If you have noticed, gold is up over $10 today. Traders were not fooled by the tactics of the Fed and NYMEX this past week to have them cool their appetite for the metals.

I think oil and possibly copper are running at the upper end of their 2006 high-low range, but the precious metals still have a way to go. In fact $GOLD could be trading in the US$800-$1,000 range later this year, and $SILVER near $18.

You see, the Fed has a problem in that they cannot continue to raise rates without causing hardship in the important housing industry, and the related wealth effect that has been carrying the consumer economy for the past couple years.

So, regardless of the Fed's intervention, there is no holding back the precious metal prices here.

This is an ideal work environment for the penny mining promoters. I can assure everybody that none of those people are on vacation today. And management of the owners of legitimate exploration properties are going flat-out in their field operations, trying to increase reserves or even make new discoveries.

This is an exciting time for the juniors. Believe me, they missed a whole generation. The people I met at PDAC 2006 were either my age or 20-30 years younger.

During this period, student geologists were encouraged to switch into environmental programmes, etc. No young person could easily find a job in the exploration business. Today, it's a matter of selecting which company and which part of the world they find desirable.

These are interesting times.

For traders, you have to be really on your guard. Trading junior mineral resource companies is a whole different ball game than the one I usually write about in this blog.

Forget the Fed and simply enjoy the moment.