The biggest copper miner in the world is actually one of my favorite blue chip commodity stocks, and it's on sale again.

The stock market has made some very unusual moves over the last few days. First, oil has rallied right along with the U.S. dollar. Then oil held firm when stocks declined sharply on Wednesday. The safe haven of gold has sold off, even with the escalation of the Italian debt situation. Banks have been weak, even thought the stock market at large has rallied on good earnings and the hope that new leadership in Greece and Italy will actually help.

It’s easy to see how extra cash will help credit card companies. And overall, this is a very good move.

Stocks just ended their worst quarter since the financial crisis. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 each lost more than 12%.

So when I say that you should make a list of stocks to buy, I’m not saying you should jump into the market and buy them just because they’re down a few points. I’m saying you should name your price, have the capital ready, and jump on the opportunity IF it comes.

And if this correction is even half as big as I expect it to be, just about every boat will get sunk as the tide recedes.

Even big, blue chip stocks that every investor should own will get hammered.

Last year, Exxon-Mobil (NYSE: XOM) shares sold for less than $60 – even cheaper than they were during the depths of the 2008-2009 bear market – briefly selling for less than 10 times earnings.

That’s the kind of company that should be on your shopping list at that kind of price.

Today, I want to discuss a huge mistake I made about one of my favorite copper investments. I like to point out my mistakes because it keeps me humble and honest. If I only point out my successes, you’re likely to (correctly) assume that I’m cherry-picking my track-record.

I also think you’ll agree that learning from mistakes is a lot more fun for you, as a reader, if I’m making them instead of you.

Two months ago, I believed that Ben Bernanke’s then-impending announcement of Quantitative Easing 2 (QE2) was likely to disappoint the market.

Here’s what I said on October 27^th - about a week before Bernanke’s announcement:

At $1,390 an ounce, gold prices are at an all time. Silver is at a 30-year high. Agricultural commodities like fertilizer are also moving toward new highs.

Economists are warning that these commodities could continue to move higher in price for several months. And the stocks of companies selling these commodities have been surging in the past few trading sessions.

I won’t make the foolish mistake of pushing my personal political views into this letter. My wife calls my ideas crazy, if not offensive and downright unrealistic.

So if my politics elicit disgust and confusion with my own wife, I doubt I’ll have much luck parading them in the pages of the Resource Prospector.

Who you vote for is your business.

But when it comes down to what you should vote for, I have a few things to say on the subject.

I’m talking about the way that we all conduct our personal investment portfolios, as well as the goods and services we buy.

I’ve long believed that these everyday activities are a much more important ongoing vote than any one you cast into a ballot box.

Commodity prices are headed much, much higher in the coming years. But in short term, I'm not so sure...

Why?

Well, I have an active imagination, but I can't see how Ben Bernanke's quantitative easing (QE) announcement next week will be anything more than a disappointment.

Here's how I think it will go down:

On November 3, 2010 (next week) Ben will announce $571 billion worth (to pick a random number) of Treasury purchases - or some other kind of direct or indirect printing of money.

That's a good chunk of change, but the problem is that the market has already boosted nearly every type of asset to price in much bigger QE. Stocks, bonds, commodities, - it seems like everything except for middle class homes have skyrocketed in the past two months ahead of big Ben's announcement.

I've been on quite a tear writing about gold and silver of late. That's not because I think you should run out and buy them right now. In fact, I think you should wait.

Wait for what I believe will be a substantial correction, and therefore, a buying opportunity for physical gold and silver next month when Ben Bernanke announces his plans for Quantitative Easing.

I'd look for a 5-10% correction following his announcement as a great time to make some purchases.

In the meantime, there's a specific stock opportunity that's shaping up nicely.

On September 1, 2010 I urged you to buy shares of Freeport McMoran (NYSE: FCX) under $80 a share.

Today I want to talk about a metal that gets little love or attention in the mainstream media - until it dramatically increases in price.

I know you've heard such claims before - but I've been scouring the headlines of major news sources, and no one is talking about this metal, even though its price is scratching highs not seen since 2008.

I'm talking about copper - a metal associated with boom-time construction. Every new building on this planet needs copper pipes for plumbing and copper wire for electricity - at the very least.

So...if housing is still in the toilet, and commercial real estate is still circling the drain, why would copper prices keep surging towards pre-recession highs?

If you were in Las Vegas, it would be cheating to bet one chip on two numbers of the roulette wheel.

They'd kick you out of the casino after taking your money and maybe roughing you up a little.

But today I'm going to reveal to you a publicly traded company that should benefit from boom times as well as bust. It's a way to put one poker chip on two numbers of the roulette wheel at the same time. And it won't get you kicked in the ribs.

My prediction is that we're headed (or already in the midst of) a severe recession or depression. But I've been wrong before - and even if I'm right on the trend, I could be wrong on the timing or the scope - or any number of other factors that might derail my investment thesis.

Small-cap stocks jumped higher on the opening, lifted by news of a large fiscal stimulus plan out of China, and by a surge in commodity-related shares. At 9:54 a.m. ET, the Russell 2000 (NYSE:IWM) was up 5.81, or 1.15%, at 511.60.

China, which houses the world’s fourth-largest economy and which single-handedly accounted for 27% of global growth last year took an aggressive stance to stir up business activity, announcing plans for a fiscal stimulus package of $586 billion, primarily for infrastructure purposes. Traders saw the news as a good sign to help counter global slowing, and to perk up demand for commodities.

Crude oil prices were up nearly $4 a barrel, gold jumped 4% and copper prices surged about 8% overnight. BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, soared some 13% ahead of the opening. In fact, metals and mining stocks were the top early performers today. Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (NYSE:FCX) was up 11%, while Titanium Metals Corp. (NYSE:TIE) was up 4.2% and Newmont Mining Corp. (NYSE:NEW) was up 6.3%

In a research report this morning, analysts at Goldman Sachs said the China stimulus plan was “a major measure that signals the government's commitment to address the gathering signs of economic weakness in China. While the total size of the stimulus is still unclear (the headline total appears to rely on a smaller federal government commitment and may include some spending that would have occurred anyway), there is no doubt that this is a large and positive step … as we have argued before, more aggressive stimulus outside the US is a necessary and welcome development in dealing with the current broad-based global slowdown. Alongside European monetary easing last week (and the United Kingdom's particularly large move), we seem to be heading more firmly in the right direction on this front.”

Financial shares got a lift from a G20 statement over the weekend saying that “coordinated” action was needed to fight the global financial crisis, which spurred hope for further central bank rate cuts around the world. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) was up 3.3%, while JP Morgan Chase and Co. (NYSE:JPM) was up 1%.

Some traders were still debating the impact of last Friday’s employment . . .