Gold Mining Winners: Barrick, Goldcorp

Updated for stock-price movements and to include further detail from the company's press release.

TORONTO (TheStreet) -- Barrick Gold(ABX) has eliminated all of its gold hedges, the miner said Tuesday.

The positions, meant to defend the company's bottom line against a drop in the price of gold, had clouded Barrick's share price during a time of nearly unprecedented gains in gold prices and the stocks of gold mining concerns.

Not so any longer. On a day when gold prices broke $1,200 an ounce and set another all-time high, investors lifted Barrick shares by 8% Tuesday. The stock, which has lagged peers such as Goldcorp(GG) and Newmont Mining(NEM) this year, finished the regular session at $46.07, up $3.38 from the previous close.

In a press release Tuesday morning, Barrick said it "now has full leverage to the gold price on the industry's largest gold production and reserves."

$8,000 Gold

Barrick boss Aaron Regent said in a written statement that the company, which announced in September a plan to eliminate the hedge book within 12 months, decided to quicken the pace at which it would close its positions as the price of gold went on its run above $1,000 an ounce. "With their elimination we no longer have any gold price-related mark-to-market exposure and will now fully benefit from increases in the gold price," Regent said.