2 Top Gold Mining Stocks to Buy Now -- and 1 to Avoid

Investors in gold mining stocks usually expect them to perform in line with gold prices. That, however, is hardly the case and gold stocks may fail to perform even in a high price environment, simply because there's a lot more to gold mining than just prices of the precious metal. That explains why, despite gold prices heading north this year, gold mining stocks have moved in all directions.

Data source: Google Finance. Data as of Nov. 28, 2017.

The truth is that the business of gold mining is fraught with uncertainties. A gold miner can never really know where gold deposits are, or how much. According to the World Gold Council, 0.1% or less of gold discoveries eventually end up as productive gold mines. Not to forget how complex, capital-intensive, and time-consuming the process from exploration to processing of gold can be.

Source: Fool.com