The Financial Post reports in its Friday edition that gold exploration and early stage companies in other sectors are fuelling a massive rally at the TSX Venture Exchange, which has come roaring back after hitting rock bottom earlier this year. The Post's Gabriel Friedman writes that the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index has more than doubled to 739.5, after dropping to a 10-year low of 358.04 in early March. Much of the surge has been driven by investors' newfound interest in all things gold, including junior gold companies, which are suddenly back in vogue as the price of bullion sits near an all-time high, trading near $2,000 an ounce. The junior and mid-tier gold miners have by some metrics outperformed their senior counterparts. "It's been quite a run here over the past six months for junior mining," said Dean Mcpherson at exchange owner TMX Group. "Precious metals, of course, is what started it all." Top performers on the TSX-V include Pure Gold Mining, up 316 per cent since early March, to $2 a share, and Great Bear Resources, up 274 per cent during the same period, to $15.74. Both are developing gold projects near Red Lake, Ont., and Pure Gold plans to produce gold by the end of the year.