Devalued paper for gold. Not a bad deal. And in partnership with China -- an ally, BRICS member, and fellow petrodollar-dumper.

This post first appeared on Russia Insider

You can file this one under "Russia's economy is about to collapse".

Despite what the New York Times may have told you, the devaluation of the ruble has tremendous benefits for Russia's economy.

Cheap paper for gold. Not a bad deal. At all.

The major benefit is that a cheap ruble makes "made in Russia" highly competitive in foreign markets.

Agriculture, manufacturing -- even gold is now cheaper to produce in Russia. And Moscow is reaping the rewards:

Russia remained the world's third largest gold producer in 2016 behind China and Australia, data from the Finance Ministry showed on Tuesday. Russia's gold mining industry has benefited from strong gold prices, up 8.5% in dollar terms last year, and the impact of domestic currency weakness, hit by a fall in oil prices and Western sanctions over Moscow's role in Ukrainian crisis.

This is really the giant cherry on top of the "Russia is about to collapse" cake.

The ruble "apocalypse" not only breathed fresh life into Russian industries -- it also allowed Moscow to convert cheap paper into gold.

Isn't that called alchemy?

China is way ahead in gold production -- 453 metric tons in 2016. And Russia isn't far behind second-place Australia with 288 metric tons.

Russia surpassed U.S. gold production for the first time in 25 years back in 2014. With cheap operational costs, expect the Russian gold rush to continue.

Russia and China are already actively dumping U.S. Treasuries for gold. And together they are now openly defying Washington's geopolitical plots.

Devalued paper for gold. And in partnership with China -- an ally, BRICS member, and fellow petrodollar-dumper.

Things are looking up!