I hope others point this out, the cost of gold ( nor any other commodity ) is so simplisticly tied to the price of production. Without doing any googling for specific numbers: - the price rise of gold in the past decade. - is the production costs of mining gold getting more or less expensive? alright ... here are some numbers: total cost of production example: 670 per ounce need I quote the current price of gold per ounce? Note, that AISC is just one regions cost - others are plus or minus a hundred or so. http://www.trefis.com/stock/abx/articles/206888/an-analysis-of-barrick-golds... and in pretty pictures: http://www.visualcapitalist.com/what-is-the-cost-of-mining-gold It is the 'other factors' of commodities which drive prices. Biggest is the cartel which controls that particular commodity - think diamonds for easy picture, Read about Libor, ISD etc: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/everything-is-rigged-the-biggest-f... -daniel