The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) gained 13% in 2021.
While some ASX 200 mining shares did far better – we're looking at you Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) – others fell well behind that benchmark. Namely, the big gold miners.
Below we look at the five worst-performing ASX 200 mining shares to have held in the year just past.
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The fifth and fourth worst performers
Starting with the fifth-worst performer, we have Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX).
Westgold Resources' share price fell 22.7% over 2021, closing on 31 December at $2.04 per share.
The gold explorer and miner is primarily active in Western Australia and faced some headwinds from a sliding gold price over the course of the year. The gold price started 2021 at US$1,999 per troy ounce and finished at US$1,829 per ounce, a decline of 8.5%, according to data from Bloomberg.
With 425.5 million shares outstanding, Westgold has a current market cap of $838 million.
Moving on to the fourth-worst performing ASX 200 mining share, we arrive at Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST).
Northern Star's share price finished the year at $9.41, down 25.9% from the 31 December 2020 closing price.
Northern Star is an active gold miner and producer in Western Australia and was also impacted by retracing gold prices. The miner has 1.16 billion shares outstanding, giving it a current market cap of $11 billion. Northern Star pays a dividend yield of 2%, fully franked.
Coming in at number three and number two
Moving into steeper losses, the third-worst ASX 200 mining share to have held throughout 2021 is St Barbara Ltd (ASX: SBM).
St Barbara's shares lost 37.7% throughout the year, closing on 31 December at $1.47 per share. The gold miner and explorer is active in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
With 709.5 million shares outstanding, the miner has a current market cap of $1 billion. St Barbara pays a 4.1% dividend yield, fully franked.
This brings us to the second worst-performing ASX 200 mining share of the year gone by, Regis Resources Limited (ASX: RRL).
Regis Resources closed the year trading at $1.95 per share, down 45.8% from 31 December 2020.
The gold miner and producer has active projects in Western Australia with prospective projects in New South Wales. The company has some 754.8 million shares outstanding, with a current market cap of $1.4 billion. Regis Resources pays a dividend yield of 3.5%, fully franked.
The worst performing ASX 200 mining share of 2021
And that leaves us with the worst-performing ASX 200 mining share of 2021, Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG).
As with the other companies on the list, Resolute is primarily involved in gold exploration and mining, with projects in Senegal, Mali, and Ghana.
The Resolute Mining share price fell 51.3% in 2021, closing the year at 39 cents per share.
With 1.1 billion shares outstanding, Resolute has a current market cap of $414 million. The company last paid a dividend in August 2018.
