Alex Reeves, a spokesperson with the mint, said they are on pace to exceed their 2007 totals of 278,000 ounces of gold bullion coins, bars and wafers produced. The mint’s Ottawa facility is running at maximum capacity, he said.

“(Distributors) would like more gold than we can produce but we’re supplying the best we can. Look at that as good news,” he said. “We’re able to keep producing gold while the U.S. Mint has to throw up their hands and say, ‘we’re out.’”

http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/fpposted/archive/2008/10/03/royal-canadian-mint-under-strain-to-meet-demand-for-gold.aspx

***

Financial Crisis: Rush for gold as savers queue for bullion

Savers have been queuing in the street to buy gold bars and coins, as they search for a safe place to invest their money.

By Harry Wallop, Consumer Affairs Editor
Last Updated: 6:26PM BST 02 Oct 2008

London’s two leading bullion dealers, ATS Bullion and Baird & Co, have reported a rush of interest from savers, many of whom have hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of savings they want to convert into the precious metal.

At least two customers have invested the entire proceeds from selling their houses into gold, each buying up more than £500,000-worth of gold bars, according to one dealer.

Savers have been queuing in the street at ATS Bullion, whose offices are just off the Strand in London’s west end.

Sandra Conway, the company’s managing director, said: “We’ve had to turn people away. The queues have been right out of the door and it’s been really hectic at times.

“Ever since Lehman Brothers went bankrupt, the phones have been going off the hook.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3123775/Financial-Crisis-Rush-for-gold-as-savers-queue-for-bullion.html

***

This isnt a “fad” and it isnt going away anytime soon.

I highly recommend protecting yourself from losses in equities and retirement funds as soon as possible.