The Zacks Mining – Gold industry is housed within the broader Zacks Basic Materials sector. The Q1 earnings picture for this sector looks glum. Basic Materials is among the Zacks sectors that are expected to see the biggest decline in earnings in the first quarter. Overall earnings for the space are projected to fall 17.8% on 0.7% lower revenues, per the latest Earnings Preview. Gold mining companies’ first-quarter results are expected to reflect the benefits of higher gold prices and efforts to boost opera ...