Material Insights · Understanding the Material World

Copper and Silver

Most silver is a by-product of base-metal and gold mining, with copper mines such as KGHM's among the largest sources, and both metals depend on electrical and solar demand.

Copper (commodity) and Silver (commodity): 3 relationships.

How they are linked

1. Price link: by-product source

Cost and price · Strong · Both ways

Silver is part industrial metal, sold to the same electrical and solar makers that buy copper, and part investment asset, so it shares copper's cycle while also tracking gold.

  • 0.47 monthly change correlation
  • 0.66 12-month change correlation
  • 1.24 fitted elasticity

Yearly moves are linked more closely than monthly ones. Investment demand can pull the two apart: in 2025 silver averaged about $38 per troy ounce, 34% above 2024, while COMEX copper was projected to average about 14% more.

Sources: Material Insights (World Bank, FRED, IMF data); US Geological Survey; US Geological Survey

2. Silver from copper ore

Joint production · Medium · Copper mining yields silver

Silver in copper ore follows the copper into concentrate and is recovered from the anode slimes at copper refineries, so copper miners produce silver without mining for it.

  • about 72% of world mined silver produced as a by-product of other metals, 2024
  • 1,341 t KGHM silver output in 2024, recovered from copper refining

Silver comes mainly from lead-zinc, copper and gold mines, with lead-zinc the largest source. KGHM, whose silver comes from its Polish copper operations, reports that it ranks first among the world's silver mines. Because most silver is a by-product, high silver prices bring little new supply: output from primary silver mines fell about 2% in 2024.

Sources: US Geological Survey; KGHM Polska Miedz; Money Metals

3. Electrical and solar demand

Shared risk · Rising · Both serve electrical makers

Silver is the best electrical conductor and copper the most used one, so both go into contacts, wiring and electronics, and both are needed for solar power.

  • 25% and 15% US silver use in electrical and electronics, and photovoltaics, 2025
  • 197.6 Moz silver demand from solar panels, 2024 (about 6,100 t)
  • 23% US copper use in electrical and electronic products

Solar cells use silver paste for their contacts, and solar plants and grids use copper cabling, so a solar build-out raises demand for both. Silver's high price gives panel makers a reason to cut silver per cell, and any move to copper-based contacts would turn the two from joint inputs into substitutes.

Sources: US Geological Survey; Money Metals; US Geological Survey

For investors

Key learnings

  1. Silver supply barely responds to silver prices because about 72% comes as a by-product, so lead-zinc and copper mine output matter as much as silver prices.
  2. Copper miners with silver-rich ores, such as KGHM, gain from silver price rises without mining any extra ore.
  3. Solar demand ties both metals to the energy transition, but silver's investment role makes it more volatile than copper.

What to track

  • Gold to silver and copper to silver price ratios: Show whether silver is trading as an investment or an industrial metal (Daily · LBMA, COMEX)
  • Solar silver demand: The fastest growing industrial use, sensitive to thrifting (Annual · Silver Institute World Silver Survey)
  • By-product mine output (copper, lead-zinc): Sets most new silver supply (Monthly · ICSG, ILZSG)

For policymakers

Key learnings

  1. India is the world's largest silver consumer and imports most of it, so solar manufacturing growth raises its import bill.
  2. India mined about 700 t of silver in 2024, about a fifth of the 3,625 t it imported in 2023, so domestic supply cannot cover solar and electronics demand.
  3. Silver's move to critical-mineral status in the US in 2025 shows how solar and electronics demand has changed its policy weight.

What to track

  • India silver imports: Show demand from solar makers, jewellers and investors (Monthly · DGCI&S, Ministry of Commerce)
  • India solar cell manufacturing capacity: Drives industrial silver demand (Quarterly · MNRE)

India

India imported 3,625 t of silver in 2023 and 4,554 t in the first half of 2024, with solar and investment demand cited as drivers; its own mines produced about 700 t in 2024.

Sources

  1. Price correlation, Material Insights, Material Insights (World Bank, FRED, IMF data)
  2. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Silver, US Geological Survey (2026)
  3. KGHM once again ranked as world leader in silver production, KGHM Polska Miedz (2025)
  4. Review: World Silver Survey 2025, Money Metals (2025)
  5. India's silver imports to double on demand for solar, investment, ThePrint (Reuters) (2024)
  6. Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026: Copper, US Geological Survey (2026)