I am late to this particular thread, but I just wanted to briefly comment on GWTW's point that we should know that investing in juniors was a gamble.

GWTW---yes, we are indeed responsible for our own investing decisions, and clearly we all recognize that investing in juniors is a gamble and should be done with discretionary funds. However, not one of us would have ever anticipated the manipulation that has preogressed and destroyed this market. I am not talking about the COMEX, or even the naked shorting, manipulation. I am talking about the manipulation by Paulson/Bernanke since mid-July. That was totally unexpected since in reality, its illegal, but they will never be summoned to explain those actions.