An interesting article, if the following bodes true all silver equities will greatly benefit.

http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebb...

Is Silver Set to Take Off?

By Michel Pireu
19 Sep 2007 at 11:40 AM GMT-04:00

JOHANNESBURG (Business Day) -- Theodore Butler, one of the foremost analysts of the silver market, believes that the price of silver is being manipulated.

One of the theories regarding the market is that at more than 300-million ounces, the largest eight traders on the Comex are short on more silver than exists in the combined SLV holdings and Comex inventories.

In a piece at Finfacts.com, Butler sums up the situation: "If there is one thing that separates silver from any other asset class, or any other item in any asset class, it is the presence of an unprecedented concentrated short position in Comex silver futures. It is the existence of this concentrated short position that will, at some point, launch the silver price to the heavens. This short position has grown so large, and is held by so few entities, that it no longer matters how it will be resolved. It must be resolved and, whether that resolution involves default or buying by short covering, it will have the same bullish impact on price. You don't have to look any further than the concentrated Comex short position as to why silver has not outperformed every other commodity. Just as it explains price underperformance, it is telling you why there must be overperformance in the future. At some point, the price of silver must accelerate upward to price levels that are truly shocking."

According to Finfacts, the total value of all the above-ground stock of silver is a very small $4.2 billion, and some hedge funds have already started moving into the silver market.

"Charles Supapodok of Artemis Capital Management is seeking to raise a $300 million hedge fund to invest mainly in silver. Artemis Silver Fund, advised by Artemis Capital Management, will put 80% of the fund's holdings in silver."

Needless to say, given the incredibly small size of the global silver market, if only a small percentage of the thousands of hedge funds in the world today decide to take long positions in the silver market, the price would skyrocket.

What's more, a few individuals are quite capable of triggering such a move on their own. Forbes, for instance, estimated that in the two months following the calculation of its 2007 wealth rankings, the Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim's fortune rose $4 billion to $53.1 billion.

Then there's always Warren Buffett, who is no stranger to the silver market. Thirty years ago the U.S. government had to rescue the market when he, together with Solomon Bros, bought more silver than could be delivered.

Cheers,