Close menu




April 11th, 2024 | 07:00 CEST

Out of defense, into gold!? Renk, Barrick Gold, Desert Gold

  • Mining
  • Gold
  • defense
  • armaments
Photo credits: pixabay.com

On Tuesday, German defense stocks were shaken briefly and sharply. In a flash crash, Renk, Rheinmetall and Hensoldt fell by more than 10%. This indicates that defense stocks have run hot. The future prospects for the companies are undeniably positive, but a consolidation is in order. Gold is an entirely different story. The price of the precious metal is at record levels, but the shares of gold producers are still a long way from their 2020 highs. This applies to the heavyweights like Barrick Gold and Endeavour Mining, but even more so to the explorers. One of the promising explorers is Desert Gold. The Company operates in an attractive region, is on the verge of becoming a Tier 1 mine producer, and is a takeover candidate. Barrick Gold is one of many companies that could make a move on Desert Gold.

time to read: 3 minutes | Author: Fabian Lorenz
ISIN: RENK AG O.N. | DE000RENK730 , BARRICK GOLD CORP. | CA0679011084 , DESERT GOLD VENTURES | CA25039N4084

Table of contents:


    Desert Gold: Is Barrick Gold getting involved?

    Barrick Gold is looking to expand its presence in western Mali, according to Mark Bristow, CEO of the world's second-largest gold producer. This should now put Desert Gold in the spotlight for investors. The Canadian explorer is currently developing a 440 sq km area north of Barrick's Loulo-Gounkoto mine. **Incidentally, other heavyweights such as Endeavour Mining and B2Gold are also active in the region. However, it is not just takeover speculation that supports buying Desert's stock. In a recent Interview with kapitalerhöhungen.de, Desert CEO Jared Scharf outlined the path to becoming a Tier 1 producer. Desert has now identified more than 25 gold zones on its property. Five of these alone contain around 1.1 million ounces of gold resources. All gold zones are geologically sound, suggesting that the resource could increase with further drilling. Desert is working on this because, as Scharf stated, the Company has the clear goal of developing a Tier 1 mine capable of producing at least 200,000 ounces of gold per year for at least 10 years. The preparation of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) is already underway.

    Following the PEA, Desert would commence construction of a heap leach mine to start commercial production. The cash flow then available would give Desert a high degree of operational flexibility and reduce its dependence on the capital market. This should positively impact the share price, as should the rising gold price. In turn, this should boost sentiment in the sector and ensure that more generalist investors invest in gold shares again. The Desert Gold share is currently trading at around EUR 0.05. In 2020, the share was already at EUR 0.20, when the gold price was significantly lower, and the Company was not on the verge of production. In any case, Desert's CEO sees exciting times ahead. You can find the full interview here.

    Barrick Gold: Still a long way from the old high

    And what about Barrick Gold? After expanding its copper division in recent years, the heavyweight is also returning to expansion mode in gold. At the end of 2023, the Company had a gold reserve of 77 million ounces. In order to increase this, the focus is on Tier 1 projects. As mentioned earlier, expansion plans are underway in Mali. The Company has already made some progress in Peru. In the Puno district of the Latin American country, Barrick has applied for a 400-hectare concession and holds shares in the Libélula project and the Tres Marias property.

    Driven by the gold price, the Barrick share has risen by around 14% to EUR 16.55 in the past four weeks. However, like Desert Gold, the share was already significantly higher in 2020. The EUR 25 mark was broken in mid-May 2020. The market capitalization is currently around EUR 29 billion.

    Renk: Valuation exhausted?

    Shares from the defense sector are among the clear winners of 2024. Rheinmetall has gained 70% this year. Hensoldt is up 50% and Renk is up 70% since its IPO at the beginning of February alone. Such price movements are typically associated with technology stocks. Investors need to bear in mind that production capacities in this industry cannot be expanded so easily. **The construction of new factories costs time and money, which is why Goldman Sachs has also put the brakes on Renk for the time being. While Renk's future prospects remain promising, analysts see no room for further valuation growth. The analysts, therefore, rate the Renk shares as "Neutral". The price target has been reduced slightly from EUR 25.90 to EUR 25.70.


    Defense stocks like Rheinmetall and Renk are among the clear winners of 2024. But at the current price level, profit-taking does not seem wrong. Gold is a completely different story. Gold shares have barely kept pace with the rise in the precious metals market so far, but prices are currently soaring. With Barrick Gold as a basic investment and Desert Gold as a speculative addition, investors could benefit from the pent-up demand.


    Conflict of interest

    Pursuant to §85 of the German Securities Trading Act (WpHG), we point out that Apaton Finance GmbH as well as partners, authors or employees of Apaton Finance GmbH (hereinafter referred to as "Relevant Persons") currently hold or hold shares or other financial instruments of the aforementioned companies and speculate on their price developments. In this respect, they intend to sell or acquire shares or other financial instruments of the companies (hereinafter each referred to as a "Transaction"). Transactions may thereby influence the respective price of the shares or other financial instruments of the Company.
    In this respect, there is a concrete conflict of interest in the reporting on the companies.

    In addition, Apaton Finance GmbH is active in the context of the preparation and publication of the reporting in paid contractual relationships.
    For this reason, there is also a concrete conflict of interest.
    The above information on existing conflicts of interest applies to all types and forms of publication used by Apaton Finance GmbH for publications on companies.

    Risk notice

    Apaton Finance GmbH offers editors, agencies and companies the opportunity to publish commentaries, interviews, summaries, news and the like on news.financial. These contents are exclusively for the information of the readers and do not represent any call to action or recommendations, neither explicitly nor implicitly they are to be understood as an assurance of possible price developments. The contents do not replace individual expert investment advice and do not constitute an offer to sell the discussed share(s) or other financial instruments, nor an invitation to buy or sell such.

    The content is expressly not a financial analysis, but a journalistic or advertising text. Readers or users who make investment decisions or carry out transactions on the basis of the information provided here do so entirely at their own risk. No contractual relationship is established between Apaton Finance GmbH and its readers or the users of its offers, as our information only refers to the company and not to the investment decision of the reader or user.

    The acquisition of financial instruments involves high risks, which can lead to the total loss of the invested capital. The information published by Apaton Finance GmbH and its authors is based on careful research. Nevertheless, no liability is assumed for financial losses or a content-related guarantee for the topicality, correctness, appropriateness and completeness of the content provided here. Please also note our Terms of use.


    Der Autor

    Fabian Lorenz

    For more than twenty years, the Cologne native has been intensively involved with the stock market, both professionally and privately. He is particularly passionate about national and international small and micro caps.

    About the author



    Related comments:

    Commented by Fabian Lorenz on October 23rd, 2025 | 07:00 CEST

    Will GOLD explode to USD 10,000? Opportunities in defense? Barrick Mining, RENK, and Kobo Resources!

    • Mining
    • Gold
    • Commodities
    • Defense

    Get out of gold - or buy more? According to the world's most famous banker, the rally in precious metals is far from over. Jamie Dimon believes USD 10,000 per troy ounce is possible. In line with this, there are interesting rumors coming out of Africa regarding heavyweight Barrick Mining. Explorers such as Kobo Resources offer leveraged exposure to the gold price. The Company is active in one of Africa's most stable and promising regions, and the gold gem's stock has recently been listed on a German stock exchange. Defense stocks have also corrected recently. Here, too, analysts see buying opportunities. RENK has potential for a 30% gain. The transmission specialist has announced a million-dollar order.

    Read

    Commented by André Will-Laudien on October 22nd, 2025 | 07:35 CEST

    Gold and silver – New record highs! Keep an eye on Barrick, Agnico Eagle, Desert Gold, and First Majestic!

    • Mining
    • Gold
    • Silver
    • Commodities

    Silver prices broke through the USD 53 mark for the first time at the beginning of the week, and gold is attempting to reach the USD 4,300 mark. Precious metal enthusiasts have been anticipating these moves for a long time, but traders on the futures exchanges clearly have not. In addition to extreme physical scarcity, the exploding prices are also attributed to heavy short squeezes. The physical silver market is under tremendous pressure as the availability of real metal to hedge the numerous futures transactions is severely limited. This imbalance is causing erratic market reactions and driving the spot price into an almost exponential sell-off. The current rally in precious metals is driven by geopolitical uncertainty, industrial demand factors, and the search for safe investments. In times of excessive government debt, the weakness of the US dollar is now also weighing on the market. Which companies should investors keep a close eye on now?

    Read

    Commented by Fabian Lorenz on October 22nd, 2025 | 07:30 CEST

    SHARE PRICE EXPLOSION for commodity gems!? Nordex, Aurubis, Salzgitter, and Power Metallic Mines!

    • Mining
    • Lithium
    • Copper
    • Commodities
    • Steel
    • Wind
    • renewableenergies

    Shares in the commodities and precious metals sector have been unstoppable in recent weeks. Power Metallic Mines could soon become an explosive latecomer to the rally. There are good reasons for this, as the CEO recently made clear. At Aurubis, the rally appears to be over for now. Analysts are skeptical, and the major shareholder is cashing in his shares - albeit in an unusual way. So should you sell now, too? The past few months have been unusually positive for Nordex. There is currently no sign of a slump in the wind business. What are analysts saying after the latest order intake?

    Read