Better Buy: Hecla Mining Company vs. Tahoe Resources

They may have brief runs of impressive gains, but gold stocks have historically had a difficult time beating the S&P 500 over five- and 10-year periods. Why is that? Well, it probably has something to do with the fact that mining precious metals is difficult, expensive, and full of regulatory and labor landmines. There are many more chances for things to go wrong than for them to go right.

The industry's poor performance can be summed up by the one-year performance of Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL) and Tahoe Resources (NYSE: TAHO), down 27% and 63%, respectively.

That's not very encouraging, but you know what they say: be greedy when others are fearful. Recent misery notwithstanding, which gold stock currently down on its luck is the better buy?

Source: Fool.com