The previous 12 months was a golden one for insiders at many massive Canadian miners.

At a number of corporations, executives and administrators took benefit of 2020′s surging bullion costs to legally promote tens of hundreds of thousands of {dollars}’ value of shares. Insider inventory gross sales at Barrick Gold Corp. totalled $90.3-million, whereas executives and administrators at Franco-Nevada Corp. bought $75.1-million value of shares.

At B2Gold Corp. insiders bought $65.4-million value of inventory, whereas gross sales at Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. totalled $52.2-million. Wheaton Treasured Metals Corp. insiders bought simply lower than $40-million value.

Gold is traditionally sought out as a refuge in occasions of utmost monetary stress, and in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic match the invoice. Inventory markets dropped sharply from late February to late March, then rebounded by year-end. However gold had a gentle climb because the economic system stayed shaky, and it hit an historic excessive of US$2,050 an oz in August.

That meant leaders at most mining corporations had a number of alternatives to legally promote shares right into a rising market – extra so than in a few years previous, when mining shares supplied lacklustre returns.

Sometimes, high-level insiders can legally promote any of their holdings, with disclosure, and never forward of fabric information occasions, akin to an acquisition announcement or an earnings launch. Many corporations have stock-ownership necessities for his or her executives.

In 2020, shares in Barrick, the world’s second-biggest gold miner, hit a seven-year excessive and a lot of executives took benefit – none extra so than John Thornton, the corporate’s government chairman. He lower his stake within the firm by 50 per cent, promoting 2.6 million shares in April for proceeds of $64-million. (For this story, The Globe and Mail has transformed U.S. inventory gross sales, like Mr. Thornton’s, to Canadian greenback figures.)

However whereas his sale was the largest, many different insiders, far much less outstanding than Mr. Thornton, grossed hundreds of thousands of {dollars}.

To assessment gold-industry inventory promoting, The Globe examined stories filed with securities regulators for greater than a dozen massive Canadian-headquartered miners. The buying and selling stories coated all firm administrators and high-level executives the businesses deemed to be insiders, subsequently topic to reporting necessities after they purchase or promote shares.

The inventory sale totals on this story mirror the gross proceeds from 2020 transactions by way of Dec. 14, no matter how the insiders acquired the shares. A few of the insiders purchased the inventory on the open market, however for many, the shares got here as a part of compensation plans.

When executives exercised inventory choices – shopping for shares at one value, then promoting the shares on the open marketplace for a better value – their pretax beneficial properties have been lower than their product sales. This level was emphasised by a number of of the businesses The Globe contacted for remark. Dale Coffin, a spokesman for Toronto-based Agnico Eagle, mentioned that when the train value of choices is deducted from the gross proceeds, the online worth of shares bought at his firm drops under $37-million from the gross of $52-million.

Agnico Eagle shares hit an historic excessive in September; over the course of 2020, eight firm executives bought a minimum of $3-million value of shares apiece. Chief monetary officer David Smith bought $11.5-million. Jean Robitaille, senior vice-president of company improvement, enterprise technique and technical providers, bought $7.2-million. Yvon Sylvestre, senior vice-president and strategic adviser of operations, bought $6.6-million. Sean Boyd, who has been chief government officer since 1998, bought $3.5-million. Mr. Coffin, the spokesman, notes three executives bought shares in 2020 for a complete of $770,000, offsetting among the gross sales.

Franco-Nevada Corp., the world’s greatest streaming and royalty firm, additionally hit a brand new excessive in July. (Information on historic highs on this story is taken from S&P International Market Intelligence.) Chairman and co-founder David Harquail bought $24.5-million in inventory, whereas co-founder Pierre Lassonde bought $16.2-million in shares. For the 2 males, they made their gross sales in a 12 months of transition: In Could, Mr. Lassonde stepped down as chairman and as a director, and Mr. Harquail left the CEO job to turn into a non-executive chairman. In an e-mail to The Globe, Mr. Harquail famous the gross sales are however a fraction of his holdings: He has retained 92 per cent of his authentic place within the firm, he mentioned.

Gross sales data present eight different senior executives bought a minimum of $1-million value of shares, together with Lloyd Hong, chief authorized officer, with $9.7-million, and Eaun Grey, vice-president of enterprise improvement, with simply greater than $5-million.

B2Gold Corp. inventory hit its historic excessive in August. Over the course of the 12 months, 12 executives bought a minimum of $1-million value of shares, led by CEO Clive Johnson with $20.2-million. Normal counsel Roger Richer and Tom Garagan, senior vice-president of exploration, every bought $8.3-million value. Dennis Stansbury, senior vice-president of engineering and challenge evaluations, bought $5.3-million.

Wheaton Treasured Metals Corp., the second-biggest streaming and royalty firm by market worth, additionally hit an historic excessive in August. Over the course of 2020, Haytham Hodaly, senior vice-president of company improvement, bought $9.8-million. Chairman Douglas Holtby bought $6.3-million. Curt Bernardi, senior vice-president of authorized and company secretary, bought $5.9-million.

At Barrick, Mr. Thornton was joined in promoting by CEO Mark Bristow, who bought $10.4-million value of Barrick shares in Could at US$27.14 a share, only a few {dollars} shy of its excessive for the 12 months. Mr. Bristow nonetheless holds 5.2 million shares in Barrick, which date from the 2018 all-stock takeover of his earlier firm, Randgold Assets Ltd.

5 different Barrick executives bought a minimum of $1-million value of inventory, together with metallurgy, engineering and capital initiatives government John Steele ($5.4-million) and chief monetary officer Graham Shuttleworth ($3.5-million).

Insider promoting at different miners was notable, however fell in need of these ranges.

At Alamos Gold Inc., which hit an historic excessive in July, insiders bought $13.3-million in shares. CEO John McCluskey, at simply lower than $2.2-million in proceeds, was the one insider to prime $2-million in gross sales, with 5 others promoting greater than $1-million in inventory. In response to The Globe, the corporate famous the executives netted much less cash than that due to the usage of choices.

Pan American Silver Corp. insiders bought $9.9-million value of inventory, as silver, like gold, had a robust 12 months, racing as much as a seven-year excessive in the summertime. Pan American shares set an historic excessive in August. Over the course of 2020, chief working officer Steven Busby bought $2-million of inventory, and two different executives topped $1-million in gross sales. Firm spokesman Siren Fisekci famous a good portion of the gross sales associated to the train of inventory choices, which “are an necessary a part of their compensation.” There are vesting or holding intervals for a lot of the shares, and Pan American insiders even have minimal possession necessities, she mentioned.

Totals have been smaller, maybe unsurprisingly, at corporations whose shares didn’t attain new highs.

At Lundin Mining Corp., whose inventory peaked in 2007 and trades about 30 per cent under its historic excessive, insiders bought $7-million value of shares.

Kinross Gold Corp.’s historic excessive was in 1996, and it’s been buying and selling about 75 per cent under these ranges. It noticed $5.4-million value of shares bought, with only one insider promoting greater than $1-million value.

At SSR Mining Inc., which peaked in 2007 and now trades about 40 per cent under these ranges, insiders bought $3.7-million in shares. At First Quantum Minerals Ltd., which peaked in 2011 and now trades about 20 per cent under its all-time excessive, insiders bought $3.3-million in shares. At Yamana Gold, which peaked in 1996 and is greater than 90 per cent under that prime, insiders bought a complete of $2.5-million.

Your time is efficacious. Have the High Enterprise Headlines e-newsletter conveniently delivered to your inbox within the morning or night. Sign up today.