By Melissa Pistilli – Exclusive to SilverInvestingNews.com

Update!

Those investors who bought silver last week under anticipation of a bust through $21/oz woke up with a slight hangover this morning. Watching silver slump from $19.31 to $18.46 and further sink to $17.90 yesterday was enough to give me a headache. But, now at $17.33/oz I’m starting to see spots.

For those of you, like me, who sat staring at the Kitco Spot Price page yesterday in disbelief wondering what the he!! happened, let me give you the low down: The chap responsible for boosting silver high enough for a foreseeable break past its March record is the same bum whose 20 dollar dive sent silver back to where it started 4 weeks ago. I’m of course speaking of Big Oil.

Today, oil has fallen below $125 a barrel in New York, it’s lowest since June 5th, after the U.S. Government issued a report showing fuel stockpiles have increased and consumption has declined. It’s obvious the state of the U.S. economy and the world for that matter can in no way support oil at $147 a barrel.

By what degree the drop in silver and gold prices is merely a “knee-jerk reaction to the oil price dive,” says Lawrence Williams of Mineweb, “is anybody’s guess.” But many believe we shall soon see a decoupling of oil and precious metals prices.

Theft and Delays Cut Silver Output Forecast
Pan American Silver Corp [ TSX: PAA] has announced cuts to the silver output forecast for its new Manantial Espejo mine in Argentina and has moved back the mine’s commissioning to October. The setbacks are due to stolen electrical equipment and delays in equipment delivery.

The electrical switchgear for the process plant was stolen while in transit, but the equipment has been reordered. And although the delays have thrown a wrench in the company’s plans, they report that “underground and open-pit mining operations are running smoothly.”

Originally, the construction schedule had initial silver production commencing in late August. First production has now been rescheduled for November with an expected 400,000 tonnes of stockpiled ore at the ready.

Pan American estimates the mine’s capital cost will now be 6% to 8% above the previous projection of $185.3 million. The company has cut its 2008 silver output forecast from 1.4 million to 400,000 ounces of silver.

Pan American is down 4.7% to 33.53 this morning.

Promising Drill Results in Historic Silver Region
Apogee Minerals Ltd. [TSX.V: APE] has received assay results that include its best intercept drilled on the Pulacayo Deposit so far. Individual samples form hole PUD-109 assay as much as 10,000 g/t silver. Highlights from hole PUD-109 include:
–25.00 meters grading 1,030.87 g/t silver, 2.02% lead and 1.67 % zinc
–3.40 meters grading 4,903.38 g/t silver, 5.22% lead and 5.20 % zinc

The results come from an additional seven drill holes that were recently completed on the property. “The drilling at Pulacayo continues to expand the mineralized zone with the addition of high grade mineralization,” says David Gower, P.Geo., CEO of Apogee. “An important characteristic of the deposit is that along with the excellent silver grades the mineralization contains a significant component of base metals, which should provide an important contribution to the potential value of this deposit.”

The company is currently awaiting an in-house resource estimate that will be completed this month. In keeping with NI 43-101 requirements, Micon International will be providing independent verification of the resource after Apogee’s resource estimate is completed. The new resource estimate will set Apogee on its way to completing the economic evaluation of the Pulacayo-Paca project.

The Pulacayo-Paca project in southern Bolivia, on property that includes the second-largest silver mine (over 600 million oz. of past production) in Bolivian history, is a under an option to joint venture with Apex Silver Mines Limited. Under the option agreement, Apogee much complete a feasibility study by July 30th of next year in order to earn up to a 60% interest in the project.

Apogee Minerals has been hovering around .30 to .35 since May.

Discovery Research Report Highlights Progressive Production
Great Panther Resources Limited’s [TSX: GPR] “world-class silver mine” and “steadily increasing production” have been highlighted in a recent Discovery Research report by Laguna Research Partners LLC.

According to the report, in the first quarter of this year, “Great Panther reported a sharp improvement in operating results. Revenue was up a strong 54.6% year-on-year (YoY), gross profit surged 377.9%, and the gross profit margin on incremental revenue was a powerful 65.6%. The Company’s operating loss was reduced in the quarter by nearly C$0.5 million, and the operating profit margin on incremental revenue was an impressive 21.8%.”

Great Panther’s “crown jewel” is its “world-class silver mine complex” located in Guanajuato, Mexico, which Laguna Research names “one of the most prolific silver districts in the world.” During its 460-year mining history, the district has produced an estimated 1.2 billion oz. of silver. “Great Panther’s three principal Guanajuato mines,” says the report, “are situated on a 4.2-kilometer section of the main Mother Lode structure that extends for 25 kilometers-plus.”

Since the company began production on the property in June 2006, output has risen steadily from over 70,000 silver-equivalent ounces in the last quarter of 2006 to more than 275,000 in the second quarter of this year. No doubt they are reaching their goal “to realize positive cash flow through progressively increasing production.”

Great Panther is resting at 1.09 this morning, down 48% from 2.10 this time last year.

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