If you must be in Gold

While I do not believe that the gold rally will have much further upside from here, perhaps a bit as the debt ceiling debate looms, there are many who would still like to participate in gold but are (rightfully so) getting concerned about the run so far.  The best option at this point would be to get out of bullion and into miners.  

While operational risk is the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about mining companies, they may be the best play going forward in the gold space.  Due to the diversification of holdings (copper is commonly found in gold veins) and the ability to hedge (though some companies have bought all their hedges back, and should be avoided) these companies will be less likely to participate in the same % declines that gold would in a pull back.  With mining companies significantly lagging their historical correlation with the price of gold, if one must be in gold, this would be the only assets worth looking at.