As I begin my logic may seem circuitous, but please bear with me.

The seniors like ABX and NEM are making money hand over fist. Their trailing (despite lower gold prices then) P/Es are in the 10 to 15 range, and falling. We need them to really go way beyond the relatively small dividend increase that for example NEM did recently. There is no reason why the group cannot pay in the 5% to 6% range.

Do you have any idea the noise a profitable company with growing profits and a 6% dividend would make? You'd hear a pistol shot whenever you clicked "buy" with your mouse. There would be an institutional rush to those stocks for dearly needed income in growth and income portfolios.

I know what you are thinking - you'd rather the biggies spend their cash on partnerships and acquisitions. But think about it - the seniors' company stock will appreciate more than enough to accomplish that without cutting the divvy. If any of these companies had a CEO with a brain and started paying big time divvys the SP would double quickly. There are few or none other companies with growing profitability and 6% divvys. Almost as attractive as 2.9% ten year US Treasuries for income, right?

In additon to the above creating a funding source for partnerships and acquisitions, as a secondary effect the sudden emergence of miners on the Street would naturally lead some more adventurous and aggressive individuals and fund managers to look down the food chain for midcaps and near-producers. It's a natural progression IMO. The seniors can inadvertantly get that started by simply rewarding their own shareholders with common sense income.

All it takes is common sense. No derivatives, no selling forward, just paying man-sized dividends, the oldest, most conservative form of common stock gains.

Strike