GWR, thanks series of posts re Clive M. He gives a fairly balanced analysis, as is evidenced by his telling us that silver is currently overbought.

I still am of a notion that the silver and gold etf's did a lot to inhibit or deflect investment in PM stocks. Prior to the etf's, investors had to choose mainly between physical and stocks; the etf's put another huge option on the table for those who wanted to hedge or those who were convinced fiat was going to hell. Notwithstanding the problems/issues with the etf's that many here have, a vast majority of investors do not share in those concerns (perhaps they would if they read this message board!), and for them, buying an etf is far easier and cleaner than buying and storing the metal. Further, we all understand that the price of PM stocks do not move in lock-step with the price of the underlying metal, but can under or over perform, based on various factors, most of which are discussed here frequently.

In addition, my sense is that much of the PM ETF purchases have been done as a defensive measure. What will get the stocks going is more offensive minded investment - thought and attitude that seeks the leverage which we all seek. Unfortunately, "we all" are not powerful enough to support, much less ignite, the PM stock market, especially the junior sector. When enough people, for whatever reason, become convinced that it's time to speculate in an aggressive manner in PM's, then our sector is going to have its day(s) in the sun.