Gold and silver are currently taking a breather on the charts, but if the global risk holds, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a rally in the precious metals this year. I can see gold breaking to $1,800 an ounce, something that nearly materialized on October 5, 2012, when the price of cash gold traded at $1,795.78 prior to slipping. In fact, the previous time the precious metal was trading above $1,800 was on November 8, 2011. We could see a move above, given the eurozone mess, U.S. debt and fiscal cliff, and the mixed results in China . Silver is holding at around $30.00 an ounce, but I’m not as bullish on the white metal, as the price is largely driven by the direction of the global economy. I continue to like gold going forward, given the financial crisis in the eurozone; trust me, it is not going to get better anytime soon…it could even take years. Moreover, with a recession holding in the eurozone, the crisis could deepen and impact the global economy. Across the Pacific, there are some encouraging signs in China; but prolonged weakness in the eurozone and Europe will negatively impact China along with the other Asian countries, like South Korea, Japan, and the smaller emerging Asian markets. For those of you who took my advice to hold on and accumulate gold on weakness down to $1,600, it has been a nice ride. In my view, major price weakness should be viewed as an opportunity to accumulate the yellow metal in 2013, unless $1,600 can’t hold. I favor the metal plays and continue to see opportunities, especially in the mining companies and junior gold miners. China and India continue to be the world’s top buyers of gold, and this is expected to continue. China has also been buying mining companies around the world in an effort to increase its reserves. This is a reason why I like some of the smaller mining companies, especially those with a massive reserve of proven metals in the ground, waiting to be developed and needing a cash-rich partner to get the ore out of the ground. You can buy the major gold players, such as Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE/FCX), Barrick Gold Corporation (NYSE/ABX), and Newmont Mining Corporation (NYSE/NEM), but for the really big gains, you need to own some of the smaller miners. (Read more about Newmont; see “ Newmont—the ‘Best of Breed’ of All Gold Stocks .”) If you want to play the small mining companies, there are hundreds of plays. I have listed several small mining stocks that look interesting for the speculative trader. Please keep in mind that these stocks ... Read More