PARAMOUNT MATTERResearch
The Gold Paradox
A three-part series on why gold exploration has lagged the gold price since 2022, and what a different kind of explorer looks like.
- Part 1 · Feb 2026, revised Oct 2026Gold at $5,000 and Nobody Is Looking7 min
Record gold prices in 2025 and early 2026. Central banks buying about twice as much as before 2022. Few major discoveries. Exploration budgets below their 2022 level.
- Part 2 · Feb 2026, revised Oct 2026Why the Money Stopped Flowing Underground5 min
Capital allocation, cautious investors and long approval timelines: why gold exploration budgets have lagged the price since 2022.
- Part 3 · Feb 2026, revised Oct 2026The New Explorers8 min
Better geology, patient capital and the firms trying to rebuild the discovery pipeline.
All three articles were first published in February 2026 and revised in October 2026. Each carries an editor’s note describing what changed.