Bears have been trying to kick this proxy for small miners into a deep hole with a 22.89 bottom, but three weeks of pounding on the midpoint Hidden Pivot support at 27.62 has failed to bring success. This is mildly bullish and encouraging, but we should set a reliable benchmark to tell us if buyers are finally getting serious. A tick above the August 10 peak at 35.26 would diminish the possibility of a false signal, but we don’t want to be so demanding that we miss a significant part of the move before diving in Accordingly, I’ll suggest setting using 32.76, just above a minor ‘external’ peak recorded on August 25. Although we can trade this ETF without a strong bias in the meantime, we should be especially alert to the possibility of a head-fake, something bullion has been doing vexatiously for…years. _______ UPDATE (Nov 8, 4:42 p.m.): Today’s powerful rally exceeded some daunting peaks, including an ‘external’ at 32.75 recorded back in late August. This is strong evidence the move begun from the 25.80 low on September 6 is not just a tease. If that’s the case, buyers should have little trouble punching through the 34.18 ‘D’ resistance of this pattern. ______ UPDATE (Nov 10, 8:40 p.m.): Bulls did all we’d asked of them with brio, impaling the resistance noted above en route to a 34.75 high. Now, if they can extend the rally without a pullback to exceed the August 10 peak at 35.25, that would significantly increase the likelihood of a run-up to tghe psychologically important $40 level.