Mining firms for a silver prospect for the metal, develop it, and ultimately earn their living. A significant number of the mining businesses that focus on silver also concentrate on gold, palladium, lead, zinc, and other metals. In this industry, many different businesses own and operate their mines, and they are also actively engaged in the manufacturing process. On the other hand, businesses that are profitable due to an increase in the price of silver purchase silver from its producers. These types of companies are referred to as "streaming firms." So let us see what the biggest silver mining companies in the world are.
Green's Creek Mine, USA
Hecla Mining Company owns the entire Green Creek polymetallic mine. The Green Creek Mines are in the south, in the southeast corner of Alaska. People think that the Green Creek mines are the least expensive underground silver mines to run. It has the lowest cash cost for each ounce of silver of the ten biggest silver mines in the world. In 2020, the Green Creek mines produced 10.5 Moz of silver. In the last ten years, the Green Creek mines have been putting out more silver. This makes it one of the mines with the fastest growth for more than one metal. The mine is expected to last until 2031.
Saucito Mine, Mexico
Saucito is another important mine in Mexico that has to do with silver mining. Saucito is owned by Fresnillo, the largest company that mines silver. The shaft at the Saucito mine goes down about a kilometer. There is a town in Zacatecas called Saucito. Another Fresnillo mine is only 8 km away. In the last two years, the amount of minerals taken out of Saucito has decreased. However, 16.5 Moz of silver ore were still taken out of this mine, making it the fifth-biggest producer of silver ore. People think that Saucito will still be making silver in 2024.
Antamina Mine, Peru
Peru will get 109.7 Moz of silver out of the ground in 2020, making it the second-biggest producer of silver in the world. Antamina is Peru's largest silver ore mine, and some numbers show that it makes more silver than Saucito. Antamina has been steadily increasing the amount of silver it makes over the past few years. Antamina is a mine with an open pit. Silver is taken out of the mine using "floatation." Silver is moved with copper concentrates. Antamina was said to make 16.45 Moz of silver in 2020, which puts it at number six on our list. The mine belongs to BHB BLC, and silver will be removed from it until 2028.
Polkowice-Sieroszowice Mine, Poland
In Poland's Glogow copper belt, there is a mine called Polkowice-Sieroszowice. The big company KGHM Polska Mied owns it. Polkowice blasts the rock to get to the silver inside. It is thought to have about 775 million ounces of silver on hand (Moz.). In 2020, this Polish mine made 39.2 Moz of silver, making it the world's largest silver mine. KGHM's mine can keep making silver until 2057 because it has enough reserves. The mine is also used to get copper and gold cores, which makes it an essential part of silver mining.
Peñasquito Mine, Mexico
Mexico is the only country that makes more silver than any other country, and Peasquito is its biggest silver mine. It comprises two open-pit, multi-metal mines, Peasco and Chile, Colorado. This makes it the biggest open-pit mine. Peasquito also mines gold, copper, and lead, in addition to silver. Peasquito has the most silver of any place in the world. People think they are about 869.52 Moz. The amount of silver that Peasquito mines have gone up by 22% in the last three years. Silver will likely be mined there until 2032. In 2020, Peasquito was the second-largest silver mine because it had mined 30.9 Moz of silver.
Dukat Mine, Russia
There are a lot of silver reserves in Russia. The polymetallic mine in Magadan Oblast is where most of the silver is found. The Dukat Mine is owned by a private company called Polymetal International Group. This company mines silver. For the next decade and a half, it has both open-pit as well as underground mines capable of producing silver. The amount of silver that the Dukat mine makes each year has gone down. This is because the region is out of balance, and resources are running out. In spite of all of these obstacles, the Dukat mine was nevertheless able to produce 18.2 Moz of silver, which placed it as the third-largest main silver mine.
Sindesar Khurd Mine, India
India's largest silver mine, Sindesar Khurd, is located in Rajasthan. Vendetta Resources owns it and it is located in Rajasthan. Until at least 2025, silver mining is expected to continue. Deep under the earth's surface, near Sindesar Khurd, is a mine. Silver is made by combining lead and zinc. The mine has 79 million metric tonnes of valuable minerals. The "large straight stopping with paste filling" technique was used to extract 17.3 million ounces of silver from this mine in 2020. This mine is critical to the economy of both the nation and the surrounding region.
Cannington Mine, Australia
The north-western part of Queensland is where the Cannington mine is. Cannington belongs to BHP Billiton, and it started making silver to sell in the 1990s. Cannington was the biggest silver mine for almost a decade, but since the 2010s, its production has been going down because it is running out of minerals. Silver, lead, and zinc is mined from underground deposits in Cannington and then processed at a facility on the surface. In 2012, people thought that the mine in Cannington would be open for 11 years. In 2020, 11.6 Moz of silver were taken from Cannington's reserve.
Conclusion
Silver plays a significant role in our lives. Silver is a good conductor and easy to shape, so it is used in wires, the PV cells for solar power, and also bandages to keep bacteria away. Because it shines, silver has been used in jewelry for a long time. Still, after gold, it is the second most worn metal. Only one-third of the silver comes straight from silver ores. The rest of the silver comes from copper, gold, and zinc ores.
