This article is part of a special 20 article report on "Metals, miners and money".

"It wasn't that long ago -- in late 2003, to be exact -- when we were bumping up against the $400 ceiling in gold; and now we've barreled through $800," says Brien Lundin, editor of The Gold Newsletter, and host and opening speaker at the recent New Orleans Investment Conference.

Although he remains cautious on the near-term outlook -- and indeed, forecasts a correction from current levels -- he suggests, "Perhaps the reasons behind gold's rally don't matter -- and we need only consider the fact that it is rallying."

From a long-term perspective, he suggests, "The very fact that gold is rallying so strongly is telling us something about the geopolitical, economic, and/or investing scene. Does gold know something we don't?"

The gold and resource investing expert suggests, "Perhaps it's telling us that global liquidity is far deeper than we can yet understand. Maybe it's telling us that the worldwide move away from the dollar as a reserve currency is accelerating behind the scenes.

"Perhaps it's indicating that economic growth in Asia will continue, and is capable of thriving without the support of Western consumer demand.... Maybe gold is foreshadowing a geopolitical blow-up.

"Perhaps the metal is whispering that the housing crunch, with peaks in adjustable rate mortgage resets coming at the end of the year, will become worse than anyone yet fears. Or perhaps that there is some still unseen derivative or other economic crisis about to erupt.

"In my view, this run in gold may be telling us something very important about the economy, the markets and the world around us. The answer will come in time."

And while Lundin, as noted, is cautious on gold and metals for the near-term, he does offer a speculative, small cap play on a development-stage mining operation -- Geodex (CVE: GXM).

He notes, "When I first recommended Geodex, I couldn't believe the size of its Sisson Brook tungsten-moly-copper project, and the lack of respect accorded it by the market.

"Now, that situation has grown more acute, with the company's release of a new resource estimate for Zone III of the project in October. Consider this: In the new resource calculation, the inferred resources soared from 167 million tonnes to 290 million tonnes -- a 73% increase.

"The company is about to come out with its initial scoping study for Sisson Brook, so investors can wait for the company's accurate numbers. But with the share price of Geodex recently perking up, it seems that more investors are starting to wake up to this project's enormous potential.

"Those who wait for official confirmation may end up missing some significant profits. Suffice to say that Geodex remains one of my top buys."