I agree with your view of "paper" gold and silver and how the banks can manipulate the price of these metals using these dubious means. I also agree with your statement that explorers are less affected by this since, if they prove up sizeable reserves, their value will increase as long as the price of gold stays reasonably high. Actually, this is one of the reasons why I decided to invest in a promising explorer like KXL. The upside of finding significant new reserves far outweighs the power of the banks to control the price of gold.

By the way, I find the the virus analogy quite fitting.