The only precious metal that is also a major industrial input, and mostly mined as a by-product.
Silver is both a precious metal and an industrial one. It has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity of any metal, which is why it goes into electronics, electrical contacts and solar cells, and it is also bought as bars, coins and jewellery. Most silver is not mined for its own sake: USGS notes that it is primarily a by-product of lead-zinc, copper and gold mines, in descending order of silver output. That means silver supply follows base-metal mining more than the silver price, and it links this profile to those of lead, zinc and copper. In 2025 the market was in supply deficit: USGS puts consumption at about 35,700 t against mine output of about 26,000 t, with the difference met from recycling and above-ground stocks. Silver was added to the US critical minerals list in November 2025.
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Designations are indicative equivalents. Always confirm the exact standard, edition and temper or form on the purchase order and the mill certificate.
Mexico mines about a quarter of the world's silver, and Mexico, Peru and China together about half. Output rose slightly in 2025, to about 26,000 t from 25,300 t. Because most silver is a by-product, the table partly mirrors the world's lead-zinc and copper mining, with Poland's silver coming from copper ore. Source: USGS Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026.
USGS puts world silver reserves at about 610,000 tonnes, more than 20 years of mine output at the 2025 rate. Peru holds the most (110,000 t), followed by Russia (92,000 t), Australia (91,000 t, or 22,000 t on the stricter JORC basis), China (67,000 t) and Poland (59,000 t). More than two thirds of world silver resources sit in polymetallic deposits where silver is a by-product, so reserves can change when base-metal or gold economics change.
Silver is recovered at several stages: from lead-zinc concentrates in lead smelters and refineries, from copper anode slimes in copper refineries, and from gold doré. It is refined to 99.9%-99.99% purity and cast into bars or granules, or made into paste, powder and alloys for industrial customers. USGS counts 24 US refiners, producing about 2,100 t from domestic and foreign ore, concentrate and scrap. Because refiners buy silver bearing material from many metals, the by-product link means smelter and refinery terms for lead, zinc and copper concentrate often include a payment for the silver they contain.
Silver is recycled, but less than gold. In the United States about 1,000 t was recovered from new and old scrap in 2025, about 11% of apparent consumption, mainly from industrial scrap and photographic and electronic waste. Silver used in electronics and in solar cells is hard to recover because the quantities per device are small, so industrial use tends to consume silver rather than store it, which is a structural reason the market can be in deficit.
The average silver price rose 34% in 2025 to about $38 per troy ounce. USGS reports the price started the year at $29.35 (the year's low), rose for eleven months and reached a high of $53.60 on 13 November, and cites the continuing supply deficit as a reason. Demand moved in opposite directions: coin and bar consumption rose 7%, industrial consumption was unchanged (slower growth in ethylene oxide capacity and lower silver loadings in solar cells offset growth in automotive, consumer electronics and power-grid uses), and jewellery fell 6% and silverware 15%. On annual averages gold was worth about 87 times as much per ounce as silver in 2025 ($3,300 against $38), a ratio traders watch to judge whether one metal is cheap relative to the other.
Silver is priced per troy ounce. The benchmark is the LBMA Silver Price, set daily in London, and futures trade on COMEX. As with gold, physical products carry a premium to spot that depends on form and size: wholesale bars are close to spot, while coins and small bars carry a larger premium. Industrial buyers purchase silver as powder, flake, paste, wire and sheet to a specification, and fabrication premiums are added on top of the metal price.
Silver in concentrates is paid for by assay. Lead, zinc and copper concentrates that carry silver are typically paid for a percentage of the contained silver once it exceeds a minimum threshold, and the payment is a meaningful part of the smelter's margin. This is why silver-rich lead-zinc concentrate is valued above its lead and zinc content alone, and why changes in the silver price can affect concentrate terms.
For silver, specify the form, fineness and, for industrial use, the particle size, purity and impurity limits, and compare quotes on contained silver and on the premium to spot. For concentrate, check how silver is paid for, since the payable and minimum-deduction terms can matter as much as the metal price.
Talk to a SpecialistProduction and reserve figures are USGS estimates for 2025 unless stated. Figures are rounded and change with each annual revision.