar weakness, easing inflation expectations, lower rates) potentially resuming, gold could be experiencing a reboot, with investors piling back in at a significant discount to where we were just a couple of months ago.
Regardless of what the gold price does, there are a handful of ASX-listed miners that should be able to generate significant cash flow given their low costs, operational efficiency, and healthy margins.
In this episode, Acorn Capital's Rick Squire and Datt Capital's Emanuel Datt run the ruler over four such names for your consideration.
Edited transcript
Chris Conway: Hello and welcome to Livewire's Buy Hold Sell. My name is Chris Conway. The gold price soared more than 60% in 2025, but has come back to earth a bit this year, particularly after the onset of the war in the Middle East. So, where to from here? To help answer that question and to run the ruler over some gold stocks, I'm joined by Emanuel Datt from Datt Capital and Rick Squire from Acorn Capital. Before we dive in, it's just worth noting that we're filming this on Wednesday, the 8th, after the US and Iran agreed to a ceasefire just this morning, which has sent gold and equity markets soaring. Rick, nice, easy question to begin with. Against that whole backdrop, where are we in the gold cycle?
Where are we in the gold cycle?
Rick Squire: Yeah, there's certainly been a big disruption today with the ceasefire announcement, but in terms of where we are, I think that really hasn't changed too much over the last six or 12 months. And what we've seen is that the gold market's been on a really strong bull market for two years now. And when that first started, the real beneficiaries in that first six or 12 months were the gold producers. But in the following 12 months, the last 12 months, it's been the gold developers, those companies that are putting operations into production, or they're going through that ramp-up phase, so it's not just construction, but it's also that ramp-up to get into steady state production. They've been the biggest beneficiaries in the gold market. Now, we haven't seen it cycle down into the explorers just yet. There have been a few explorers that have done well, but we're not seeing that part of the market really take off. And so as an investor, you've got to be really careful because there can be a tendency for some people to say, "Oh, I don't want to be too aggressive. I'll go for the big producers, not the explorers or developers." But if that's not the part of the market that's benefiting, you can actually be backing the wrong horse in the right race. And so being on those developers is really important. So I think at the moment, that's the space to be.
Chris Conway: Really good context, Rick. Emanuel, another easy question for you. What are the key drivers for gold from here?
What are the key drivers for gold from here?
Emanuel Datt: Sure. Well, I guess over the past, let's call it a couple of years, we've seen elevated levels of demand from central banks. So I think central bank buying has been an incredible stimulus to the gold price. And I think that's really driven by the need for central banks to diversify from just holding US bonds or other asset classes like that. I think that looking ahead, what are the key drivers that may continue? We've seen a price rise, and I think a lot of it comes back to the US dollar in terms of the correlation between the US dollar. So when the US dollar is strong, typically we see softness in the gold price, and when it falls against a basket of similar currencies, you'll see some gold upside then. So I think that a ceasefire is generally... We'd expect to see some weakening in the USD that may lead into some further upside in the gold price, we believe.
Bellevue Gold (ASX: BGL)
Chris Conway: We're going to talk gold stocks now. First up, we'll talk Bellevue. Very timely, it delivered its March production update this morning, and the stock was up 19% today. Emanuel, I'll come back to you, buy, hold, or sell for Bellevue?
Emanuel Datt (SELL): Bellevue is a sell for me. I think that it's an attractive asset, however, it is a deep asset, it's high grade. It has had its challenges in the past in terms of being able to maintain sort of adequate levels of production in line with its mine plan, I guess. However, I think the single biggest factor in this is just a hedge book for me. There's a considerable amount of ounces that have been sold forward at significantly lower prices, about 2,900 AUD, which doesn't look the best when you consider gold spot prices are 6,800 AUD. So that's obviously something that they're proactively looking to pre-deliver into ahead of maturity, and they're doing so successfully, however, I think there are clean exposures for our purposes.
Chris Conway: Yep. Okay. So sell for you. Rick, I'll come to you. Up 58% over the past year. Buy, hold, or sell for you?
Rick Squire (BUY): It's actually a buy for me. I actually think it's really interesting, so a nice bit of controversy to start the session off. It's probably a buy in the next six months or so, six to maybe nine months. And just got to watch carefully because, as Emanuel pointed out, it is a high-grade mine, a high-grade underground mine. They can be quite variable from quarter to quarter in terms of the production, and we've seen that certainly the March quarter compared to the September and the December quarters, that there's a marked difference in the amount of production that's coming out. But that was always forecast by the company as they move into the deeper parts of the mine. They're actually getting into the better parts of the loads, and that's why they're producing more ounces at lower cost. And I think in terms of the forecast, when they explain where they're mining over the next six to nine months, that's where I'm comfortable that they've got a better chance of achieving their forecast. And for that reason, I think it is a buy, but you've just... As Emanuel pointed out, it is a high-grade mine, and it is quite variable, so there is some risk around that. And so as an investor, you just got to be aware of that risk and you may need to modify your holding over a 12 or 24 month period. But certainly over the next six, probably six to nine, six to 12 months, I consider it a buy.
Chris Conway: Some good difference of perspectives there. We'll shift gears now and talk about Perseus Mining, operating mines in Africa, conducting exploration, evaluation, and development. Rick, I'll stay with you, buy, hold or sell for Perseus?
Perseus Mining (ASX: PRU)
Rick Squire (HOLD): Perseus, I like it as a quality company, I think it's a hold for me. It's a larger company in terms of where Acorn looks, it's not one that we follow closely anymore, but it's a company we've invested in for quite some time previously, so I'm still very familiar with it. And you've got three operating mines in West Africa, they're building a fourth mine in Tanzania in East Africa, and they've just sold their asset in Sudan. So they're well cashed up, excellent management team, really good quality assets, and the development pipeline is great. So it's a company I really like, and so I think hold's quite reasonable at this stage.
Chris Conway: Yep. Emanuel, up 76% in the last 12 months. So it has had a pretty good run. Buy, hold, or sell for you?
Emanuel Datt (HOLD): Yeah, I'm with Rick, it's a hold for us. As Rick mentioned, it's a collection of high quality assets, and with this Tanzanian development project, I think that that is a slight detractor in terms of the life cycle. Typically, you want to be sort of exposed during times of high commodity prices to pure production. However, it's got a very strong balance sheet, with over a billion dollars in liquidity across cash and their debt facilities, of course, part of that is the construction facility for the Tanzanian project. However, I think it's probably fairly valued by the market now and notwithstanding there obviously is jurisdictional risk in having offshore assets. So I think it's quite fairly valued so it's a hold for me.
Chris Conway: Very good. Next up, we'll talk Capricorn Metals operating in WA at Karlawinda and Mt Gibson, their main two mines or projects, I should say. Emanuel, staying with you, buy, hold or sell for Capricorn.
Capricorn Metals (ASX: CMM)
Emanuel Datt (HOLD): Yeah. I think that Capricorn for us, it's a hold. I think that Karlawinda is a great asset and has produced very reliably and at high margins for a long time. They have a development asset, Mt Gibson, that they're currently waiting on permits. However, I think that growth is already priced in basically. So I think that valuation once again is quite fair and hence it's a hold for us.
Chris Conway: Yep. Rick, up 43% over the last 12 months, but down 15% year to date. So it's had varying performance over those two periods. Buy, hold, or sell for you?
Rick Squire (HOLD): It's a hold for me as well. I agree with all the points that Emanuel made. It's a really high-quality management team. Karlawinda is a fantastic asset. I often joke that it'd be the most boring place to work at on earth because it's just so consistent from one month to the next one quarter, and that's what's sort of driving the market's real love for the asset, real love for the company, is the high quality of that asset. But it's going through an expansion at the moment that they'll deliver into that expansion and then they're starting up the new Mt Morgans project. So there is a really good growth pipeline and it's a company that's just made it into the top 100 in the ASX, and so there's been a rerating for that, and that's why I think it's had that uplift to enter the ASX 100, and now it'll just sit comfortably before some of these catalysts actually roll off over the next 12 months.
Chris Conway: Yeah, right. So maybe one that you will look at in time once those projects get.
Rick Squire: Yeah, that's right. I think there'll be a reconsideration in six or 18 months time.
Chris Conway: Same with you, Emanuel, yeah?
Emanuel Datt: Yes.
Chris Conway: ll right. Last one for the session, Pantoro Gold, another WA-based gold miner focused on the Norseman project, which is located near other active mines owned by Westgold and a few other unlisted players. Rick, I'll stay with you. Buy, hold or sell for Pantoro.
Pantoro Gold (ASX: PNR)
Rick Squire (BUY): It's a controversial buy for me. It's been a difficult startup for Pantoro. They've talked of delivering 100,000 ounces per annum, but never quite got there. Setback that they had in the December quarter, that really upset the market and it's really struggled with the share price. So it's been difficult, but then if you have a look at the margins they're making, they're actually still doing quite well, and the cost base is low in this environment where diesel prices are still high, and even though there's a ceasefire, as you mentioned, there's been a ceasefire announced between Iran and the US, that it'll still take some time before you see the diesel prices normalising. And because of that, a company with an operation that's on mains gas, that's underground, not moving huge volumes of dirt like a large open pit operation, they're actually better positioned to keep that cost base low in this price environment. So for that reason, I think just where the share price is at the moment, I think that's a company that could do pretty well. Now they've got to deliver and that's what they've always struggled to do. But if they can deliver with that low cost base, I think it's got some upside and so it's a bit on the limb there, but it's a buy from me.
Chris Conway: A spicy buy from you, Rick, I like that. You referenced the share price down 20% year to date, so that's maybe where that opportunity comes from. Emanuel, buy, hold, or sell for you?
Emanuel Datt (HOLD): For me, Pantoro is a hold. I agree a lot with what Rick has said. I guess the company has missed production guidance on a number of instances now. I think that ultimately that really comes down to the confidence in the ore body itself. I think that this is a resource that it appears to be excellent. However, greater confidence is required in the ore body as they go along with mining. I think that this could be a really fantastic asset, but it just probably requires a bit more investment from my perspective, and so I think it's fairly valued here.
Chris Conway: There we have it. Ladies and gentlemen, big thanks to both Emanuel and Rick. We hope you enjoy this special gold episode of Buy Hold Sell. If you did, make sure to give it a like and don't forget to follow our YouTube channel, we're adding lots of great content every single week.
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2026-04-09T21:04:24Z