Yamana Gold Inc looks set to become the go-to gold company for UK investors

Inc (LON:AUY)() is likely to become the go-to company for UK investors, after its arrival on the standard list of the London stock exchange on 13 October.

The company is already listed in Canada, where it has long enjoyed a solid reputation as one of the more serious of the remaining gold-focussed companies.

The company’s major assets are in Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Canada, all jurisdictions which have fairly solid reputations.

Gold companies listed in London that come close to matching Yamana for size and scale include Petropavlovsk (), Highland (), and Centamin ().

But Petropavlovsk and Highland are focussed in Russia, a country which requires a very special set of skills, to say the least, while Centamin is focussed on Egypt and is largely a one-asset company.

Yamana’s diversification, its track record of successful operation, and its willingness to stick to its knitting are key attractions. Petropavlovsk has been riven with internal strife over the past few years, while Highland seems largely to be the plaything of oligarchs.

Centamin for its part recently beat off a hostile approach from Endeavour Mining (TSE:EDM), and while it is ensconced mainly in Egypt will probably be secure. But that same security also begs the question: where will the growth come from?

Yamana is not burdened by these constraints. And it’s also not likely to be too interested in the travails of its London-listed rivals. Its market capitalization remains comfortably more than the other three companies combined, and as such may come to eclipse them will relative ease. It’s a position the company may well relish, because back in North America it remains overshadowed by much larger peers, like Barrick ()() and Newmont ().