For “hard money” advocates, this has been a remarkable month. Gold has risen by more than $100, silver has begun to surge, and the headlines are full of news items quite capable of raising public concerns to crisis levels.

Two potentially important Canadian projects, which could have produced revenues in the billions and jobs in the tens of thousands, have now been officially abandoned and the reasons offered by both relate to the economic impossibility of successfully negotiating all the regulatory obstacles that have been presented.