Freeport McMoran Copper (FCX) is a miner of copper, gold and molybdenum. It has operations in North and South America, Indonesia and Africa, and competes with other miners such as the Southern Copper (SCCO), Codelco and Newmont Mining (NEM).

This post is one in a series in which more than 60 newsletter advisors share their Top Stock Picks for 2011. This special report is courtesy of TheStockAdvisors.com.

"My favorite stock for 2011 is Almaden Minerals (AAU), a Vancouver-based mining exploration company," notes Mark Skousen -- one of the top performing advisors in last year's Top Picks report.

This year, the editor of Forecasts & Strategies notes, "Almaden is rapidly going from 'small cap' ($253 million) to 'large cap' and may even be bought out soon by a major.

This post is one in a series in which more than 60 newsletter advisors share their Top Stock Picks for 2011. This special report is courtesy of TheStockAdvisors.com.

"Northern Dynasty (NAK) -- my top pick for 2011 -- is an exploration and development mining company that has discovered and drilled off one of the largest gold-copper deposits in the world," says Tom Bishop.

The editor of BI Research explains, "The Pebble deposit, discovered by and still 50% owned by Northern Dynasty, is located in southwestern Alaska and contains 80 billion pounds of copper and 107 million ounces of gold.

"For much of their history, Mongolians described themselves as 'beggars sitting on a huge pile of gold;" suggests international investing expert Nicholas Vardy.

The editor of The Global Bull Market Alert explains, "Even Genghis Khan knew about Mongolia's massive mineral deposits. He just had no idea how to tap into them. But that's all changing largely thanks to the efforts of Ivanhoe Mines (IVN).

"Ivanhoe is a Canadian company that is building what may turn out to be the world's largest copper and gold mine: Oyu Tolgoi.

"Given the fact that Canada is looking pretty stable and smart these days, I thought it was time to feature a Canadian stock," suggests Glenn Rogers.

The contributing editor to Internet Wealth Builder explains, "Below, we look at Teck Resources (TCK), a highly diversified resource business based in Vancouver. With Teck you get good copper exposure plus coal and zinc as well as oil sands.

"This is a pretty good time to be in the natural resources business particularly if you are seen as a reliable and politically neutral trading partner such as Canada.

"We see plenty of room in the markets to stage a rally back to its recent highs, and plenty of short-term profit potential as well; I see a great opportunity to scoop up some juicy resource stocks, courtesy of the market pullback," says Larry Edelson.

The editor of the Real Wealth newsletter explains, "At worst, I think we can get a short-term rally that can put some additional profits in your pocket. And if I'm wrong, the risk of entering these new trades at this time is on the low side.

"These stocks below are cheap! A composite, or synthesized forecast of all cycles for the S&P 500 Index shows that the rally since last March is only about half way over, and that it could extend all the way into August of this year.

"We recommend Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), which bills itself as "the world's largest publicly-traded copper company". However, it also owns large deposits of gold and molybdenum," says Glenn Rogers.

The contributing analyst to The Internet Wealth Builder adds, "We also recommend BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP), an Australian-based mining giant that has diversified into other areas such as crude oil, natural gas, and, most recently, potash in Saskatchewan. Its mineral assets include aluminum, silver, uranium, nickel, iron, diamonds, lead, and more.

"Resource-rich, politically stable and increasingly prosperous, Chile is an attractive play on commodities and growing wealth in emerging markets," explains Mark Salzinger, editor of The Investor's ETF Report.

Chile is also a favorite investment position of Nicholas Vardy, editor of The Global Bull Market Alert, who notes, "Thanks to its fiscal prudence, its lack of a domestic housing bubble, and its sizeable wealth reserves, Chile has weathered the current global economic meltdown better than most countries."

Here, the two advisors assess the longer-term opportunity in iShares MSCI Chile (NYSE: ECH), an exchange-traded fund.

Let's look at the explosive jump in the price of copper, and then examine the underlying factors that could signal the beginning of a sell off:

• From December 24, 2008 to April 3, 2009, copper rallied 51%.
• Global stockpiles tripled to about 567,000 tons since July.
• Hedge funds and other large speculators increased their net short positions in New York copper futures by .6% in the week ended March 31.
• Prices have been rising because of China's buying for stockpiles.
• Beijing's State Reserve Bureau (SRB) took advantage of the declines in 2008 and agreed to buy 300,000 to 400,000 tons. China may increase its stockpile to 936,000 tons in 2009.
• Jose Pablo Arellana, CEO of Santiago, Chile-based Codeleo, the world's biggest copper miner, said the December lows are "in the past" and Chinese demand rebounds.
• The 82-member Bloomberg world mining index led by BHP Billiton Ltd (NYSE: BHP) plunged 56% in the twelve months through April 3.
• Peter Sorrento, who manages Huntington Asset Advisor, said: "we think we could see a pretty significant sell off in the next quarter."
• A Bloomberg survey of 13 analysts estimates that copper will average $3,000.00 a ton this quarter, 21% below the April 3 closing price of $4,301.00 per ton.
• Copper and home building tend to go together. With confidence among U.S. home builders near record lows in March, there isn't much to spur the copper market much further to the upside.

Copper is often referred to as a bellwether commodity that reflects business activity in such industries as housing and autos. This past year, both industries have been beaten down, and so too has the price of copper. According to the Wall Street Journal (subscription required), nearby copper prices fell 6.40 cents to settle at $1.2530 per pound. The most active March contract fell 6.45 cents to $1.2810 per pound. The poor housing numbers recently released were just another catalyst in the price decline.

Copper, like many other commodities, has been in a liquidation phase where market participants are selling their inventories to raise cash. Traders have often looked to China for an indication that buying there will spark a rally. However, this did not happen. There was no follow through after a gain in the Chinese market last week.

Very much like the supply situation in oil, there is an 87,000 metric ton surplus of copper, when adjusted on a seasonal basis.

This post is part of a special report, A Dozen Ways to Play an Obama Building Boom.

Two advisors that specializes in income investing -- Mark Skousen and Nick Lanyi -- both turn to high-yielder, Southern Peru Copper (NYSE: PCU) as a contrarian play on building and infrastructure growth ahead.

Skousen, in his High Income Alert, he says, "Make no mistake, this is a contrarian play. But if you believe in buying straw hats in winter, PCU is an exceptional value at these levels."

"More than 2.9 billion pounds of copper are used in construction every year, primarily in plumbing and wiring, while electronic products use more than 1.9 billion pounds a year.

"Transportation equipment -- including cars, trains, planes and submarines -- uses more than 1 billion pounds a year.

"The manufacture of industrial equipment requires another 1 billion pounds annually. And consumer and general products, from cookware to church bells to pennies, require another 800 million pounds.

"Southern Peru operates the world's largest copper mine high in the Andes mountains, producing more than 800 million pounds of copper a year.

"Of course, the commodity bull market that was running at a full gallop in the first half of this year has stopped dead in its tracks. Copper prices are no exception. When building and manufacturing slow, so does the demand for the red metal.

"Weakness in commodities suggests a screaming sign of an overreaction; it's time to take another look at a high-quality, high-yielding commodity stocks such as Southern Copper (NYSE: PCU)," says global investing expert Nick Lanyi.

In his High Yield International, he says, "With mines in Mexico and Peru, Southern Copper ranks #1 in total copper reserves of any publicly traded company, making it almost a pure play on a rebound in the metal's price." Here's his contrarian outlook.

"Southern Copper has enough reserves to continue its current rate of production for the next 80 years without a single expansion or acquisition.

"With copper prices falling, the firm's earnings are taking a hit -- and the dividend has recently been cut. Now that this cut has already been factored into the shares, I think it's a better time to look at the stock than just a few weeks ago.

"Based on 2008 dividends, the stock yields 12.7% at the current price. Even if the dividend comes down more, I look for a yield of 8-9% over the next 12 months.

"Recent weakness in commodities is just a pause to breathe , not the beginning of the end," says Yiannis Mostrous in Vital Resource Investor. His favorite copper play? Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (NYSE: FCX).

"Most investors aren't able to grasp this commodities cycle's massive potential. The main reason is that few investors are willing to accept the big transformation that's taking place in several emerging market economies, led by China and India.

"We've been advocating this change for quite some time. And after several years of doing so, investors are more receptive. However, they're not totally convinced yet.

"This is the main reason this bull market in emerging markets and commodities has another strong leg up before it reaches all-time highs. But we're far from that point. Meanwhile, copper remains one of our favorite metals.

"Our long-standing recommendation to take advantage of copper's strength is Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold. Copper suffered from supply challenges along with investors' underestimation of its potential early in the year.

"There's no doubt about it: vital resources are in a bull market of gigantic proportions," note Yiannis Mostrous and Roger Conrad.

"The co-editors of Vital Resource Investor caution that "no market moves in a straight line, and in commodities, the action is often extremely violent." However, for long-term investors, they offer some favorites in iron ore, aluminum and copper.

"All commodity bull markets are ultimately gored by demand destruction, alternatives and new supply. But it will almost certainly be years before that happens to this one. And that means plenty of money will be made along the way.

"We're still extremely bullish on iron ore as the market remains in deficit and prices continue to rise. Chinese domestic supply has been falling and, if this continues, imports will make up the difference, thereby helping the miners.

"China consumes 51% of the world's iron supply. Portfolio holding Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (NYSE: RIO), the world's largest iron ore producer, will benefit from the shortage in iron ore supply.

"We favor aluminum in the industrial metals sector. We've been advocating aluminum for some time, and the market's finally going our way. Aluminum prices have been impacted by lack of available power in China and South Africa and higher alumina and bauxite prices.