According to some experts, after the peak is reached, the production rate will slowly decline until it reaches near zero while the price shoots upward. At that point, we will have pretty much mined all the economic ore deposits that are present on the planet.

...one of our most important technical indicators, the “Dow/Gold Ratio,” may be giving off an important signal at this time, which we discuss briefly...

It appears that market softness due to a slowing Chinese economy may already have affected precious and base metals quotes.