In the past 12 months, gold has traded as high as around $1,380 an ounce and as low as about $1,140 an ounce. From its starting point at around $1,220, though, the change is just $10 an ounce at the current price around $1,210. Since June, when oil prices started falling and the dollar began strengthening, gold has lost about $100 an ounce. Silver is down about $5 an ounce, from around $21 to around $16 since June. From their June prices, then, gold is down about 8% and silver is down about 25%.

The story is significantly different for gold and silver mining companies. Rising mining costs and low prices have plagued the miners for more than two years, and share prices have dropped by 50% to 75% over that time for the firms we are looking at now. The question is whether the bleeding will continue at its current pace or it will slow down next year. It is difficult to find anyone who believes in a turnaround.

What will help the miners? Higher prices, but forecasts for gold and silver prices remain more or less within a range of 10% to 15% on either side of where prices are today. For the miners that almost certainly means more cost reductions. A side effect of the drop in oil prices is that fuel costs for miners will fall, and that is a good thing, but a stronger dollar does not help.

ALSO READ: 10 Dying and 10 Thriving U.S. Industries

The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee (FOMC) will announce its policy rate decision Wednesday afternoon, and while no one expects an interest rate hike, investors are looking for some hint that interest rates will rise, even if only a tiny bit, earlier rather than later next year. An interest rate hike would normally weigh on precious metals prices, at least in the short term. That would delay any recovery into late next year or even early 2016.

Demand for gold jewelry accounts for about 55% of global gold demand, with China and India the leading markets. Economic growth in the developed economies in 2015 is expected to increase by 2.3%, up from 1.8% in 2014, and that may boost demand for gold.

The drop in pump prices for gasoline is putting more cash in consumers’ pockets, and that is putting some air under jewelry retailers in the United States. Shares of Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE: SIG) are up more than 80% since late June and Tiffany Inc. (NYSE: TIF) stock is up more than 35%.

The not-so-good news may be that demand is also being driven by lower prices. Realized prices are down by around 11% for gold in the first three-quarters of 2014. Without an increase to the prices they receive for their precious metals, miners will struggle to grow.

ALSO READ: The 7 Worst Investments of 2014

Here is a look at what 2015 may have in store for three top gold miners, one silver miner and one silver streaming company.

Goldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) shares have dropped 17% in the past 12 months. The company pays a dividend of $0.15 quarterly, for a dividend yield of 3%, the best of the three gold miners featured here. There are two times that mining companies look for acquisitions and mergers: when business is good and when it is bad. Goldcorp held off making a major acquisition three years ago and earlier this year bowed out of an auction that it started when the price got too rich. That discipline has helped the company keep its shareholders relatively happy, even though the share price has yet to find a floor.

Stock in Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE: NEM) is down about 24% in the past 12 months, and the company’s paltry 0.5% dividend yield has not helped it keep shareholders’ interest. Newmont did not play heavily in the acquisition round when prices were high, but neither has it been able to boost its production. A possible merger with Barrick did not get beyond the discussion stage.

ALSO READ: The 10 Safest High-Yield Dividends

Which brings us to Barrick Gold Corp. (NYSE: ABX), which has lost 38% off its stock price in the past 12 months. The company’s dividend yield is 1.7%, which should count as something of a miracle after the company wrote down $4.2 billion in 2013. The firm’s operating loss in 2013 totaled $8.8 billion. In early November, an analyst at J.P. Morgan recommended a pair trade: buy Newmont and sell Barrick, thinking that the merger between the two would come back with Barrick as the acquirer. Stranger things have happened.

Coeur Mining Inc. (NYSE: CDE), primarily a silver miner, has seen its shares drop 56% in the past 12 months. The company pays no dividend, so it gets no help there either. Coeur has posted an earnings per share loss in each of the past four quarters, and that is not expected to turn around. The expected loss in the next fiscal year is more than the consensus estimate for this year. The situation doesn’t look like it will improve, given the expectation for stagnant silver prices.

Silver Wheaton Corp. (NYSE: SLW) is the best performer among these five companies. The silver streaming firm has lost just 5% in the past 12 months, and over the past five years the shares are up 26%, compared with losses ranging from 56% for Goldcorp to 75% for Coeur. As a royalty/streaming company, Silver Wheaton is in a better position than a pure-play miner when the commodity price is being squeezed. The company also pays a dividend yield of 1.1%.

ALSO READ: Offshore Drilling Outlook for 2015

One final note on the miners: the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (NYSEMKT: GDX) is down 16% over the past 12 months and the iShares Silver Trust (NYSEMKT: SLV) is down nearly 20%.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.