This article is part of a 20 article special report on "Metals, miners and money".

"If you are relying on traditional investments to pad your nest for the future, the problems stalking the world economy should be a matter of serious concern," cautions Doug Casey, editor of The International Speculator.

"The $2 trillion or so loss in stock market valuations during the August correction is a precursor of what's to come ... in a best case. The worse case is ... much, much worse.

"Which brings me to the opportunity that the crisis is carrying on its back. For any number of reasons, but first and foremost its use as money in all the world's cultures, throughout all recorded history, gold has begun to find renewed favor with in-the-know investors as the currency of last resort.

"Make no mistake, despite gold's rise from its $255 low in April of 2001 to over $800 as I write, so far, only the thinnest of trickles, a minor fraction of global capital, has made it into gold. When the flight to safety really heats up, the price of gold won't just add dollars, it will add digits.

"If that sounds like hyperbole, remember that, unlike the U.S. dollar, which can be created at the speed of light, the available supply of gold is finite and is painfully slow to change.

What are the best speculations and investments among metals, miners, and other resource plays? To find out, I turned to 20 of the nation's leading newsletter editors, as well as speakers from the recent New Orleans Conference, a leading forum for resource advisors.

Their current top ideas cover a wide diversity of ideas, from gold and silver, from alumina and copper, to platinum and palladium. These picks cover markets from Chile to China and from Canada to Russia. These ideas also range from large cap, well-established, and diversified companies to small cap, development-stage junior speculations.

Readers should only consider these ideas as a starting place for their own research and should keep in mind the caveat that any stock you buy should only be considered within the framework of your own time horizon and risk parameters. Meanwhile, here are 20 different advisors assessing various aspects of the metals, mining, and resources sectors: