Source: Mining Weekly                            Date: 29 September, 2011

The rally towards precious metals may be approaching its end. Investors having forsaken them as a safe haven, gold and silver prices took a nose dive in one of the largest mass shedding of bullions since the 2008 credit crisis.Spot gold dropped 6 percent and silver 14 percent. U.S. gold futures' benchmark December contract was also down 6 percent to trade under USD 1,635 after a session low below USD 1,632.“We're making new lows and the bull case for gold is on pause for the near term,” said Adam Klopfenstein, senior market strategist for precious metals at Lind Waldock in Chicago, “In the near-term, the flight-to-quality interest in owning gold is also out of the windows as people are not interested in buying it even in the face for fears in the economy. Until it stabilizes, I'm staying out of this market.”