2009: gold stocks will be among the top performers

The mining industry is suffering from a lack of investment - and many engineers are approaching retirement age. Dominic Frisby believes this means the next commodities bull market could be closer than we think - with gold stocks leading the way.

This week in London I was at Mines and Money, one of the biggest mining conferences of the year. It's a chance for miners, bankers and investors to network, do deals, discuss the market outlook and generally gee themselves up for the future.

Mining attracts some of the most flamboyant and larger-than-life characters you will ever meet, from smooth salesmen with slicked back hair and gold rings to rock-obsessed geologists with pot-bellies and beards. But in the wake of what Bob Hoye of Institutional Advisors calls "the greatest train wreck in the history of credit markets", the event was swamped with gloomy sentiment.

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