Midas Gold Midas has 6 million ounces of Gold in all categories and its open pit mining is one of the higher grade larger open pits in the U.S. and scheduled to start production soon. In July, the company announced its mine permitting plan is on track. There are likely many many more ounces in the area, but company does not need additional ounces at this time, as its top priority is the permit. NY Billionaire John Paulson is the largest shareholder. Barrick Gold is a large shareholder of the company and Franko Nevada owns royalty. Once permitted this company will likely be bought out by a larger gold company.