aitakahashi wrote:

"these are the kind of returns we used to hope for with juniors, and now they're available with larger, safer companies."

You took the words right out of my mouth. I'd take it a step further and say you don't even need to look at mining stocks now, with so many beaten down blue chips on sale. Our time might be better spent figuring out which blue chips to buy and hold for the next 5 years. Stocks like Intel, J&J, Merck, GE, to name a few.

The basic problem with juniors right now is that they're too cheap. That makes them easy targets, so you don't get the risk/reward you had in a hot market. With managements underwater on their stock options the temptation to pull an Anderson and bail on your shareholders is pretty strong, especially if you're low on cash and need to finance.

Also, demand for minerals is an open question at this point. If trade falls off and economies slow, as you'd expect in a decline of this magnitude, it may be better to look elsewhere for the leveraged play. Silver may be the exception here as about 60% of supply is zinc & copper byproduct, and if those mines start to shut down you'll get even more tightness in silver, which by most accounts is already tight as a drum.

Just some of the things I'm thinking about right now.

Nice outfit BTW:)

ebear