Shares of gold and silver mining companies were down Monday, falling more than the broader stock market or the price of the precious metals themselves.

The S&P 500 was down in early afternoon trading one percent, and gold on the Comex was off half of a percentage point. Silver on the Comex was down 1.7 percent.

But several big gold mining companies were down more than two percent: Barrick Gold Corp. Goldcorp Inc.; Gold Fields Ltd.; and New Gold Inc. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. fell 4 percent.

Among silver mining companies, the following were down more than three percent: Pan American Silver Corp. and Silvercorp Metals Inc.

Fresnillo Plc, Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp., Hecla Mining Co., First Majestic Silver and Silver Wheaton Corp. were down more than two percent.

Some silver mining companies were posting gains, albeit small ones. Great Panther Silver was up more than one percent, while Tahoe Resources Inc., Hochschild Mining Plc and Alexco Resource Corp. were all up fractionally.

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