"Within a diversified portfolio of resource stocks, I like to have some small bets on the little guys," says Curtis Hesler, a noted authority on natural resource investing and the editor of The Professional Timing Service.

"Some of the smaller and, admittedly, more speculative exploration companies did not follow the mining sector during the August-November rally. This is not unprecedented.

"This failure to 'join the party' reminds one of what happened in 2005 when the lower tier gold miners failed to participate (some crashed severely) while the majors were strong. Most of them more than made up for it during 2006 when the mining stocks surged again.

"Everyone has a different financial circumstance, so you will have to decide what a prudent wager on these will be for you individually. There is risk here, but the juniors certainly do beat buying call options, and they do apppear to be poised for superior performance in 2008.

"Currently, I favor Taseko (ASE: TGB) and Great Basin Gold (ASE: GBN). They are our most recent lower tier recommendations They are buys at $4.50 and $2.45, respectively.

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

"When building a portfolio of junior mining stocks, stick with the best -- not just the cheapest," says money manager and advisor Adrian Day in his industry-leading The Global Analyst.

Although he is cautious on gold prices for the near term, Adrian Day suggests, "Gold is still only part way through its current bull move, one that likely still has years to run." Here, he looks at five favorite top-quality junior miners.

"Gold has had an extraordinary run, based partly on the decline in the dollar, which appears overdone in the short term. The fundamentals for a weaker dollar and for a stronger gold price remain intact, but I would be cautious about chasing markets now, especially the seniors.

"But it would be a mistake to sell too much, particularly in an attempt to trade the market and buy back precisely the same stocks at lower prices. Such attempts often end badly, as one fails to buy back favorite companies after selling at perhaps intermediate tops.