Why NST could be massively undervalued at current prices...., page-13

PEs for gold mining companies fall into the discipline of behavioural finance. Simplistically, they are a reflection of sentiment more so than pure fundamental analysis. That means when the bull is roaring the best gold miners have PEs around and over 20 and even up around the 30 mark. When the bear is growling the PEs are down around the 5 mark. For instance, at the height of the last peak in POG several USA and Canadian goldies had PEs of 30. Newcrest had a PE of 25 plus in 2011. Check this link for the Newcrest PE at the time:

http://www.thebull.com.au/premium/a/20816-bull-of-the-week---ride-the-gold-bull.html

Personally, I find a rule of thumb to be something like this:
Positive sentiment = PE 20
Neutral sentiment = PE 15
Negative sentiment = PE 10

Give or take a point or 2 (+ or -) and it gives a good forecasting guide to value.

Each to their own though and DYOR etc etc blah blah blah.

Cheers