Silver: Characteristics
The metal that conducts and reflects best of all
What this tab covers The supply and physical characteristics of the commodity. Supply: current production, inventories and stocks, capacity utilisation, geographic and producer concentration, how fast supply responds to price, the project pipeline and capital spending, and logistics and export flows. Material: the physical and chemical properties that set its grade, price and end uses (for example purity and conductivity for metals, API gravity, sulfur and energy content for fuels, moisture, protein and fibre quality for crops).Supply volume characteristics
| Characteristic | Figure | What it means | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Current production volume | about 26,000 t mine output (2025e); recycling about 6,150 t (197.6 Moz, 2025) | Mine output rose from 25,300 t in 2024. About 72% comes from mines where silver is a by-product of lead-zinc, copper or gold. Recycling hit a 12-year high in 2025. | USGS MCS 2026, Silver; Silver Institute / Metals Focus, World Silver Survey 2026 |
| Inventory and stock levels | COMEX vaults about 15,000 t at end-2025, about 5 months of world consumption (35,700 t in 2025) | COMEX stocks rose from 9,910 t at end-2024 as metal moved to New York on tariff fears. London vault stocks and ETF holdings are larger but much is not free to deliver. Five years of market deficits to 2025 have drawn down free stocks, which shows up in spikes in London lease rates. | USGS MCS 2026 (COMEX stocks, consumption); Silver Institute 2026 |
| Capacity utilisation | not published | Mine utilisation is set by zinc, lead, copper and gold economics. Refining capacity is ample: MMTC-PAMP alone can refine 600 t a year. | ICRA (Jul 2026); Silver Institute 2026 |
| Geographic and producer concentration | Mexico 26.6%; top-3 (Mexico, Peru, China) 52.2%; HHI 1,205; largest company Fresnillo about 6% of mine output | Fresnillo mined 48.7 Moz (about 1,515 t) in 2025, Hindustan Zinc 687 t in FY2025 and Zijin 439 t. Supply is spread over hundreds of base-metal mines. | World Mining Data 2024; Fresnillo 4Q25 report; Hindustan Zinc FY2025; Zijin 2025 results via Mysteel |
| Supply elasticity | very low: about 72% of supply is a by-product | Higher silver prices do not change how much zinc, lead or copper ore is treated, so the market ran deficits for five years while prices rose 42% in 2025. Recycling responds within months. | Silver Institute 2026; USGS MCS 2026 |
| Project pipeline and CapEx | growth comes mainly with copper and gold: copper-linked silver rose 6% and gold-linked 5% in 2025 | Few large primary silver projects exist. New copper mines and expansions in Peru, Chile and Poland and lead-zinc expansions at Hindustan Zinc in Rajasthan add most new silver. Reserves are 610,000 t, about 23 years of output. | Silver Institute 2026; USGS MCS 2026 |
| Logistics and export flows | HS 7106 exports $32.5 billion (2024); India the largest importer at 20.3% by value | Exports are led by Hong Kong (13.6%), China (11.7%) and the UK (11.1%). India imports 30 kg and 1 kg bars by air into Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Bottlenecks are bar conversion from 1,000-oz London bars and the import-duty gap, which shifts Indian demand sharply. | UN Comtrade 2024 (HS 7106) |
Material characteristics Metal / hard commodity
Silver has the highest electrical and thermal conductivity and the highest visible-light reflectivity of any metal. That makes it hard to replace in solar-cell pastes, electrical contacts and mirrors. It also has antimicrobial properties. Fineness sets which bars are deliverable and the jewellery price. Its weakness is tarnish: silver reacts with sulphur in air.
| Property | Value / specification | Why it matters | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purity / fineness | LBMA Good Delivery: at least 99.9% Ag, 750-1,100 oz bars; India 999 bars; sterling 92.5% | Sets deliverability on LBMA, COMEX and MCX and the price of silverware | LBMA Good Delivery Rules; BIS IS 2112 |
| Electrical conductivity | about 63 MS/m, about 106% IACS, the highest of any metal | Why solar pastes and high-performance contacts use silver | CRC Handbook |
| Thermal conductivity | about 429 W/m K | Brazing alloys and thermal interfaces | CRC Handbook |
| Reflectivity | about 95% of visible light | Mirrors, glass coatings and solar reflectors | CRC Handbook (indicative) |
| Ductility | very ductile and malleable; can be drawn to fine wire | Wire, foils and thin pastes | Metals handbooks |
| Corrosion / tarnish | resists oxidation but forms silver sulphide tarnish | Needs coatings or alloying in contacts and jewellery | Metals handbooks |
| Density and melting point | 10.49 g/cm3; melts at 962 C | Assaying and easy re-melting of scrap | CRC Handbook |