# Silver Mining Production 2025 global mine production is approximately 835 million ounces. This supply is largely fixed due to the [[Byproduct Silver Problem]]. ## Geographic Distribution Top producers: Mexico ~200M oz (24%), China ~110M oz (13%), Peru ~100M oz (12%), Chile/Australia/Poland/Russia balance. No single country dominates mining (unlike [[Silver Refining Chokepoint|refining where China controls 60-70%]]). ## Primary vs Byproduct Primary silver mines: 29% of production (~240M oz). Pure-play silver producers. Examples: Fresnillo (Mexico), Pan American Silver. Production decisions based on silver price. Byproduct silver: 71% of production (~595M oz). Comes from copper, zinc, lead, gold mines. Examples: BHP copper mines, Glencore zinc mines. Production decisions based on base metal economics, not silver. This split is critical. [[Why Silver Supply Cannot Respond to Price|Even if silver hits $200/oz, 71% of supply does not respond]]. ## Why New Mines Take 8-12 Years Timeline for greenfield mine: Years 0-2 exploration/drilling/resource estimates. Years 2-4 feasibility studies/financing. Years 4-6 environmental/social/government permitting. Years 6-10 construction of mine/processing. Years 10-12 ramp to full production. Even "fast-tracked" projects take 5-7 years minimum. You cannot wish new silver mines into existence. ## Recent Production Trends 2020-2025 production relatively flat: Mature mines depleting, few new projects (silver unprofitable at $20-25/oz), byproduct mines following base metal economics, pandemic disruptions. Even with silver at $70+/oz, production increases slowly. The supply response lag is 8-12 years. ## Major Producers Fresnillo (London: FRES): World's largest primary silver producer, Mexico-focused, ~50M oz/year. Pan American Silver (Toronto: PAAS): Large primary producer, operates in Mexico/Peru/Argentina, ~25M oz/year. First Majestic (Toronto: FR): Pure-play silver producer, Mexico operations, ~13M oz/year. Most silver comes from diversified miners (BHP, Glencore, etc.) as byproduct. These companies don't trade on silver exposure. ## Production Cost Curve Cash costs (rough): Lowest quartile $8-12/oz. Second quartile $12-18/oz. Third quartile $18-25/oz. Highest quartile $25-35/oz. All-in sustaining costs (AISC): Lowest quartile $14-18/oz. Second quartile $18-24/oz. Third quartile $24-32/oz. Highest quartile $32-45/oz. At $72/oz, every mine is highly profitable. But this doesn't translate to supply increase because primary mines already at capacity and [[Byproduct Silver Problem|byproduct mines don't respond to silver prices]]. New mines take 8-12 years. ## Investment Implications When silver supply is fixed and demand is growing ([[Silver Industrial Demand|1,050M oz industrial]], [[Silver Investment Demand|190M oz investment]]), price must rise to balance. The [[Silver Structural Supply Deficit|230M oz annual deficit]] cannot be solved by mining more silver. Supply response is too slow. High-quality silver miners provide leveraged exposure to silver price without daily reset risk of 3x ETFs. If silver goes to $100+, primary miners could see 3-5x equity gains. Links: [[Silver MOC]] | [[Byproduct Silver Problem]] | [[Why Silver Supply Cannot Respond to Price]] --- #silver #mining #economics