(Kitco News) Tom Palmer, who steps down as CEO of Newmont (NYSE: NEM; TSX: NGT) on December 31 2025, says the world’s largest gold miner enters 2026 with a stronger leadership foundation, a more resilient balance sheet, and a long-life portfolio designed to generate value across price cycles.
Speaking with Kitco Mining in his final interview as CEO, Palmer said the company he leaves behind is fundamentally different from the one he joined a decade ago. He noted that safety performance and fatality risk management have undergone a profound shift, describing the change as “chalk and cheese.”
Palmer highlighted Newmont’s transition from a group of shorter life operations to a portfolio capable of multi-decade planning, noting that “We now have 12 managed operations. Each of them has very long life ore bodies that we can confidently make decisions on a 20 to 30 year timeframe.” He added that the company’s organic project pipeline, strengthened by the Newcrest acquisition, is now one of the most attractive in the global mining sector. Newmont’s ability to plan decades ahead is a structural advantage not typically found in the gold mining industry, and Palmer contrasted this with the shorter mine lives that have historically defined the industry.
The Newcrest acquisition was guided by deliberate strategic criteria, commenting that “We were very clear about what our go-forward portfolio would look like.” The integration created a platform for expanding copper exposure and consolidating Newmont’s position in Australia, Canada, and the United States. The divestiture of six mines in 2024 was tied directly to that strategy. The company targeted $2 billion in proceeds but received nearly $5 billion after more than 50 companies expressed interest. “We obviously got the benefit of tailwinds from the gold price that allowed us to have a very competitive environment,” he said.
Palmer said Newmont’s balance sheet is now in “really robust shape,” providing resilience and flexibility as the company evaluates long-term investments. That strength supported more than $2.7 billion in shareholder returns this year. He continued, “Having done all those things well with discipline, then it is about returns to shareholders through the share buybacks or dividends.” He emphasized that dividends in particular have to be sustainable, adding that thinking through the cycle is “critically important.”
Newmont’s approach has also been influenced by a shift toward more generalist investors. As the only gold miner in the S&P 500, the company now operates with higher expectations for predictability and long-term planning. Palmer said the priority is consistency, commenting, “Say what you do, do what you say.” He noted that reliable guidance and disciplined execution will be pivotal for 2026 as the company moves past its major restructuring phase.
Palmer said digital gold initiatives and new institutional buyers such as Tether reflect expanding demand sources for the metal, and while he did not predict whether these groups will enter mining equities, he said opportunity remains. “I think there is still an opportunity for people to invest directly into gold equities to get exposure to gold,” he said.
As for consolidation, Palmer reiterated that scale is not the goal, believing that the real differentiators are strength, resilience, and mine life. Companies without long-life foundations may need to consider strategic combinations, particularly if gold enters an extended bull market, according to Palmer. For Newmont, he believes the portfolio is positioned for decades of consistent production.
Palmer will continue as a strategic advisor for several months before returning to Australia. He said the transition to incoming CEO Natascha Viljoen comes at the right moment. “We are at a beautiful inflexion point for me to hand the baton across to Natascha.” Looking ahead, he said the industry has an opportunity to demonstrate greater discipline, stronger operational performance, and more sustainable value creation as gold producers navigate the next phase of the cycle.
Watch the full interview on the Kitco Mining YouTube channel for Palmer’s complete reflections on Newmont, capital returns, investor expectations, digital gold, and the future of the world’s largest gold miner.