Silver mine production rose for the ninth successive year in 2011, to a fresh record of 761.6 Moz (23,689 t). Production from primary silver mines fell modestly due to lower processed grades and one-off disruptions at several large operations, including the world’s two largest primary mines, Cannington and Fresnillo. These losses prevailed over production gains originating from a handful of new mines ramping up. However, growth was seen for silver produced as a by-product of gold and lead/zinc mining.
Top 20 Silver Producing Countries in 2011(millions of ounces) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mexico | 152.8 | |
| 2. | Peru | 109.8 | |
| 3. | China | 103.9 | |
| 4. | Australia | 55.2 | |
| 5. | Chile | 42.1 | |
| 6. | Poland | 40.8 | |
| 7. | Russia | 40.0 | |
| 8. | Bolivia | 39.0 | |
| 9. | United States | 36.0 | |
| 10. | Argentina | 22.6 | |
| 11. | Canada | 19.1 | |
| 12. | Kazakhstan | 17.6 | |
| 13. | India | 11.0 | |
| 14. | Turkey | 9.4 | |
| 15. | Sweden | 9.1 | |
| 16. | Guatemala | 8.8 | |
| 17. | Morocco | 7.3 | |
| 18. | Indonesia | 6.0 | |
| 19. | Iran | 3.5 | |
| 20. | Papua New Guinea | 3.0 | |
Top 20 Silver Producing Companies in 2011(millions of ounces) |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Company | Country | Output | ||
| 1. | KGHM Polska Miedź S.A.¹ | Poland | 40.5 | |
| 2. | BHP Billiton plc. | Australia | 39.0 | |
| 3. | Fresnillo plc² | Mexio | 38.0 | |
| 4. | Goldcorp Inc.³ | Canada | 28.8 | |
| 5. | Pan American Silver Corp.² | Canada | 21.9 | |
| 6. | Volcan Cia. Minera S.A.A.³,⁴ | Peru | 21.1 | |
| 7. | Polymetal International plc. | Russia | 19.9 | |
| 8. | Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp.² | USA | 19.1 | |
| 9. | Cia. de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A.⁴ | Peru | 15.3 | |
| 10. | Hochschild Mining plc. | Peru | 15.0 | |
| 11. | Kazakhmys plc. | Kazakhstan | 13.1 | |
| 12. | Southern Copper Corp. | USA | 12.7 | |
| 13. | Sumitomo Corp.³ | Bolivia | 12.4 | |
| 14. | Kinross Gold Corp.⁵ | Canada | 12.1 | |
| 15. | Industrias Peñoles S.A.B de C.V. | Mexico | 11.4 | |
| 16. | Xstrata Zinc⁶ | Switzerland | 11.1 | |
| 17. | Teck Resources Ltd.³ | Canada | 10.1 | |
| 18. | Hecla Mining Company² | USA | 9.5 | |
| 19. | Yamana Gold Inc. | Canada | 9.3 | |
| 20. | Eti Gümüş A.Ş. | Turkey | 8.4 | |
| ¹ Reported metallic silver production | ||||
| ² Primary producer | ||||
| ³ Estimate | ||||
| ⁴ Includes production from minority subsidiaries | ||||
| ⁵ Reported Silver Sales | ||||
| ⁶ Reported silver in concentrate and lead bullion | ||||
World’s Leading Primary Silver Mines in 2011(millions of ounces) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Mine/Country | Operating Company | Prod. |
| 1. | Cannington¹, Australia | BHP Billiton plc. | 32.17 |
| 2. | Fresnillo, Mexico | Fresnillo plc. | 30.30 |
| 3. | Dukat², Russia | Polymetal International plc. | 13.60 |
| 4. | Uchucchacua, Peru | Compañia de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A. | 10.09 |
| 5. | Palmarejo, Mexico | Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. | 9.04 |
| 6. | Pallancata, Peru | Hochschild Mining plc. / International Minerals Corp. | 8.77 |
| 7. | Gümüsköy, Turkey | Eti Gümüş A.Ş. | 8.37 |
| 8. | San Bartolomé, Bolivia | Coeur d’Alene Mines Corp. | 7.50 |
| 9. | Pirquitas, Argentina | Silver Standard Resources Inc. | 7.06 |
| 10. | Greens Creek, U.S. | Hecla Mining Company | 6.50 |
| 11. | Arcata, Peru | Hochschild Mining plc. | 6.08 |
| 12. | Saucito, Mexico | Fresnillo plc. | 5.90 |
| 13. | San José, Argentina | Hochschild Mining plc. / McEwen Mining Inc. | 5.87 |
| 14. | Imiter³, Morocco | Société Métallurgique d’Imiter | 5.48 |
| 15. | Alamo Dorado, Mexico | Pan American Silver Corp. | 5.30 |
| ¹ Reported payable metal in concentrate; ² Including Gotsovoye; ³ Estimate | |||
Material and statistics in this section were adapted in part from the Silver Institute’s World Silver Survey 2012 publication.
