Positive investor sentiment towards the shiny metal has returned with a vengeance over the last year, evident in the global shortages of gold bullion and the 22% increase in holdings at the SPDR Gold Trust GLD. However, the companies that actually find and produce the metal have been caught up in the general equities sell-off that began last October.

Gold stocks have certainly bounced back from their October lows, but are still nowhere near their levels of last March. With oil, one of the major input costs for mining companies, trading at a third of its March 2008 levels and gold poised to surpass $1,000 an ounce, profit margins for gold miners are ready to go through the roof.

The window of opportunity to buy gold stocks at a major discount is now.