Silver

Overview

Silver is the best reflector of visible light of any element.¹ It is also highly ductile, malleable and electrically conductive, which makes it useful in electrical contacts, solar cells, brazing alloys, catalysts, mirrors and antimicrobial products.²

Silver differs from most critical minerals because it is both an industrial input and an investment asset. Coins and bars took about 19% of global demand in 2025.³ The United States added silver to its List of Critical Minerals in November 2025, one of several additions alongside copper, lead, potash, rhenium and silicon.²⁴ Silver is not on the EU's list of critical raw materials.⁵

Where it comes from

Most silver is a by-product. It is recovered mainly from lead-zinc mines, then from copper and gold mines, and polymetallic deposits hold more than two-thirds of world resources.² Primary silver mines supplied only 26% of global mine output in 2025, a record low. Higher by-product output from copper mines in Peru was a main source of the year's growth.³ Non-primary mines produced about 19,500 t, up 4%. Lead-zinc mines remained the largest source, while output from gold and copper operations rose 5% and 6%.³ Supply therefore depends largely on decisions made for other metals.

World mine production rose slightly to an estimated 26,000 t in 2025. Mexico was the largest producer, followed by Peru and China.²

• Mexico6,300 t · 24%
• Peru3,600 t · 14%
• China3,400 t · 13%
• Bolivia1,500 t · 6%
• Chile1,400 t · 5%
• Poland1,300 t · 5%
• Russia1,200 t · 5%
• United States1,100 t · 4%
• Other countries6,130 t · 24%

World total shown is the sum of USGS country estimates; USGS rounds it to 26,000 t. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Silver

Reserves are more evenly spread than production. Peru, Russia and Australia hold the most.²

• Peru110,000 t · 18%
• Russia92,000 t · 15%
• Australia91,000 t · 15%
• China67,000 t · 11%
• Poland59,000 t · 10%
• Mexico37,000 t · 6%
• Chile33,000 t · 5%
• Other countries121,400 t · 20%

World total shown is the sum of USGS country estimates (excluding Kazakhstan and Sweden, not available); USGS rounds it to 610,000 t. Source: Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Silver

What it is used for

Global demand was about 35,200 t in 2025, down 2% on 2024. Industrial demand fell 3% to about 20,400 t, its first decline since the pandemic. Coin and bar demand rose 14%.³

• Electrical and electronics13,980 t · 40%
• Coins and bars6,770 t · 19%
• Jewelry5,889 t · 17%
• Other industrial4,896 t · 14%
• Brazing alloys and solders1,569 t · 4%
• Silverware1,310 t · 4%
• Photography751 t · 2%

Source: World Silver Survey 2026

Photovoltaics are a major industrial use. Silver demand for solar cells more than doubled between 2020 and 2024, then fell 6% in 2025 to about 5,800 t. Manufacturers are cutting the silver in each cell by refining paste formulations and cell designs, including silver-coated copper pastes, and are developing copper alternatives.³ Metals Focus expects PV demand to fall a further 19% in 2026, while the outlook for power grids, vehicles and AI infrastructure remains positive.³

US use is spread more widely. In 2025, electrical and electronics took an estimated 25%, other industrial uses and photography 19%, bars 18%, photovoltaics 15%, coins and medals 14%, jewelry and silverware 6%, and brazing and solder 3%.²

Grades and forms

Silver moves through the supply chain as concentrates and doré, then as refined bullion, and finally as fabricated products, coins and bars.² In PV manufacturing, silver-coated copper pastes containing only 10% silver entered high-volume production in late 2025.³

Trade and policy

The United States imported 77% of the silver it used in 2025. It mined about 1,100 t at 4 silver mines and as a by-product of 31 other operations, mostly in Alaska and Nevada. Mexico supplied 47% of US imports in 2021–24 and Canada 18%.² Twenty-four US refiners produced about 2,100 t of commercial-grade silver from domestic and foreign ores and concentrates and from scrap.² The US Treasury holds about 498 t of silver at the US Mint.²

China, the third-largest miner, restricts silver exports to approved companies. At the end of December 2025 the Ministry of Commerce named 44 companies allowed to export silver in 2026–27, two more than for 2025.⁶

This section is factual background, not legal or trade-compliance advice.

Recycling and substitution

Global recycling rose 2% in 2025 to about 6,100 t, the highest level in 13 years.³ In the United States, about 1,000 t was recovered from new and old scrap, equal to about 11% of apparent consumption.²

Substitution is common where cost matters most. Digital imaging substitutes for silver in traditional photography. Stainless steel can replace silver in flatware, and aluminum and rhodium in mirrors.² In solar cells, copper is replacing part of the silver, although pure copper pastes still face yield and reliability problems.³

Sources

1. Silver: element information, properties and uses. Royal Society of Chemistry, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

2. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Silver. U.S. Geological Survey, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

3. World Silver Survey 2026. The Silver Institute (prepared by Metals Focus), accessed 2026-10-03. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

4. Final 2025 List of Critical Minerals. Federal Register, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

5. Regulation (EU) 2024/1252 (Critical Raw Materials Act). EUR-Lex, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩

6. China allows 44 companies to export silver for 2026-2027. IDNFinancials, citing Reuters, accessed 2026-10-03. ↩