The head of Newmont Corp., the world’s largest gold producer, says that his company’s current stock price is the lowest it will be for a generation as the miner attempts to consolidate its collection of top-tier assets.

The U.S.-based gold giant recently announced that it will seek to sell six mines and two other projects in order to generate US$2 billion in cash as it transitions to a portfolio of solely tier-one assets; the world’s largest and most-sought after gold mines.

“We'll have 10 tier-one gold mines in our portfolio, that's over half of the tier-one gold mines that exist in the world,” Tom Palmer, CEO of Newmont, told BNN Bloomberg in a Tuesday interview.

“It’s a really powerful go-forward portfolio for Newmont that comes on the back of that transaction.”

The company said last week that it intends to divest three Canadian gold mines — Éléonore, Musselwhite and Porcupine, as well as Cripple Creek & Victor in the U.S., one mine in Ghana and another in Australia.

Newmont also announced plans to sell two other “non-core” projects: Havieron in Australia and Coffee Gold in Canada. Palmer told Bloomberg News the company has already received interest from potential buyers.

• Top commodities headlines, all in one place

“We've got six really high-class tier-two assets… three of them are in Ontario and Quebec. It’s a really good opportunity as we work through that process for those assets… to find a home in a go-forward company where they’re a real cornerstone asset,” Palmer said.

“I think it’s a real opportunity for Newmont going forward, but I think also a really great opportunity for those three assets in – hopefully – Canadian hands going forward.”

Palmer said that some of the cash generated from these potential sales will be used to pay-down Newmont’s debt, which grew after the company acquired Newcrest Mining Ltd. late last year for around $15 billion.

“As you close out a big transaction like that, you bring on a little bit more debt as you bring the two balance sheets together,” he said, adding that the company plans to lower its debt by around $1 billion from its current level of $9 billion.

“The other use of those proceeds is to buy back some shares. We've got our share buyback program approved, so we're very clear on what we're going to do with those proceeds.”

'Enjoy the ride up with us'

Between 2018 and 2022, Newmont shares mostly outperformed the benchmark VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF as well as Canada-based competitor Barrick Gold Corp., but the stock has since fallen to rejoin the pack.

Last year, some analysts voiced skepticism about Newmont’s acquisition of Newcrest, pointing to risks around the company potentially taking on more mines than it could handle.

Veteran gold watcher John Ing said that Newmont was still grappling with problems it inherited from Goldcorp after the two companies merged in 2019, and added that another large-scale acquisition could bring additional challenges.

“Sometimes with these acquisitions, you buy other people's problems,” Ing told BNN Bloomberg in October.

• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the BNN Bloomberg App

But Palmer said Newmont has emerged from the Newcrest acquisition with a “very clear picture” of their portfolio going-forward, and he’s confident the company will be able to deliver strong results.

“It's a once-in-a-generation buy for anyone who's thinking of putting a few dollars into gold equity,” he said.

“We’ve cleared the decks and now we're getting on and delivering on our commitments. Newmont stock is sitting at a very good buying price… and as we deliver on our commitments, you can enjoy the ride up with us.”

With files from Bloomberg News