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Silver Summit relocates to Spokane and world's grandest mining venue

Section: Daily Dispatches

By David Bond
Sunday, May 17, 2009

WALLACE, Idaho -- Silver Summit 2009 is moving to a new venue, the historic Davenport Hotel in downtown Spokane, Washington, with fresh new stars. Conference dates are Sept. 24 and 25.

Keynote speakers will include John Embry of Sprott Asset Management, Bill Murphy of the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee, Mike Dirienzo of The Silver Institute, Jeffrey Christian of CPM Group, Dr. Earl Bennett, Dean Emeritus of the Idaho College of Mines, and many others.

Analysts and panelists will include David Morgan of the Morgan Report, Roger Weigand of Trader Tracks, Greg McCoach of the Mining Speculator, INTL Commodities DMCC's Jeffrey Rhodes, financial advisor Norm Franz, colloidal silver expert Dr. Eric Rentz, and The Korelin Economics Report's Al Korelin.

"The Davenport Hotel, while a new address for The Silver Summit, is actually a return home for our silver miners and their ancestors who built this splendid venue," said Silver Summit Director Shauna Hillman.

"For decades since 1914, miners from the Silver Valley took the train to Spokane and the Davenport, which was designed by famed Chicago architect Kirtland Cutter, for their annual December meetings, and to do their Christmas shopping. Miners from nearby British Columbia and from around the world descended on Louis Davenport's hotel by horse or by rail. College dropout Harry 'Bing' Crosby launched his singing career at the Davenport, and virtually every American hero has stayed or performed there, including Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Mary Pickford, Clark Gable, John Philip Sousa, Lawrence Welk, Marian Anderson, Bob Hope, and Benny Goodman, to name just a few," Hillman added.

Spokane entrepreneurs Walt and Karen Worthy purchased the Davenport in 2000 and commenced a $38 million "shadow-up" restoration of the grand old hotel, uncovering in their efforts the original gold leaf around the lobby's fireplace and in other public areas.

The hotel's grand Hall of the Doges, Spokane's oldest and finest ballroom, is where the 60 companies participating in the Silver Summit will install their informational booths, and where conference attendees will be able to meet, one-on-one, CEOs of the world's leading silver producers and explorers.

(During the Davenport's restoration, the Hall of the Doges was removed from the oldest part of the hotel and re-installed in the new East Addition. The removal was accomplished by lifting the ballroom out intact, making it the only flying ballroom in the world.) The Davenport Hotel was re-opened in September of 2002 to the ringing of a ship's bell eight times, signaling a change of the watch, and to the singing of mine canaries in the hotel lobby.

Registration and updates on Silver Summit 2009 may be obtained at the Summit's website:

http://thesilversummit.com

Registration and updates also may be obtained by telephone at the Silver Summit office in Wallace, Idaho, at 208-556-1621.

"The Davenport is holding a limited number of rooms at a discounted rate for Silver Summit attendees, so to reserve a room for the event, please contact the Davenport Hotel directly at 1-800-899-1482 and tell them you are attending the Silver Summit in order to get your conference room rate," Hillman said.

"A resurgence of investor interest in silver, together with the quality of our speakers and participating companies, promise to make Silver Summit 2009 the grandest of all the world's silver mining conferences, and in the world's grandest mining hotel," Hillman said. "Even with this new venue, attendance will be limited to about 1,000 conferees and to 60 companies, as we strive to preserve the intimacy of the Silver Summit that has prevailed since 2003," she added.

For further information, please contact Shauna Hillman, director of The Silver Summit, at inquiries@thesilversummit.com or at 208-556-1621. The Silver Summit's office is located at 604 Bank St., Wallace, Idaho 83873 USA.

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