8. Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G)

Lean and mean. The bull market in gold, which has, in ten years, moved the yellow metal from $270 to over $1,900 an ounce has obviously been a boon GoldCorp, as it has for many gold producers. But by ridding itself of non-core assets, cutting costs and making practical acquisitions, Goldcorp has pulled their average cost of production below $300 an ounce, and become the envy of the industry. According to management there is a design to GoldCorp’s plan, and that plan may surprise some: the company aims to be a hard hitting middleweight rather than the heavyweight champion of the gold world. As Goldcorp CEO Chuck Jeannes told the Globe and Mail: “We’ve learned from other senior companies that you don’t want to get large just for the sake of being large… you can go out and grow, but unless you do it in a value-added way, all you are doing is getting large for the sake of size. We don’t want to do that.” Not that the company is standing still; 2010 was the seventh consecutive year Goldcorp increased its reserves.

Growth has also been a good thing for the company’s shareholders, Goldcorp raised its dividend payout on February 24, 2011 from $0.36 per share to $0.408 and continues its monthly payout.

 9. ATAC Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:ATC)

Visit ATAC Resources website and it won’t take long before you see the term Carlin-type gold discovery. The company is not referring to a gold zone named after the late comedian and political activist George Carlin; rather, the Carlin gold zone in Nevada. Although, George Carlin, for years, has been a pretty strong advocate against the U.S. political system which, perhaps in part, might be responsible for the marked appreciation in the price of gold over the past 11 years we elected to highlight his “lighter side”.

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The Carlin Trend in Nevada is one of the world’s largest gold zones. Collectively, it’s a belt of gold deposits, primarily containing strata-bound disseminated gold mineralization which occurs in carbonate rocks of Paleozoic age. The Carlin Trend is about 5 miles wide and 40 miles long, extending through the town of Carlin, Nevada. Millions of years ago gold “disseminated” throughout the siltstone and limestone laid down by an ancient ocean. Some of the gold is so fine you can’t even see it under a microscope. Regardless, the Carlin Trend has already produced more than 70 million ounces of gold and is estimated to contain, factoring in past production, well over 100 million ounces of gold. For a detailed overview of the gold deposits associated with the Carlin Trend published by the Nevada Bureau of Mines and Geology – CLICK HERE.

When ATAC Resources began comparing their new gold-bearing zone in Northern Canada to Nevada’s Carlin Trend in late 2010  investors took notice. The company’s shares ran from $1.80 to $9.00 over the course of a few months. Although additional news flow since then has been somewhat dilatory – the Yukon Territories have a notoriously short summer drill season – the stock has held up well and currently trades at $7.40 as the results from this year’s drill programs begin to hit the street.

Macquarie Research analyst Michael Gray concurs with ATAC’s Carlin-type gold model. In a report issued by the brokerage firm, the Vancouver analyst argues “yes” at this early stage and has a price target of $11.00 on the company’s stock.

10. Minefinders Corporation Ltd. (TSX:MFL)

In early May silver reached a high of nearly $50 an ounce. Then it seemingly hit a psychological brick wall built by the Hunt brothers and beat a hasty retreat to $32.32. But since its sharp correction, silver has been making a slow and steady comeback and now trades at around $41.50. Eric Sprott, the founder of Sprott Asset Management, calls silver “the best recommendation anyone could make this decade” and sees silver going to $100 an ounce within the next 3 to 5 years.

Sprott’s prognostication must be music to Minefinders’ ears. Minefinders is targeting gold and silver producing assets in Mexico and, after years of hard work, the company has Proven and Probable reserves of 2.34 million ounces of gold and 119 million ounces of silver. Minefinders is unhedged and expects to produce at least 65,000 ounces of gold and 3.3 million ounces of silver in 2011.

With approximately $2.30 per share in cash and little long-term debt the company has a strong balance sheet. Minefinders’ solid performance hasn’t gone unnoticed by the financial markets, the company’s shares last closed at a record high of $17.68 valuing the company at over $1.5 billion. We connected with Mark Bailey, President and CEO of Minefinders, for an exclusive one-on-one discussion – CLICK HERE – to read more.

For 10 Most Interesting Gold Stocks – Part 1 – CLICK HERE.