I have to say I disagree with you. Countries continue to buy gold and they still don,t have enough to support a new financial system if it goes that way. We have even been seeing banks taken large positions in companies with gold in the ground, to secure future increases in gold held and to guarantee they would get it. When you see banks going to source for their gold, you know that not enough is being mined and that the POG has to go up.

http://washpost.bloomberg.com/Story?docId=1376-M82LK40D9L3501-6AP6JIE8QVN2BIDBT8GU2AUL44

I will also comment that some of the biggest profits ever made by gold miners was last year. There was a lot of cash on some of these miners balance sheets, some took write downs, some increased or instituted dividends and a few bought assets. A look at the cost per ounce to mine in this link shows how a nice profit can be made. Sure, on existing infrastructure, your costs are less, but still, some of these majors go overboard on spending when erecting new mines. Inflation hasn,t hurt the mining profits, they are victims of their own costs.And maybe by shaving tens of millions off executive pays, their dollars will go a little further?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Largest_gold_companies

IMO