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

A highlight at the recent New Orleans Investment Conference was a speech by Frank Holmes, CEO of US Global Investors, on "mega-trends" -- with a focus on global infrastructure needs, from the U.S. to China.

Here, we offer excerpts from his speech, as well as some specific stock ideas from Frank Holmes and US Global Investors' Chief Strategist, Jack Dzierwa.

"Megatrends are usually defined by sustainable and substantial growth in capital expenditures in any country or sector. They can be created by governmental policies for infrastructure or a massive technological breakthrough.

"We isolate megatrends through a series of proprietary models, including a top down analysis of such issues as global macroeconomic theme, regional and country trends, technological trends, government policies, and currency effects. As examples of megatrends:

• 1950s -- 1960s Megatrend: Massive growth of infrastructure in the U.S. and Europe leads to post-war prosperity, creating a wealth effect and consumer culture.
• 1990s -- Present Megatrend: Moore's Law and disruptive technologies lead to massive growth in information technology and data communications.
• 2000 and beyond Megatrend: Unprecedented change in global growth driven by globalization, urbanization, and wealth creation leads to a global infrastructure boom on a massive, intractable scale.

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: