Mining companies have a reputation for being boom or bust. They can be defensive, cyclical, and -- if you pick right -- pretty rewarding over the long haul.
Right now, two mining stocks that stand out to me are Newmont (NEM -0.59%) and MP Materials (MP -2.28%). One is a gold miner with a huge global presence and a gold market that's tilting in its favor. The other is America's rare-earth champion, or, rather, one of the few domestic sources for metals critical to defense, tech, and clean energy.
The first leans on demand that's been around for centuries, while the second is still out to prove its story. Let's start with the steadier of the two.
Image source: Getty Images.
1. Newmont
Newmont is the world's largest gold miner, with operations spanning five continents. It's about as close to a blue-chip gold stock as you can get, with steady cash flow, global scale, and a front-row seat to the gold price show.
Speaking of which, gold prices have been on a tear in 2025. Just consider this: the average quarterly price for an ounce of gold hit an all-time high of $3,280.35 in June, an increase of 40% year over year and 15% from the previous quarter. JP Morgan now sees gold prices crossing $4,000 by the second quarter of next year, while Goldman Sachs is projecting a range of $3,650 to $3,950.
If either of those predictions comes true (and let's be clear -- they are only predictions), strong tailwinds would fluff up the sails of Newmont.
Already, the company has sailed high on the strength of gold this year. In Q2, it turned out about 1.5 million attributable ounces at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1,375 per ounce -- good enough to deliver a record $1.7 billion in free cash flow. That kind of cash covers the dividend (currently yielding about 1.45%) and funds a $3 billion stock buyback program.
Shares are up nearly 80% this year on the back of those results, yet Newmont still doesn't look expensive. Its enterprise value is just over 6.5 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), below the industry's usual 7-to-8 range and under its own long-term average. With gold's backdrop this strong and a healthy balance sheet, Newmont seems like a good buy for the long term.
2. MP Materials
MP Materials runs the only rare-earth mine in the United States, which produces elements like neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr). These metals are essential for producing high-strength magnets used in everything from smartphones to electric vehicles to wind turbines and fighter jets.
Currently, China is the dominant producer of these and other rare-earth metals. But MP Materials' Mountain Pass mine in California could give the U.S. a strategic foothold in securing its own supply chain. That fact alone has opened doors: a major Department of Defense contract that includes a price floor for NdPR at $110 per kilogram and a $500 million supply deal with Apple for magnets used in its devices.
Production has been ramping up fast. In the second quarter of 2025, MP Materials' NdPr production reached 597 metric tons, a record high. And with management expecting production to rise 10% to 20% over the next quarter, that record might not last. Meanwhile, losses narrowed more than expected, with a $0.13 per-share loss more favorable than the $0.20 that was forecast.
Still, a lot of questions remain, especially after MP Materials' decision in April to halt all exports to China, historically its biggest customer. The bet is that government contracts, Apple's magnet orders, and new buyers in the U.S., Japan, and South Korea will more than make up the difference. But the company will have to start selling more refined products instead of raw concentrate, which is problematic considering that its 10X Facility is still years from opening.
At the stock's current price, its forward price-to-earnings ratio of about 24 times already bakes in a lot of expectations for growth. That's rich for a miner in transition, especially one that's trading short-term revenue for the promise of downstream integration. For now, MP remains a high-risk, high-reward bet on U.S. supply chain independence -- worth watching, for sure, but best kept as a small holding of a portfolio.
