What I have noticed over the last few months was confirmed by a writer on the Gold Eagle forum I admire a lot, GR. Prices of PM mining companies have been battered so much that it doesn't make any sense to buy options anymore.

http://www.gold-eagle.com/cgi-bin/gn...

Over the last 2-3 years call options of major PM mining companies have been a "gold mine" not for the buyers but for the writers of these calls, who are no-one else than the same riggers of the gold and silver market, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, HSBC, AIG and their little brothers. A lot of call buyers (like me) have suffered extreme losses at the hands of this mafia that was allowed to rig the market big time.

By now, the prices of most smaller PM mines are so low, that it it doesn't make sense to buy any calls on miners. Even those people who bet on gold and silver futures in the past, know by now that it is better to hold mining shares than to be handed over to the gold and silver market riggers.

The same refers to options on major mines. PPS of mines like CDE, GSS and SLW are so low that it is better to buy the shares than options of the company. Instead of buying options of these major companies, you might as well buy their shares or (even better) the shares of very promising companies like ECU or AQI, which are sitting on vast gold and silver resources.

Like holding physical gold/silver is better than holding gold/silver shares or options, it is better to hold mining shares than to hold options on mining companies. Anything derivative is suspect as long as the mafia rules.