Hecla Mining (HL), Pan American Silver (PAAS), Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) Continue to Lag Silver Prices

With the exception of Silver Wheaton (SLW), silver companies like Hecla Mining (HL), Pan American Silver (PAAS) and Silver Standard Resources (SSRI) continue to lag the price of silver, which is breaking out today.

The silver miners mentioned above, are still under price levels they were at in the early part of 2008, and in all cases by over 10 percent.

One other problem for silver miners is they don't always go up in price when silver does, but when the price of silver goes down, the share price can disproportionately move with it.

The good news for those holding Silver Wheaton, if as long as the price of silver continues its upward move, the company should move up with it.

This isn't to say you can't make money in silver miners, but as much as any sector, you need some luck and to enter at low price levels.

The price of silver has always been volatile, and it can move in much large swings than gold, as measured by percentages. So it's not for the faint of heart.

If you're not into owning physical silver, which may be the best overall play, a key way to use a proxy would be with iShare Silver Trust (SLV).

For those who know what they're doing, the other good option is in silver futures.