I invest in miningshares and physical metals for 2 different reasons, miningshares for making $$$ and physical foremost for security & insurance. Not much beating the feeling of holding physical Au & Ag in your hand but I also want the leverage to the upside that miningshares provide. As a sidenote to people that has very limited experience in the mining business it is very volatile and not for everyone, I follow markets daily, for most people I would probably recommend to buy a few of the streamers, Franco-nevada, Wheaton Precious Metal (former Silver Wheaton) & Sandstorm gold. Those are a lot safer plays with less costs, more diversification and huge margins compared to a single mine that has all kind of risks to it.