Realcent.org

Okay, so Sprott has filed to purchase up to 1.5 billion value in silver. He wants to accomplish this discreetly, so that others don't learn of his plans and frontrun him. If he knows that his purchases will drive up the price, why can't he just buy calls on SLV or more leveraged ETF's like AGQ or USLV to offset his costs? Would that be considered insider trading when it's already been announced that at some point you will be buying the physical? I understand if he were to tell friends to sell their puts on silver before he went into the market, that would be categorized as having knowledge not available to the public that was the proximate cause for making a profitable trade... but does it apply in some fashion to his own transactions? Is he forbidden from this type of trading due to his position?

Actually since he made his intention to buy public he can definitely tell his friends to sell their puts and he himself can buy calls or whatever in conjunction with his impending purchase.

It's all public so working with it WELL is not illegal

Also even if his intentions weren't public, what he decides to personally do is up to him and he can use his own knowledge of "himself" however he likes. Since he is "so big" his ability to tell others what to do is likely limited, but he can do complex trades or other type trades all day!