Q: The price of gold is up 25 per cent from its trough, the S&P/TSX Gold Index has bounced back more than 100 per cent, many people have read a lot about the uncertainties out there that are driving this. What’s your view on what got us here?

A: There are a number of factors. One, the expansion of money supply by countries around the world, they’re debasing the currency. The incurrence of debt. In the U.S., we’ll use as a proxy for the developed world, the national debt is now more than $19 trillion. People are saying ‘we’re not believing government,’ all these politicians are being kicked out right now is a lack of confidence in politicians. There is a lack of confidence in our monetary system and people are saying ‘what over time, and over the millennium, has held its value?’ and gold is there.

Q: Where do you think gold is going to go?

A: I think this year we’ll see the high teens (over today’s price of $1,350) if not $2,000. Three, four years from now I could see $5,000 gold.

Q: Why so high?

A: If you look at the last cycle for gold, when it was freed up in 1971, gold was $40. It ran up to just over $800 in 1980, so a factor of 20. Apply it to the last low for gold, which was $250, 20 times $250 is $5,000. This is just a repeating cycle. On top of that, you have negative interest rates that are frightening the heck out of a lot of people because they can’t retire.