Gold price loses its grip: World’s 50 biggest mining companies shed $228 billion in Q2

Gold and the broader precious-metals complex lost momentum in Q2 2026, reversing much of the sector’s earlier year gains and hitting mining equities hard. The world’s 50 most valuable miners saw combined market capitalization fall by $228 billion to $2.19 trillion, leaving only a $22 billion gain year-to-date. Gold dropped back below $4,000/oz after nearing a record $5,589 in January, triggering broad declines across gold miners and royalty companies. Agnico Eagle, Kinross, Gold Fields and Shandong Gold posted steep losses, while even Newmont fell 16% despite outperforming peers. The article also notes copper’s volatile rally, with prices reaching a record in May before easing, plus divergent performance in uranium and lithium equities. Overall, the message is that bullion weakness is weighing on miners’ valuations and reshuffling the industry ranking, while diversified majors like BHP and Rio Tinto are regaining relative strength.