The light at the end of a narrowing tunnel

Miners and the public interact at the 2014 Silver Summit conference in Spokane, Washington. — Robert Hawkins photo

The historic and uniquely beautiful Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane, Washington, was the host of the 2014 Silver Summit, the world’s premier silver event, organized by Cambridge House International.

The historic and uniquely beautiful Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane, Washington, was the host of the 2014 Silver Summit. — Robert Hawkins photo

Presentations were made by the many participants, such as Endeavour Silver, Swissmetal Inc., Mag Silver, Hecla Mining, Coeur Mining and Silver Wheaton, to name a few.

The Silver Summit drew a wide range of delegates and exhibitors, from down-to-earth investors to hopeful juniors. Though a technical conference in many ways and packed full of detailed presentations, it was not without its colourful characters. A repeated theme was the unswerving expectation that silver and gold’s big move is still to come, and not in the too distant future.

Presentations were made by mining companies at the Silver Summit held in the Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane, Washington. — Robert Hawkins photo

There seemed to be a general consensus that attendance was slightly down this year, probably due to the hard times in the precious metals sector in general, but Silver-Investor.com’s own David Morgan summed it up nicely by observing that the ones who did come were the “true believers.” But there was no doubt that the sector is, and will continue to be, a bumpy ride. The tension over investments was palpable but with a hopeful view to a light at the end of this narrowing tunnel.

The opinionated Robert Moriarty of 321gold brought the room to laughter repeatedly with his personal recommendations, such as hiding your silver under your bed. When asked what to do when the proverbial space under the mattress gets overly full, he simply advised “get a bigger bed!”

The highlight for many attendees was the awarding of the 2014 Silver Baron Award, or Silver Bull as it is often called, which went to Tahoe Resources Inc’s president and COO, Ron Clayton.

Jay Martin, president of Cambridge House, said "the Silver Baron Award embodies 365 days of hard work and perseverance in the mining space, specifically within silver. We are very pleased to present the 2014 award to Mr. Clayton, who has spent most of his career working for the betterment of the silver industry."