There's Gold in Them Thar Hills

I've just come across this piece of news:

Britain's unexploited mineral wealth could be about to come into its own: with the price of gold predicted to soar above £500 an ounce over the next six months, drilling at one of the UK's only workable gold mines is about to restart after years of idleness.

Exploration work to uncover the true amount and value of the precious metal deposited at Cononish mine, near the village of Tyndrum in Scotland, is due to start any day.

This is welcome. Better still would be for Alex Salmond to announce that an independent Scotland would adopt a gold standard. If Alex were really radical he'd advocate a free market in currencies.

(Disclosure: I bought my gold shares when the price was £200 per ounce.)