Excerpt from tonight's LeMetropole Cafe:

"It is worth noting that I have heard from several smaller producers lately that they are receiving offers to sell dore directly to private interests. Even very small producers have been contacted. I also know of two companies that have decided to forward sell part of their production directly to private investors instead of going to a bank for funding. I think these transactions are going to be part of the landscape for many players in the future. If in fact the futures market has become so compromised by scams and manipulation that buyers no longer trust the settlement process, and if in fact the financing window has been closed to smaller companies to get access to capital at reasonable rates and conditions, then it makes sense that the small producers may just begin selling their product directly to the buyers that want to own physical gold. That is the need that a futures market was supposed to be serving in the first place, before it became a casino for speculators and a den of thieves for manipulators and criminals. At the end of the day, producers still need to establish a fixed price for forward production, and consumers and buyers still need a reliable source of supply. If the COMEX has become corrupt and unreliable, then buyers will go elsewhere. The reports I have heard in the field seem to suggest this is going on right now."