Joe Kunkle, Investment U Research Team

With gold and oil hogging the “commodities spotlight,” silver is too often forgotten. However, a new trend is emerging that indicates a major rally may be starting in silver prices and silver related stocks.

Over the past few weeks we’ve seen more and more data that supports a rally in silver: from large institutional money making large bullish bets, to technical indicators of a breakout, fundamental valuations well below where they should be, and a possibility of a massive short squeeze.

The iShares Silver Trust ETF (NYSE: SLV) has gained 18% since the broader markets began to rally in early March, but we could easily see another 25% – or more – in the remainder of 2009.

All in all, they make silver a must-own in any diversified portfolio.

Here’s what the smart money is doing in silver right

George Topping, a research analyst specializing in the mining sector at Blackmont Capital, pays closer attention to uranium and copper than he does gold and silver, but in this exclusive interview with The Gold Report, he shares what he foresees: gold flat at $950 per ounce (in real terms) through 2011, copper at $1.80 per pound in two years, and uranium nudging up $100 per pound within five years.

The Gold Report: Let’s begin with some of your thoughts about uranium. Almost two years ago, spot prices hit a record $137 per pound. A year ago—well before the bottom fell out of virtually all the markets—the spot price dropped by nearly half, to the neighborhood of $70. You focus a lot of your attention on uranium. How do you see its future shaping up?

George Topping: The situation right now is you’ve got the spot price down at about $43 a pound …