The manipulation of the silver market has long been a frustrating drama for those of us who watch the metals prices on a daily basis. Over the last several years, there have been many interviews and articles about the observed manipulation but it fell on legislative deaf ears. It would appear that the time has finally arrived for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. See: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/8116143/Whistleblower-accuses-HSBC-and-JP-Morgan-of-silver-futures-scam.html
The problem is one of complexity and jurisdiction. When traders are in the New York and London, it is not easy to follow the money trail. The brightest financial engineers are not working for the regulatory agencies since they can make more money working in private industry. Add a whistleblower to the mix, and you have some real potential. The whistleblower can lead the regulators right to the detailed records that prove the crime. Most likely the whistleblower was complicit in the crime but was shafted by the employer.
When gold & silver were used as currency, a 15 to 1 ratio was the standard valuation between the two metals. Once we went off the gold standard, this ratio averaged 55:1. That may change soon. If we allow for a 30 to 1 ratio. silver should move to $50 per ounce soon. However, if gold moves to $3,000 as many predict, $100 silver is not unrealistic. Related silver stocks stand to gain rather nicely from this move.