Last Call: Shares of silver mining companies drop

Shares of companies that mine silver fell Wednesday as the price of the metal declined and other key commodities also tumbled.

Silver for May delivery dropped 47.5 cents to $17.235 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The commodity price drop weighed on shares of silver miners. The Dow Jones-AIG Silver Index fell 3.1 percent in afternoon trading.

Silver Standard Resources Inc. fell 63 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $27.42. Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp. fell 4 cents to $3.55. and Silver Wheaton Corp. fell 38 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $15.12.

Pan American Silver Corp. fell $1.92, or 5.1 percent, to $35.59. Hecla Mining Co. fell 71 cents, or 5.7 percent, to $11.71.