Even if you don’t borrow funds to buy a miner, because in a sense you are buying or betting, the climbing value of millions of ounces under the ground. Plus the miner can sell gold at higher prices, more income without hiring and not even increase production.
The values of the Gold miner stocks is FAKE as Trump would say, because the value of Gold in their ground has been climbing since the late 2015 bottom at $1,060, and is $1,675 58% higher today.