Did you know "Gold stocks underperformed gold for two years prior to the 1979-’80 mania. What many frustrated investors don’t realize is that leading up to the blow-off top in gold in 1980, gold producers lagged the metal for two full years. From January 1977 through the end of 1978, gold rose 58.4%. But gold stocks, as measured by Barron’s Gold Mining Index, were up only 11.7%. The metal outperformed the producers by a margin of four to one, despite it being the middle of a bull market."

But,

"Gold stocks peaked nine months after gold. The April Fool’s joke in 1980 was on those who thought the bull market was over at that point. What’s important to realize is that the public’s biggest shift from gold to the equities occurred after gold’s blow-off top"

http://howestreet.com/2011/09/rich-gold-stocks-patience/