Anyone hoping for a quiet August holiday looks set to be disappointed. Record gold prices have drawn generalist investors back to mining after a lengthy hiatus. Having no doubt cleared a tidy profit courtesy of any number of large or midcap gold producers, some may have strayed further into the junior space, or even noticed other opportunities presenting themselves: China’s recovery has seen the world’s diversified miners dine out on spiralling iron ore prices, with copper in hot pursuit, while the performance of uranium and rare earths may have caught the eye of those who fancy themselves as getting their eye in.