[SeeSharp]

The gold standard only works if you are willing to give control of our currency to the gold mine owners. If they mine a lot the value goes down.

Nope. The price of gold regulates mining activity. Mining for gold is expensive and the price has to be high to make it worthwhile for all but the most efficient producers. There is never more than a minute increase in the total gold supply each year. Why would using gold as money make any difference in gold mining? Gold is very valuable now and every bit of mining that can profitable be done is already being done.

[Dawnsblood]

I guess I do not understand. It seems to me that if the miners find a lot of gold then the worth of a currency pegged to it would go down. Supply and demand right? The same would happen in the other direction yes? I have been studying a bit on my off time lately and that is the process explained by Ms Fawcett in a book named “Political Economy For Beginners”. It seems to make sense to me. As Gold finds in Australia and the US (in the late 1800’s) picked up, the worth of the Pound went down. At the same time the value of currency in India and in China (based on silver) fluctuated according to the amount of silver the UK provided in trade. It seems to make a lot of sense to me. BTW it was so interesting to me to read a book that referred to Gov outlays in the millions rather than the trillions:) I am in the middle of Mr Hazlitts’s “Economics in One Lesson”. FA Hayek and HL Mencken wrote well of it, so maybe I'll figure it out :)

[ridesthemiles]

Gold is very valuable now and every bit of mining that can profitable be done is already being done.”

Barrick mining out of Canada has 2 mines running near Battle Mountain, in Northern Nevada. One is above ground—Barrick Company and the other is underground-—Newmont mining Co.
Barrick is trying to open another mine near Crescent Valley further east, and has passed all the enviro rules. Now the Indians are trying to stop it.
While I want to respect the truly “sacred” areas of the Indians, I do not believe that EVERY MOUNTAIN is or was a “sacred area”.