Now the mood has changed sharply.

At the time of writing, the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (ASX: GDX) is down more than 33% over six months, while the Betashares Global Gold Miners ETF – Currency Hedged (ASX: MNRS) has fallen more than 36%.

Zoom out, however, and the picture is different. GDX ETF remains up more than 100% over two years, while MNRS ETF has gained more than 96%.

So, after a spectacular rise and painful reversal, could these gold miners ETFs shine again?

From market leaders to major laggards

Both ETFs provide exposure to many of the world's largest gold businesses, including Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Barrick Mining Corp (NYSE: B).

Their strong two-year returns reflect how powerful the previous gold cycle became.

At certain points during 2025, MNRS ETF had gained 149%, while GDX ETF had risen 139%, making them the two strongest-performing ASX-listed ETFs for the period. Gold delivered its best annual performance since 1979.

The price of gold benefited from central bank buying, tariff concerns, geopolitical tensions, expanding US debt, and fears around currency debasement.

Australian investors piled into the theme with ETFs recording billions of inflows during 2025 and at the beginning of this year.

For gold miners, rising bullion prices can be especially powerful. Revenue increases with gold, while many operating costs remain relatively fixed. That can produce rapid margin expansion and outsized gains.

Unfortunately, that leverage cuts both ways.

Why has the shine faded?

The first issue may simply be that expectations ran too far.

After triple-digit gains, gold miners were no longer overlooked. When sentiment cooled, investors had substantial profits to protect, leaving the sector vulnerable to a sharp reversal.

Capital has also found new homes.

Artificial intelligence remains a dominant market theme, but attention has broadened beyond software and mega-cap technology companies. Semiconductors, data centre infrastructure, electricity, and copper have attracted investors looking for the bottlenecks behind the AI buildout.

South Korean equities performed strongly through semiconductor exposure, while copper and energy transition metals benefited from data centre demand, constrained supply, and electrification.

Gold miners must compete with those themes for investor attention.

What could drive another rally?

Gold miners could recover if the gold price begins another sustained advance.

Renewed geopolitical stress, continued central bank demand, lower real interest rates, a weaker US dollar, or further concerns about government debt could restore interest in the metal as a safe-haven asset.

Company fundamentals will matter too. Gold miners need to convert elevated bullion prices into stronger cash flow while controlling labour, energy, and development costs.

These ETFs do not offer pure exposure to gold. They own operating businesses exposed to management decisions, mine performance, inflation, political risk, and capital allocation.

Foolish takeaway

The recent falls in GDX ETF and MNRS ETF show why thematic ETFs can be difficult to time.

Both funds have delivered outstanding two-year gains, but investors who arrived near the peak have endured a brutal six months.

Gold miners may shine again. However, the next leg higher will probably require more than gold merely holding its value. The sector may need a fresh bullion rally, improving margins, and renewed investor appetite before its former market leadership returns.

The post Can these ASX ETFs recover after a brutal gold sell-off? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

And by it, I mean smash into new record-high territory.

The yellow metal reached a new all-time high of US$2,830.74 (AU$4,552.50) per ounce overnight, surpassing its previous all-time high, which was only set on Friday.

What's driving the gold price to new records?

The biggest new push to send the gold price to fresh all-time highs comes from President Donald Trump.

Gold's classic safe haven status tends to attract interest in times of uncertainty, and Trump is dishing out plenty of uncertainty.

The US President swiftly followed through with his tariff threats against Canada, Mexico and China, fuelling fears of a global trade war. Adding more ambiguity into the mix, Trump also signalled that the European Union is in his tariff crosshairs.

With Trump now having said he'll pause the tariffs on Mexico for a month to open the door to negotiations, the gold price has retraced a touch from its all-time high. It's currently trading for US$2,813.84 per ounce.

What are the experts saying?

Commenting on the surging gold price, Bart Melek, global head of commodity strategy at TD Securities, said (quoted by Bloomberg):

We could envision a situation where inflation migrates higher, while the economy slows down as the auto sector grinds to a sudden halt, for example. Higher inflation and low rates, and the associated angst with the president's imposition of tariffs, so uncertainty and risk are helping gold.

And according to analysts at the Bank of Montreal:

These tariffs create a strong tailwind for gold. Not only because of their inherent inflationary effects but also as the USA's increasingly hawkish foreign policy may accelerate de-dollarisation plans.

How to play a fast-rising gold price

Atop buying and holding physical bullion, which requires secure, long-term storage plans (No, not a treasure map and a shovel!), there are three ways investors can benefit from a rising gold price.

The first is by investing in a gold exchange-traded fund (ETF), like the ETFS Metal Securities Australia Limited (ASX: GOLD).

ETFs like GOLD aim to track the price movements of physical gold in Aussie dollars. Over the past 12 months, this gold-tracking ETF has gained 44.8%.

A second way to play the fast-rising gold price is to invest in a gold miners' ETF. The VanEck Gold Miners ETF (ASX: GDX), for example, invests in a broad basket of global gold miners. Gold stocks from Canada, the US, and Australia make up the top three geographic locations.

The ETF's top three holdings are S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) listed gold stock Newmont Corp (ASX: NEM), Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd (NYSE: AEM), and Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: GOLD).

Now, if you're ready to do a bit more research, the third way to potentially make outsized gains from a rising gold price is to invest in individual gold stocks.

Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) shares, for example, have gained 29.2% over 12 months. Meanwhile, rival ASX 200 mining stock Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) has seen its share price rocket by 85.8% in a year.

The post 3 ways to target big gains as the gold price soars to new record highs appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the ASX All Ords stock is up over 5% to $6.45.

Why is this ASX All Ords stock charging higher?

Investors have been bidding the assay services provider's shares higher today after it announced a deal with one of the world's largest gold miners.

According to the release, the ASX All Ords stock's international laboratory business, MSALABS, will deliver its PhotonAssay technology to Barrick Gold Corp (NYSE: GOLD) mine sites across four continents.

The partnership will commence with the deployment of three MSALABS contracted PhotonAssay units to the Nevada Gold Mines (NGM) complex in the United States, with the potential deployment of up to 10 more units to other Barrick projects by the end of 2025. This is subject to finalising due diligence.

The partnership is an extension of an already successful relationship at Barrick's Bulyanhulu mine in Tanzania and its Kibali operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

'A watershed moment'

The ASX All Ords stock's CEO, Dirk Treasure, commented:

Barrick's global adoption of our technology is a watershed moment for us, underlining PhotonAssay's superiority to outdated and hazardous fire assay methods. Together with the team at MSALABS, we look forward to bringing the same operational and environmental benefits being delivered at Bulyanhulu and Kibali in Africa to more of Barrick's gold mines.

This sentiment was echoed by the Barrick Gold's Mineral Resource Management and Evaluations Executive, Simon Bottoms. He said:

PhotonAssay has already been delivering faster, safer, more accurate and environmentally-friendly analysis to our African operations, so we are more than pleased to broaden the partnership with Chrysos and MSALABS to take advantage of this innovative technology in our global operations.

The Chrysos share price has now doubled in value over the last 12 months.

The post This ASX All Ords stock is surging on 'watershed moment' involving one of world's largest gold miners appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.