Silver Prices About to Soar?

Now that Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve have put into play another round of quantitative easing, the price of silver will, without a doubt, continue to soar in price.

Along with gold, it's very probable that prices of silver will rise for a long time to come, as the implementation of a seemingly endless injection of money into the American economy has been unleashed, and that will push down the price of the U.S. dollar, generate inflation, and cause people to seek safety for their money.

The Fed will acquire $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities until it sees the jobs market reach sustainable levels. That almost assuredly take years based upon the lack of impact QE1 and QE2 had on the economy and jobs market.

That means silver and gold prices should enjoy a long ride.

Also helping the two precious metals along is the extension of low interest rates, which are now expected to be in place until mid-2015.

Again, this should result in a long, upward climb in gold and silver prices during that period, assuming the Fed continues to buy up securities as they have pledged to.

It's definitely time to get into silver.

Hecla (HL) (PAAS) (SSRI) (SLW) (SVM) Down on Falling Silver Prices

Hecla Mining (HL), Pan American Silver Corp. (PAAS), Silver Standard Resources Inc. (SSRI), Silver Wheaton (SLW) and Silvercorp Metals (SVM) are all trading down today as silver price remain under pressure in light of the probability there will be no more quantitative easing in the near term.

Silver was priced at $34.785, down $0.38 or 2.32 percent, as of 1:00 PM EST.

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke made no mention of it in a recent speech, prompting investors to flee the sector. Gold prices have also been falling in response.

Other concerns on the industrial side of silver is the ongoing weakness of the global economy, especially uncertainty over the strength and sustainability of the Chinese economy.

Also pushing silver and gold prices down is the temporary strength of the U.S. dollar, which is strong against most major currencies today.

Pan American Silver was trading at $24.70, down $0.55, or 2.19 percent, as of 12:56 PM Est. Hecla Mining was at $4.97, falling $0.08, or 1.58 percent. Silver Standard Resources was trading at $16.74, declining $0.40, or 2.33 percent. Silvercorp Metals was at $7.22, down $0.14, or 1.83 percent. Silver Wheaton was plunging to $37.39, dropping $1.39, or 3.59 percent.

Silver, Gold Jump After Big Selloff

A day after silver and gold were hammered, the two precious metals rebounded after investors took advantage to get in at a good price.
Silver and gold prices have been soaring, and were due for a correction.

Silver for May delivery climbed $1.02, or 2.9 percent, to $35.66 an ounce. Gold for April delivery rose $10.90, or 0.6 percent, to end the session at $1,722,20 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Neither the long-term outlook for silver or gold has changed, and the upward price momentum, over time, will continue.

Other metals were also up today, including May copper, which was up 5 cents, or 1.4 percent, to $3.92 a pound.

April platinum rose $8.50, or 0.5 percent, to $1,701.10 an ounce. Palladium for June delivery jumped $8.35, or 1.2 percent, to $715 an ounce.

Silver Wheaton closed at $38.80, gaining $0.43, or 1.12 percent. First Majestic Silver closed at $20.80, jumping $0.34, or 1.66 percent. Silvercorp Metals closed at $7.36, up $0.01, or 0.14 percent.

First Majestic Silver (AG): Time to Invest?

Of the silver miners out there, the stock with the most significant leverage to silver is First Majestic Silver (NYSE:AG), with a leverage of 95 to 96 percent of its revenue to the direct price of silver.

That's not to say there aren't by-product to silver, as other products mined include diamonds, gold, lead, iron ore and zinc. The inclusion of these of course help to stabilize the performance of First Majestic by offering more price continuity to balance the more volatile silver prices.

First Majestic continues to be weighed down some by the news from its La Encantada mine, where in the third quarter of 2011, high manganese was run into, slowing down silver exploration, which caused production estimates to fall short, whereby an expected sell off followed.

Even so, 2011 was a good year for the company, as ended at 7,562,493 equivalent ounces of silver, up 8 percent from the 7,024,056 equivalent ounces of silver produced in 2010.

Lead production for 2011 jumped significantly, climbing to 7,888,943 pounds, an increase of 23 percent. Gold production was at 1,537 ounces, down 29 percent from 2010.

Keith Neumeyer, President and CEO, said this in an interview concerning 2011, "The year, 2011 marks the eighth year in a row that First Majestic has achieved record production of silver. Not only is this a great achievement, but our growth is not slowing down. There appears to be no end in sight of our growth in silver production. As the fastest growing and purest silver producer in the world, management's focus and top priority remains to continually deliver shareholder value."

Guidance for 2012 has silver production at First Majestic projected to reach 8.9 to 9.4 million silver equivalent ounces, or 8.3 to 8.7 million ounces of pure silver. Looking further out, projections are for production to reach 16 million silver equivalent ounces for 2014.

Drivers for 2012 include the opening of the Del Toro mine, expansion at La AParrilla, and improvements scheduled at La Encantada. A total of $20 million in capex has been set aside for these projects.

By 2014, Del Toro should be the largest operation of First Majestic Silver, producting an estimated 6 million ounces of silver annually.

The point is First Majestic is positioned for aggressive growth over the next several years,

As to management, it has one of the top teams in the industry, with virtually no attrition at the top levels once a person is placed. That's rare in the industry, and a definite competitive advantage and differentiator.

After the shares took a hit in early October of 2011, they have steadily fought back to where it is today. The good news is it's still way off its highs, and it may be wise if you're considering starting a position in silver or expanding it, to give First Majestic a serious look before it begins to run up, which it is on its way to doing.

First Majestic closed Wednesday at $19.26, gaining $0.17, or 0.89 percent. After hours it fell to $18.91, down $0.35, or 1.82 percent.

Infantry Soldier Silver Dollars to be Released February 16

The new United States Mint 2012 Infantry Soldier Silver Dollar will be released on February 16, according to the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center.

Designing the front of the coin was United States Mint Artistic Infusion Program (AIP) Master Designer Joel Iskowitz, which displays a running infantry soldier holding his weapon. On the reverse side is the branch insignia of the infantry, represented by

two crossed rifles. That was designed by US Mint AIP Associate Designer Ronald D. Sanders.

The front of the coin was sculpted by United States Mint Sculptor-Engraver Michael Gaudioso, and the back by US Mint Sculptor-Engraver Norman E. Nemeth.

Inscriptions on the silver dollar include E Pluribus Unum, United States of America, 2012, and One Dollar.

Authorization for the new release, which include up to 350,000 silver dollar coins to be struck, was given by Congress in 2008 in order to commemorate the establishment of the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center and the Infantry itself.

As to quality, proof and uncirculated coins will be released, launching with prices of $49.95 and $44.95 through March 19. After that the prices will be bumped up to $54.95 and $49.95. A surcharge of $10.00 a coin is included in the price. That will be applied toward the National Infantry Foundation.