By Melissa Pistilli—Exclusive to Silver Investing News ^[1]

^[2]While the price of silver followed gold ^[3] up and up this month, teasing analysts and investors with hopes of breaking past $20 an ounce, the sometimes precious sometimes industrial metal fell hard over the past two days. Thursday, silver took a beating along with the rest of the markets, dropping as low as $17.47 an ounce on the COMEX as uncertainty remains over the prospects of global economic recovery. Silver fell much harder than gold because its industrial role makes it more vulnerable to weaker economic sentiment and closed down over 3 percent to $17.65 an ounce in New York.

But like gold's move to the downside, silver's corresponding drop is seen as a justified correction after an almost overdone run-up. This  correction, on top of the recent negative turn in economic sentiment pervading the markets this week, is expected to continuing placing downward pressure on the white metal. “Under ongoing weakness in equities, a rising Dollar and fears of global slowing, we suspect that $17.50 is an easy target for July silver and that $17.00 basis the July contract is potentially in the cards over the coming week,” said Global Securities futures analyst Jamie Greenough in a note to clients.

Company News

South American Silver Corp. ^[4] [TSX: SAC ^[5]] announced updates ^[6] on its projects in Bolivia and Chile Thursday.

The Malku Khota Silver-Indium project in central Bolivia is the company's most advance project and one of the largest undeveloped silver and indium resources in the world.  The NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate includes an indicated resource of 144.6 million ounces of silver (151 million tonnes grading 29.7 g/t) and inferred resource of 177.8 million ounces of silver (230 million tonnes grading 24.0 g/t). “Work to date has focused on drilling, metallurgical testing, environmental baseline data collection, community meetings and various engineering optimization studies,” notes the news release.

Currently, a 4,000-metre drill program is underway as well as continued metallurgical test work to further refine the leach recovery characteristics for silver and indium and by-product gold, copper ^[7], lead ^[8] and zinc ^[9]. South American Silver also has plans to release a new resource estimate and updated economic assessment study later this year.

In addition, the company is conducting geological modeling on its Escalones Copper-Gold Project in Chile “to develop and refine priority drill targets.”

“Part of our focus going forward will be to continue to broaden the market awareness of the exceptional value opportunity in the Company, with what is already one of the world's largest undeveloped silver and indium deposits, and the potential value at our Escalones Copper and Gold project in Chile. At over 5 ounces of silver per share and the current market valuation, South American Silver offers some of the best leverage to rising metal prices of any company in the sector,” said Greg S Johnson, South American Silver President and CEO.