By "gold stock investor", do you mean you own mining company...

By "gold stock investor", do you mean you own mining company stocks or a gold ETF, or both?

I think cashed up producing gold miners are a good bet, but not explorers.

Regarding ETFs such as GLD and SLV, they are paper derivatives, There is a story to be absorbed here. I recommend that you research the material produced by John Adams, at adamseconomics.com.
these funds use the fractional reserve system for their metals holdings, meaning MANY shares in the fund are making a claim on the same ounce. hence in the event of a run on metals, these funds will be "caught short" (like a run on a bank). there is huge counterpart risk.
An exception might be the Sprott ETF, which apparently fully backs its investors with metal.