Other Metals

Until the crisis in the international monetary system is resolved, the monetary aspect of silver will dominate its industrial aspect, and gold will keep its leadership role. As the silver price goes up, the more the industrial demand will decline, while the monetary demand will rise. The question is, in what proportions will this happen. Central banks and sovereign funds will dominate the gold market, whereas private investors will mainly dominate the silver market. There is no central bank that I know of that is buying silver today for its monetary reserves. Gold remains mainly a monetary metal, whereas silver has, above all, become an industrial metal that, in a monetary crisis like today's, can play a monetary role, as "poor man’s gold".

Investing in natural resources and precious metals is attractive today because the sector is so much cheaper than it was three years ago. Many of the stocks are trading at a 90 percent discount to their prices in 2011. For a contrarian investor, I believe that we are seeing a historic opportunity now.

Very poor sentiment towards gold and oversold conditions is reminiscent of the conditions seen in late 2008 and January 2009 [as seen in the chart below] when gold prices had fallen by more than 25% in 9 months. Subsequently, gold rose from a low on January 15, 2009 at $802.60/oz to a high less than 12 months later at $1,215/oz for a gain of over 50%. A similar move today would see gold above $1,800/oz by year end.

Russia may be the ninth largest economy in the world by nominal gross domestic product, but its abundance of natural resources in the Ural Mountains, Siberia and the Russian Far East makes it much more important in the world of commodities. Below, we dissect Russia’s commodity industry to give investors an in-depth look...and some specific ideas on how investors might participate. Words: 935

This infographic highlight changes in economic indicators, reports relevant news stories, reveals commodity and financial trends, provides technical analysis and looks at the recent price of gold and real interest rates with relevant charts.

On average the most energy intensive process in mining operations is comminution and with rising energy prices and decreasing ore grades, this is an area that smart producers are focusing on. Benefits of improving comminution efficiency include higher potential earnings, better overall environmental impact, and increased outputs as the very enlightening infographic below illustrates.

With everyone being so very busy these days often a picture is worth a 1000 words so I have collected a series of infographics below for you which do just that. You'll get the picture in half the time you could assimilate it via the written word.

With growing global demand and declining mine grades commodity prices continue to rise. As such the exploration for minerals is taking on both new heights and new depths. This infographic outlines 5 of the most far-reaching and interesting ways of exploring for mineral wealth.

With demand rising and supply under pressure, the outlook for investment in physical platinum and palladium is compelling. What are they used for? Where are they produced? What is the global supply/demand for each? Learn the full story from the infographic below.